Just as Kyle was about to walk out, he stopped and closed the door.
He turned and told Charles, "Take it that I am leading this. You're the CEO, but I'm basically your boss at the moment. So treat me as such."
Charles nodded, understanding.
"I won't do anything to undermine you but I will do things that are necessary to clear out the trash in here," Kyle said with disdain as he thought of all those useless monkeys out there.
"I understand," Charles said, "I will support you all the way."
"Kay, get Zero and his team here tomorrow," Kyle said, "After the purge, they'll be in charge of implementing Operation LV Resurrection."
"Time frame?" Kay asked, tapping on her phone.
"One month," Kyle replied.
Other than Kay, everyone else was confused. Kyle just explained briefly, "Zero's my man."
"Man?" Xing Han said with a slight pout, "Am I not your man?"
Kyle rolled his eyes and Ali whacked the back of Xing Han's head.
Xing Han rubbed the back of his head, his face full of indignant fury. He turned towards Ali, growled and started snapping his teeth. Kyle thought he looked like a puppy trying to act tough, baring his teeth at a tiger.
Ali just looked at the snarling Xing Han in amusement which made Xing Han snarl even more.
A Scottish terrier, yapping while jumping about ... the image suddenly entered Kyle's mind when he looked at Xing Han.
That did it.
Kyle couldn't hold it in any longer. He leaned forward on the door, his hand holding it as he laughed silently. His shoulders shook and tears formed in his eyes as he desperately tried not to have the sound come out. He was trying to be a Bad Guy here, darn it!
Kay simply patted him on the shoulder.
It took Kyle a few more minutes before he finally managed to stop laughing and get his breath back. Flinging an arm around Xing Han's shoulder, he ruffled his hair and said, "How can I not love this adorable puppy? But enough. Time to get back to work."
They fist bumped and Kyle took a deep breath while Xing Han fixed his hair.
Closing his eyes, Kyle focused on his feelings and internalised it. When he opened his eyes, it was cold and unfeeling. His striking blue eyes were like ice, his impassive face like stone and the aura ...
Kyle didn't release it but let it simmer underneath. Thus, one got the impression of danger when they were near him. Like a tiger, stalking its prey silently, ready to pounce.
No, not a tiger. A Dragon.
Charles looked at Kyle's transformation in awe. It was as if a switch was flipped. From a Dark Avenging Angel, to a normal laughing teen then to a Crouching Tiger/Dragon. He was seeing it, but he couldn't believe it.
"First, the investor's meeting," Kyle said as he opened the door. Charles nodded, walking beside Kyle as they walked out.
"After the meeting, there are a few Departments that I need to see," Kyle continued saying, "I'll need someone to show the way."
Charles nodded then looked up and noticed that everyone there was not working but blatantly staring at them.
"Is there anyone in particular that you want?" Charles asked as they stopped.
Kyle's gaze swept over the entire room and people gulped, wondering what was going on. Was this the same guy that went into the office? Why does it feel ... like he was a superior being that was looking down at his subjects?
Earlier, one of them just fainted. Then, Pauline got fired. Now? CEO Charles acting so respectfully to the young man that was beside him.
Putting two-and-two together, they immediately realised that Pauline's dismissal had something to do with the group of kids that were there. Specifically, to the young man beside CEO Charles.
Remembering how she had treated them as she brought them to the CEO's office made them glad that they had not been busy bodies like their colleague who had fainted.
Kyle's gaze stopped at one guy who was now practically shivering, his eyes wide open.
"Him," Kyle said, and Charles looked at where Kyle was looking, "Ben Tennyson."
The identified guy, Ben, pointed at himself and squeaked, "Me?"
"Yes, you," Charles said, as he then looked at his watch, "Right now, Director Kyle and I are heading for a meeting. After lunch, take Director Kyle to the Departments that he wants to go. You're in charge of taking care of Director Kyle and his team while they are here."
"M-m-me?" he stammered, surprised, "But I'm just ..."
"Is there a problem?" Kyle asked with a cold gaze.
Ben found himself taking a step back involuntarily as he quickly answered, "No, no Sir. Director Kyle Sir. It would be my honour, Sir."
