"What!" Richard exclaimed as anger thrummed through his veins. His first instinct was to go an unleash mayhem on the Cheung's, but quickly realised that he has no money or influence to go against one of the wealthiest families in Shanghai. Seo-joon sensed his disconsolation.
"I know how bad it sounds, but trust me, everything is going to be alright." Richard looked at him. "But how?" "Well for starters, I bought this house for you." Richard's jaw dropped like a collapsed building. "Come again." "This house belongs to you. The documents are right there." Seo-joon said as he pointed to the blue file jacket on the centre table.
Richard picked it up, and studied the documents inside. The property deed, Title insurance policy, home inspection report, seller disclosure, closing disclosure, purchase agreement, buyer's agent agreement, and Addenda were all there, and under his name. Richard looked at the documents in disbelief, and wondered if he was dreaming. After a moment, he turned back to Seo-joon.
"What's your angle?" Seo-joon chortled delightfully. "For someone who has been in the legendary Kaishui for the past three and half years, I am surprised you still have some humour left. There's no angle son, not at all. I am just here to fulfill a promise that I made to your father." Richard looked at the documents again. "Thank you so much."
"No thanks required. It's the least I could do for a dear friend. Which brings me to what next I have to give you." Seo-joon retrieved an American Express platinum card from his jacket and handed it to Richard. It took Richard a moment to appreciate the grey coloured card with the image of a centurion at the centre.
"What's this?" He asked, utterly befuddled. "I think we both know what it is. And it's tied to your account." At this point, Richard didn't know if his mind could handle anymore riddles. "What account are you talking about? All my accounts were frozen by the government when I was arrested." Seo-joon scoffed.
"No, I am referring to your new account which is fully operational. Though now that you are free, you could file for the government to unfreeze those accounts." Seo-joon paused for his words to sink in. Then, he continued. "The money in that account belongs to you and your sister." Richard mulled over his words for a moment, then curiosity took over.
"If you don't mind me asking, how much is in the account?" Seo-joon said nothing. He just picked up his Huawei P50 pro, and opened Richard's bank internet banking. "See for yourself." Seo-joon said as he handed Richard the phone. As Richard saw the balance of the account on his dashboard, his heart skipped a beat. "This must be a joke! Eight hundred million dollars? Come now Mr Tong, why are you doing all these? First the house, and now this?"
"I am not doing anything Richard. As I said earlier, the money belongs to you and your sister. It was left to both of you by your father. I had nothing to do with it." Richard took in deep breaths and exhaled. "So you are actually serious?" He asked.
"Oh yeah. He specifically requested that the money be shared in a 60/40 split between both of you. That is, five hundred for you and three hundred for Anna. Your father and I invested in a business years ago, and that's his own share of the profit. He requested that I give his share to both of you." A flood of emotions moved through Richard's veins. Within a split second, he felt anger, shame, and remorse. And without notice, he broke down in tears.
Seo-joon was discombobulated. "Why are you crying?" Richard raised his bloodshot eyes up to Seo-joon. "Even in death, he still finds a way to keep his children away from poverty and misery. We had a bitter argument the day he died about some shady deals my uncle was doing with the company funds, which he seemed to turn a blind eye to." Richard paused to wipe his tears.
"Also, we argued about his decision to make my uncle's wife the CFO of the company, when there were more qualified people for the job. I never saw him alive again after that. And since then, I haven't been able to forgive myself. I miss him so much." Seo-joon handed a napkin to him, to blow his nose.
"We all have erred in one way or another. Your father was not perfect, and you are also not. So you have to forgive yourself and let it go. There is a promising future ahead you should look towards. Also, your sister needs a breath of fresh air from that house. So get yourself together, get a shave and a haircut, have a warm bath, eat to your satisfaction, and relax. I will see you in one week."
"What's happening in one week?" Richard asked. "There's a lot that I need to show you, that your mind can't handle at the moment. So as I said, put yourself in order first. I will see you in a week." And with that, Seo-joon left Richard, and exited the house. Richard stared at the balance in his dashboard again and his heart sank in. He quickly searched online for local dealerships for a nice car.
