The Challenge (2)

Honestly, Xiu Ling did not really understand the implication from the arrival of the board of directors but from the way Yi Nian was acting, she knew it was not something good. Xiu Ling subconsciously turned to Lin Kang for guidance but the man looked unaffected by the news, then again, the man probably would not have been fazed by anything not directly related to his wife, and definitely not anything pertinent to work.

He leaned back in his chair and told Yi Nian in a steady tone, "Let them in then. Let's hear what they have to say."

Yi Nian moved to oblige, since his boss did not show any trace of worry, then why should he.

He opened the door and about 10 to 12 men and women in professional business suits streamed into the room. With the stern expression on their faces, one would think they were planning to go to war.

Yi Nian found the opportunity and quickly escaped from the scene, closing the door behind him.

This meant that the board of directors, Xiu Ling and Lin Kang were the ones left in the room.

The board of directors entered the room with great presence but that got knocked down by half when they met Lin Kang's eyes. The man was leaning leisurely in his chair and he lifted his eyes to scan the lot of them, as if daring them to say something. The ease with which he handled the situation unsettled the board of directors.

They stayed locked in that silent one-sided confrontation for quite some time until Lin Kang coughed and opened his lips with heavy annoyance, "Well, what is this all about? You're just going to stand there and look pretty? This is why you've decided to barge into my office?"

This bunch of idiots had ruined his time with Xiu Ling, they should be thankful that he did not kick them out of his company. They better had some really solid reason why they were there or someone was going to pay.

That knocked the board of directors down another peg. Lin Kang was just pulling the wind out of their sails. The group jostled against one another until one of them was shoved to the front to be the spokesperson.

Lin Kang glared at the man and Xiu Ling swore the man was about to pee his pants.

The unfortunate man took in a deep breath to galvanize himself before starting in a shaky voice, "Mr, Mr. Lin Kang, we the board of directors are unsatisfied with the recent direction the company is heading so we are here today to voice our concern and dissatisfaction."

Lin Kang frowned and the man had to look away because he would have lost the courage to continue if he was looking at Lin Kang or the mask of death.

"Starting from about several months ago, the company has been making questionable decision like spending money to buy an entire retail supermarket, hiring company security for mysterious reason, liquidating company assets to pay off some actress, setting up a special post at the company to accommodate a family member and the list goes on..."

Standing there in the room, Xiu Ling was feeling quite awkward. It was obvious that the man was talking about her. These were the things that Lin Kang had done for her and even though the man said she could have free access to the resources at his company, she should have known it would have adverse affect on the company, after all, the company was not Lin Kang's alone. He still had the workers and the board of directors to answer to.

"We, the board of directors do not understand the reason behind these seeming pointless decisions and we would like to ask for an explanation from Mr. Lin Kang. Other than that, we would hope that Mr. Lin Kang would remove the influence that cause Mr. Lin Kang to make these decision from the company because it would not be beneficial for the future of the company."

The man was saying in a roundabout way that they wanted Xiu Ling out of the company. To be fair, Xiu Ling kinda agreed with the man. She did not belong there and she herself had been wishing to leave. She did not feel comfortable taking the post that could have been given to a more qualified person.

However, she also knew if she was unable to convince Lin Kang to relieve her from her post, then one could imagine his reaction when the demand was made by the board of director. Without even turning around to look at Lin Kang, Xiu Ling could imagine the dark clouds that should be covering her husband's face.

As if validating her thought, the next second, she heard the voice of hell itself. "What do you mean by that? You people are not satisfied with the direction the company is taking? Then, feel free to leave. No one is forcing any of you to stay. In fact, I encourage you to leave.

"I am the direction of this company, I bring in all the income, I am the reason each one of your wallet is filled and fed. If you are not satisfied with the current situation or as you call it, the direction the company is heading, then, by all means, leave and seek better opportunity elsewhere."

Lin Kang did not raise his voice but that only made it seem even scarier.

The board of directors shrunk back visibly. The unfortunate soul who was shoved forward could not wait to sink back to the background.

Xiu Ling thought Lin Kang was being a bit unreasonable. The board of directors had raised some valid points. She was about to turn to talk to the man to try to excuse the board of director's perspective, even though they were technically there to create trouble for her, "Lin Kang, I mean they do have a point, it is unreasonable to move the direction of a whole company for the sake of a person..."

Lin Kang though wasn't paying her any attention, he was still not yet done dealing with the board of directors. He demanded through Xiu Ling's voice, "Which one of you started this idea, I wish to know. Someone better admits it before I am forced to find things out myself. Who is the leader that incited this mess?"

The board of directors lowered their heads, none of them dared to look at Lin Kang. However, suddenly a familiar voice, one that Lin Kang did not expect, appeared at the back of the group, "It was me who started this."