Inside, Pauline brought them to CEO Charles who got up and promptly shook Kyle's hand with a smile.
"Welcome," Charles said as he indicated for them to sit at the sofa, "How may I help you?"
Charles was polite and didn't refer to the fact that Kyle had arrived late. He had been waiting for Kyle and his friends since 8.30am. Truth be told, he was rather annoyed at the fact that Kyle had been late yet never bothered to inform them beforehand. So he had to wait in his office like a fool while Pauline updated him. Still, he maintained professionalism and was polite.
Kyle took a good, long look at Charles in front of him and could see no guile in his eyes. There was a slight annoyance, as to be expected from someone who had been waiting. Kyle returned the handshake, his grip firm but he didn't give a smile.
Charles didn't let that bother him.
"Pauline, please get our guests some refreshments," Charles said politely.
Pauline appeared a little unhappy about that but did as she was told. The moment Pauline walked out, Kyle looked at Charles seriously and said simply, "You have a serious problem."
Charles back stiffened at that but he didn't falter while he answered, "Yes, I know."
Kyle was impressed. This guy was the real deal. Despite the fact that he obviously didn't think Kyle was here to actually do something, he was still courteous and not putting on airs. He genuinely cared for the company and most likely was a hands-on CEO that built it up with his own sweat, blood, and tears.
Looks like the report on him was accurate.
"I'm not talking about the company's performance. I'm talking about you," Kyle said slowly and clearly.
Charles frowned at that, his gaze starting to darken a bit with supressed anger.
"Check your email," Kyle said curtly.
"Email?" Charles repeated then got up and went to his computer at the table. He opened his email, but there was nothing there.
"Your personal email," Kyle directed.
Charles furrowed his eyebrows more. There were only a handful of people who knew his personal email address and Kyle was not one of them. Despite his disbelief, he still accessed his personal email account. There was one new email, from 'Kayla' that had the subject heading 'Pauline Hans'.
Pauline? Charles looked up at Kyle who just returned the look indifferently. He looked back at the unopened email, noticing a paper clip with it, indicating an attachment. What did he send about Pauline? Was it porn pictures or something?
"It's not doctored pictures of Pauline," Kyle said with an internal roll of his eyes. Charles facial expression clearly showed his unhappiness and then surprise over Kyle's comment.
"It's not a virus either. If I wanted to send you a virus, your computer would already be infected by now."
Charles acknowledged that. If Kyle could find out his personal email, sending a virus was probably an easy thing to do. With shaking hands, he clicked on the email. There was no content, just the attachment. He opened it.
Suddenly, his computer screen was filled with documents opening rapidly. It went by too fast for him to see what the contents truly were as the documents were opening on top of each other. Suddenly, the whole thing stopped and the first document he saw properly made his eyes pop out.
It was the financial statements and accounts for the year. The same statements that he just got from the Accounts department. There were several things highlighted and Charles took the file he had on the table and compared them. The figures were different.
Right after that, seemingly as if it knew Charles had made the comparison, another file opened up on top of that document. This time, it was a video. Two frames were there, the videos obviously from a security camera. Two videos, side-by-side and Charles noted the date and time. It was today, 8am. The left frame showed the reception desk and the right frame showed Pauline at her desk.
He clicked 'play' and both videos ran, side-by-side simultaneously. The timing on both was exactly the same. Everything was fast forwarded, so he watched a video of 1.5 hours in merely 3 minutes. It was just slightly fast in the beginning when Kyle and his group came, then sped up after the receptionist made the call and finally slowed down back when Pauline went to greet them.
"As I said, you have a problem," Kyle said as Charles sat there, shocked. To see the person he trusted wholeheartedly do things that he never dreamed of made his head spin. It was shocking enough to discover that Kyle had not been late and in fact, was extremely early. Yet, Pauline had told him Kyle had not arrived yet despite checking at the reception desk.
Then, he saw the receptionist making a call while the other frame showed Pauline at her desk, ignoring a phone call. Charles could hear the ringing of Pauline's phone, which ended when the receptionist put down her phone and started again when the receptionist made another call. Pauline wasn't doing anything but simply reading a magazine.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
"I may be only 13, CEO Smith, but I am the Smith Heir," Kyle said slowly, "That means, I have been groomed and trained to take over Smith Industries since I was 9-years-old. Also, as the second biggest shareholder in Smith Industries, I have real power to affect things."
"Now, shall we start again?" Kyle said, "This time, by actually regarding that I am not here for show-and-tell. I am here to turn Company LV around."
"Director Kyle," Charles began, "I -"
"We don't have much time before Pauline gets back," Kyle interrupted him, "For now, just be normal. Do I have your cooperation?"
Charles sighed deeply, looked at his computer and laughed at himself. He had been working his a** off for the past year, trying to turn this company around and yet not even realising the snake in the grass. He looked at Kyle, hope blossoming in his heart.
"100%," Charles replied.
Charles wasn't stupid nor was he blinded by arrogance. He acknowledged and respected anyone with skill and capabilities, no matter their age. It was obvious that the young man in front of him was far more capable than he could ever hope to be. If he was like this now, what would he be like as an adult?
Charles could see that the Smith Industries would soar to greater heights with Kyle at the helm.
"You have a lot of trash to clean out," Kyle said, "Are you prepared?"
"Whatever it takes," Charles replied with determination.
Anyone who wasn't on board deserved to be kicked out. Even if it meant that the company would be suffering for a while with the lack of manpower. You can't grow well if the foundation is rotten.
"You're a good man, CEO Charles," Kyle said, "And that is part of the problem. You trust too much."
"I can see that now," Charles admitted with a sigh.
He was feeling utterly depressed at that moment. Not only did he fail to see the snakes in his company, but he was also severely reminded of his soft nature by a 13-year old kid. A THIRTEEN year old kid was smarter than he was.
Just then, Pauline walked through the door, bearing a tray with mugs of tea and a plate of biscuits.
"My apologies, CEO Charles,"Kyle said as he pointed to the others in his group, "I neglected to introduce to you my companions."
"Kayla Smith, my sister and also Director at Smith Industries. On my right is Muhammad Ali from MA Oil Conglomerate of Country SA. This is Young Master Xing Han from the Tan Family and last but not least, Samuel, my personal assistant and secretary."
Charles almost choked on his own saliva. MA Oil Conglomerate? Tan Family?
It's true what they say. The powerful gravitate towards each other. He had, in his small little office, three young Dragons from the top ten most influential and powerful entities in the region.
Pauline was shocked as well. However, she wasn't worried or scared at all. On the contrary, she felt even more superior as she remembered how meek they had been earlier. Who were they?
CEO Charles shook hands with everyone, his face in a big smile.
"I believe you wanted a tour of the company?"Charles said, clasping his hands.
"No, that won't be necessary," Kyle responded, "In fact, aren't you going to a meeting concerning a possible investment?
Charles looked at his watch and nodded, a slight frown on his face. Pauline should have reminded him of it 10 minutes before time yet she had not. When he looked at her, she simply smiled, unaware of what she had not done.
Kyle raised an eyebrow, then decided that enough was enough. He had given her plenty of chances. He had even dropped a hint with the 'Red Status' bit yet, she persisted in acting out. Pauline obviously had been so pampered by Charles (by not being reprimanded) that she has not become a liability rather than an asset.
From what Kyle had dug up about her, Pauline wasn't a spy or deliberately sabotaging the company. However, she had broken the primary rule of a secretary: to aid the boss. She was supposed to be the oil that helped the main gear to run, not be the wrench that caused problems!
Time to clean house.