The next day, William Wang called me to the office in the city, the one where our labs weren't located. Apparently he had rented out an office for human resource in a commercial building in the middle of the business district. I didn't see a need for it, but William rightly pointed out that we couldn't have prospective employees and applicants going all the way to the high-security laboratories in the outskirts of G City for an interview and paperwork. It was much easier to have everything conducted within the city itself, without having to worry about security and potential sabotage.
After all, not everyone could simply walk into the laboratory. We needed a lot of high level security clearances for that. We didn't want any accidents to happen, especially when we were researching on something as dangerous and volatile as antimatter. Even a little accident could blow the entire province out from the face of the earth.
I was fine with that, but I spent most of my time in the lab instead of the office. As far as I was concerned, my job was to invent stuff, not handle paperwork. Even though I was the CEO, I had no business sense or administrative ability. I only had my technical knowledge and a dream to make my sci-fi dreams into reality. Mankind would explore the stars or I will die trying to develop interstellar travel.
However…
"Sorry, Trevor, but I need you at the office today." Despite his words, William didn't sound apologetic at all. "I need you to sign off on some documents and approve several business proposals and deals."
"Why can't you approve of them? You're the vice-president."
"Look, I know you're busy, but don't you dare shirk your responsibility! You're the CEO of Shen Industries. You own this company! You have to sign off on these deals and approve them. Don't just delegate them to me. I'm not the owner, and I can't handle this responsibility. Besides, it's in your job description!"
It was? Oh, well. I trusted William. If he said this was in my job description, then he was right. I knew him for a long time. He wasn't the type to lie to me. Though I sensed something more underneath his words. These deals must be really important and big, which was why he wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility for them, especially if something went wrong.
"Also, we have several trading partners showing up to give the proposals. How would it reflect on our company if you're not here to host them? They'll think you're snubbing them!"
"That's not my intention…"
"I know that, but they don't! And make sure you come in a proper suit! Business attire, not your usual jumpsuit!"
"All right, all right." I didn't tell him that I didn't have a proper suit or business attire. That would make him go ballistic. And besides, it would be a lie. I did have a suit that I bought shortly after we began expanding our company. I had no choice but to get a long-sleeved shirt, formal pants and a blazer, as well as a necktie. Sometimes I would have to wear that for formal military gatherings and not just business conferences.
Apparently we had to put on appearances to give our clients a good impression, otherwise they wouldn't do business with us. I sort of understood where they were coming from, though. If you couldn't be bothered to put in effort with your appearance, where were they going to get the confidence that you would put in effort in the business deals they proposed to do with you?
However, I was puzzled over something.
"We already have contracts with Bu Business in place, right? So what's this new business proposals about? What do they want with our company? I don't recall the military asking us for any new contracts or having new requests."
Since our major client (and only customer) was the military, we didn't bother to reach out for any other companies. The civilian sector likely had no interest in what we had, anyway. Though we did indeed have individual customers in the form of tycoons and wealthy families who wanted to privately purchase my shield generators to install in their homes, manors or estates.
But such purchases were usually conducted informally and William wouldn't need my signature for stuff like that. He would just need to issue the customers an invoice and that would be the end of it. But this sudden conference came out of the blue.
Well, it wasn't as if the particle physicists at the lab needed me or anything. The antimatter container was complete, thanks to my already existing energy shield generator. And I knew absolutely nothing about antimatter, particle accelerators and the other technology and devices required to create antimatter. Quantum physics was as far away from my specialization as it could get. Furthermore, the Alcubierre drive was also as alien to me as a foreign language.
There were a few concepts that I understood, but by and large I wasn't that familiar with how to build a working Alcubierre drive.
In short, it was best to leave these technology to the experts while I took care of what I could. And that meant taking responsibility for my company.
"Why am I only hearing about all this now?" I asked, trying not to sound too annoyed. William shrugged sheepishly.