As soon as he found the one he liked, he called the number and booked an appointment for the next day. Then he strolled into the bedroom. Twenty minutes later, Richard threw himself into the warm jacuzzi tub and tried to relax.
One week later, a Mercedes Maybach drove into his house to pick him up. Richard stepped out in the Royal Blue Super180's wool Brunico Brioni suit he found in his closet. With his Versace leather lace up shoe and a Frank Mueller diamond crested watch, he looked magnificent. The ride as usual was quiet and uneventful, till they got to Seo-joon's office.
Richard stepped out of the car and took a moment to admire the 50 storey building in-front of him. He wondered why Mr Tong wanted him there, and what he wanted to tell him. With the thoughts in his head, he went into the building. He wanted to get into the elevator when it slid open, and a young man stepped out. Dressed in a smartly tailored Armani suit, the young man looked confident. Richard stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to the fiftieth floor.
"Good morning Mr Yeon. Mr Tong is waiting for you in the board room." A beautiful lady said to him as he stepped out of the elevator. She led him to the board room entrance and went back to her position. Richard knocked twice, and went in.
The room was averaged sized, of about 18 x 15, with an excellent view of the city. With wooden floors, HVAC system for targeted climate customisation, a combination of glass and plaster ceiling, ridiculously large screens on both ends of the room, and an interactive touch screen table. The room is the perfect haven for genius entrepreneurs.
"Right on time Richard. Have a seat." At this point, Richard was confused, because where he was told to seat isn't where he's supposed to. Apparently, the first chair at the end of the table, was reserved for him. He sat down quietly and tried to make himself comfortable.
There are nine people seated on the long table, and all of them had their eyes on Richard. He wasn't sure why he was invited to a board meeting, and he didn't care to guess. But nonetheless, he's about to find out.
"Good day ladies and gentlemen. You all know why we are here. So I will cut to the chase. The world is changing, and technology is catching up with humans more than we care to admit. Especially in the field of Artificial intelligence, where machines can now be programmed to think and provide results. Which in many cases has proven to be more efficient than humans." He paused for a moment, then continued.
"I am not talking about a terminator scenario here, no. I am talking about substantial reduction of cost and maximisation of profit. We need to scale up our business in a way that reduces costs of equipment and personnel, and still generates the same, if not more profit. And that's why I have brought young Richard here today." Richard felt his heart skip a beat.
"He has an MSc in quantum computing and a PhD in Artificial intelligence. To put it simply, Richard here is a genius. And he is the kind of person we need to set this company on the path of exponential growth in the digital era. So I propose that he replaces the last chairman. It's now up to you ladies and gentlemen." Seo-joon concluded and sat down.
Richard has no clue what just happened. 'Did he just say Chairman?' He asked himself. The room fell silent, as the shareholders mulled over Seo-joon's words. The last chairman made the company a lot of money, but they were not so sure about the young man.
Even if he's highly qualified, he not be experienced enough to handle a multi-billion dollar company. They also thought about the fact that he is an exconvict, fresh out of prison. That sort of information can be used by their competitors against them.
But his referral is coming from two of the most visionary leaders the company has ever had. So without further hesitation, they voted unanimously in favour of Seo-joon's request. And with a dashing smile on his face, Seo-joon got up from his chair. "Congratulations Mr Yeon. We all look forward to seeing your outstanding performance." There was a few seconds of standing ovation from the others.
Richard stood up and bowed. He couldn't decide if what he was feeling was curiosity, fear or happiness. But he was sure he needed to co- ordinate himself, so as not to loose his nerve. With that, he mustered up courage to speak. "I will be honoured to serve this company in any capacity to ensure that it leaves it's mark in the field of technology and advanced sciences. I will bring to bear the full force of my knowledge to ensure that we always stay ahead of the curve. Thanks again for this opportunity."
A round of applause followed his rather short but invigorating speech, as Seo-joon smiled through every second of it. Twelve minutes later, Richard was in-front of the window pane admiring the skyline of the city. He waited alone for Seo-joon as he cerebrated about all that happened earlier. Richard couldn't believe that he was now the chairman of a multi-billion dollar company.