"Good morning, Miss"
I walked straight to Hina's office as soon as I got to work, and Hina was lying on her bean bag reading something on her tablet.
"Oh, hi. Good morning"
Hina greeted me cheerfully.
Maybe nothing was wrong after all?
But it was my duty to make sure that she was well at work.
"Miss-, is there anything you are unhappy with?"
"Why would you say that?"
She asked me back but there was authority in her voice. It wasn't a question that she posed me to answer, but a challenge thrown at me which she did not expect me to respond.
:Sigh:
She's just a rich brat after all…
"I'm sorry, Miss"
Chairman Chan wasn't often like that, but I knew sometimes bosses just needed to vent their anger at their juniors. It doesn't always happen in a way that the boss reprimands you directly, because technically, you have not done anything wrong. But they pick on you by asking questions that make you unsure whether you are supposed to answer or not. The more questions are asked and unanswered, the more cornered you become. The questions are not meant to be responded to with an actual answer. They are meant to be responded to with an apology.
This was the worst mood I have seen Hina in since I started working with her.
"Anyways, so what's our schedule today?"
I was glad that Hina was moving on to actual work issues at this point.
"Miss, I think we should start following up on what we declared yesterday. The news must have reached both Wanda and KAK"
"What do you think they would do?"
"Wanda will try to compete with heads-on. They will propose to NDDC what we have proposed, that they want to cooperate together in the Fast Track Acquisition Program. KAK on the other hand will move to ensure that NDDC is excluded from FTAP management"
"Right. So our next action should be?"
"What do you think, Miss?"
"I am asking for your input"
I wasn't trying to challenge Hina or anything with my question, but Hina didn't seem happy with the fact that I asked her.
Man, she's in a lousy mood today too.
"I can arrange for a lunch meeting with Dr. Han outside the NDDC premises. There's a quiet place we can go and talk things through"
"Very well. Please book the place"
"Certainly"
I quick-dialed Lui from my smartwatch and asked her to book the place, which she said she would.
"Sin"
"Yes, Miss"
"I asked you to book the place. Not Lui"
OK. She's picking fights. Where did she learn this petulant bossy behavior?
"I am sorry, Miss"
"Brief me about what we need to discuss with Dr. Han today"
"He will ask us how we intend to influence the National Defense Procurement Department to get NDDC involved"
"That was your idea. What are your plans?"
"They are both government agencies in the defense field so you might think they'd work better between themselves, but in truth, this kind of work is mostly done by companies like us"
"Meaning?"
"Someone like Dr. Han cannot, and will not meet the new program task force leader for FTAP to make requests. That is like setting foot on someone else's territory. Government agencies and their heads are very territorial like tigers"
"Do continue"
"So we from the commercial sector act as the middlemen. It is up to us to meet with the task force leader and convince him to involve NDDC"
"Sounds like a pain. But I suppose you have a plan for that?"
"Yes, I think there are some cards we can play to sway them"
"I hope you are not thinking about any questionable means to do that"
"Not at all, Miss. Frankly speaking - not that this is the same as what we are trying to do - the public has very strong misconceptions that there exist direct under-the-table deals with brown envelopes exchanged and such. I can assure you that no one in their right mind does that in this industry. Nobody will give such to any government officials, and no government officials will accept it"
"How does it work then?"
"Ultimately, people want power within their organization. That means being successful in their actual work. It's foolish to try to get parachuted into higher ground than where you are now. The best and the most honest thing one can do is to work as intended and exceed the results expected. That is why NDDC was interested yesterday. If FTAP goes under NDDC supervision, it means the researchers there will have work to do. Successful completion under their management will better their chance of promotions. If you have no project, there is nothing to achieve. You need to win projects for your team to work on. We gave them a chance to do that. Now we need to convince the task force leader at NDPD that working with NDDC will make HIS project more successful"
Hina sank a little deeper into the bean bag.
She was certainly in a lousy mood, but she was taking this talk seriously.
Perhaps she decided to be a little more professional after all?
"I get it. So we will tell Dr. Han that this is what we intend to do?"
"Yes"
"How should I phrase things here? It sounds like quite delicate matter"
"I can support, Miss"
"I'd rather say things myself, but fine. I acknowledge I am not experienced enough to discuss this and handle all the nuances. Especially you people in this industry have such a roundabout way of saying things and I'm still not used to that at all"
"I understand"
"But don't get me wrong. I will speak my mind directly there. It's just that I expect you to do your professional thing to smooth the situation if anything goes unexpected"
She stressed the word 'professional' a little.
So she was holding grudges about this after all.
There's no use trying to resolve this grudge at this stage. After all, she's just my boss and I am tasked with a job, which I just need to perform to a good professional standard.
"I won't let you down, Miss"
"Thank you. You can go now"
"…sorry…?"
"I understand the situation now. You are free to leave"
"For what…? Miss?"
"I don't know. Go do your work"
"My work is to-"
"You go do some work that is useful for the company. Surely you have more important things to do than just babysitting a 19-year-old girl?"
"Miss, but I am your Personal Assistant"
"Look, I'm not paying for my own babysitter. We will change your title if you want"
That actually hurt.
I said nothing in return. I just bowed my head politely and left her office.
I realized I didn't know where to go. After all, I've always been a shadow. I had no authority to command anyone in the company. I am not a decision-maker in any projects. I have no day-to-day work other than supporting the CEO. I did many things, but all the things I did were as required by Chairman Chan and now Hina. If she says I'm not required to be around at the moment, there was really nothing much I could do until I was required again.