"No idea. Apparently they are claiming to be your in-laws. Your future father-in-law wish to reinstate the contract you had with Ling electronics."
"Just tell him no. It was stated in the contract that it would be voided the moment Lily Ling was fired from her position. We were working with Lily specifically, not Ling electronics."
I had made sure to add that clause because I was aware of the family politics in the Ling clan. Furthermore, I was familiar with the devious tricks that her stepsister and stepmother would use to expel her from the Ling family and her position. It was the same in every damned CEO story. I wished someone could think of something more original.
"Yeah, well…you will have to tell him no directly yourself. He refused to listen to me and demanded to see you. Was threatening to bring us to court if I didn't comply."
"Let him sue. He has no grounds to sue us over. We will win the case."
"…dude, it's just easier to let you deal with this than to go into a costly and lengthy legal battle. You think we have money to waste on lawyers and a court battle?"
William had a point there. Sighing, I acknowledged and prepared for the conference ahead.
It didn't take long before Leon Ling and a few CEOs and leaders of various companies showed up, trying to buy their way into my company. They were trying to offer proposals and shares, partnerships and cooperation, even as we all sat around a large table.
"Please, you have to help us," Leon Ling pleaded with me. "We're family, aren't we?"
"Firstly, I'm not officially married to your daughter yet. We are still only engaged. The wedding ceremony and registration have yet to be formalized." No point telling him that the engagement was meant to be fake, to prevent him from marrying his elder daughter off for business or whatever. "Secondly, you of all people should know that businesses don't care about family bonds. Only profit matters. My company isn't rich enough to bail yours out when your business strategies are failing. Nor would I go appeal to other companies to save me when my business is down."
Even though Shen Industries was on the verge of bankruptcy and we were almost shut down almost a year ago, I had endeavored. The only thing I did was take out bank loans and stuff, and Lily Ling helped me. But otherwise I didn't try to use personal or family connections to bail my company out. I was prepared to file for bankruptcy and look for a new job the moment my company failed. I wasn't a deluded person. If I was willing to take the risk, then I must accept the danger of failure and bankruptcy along with it.
Otherwise I had no right to be an entrepreneur. Honor and moral principles were more important to me than profit. And using family connections went against that code, which was why I refused. If I started bailing them out now, they would always turn to me every time they got into trouble, and take me for granted. I wasn't their fallback, nor was I obligated to help them out.
"But…but Ling Electronics helped you when you were on the verge of bankruptcy!"
"You are mistaken. Lily helped me when I was in trouble, not Ling electronics. And the only reason why Ling electronics agreed was because you had no use for scrap and discarded components anyway. And guess what? You removed Lily from her position."
"Damn that Linda! If I had known she was scheming against her sister, I would have stopped her." Leon Ling gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down. "I don't know if Lily told you, but my wife and I did try to get her back into the company after Linda's…stunts. Unfortunately, Lily herself refused to return to Ling electronics. She wanted to focus on acting."
Oh, I did hear about that. I nodded.
"Yeah, she told me that herself. But my decision stands. You can't expect me to bail your company out. Even if I did feel obligated somehow because you're my fiancée's father, I can't afford to."
"There are benefits, though," one of the other shareholders of Ling Corporation said, opening up his briefcase and flashing a holographic screen. "We're not asking you to help us for free."
"Yeah, you should think of it as an investment. Once we pull through this bleak period and bounce back, we'll be able to repay you tenfold."
"The contract is in your favor. All we need is a bit of investment."
Leon Ling sent me a glowing window. I had already read through his proposal and discussed it with William earlier. The two of us had agreed that it looked okay, especially after my vice-president had combed through it.
They weren't lying. Shen Industries would get the lion's share of the profits. Evidently Ling Corporation was in dire straits enough to offer such a disadvantageous contract.
I sighed and nodded. "All right, I'll consider it."
At that, the delegates from Ling Corporation brightened up. They sighed in relief and almost congratulated each other…until I said one last thing.
"But on one condition…"