"Everyone, back to work," Kyle snarled at them, "This is an office, not a classroom. We're not here for you to gawk at."
Charles cleared his throat and told the shocked group, "That's right. Back to work! This is Director Kyle from Smith Industries. He's here for the audit."
Everyone now realised that the situation was more serious than they had initially thought.
The reputation of the Smith Industries audit was known to all. They were ruthless, tearing things up from the bottom and building things up again - if they were lucky. Some companies had even been shut down completely when it did not meet the standards.
Right now, as they stared at Kyle, they felt that he was at a completely different level. So young and yet ... those bunch of "kids" were the Smith Industries Auditors. THE Smith Industries Auditors.
No wonder Pauline had been fired. Offending them was simply begging for trouble. She had been too full of herself to realise where the true power was.
And the group in front of them, especially Director Kyle ... that was power. He didn't have to do or say anything and one could already sense it.
Of course, little did they realise that Kyle was only releasing that aura of dominance now. He hadn't earlier, so Pauline was blind to it. As they left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone started working furiously, while Ben was silently crying at his cubicle. He wondered if he should be telling his wife that he might lose his job soon.
As they walked towards the meeting venue, Charles asked Kyle curiously, "If I may ask, why Ben? He's an okay worker but rather timid. And how did you know that was Ben?"
"I've already done a background check on all of your employees," Kyle explained, then continued in a low voice so that only Charles could hear, "Ben has a lot of potential and his work is exemplary. Problem is, Pauline often used him and took credit for is work."
"She DID?!" Charles said in shock, finding it hard to believe.
Then it made sense to Charles. He did fleetingly wonder why Pauline didn't seem to have consistency in the quality of her work. That was partly the reason why he was reluctant to scold her when she did make mistakes. Now he knew that the times that her work was good, was most likely because it was done by someone else.
"But he's not a secretary? Why would he listen to Pauline?" Charles asked out loud.
"If I may interject," Sam said, "Ben appears to be one who has low self-confidence while Pauline is an extremely strong character. She most likely used her position and power as your executive secretary to intimidate him."
"He was too weak to protest," continued Sam, "In addition, he also appears to be one who likes to play it safe, so it was better to simply do as he was instructed rather than have a less desirable working condition."
"You came up with that analysis just from those few brief minutes of observation?" Kyle asked in admiration.
"It was obvious by the way he was stammering just because you looked at him, you know. When he tried to reject, just one sentence from you and he caved immediately," Sam pointed out.
"True, true," Kyle admitted and noted Sam's observational and analytical skills. He would make a great criminal profiler. That would really be a boon to MIB. However, the moment that thought flashed through his mind, his face darkened for a while.
He was hiding so many things from the Elite Five. Should he tell them? When? For what purpose? Would it make any sense to them?
Of course, right now was not a good time to reveal it but he knew that he would have to make a decision sooner or later. Should he keep the two separate? MIB and Elite Five? He shook his head, not knowing the answer to that yet.
He focused back on the situation at hand.
"You need a trustworthy, competent executive secretary," Kyle said, "You're the CEO and your task is to focus on the company. Your secretary is essential as he, or she, supports you so that you can do your job properly."
"For now, get Marina Chin from as your new executive secretary. She's currently the secretary to Larry, your Manager at the Marketing Department. She's capable enough and if she's a good fit, then let her stay. Otherwise, Zero and his team will help you find a replacement."
By this time, Charles' head was spinning. Kyle not only knew the people who worked at Company LV, he knew of their capabilities and where they were working. Even he had to check the employees' records, as he didn't know everyone who worked there. How could anyone know? What sort of monster was he?
They reached the Meeting Room and CEO Charles walked in, followed by Kyle and the others. Everyone else was already in the room, and every pair of eyes looked up in curiosity at the unknown bunch of kids walking in.
Kyle followed Charles to the head of the meeting room table while the rest sat at the back, at the chairs aligned at the wall.
What made people's eyes pop out was that Kyle sat at the head of the table while Charles sat to his right.
Kyle didn't say a word but he gave everyone one brief look, releasing just a little bit of his cold aura before turning to look at Charles.
Everyone gulped, their hearts in their throat. It was only a second but they felt it.
Fear. Fear that one feels when facing a powerful predator.