After Emily and Jazmine disappeared into the office, the quiet working environment broke into a heated discussion. Since the discipline at Tang Enterprise was strict, employees had to painfully constrain the raging gossip in their tummies till the lunch break.
At lunch break on the fifth floor.
"The woman who was followed by Mei Xiu... was she really our new President?"
"Are you an idiot? Who else could she be if not for our new President, the Chairman's granddaughter? Have you ever seen Mei Xiu give anyone face in this company other than the Chairman?"
"But... She looked so different from what rumours say..."
"I know right? Did you just look at her? Her bearing was just top-notch. I dare compare her with our Chairman. She is indeed his daughter" A young female employee was particularly impressed by Jing Lihua. Her eyes were sparkling in excitement and she kept on praising her.
However, among the heated gossip, there was a plentiful of criticism too.
"Why are you guys so impressed with her already? Does a person's attire dictate everything? Knowledge and experience are something too." Osbert said nonchalantly.
"What a joke! Didn't she just get married just a few days back? What is she even here for? A woman's job is to assist her husband and raise his children. I thought after the marriage, Tang enterprise would directly come under the justification of Anderson enterprise."
"What? Are you trying to use medieval-age philosophy to support your claim? How shameless of you." Violet, who had been greatly influenced by Jazmine, jumped in to defend her.
"What now? Do you feel offended because you are a woman? This is true though. Whenever a woman handles things, she messes up." Osbert retaliated.
Unfortunately, in that area, there were a lot of middle-aged men who agreed with Osbert's views.
"Even the Anderson Enterprise Chairman handed the position of President to his nephew David rather than his direct daughter. And Su enterprise is the top one in our city. Doesn't that prove anything?"
"You....! Mind your words! That's only because his daughter is only interested in the entertainment industry!" Violet argued.
"Your point holds no weight. If President Anderson trusted women, he would have nurtured his daughter. But that doesn't matter. I am just disappointed in Chairman Harrison. Just because she is a direct descendant, he chose her. The chairman should have put his company's future over his bloodline. Such a pity that all other competent grandsons of the Harrison family were not chosen. If the chairman could only be unbiased..." Osbert sighed in dejection.
"You are right. Damon Harrison had been quite competent these past few years. Have you heard about Jazmine? They said she used to rank last in her class. She was even kicked out of her university during the third semester because of her nonserious attitude. Someone who hasn't even completed her studies... how can you expect her to bring a change?" Someone added.
Violet fell silent. She was a young woman with not much experience. Those against her were her seniors. She didn't know what to say in her new President's defence without offending them.
The critics continued to drag on.
"It was better she never showed up. With no experience, she is obviously going to disrupt the natural course of things and mess up the company more than they already are!" the same person added.
"You guys...! Aren't you getting too far? I admit she might lack experience, but give her a chance before judging. But that doesn't even matter. She is still your company's President and if you are loyal to your work, you must respect her."
"Huh! Loyalty..." Osbert scoffed.
"What do you mean by this?" Violet was startled at the response.
"Since you are from the inspection department, you might not know this. However, in the last five projects, the company had suffered heavy losses. You already know that the company had to sell its stock to survive. After Chairman's health declined, he had not been able to fully look after the company. With even more inexperienced leadership, the company would soon have to sell more of its stocks. It might reach a point that Chairman's and his granddaughter's shares recede to less than fifty per cent. We might have a new President then." Osbert sneered. "We might have to change or loyalties soon."
"Or worse... The company might just go bankrupt." One of them declared.
"That doesn't matter. Since we joined this company, we should stick with it to the end. And I believe that our new President would bring in a nice change."
"See? That's why I say that women should stay at home and look after children. They follow no logic. They are fanatical and emotionally drawn. They have no reasonable approach..."
"Just being passionate about your job doesn't mean being fanatical..."
"...Fine. You can stick with this company with passion till it goes bankrupt. After that, you can go find yourself a nice man to look after and raise his children. While to those gentlemen who actually have to take responsibility here, I advise you all to start looking for new jobs. Tang enterprise might not be worth it in the future." Osbert laughed.