Eliza walked away from them with a smirk. She had initially thought of firing the rude secretary, but decided not to. Her reason was simple. Firing the woman would have been too easy. Instead, Eliza was going to torture her mentally. Everyday, she would live in fear, and anxiety. Always watching her back, wondering when the other shoe would drop. Being careful at every moment, and wondering what would happen next. It would keep her constantly on her toes, and it would make her want to do all she could to please Eliza. That was a more fitting punishment.
The conference hall was noisy when Eliza stepped in.
"Settle down." Eliza said as she walked to the small podium, but it was like she was talking to the walls, and not to humans.
She remembered what her last days working here were like. When rumours were flying around about her being fired and disowned. It was just like this. No one listened to her orders anymore, and most used every opportunity to disrespect her to her face, no longer afraid of her family name because they abandoned her.
"We all have important duties to attend to, not being summoned to an unnecessary meeting just because…"
She didn't let the manager that was speaking finish his statement.
"You're fired, Manager Curt. Security, escort him out, and make sure he clears his desk in ten minutes, or arrest him for trespassing." She said calmly.
Like a tidal wave, the hall began to quieten, starting from those closest to Curt, till the end of the hall.
"W.wha… You can't… That's imp.possible."
"I can, and I just did. You're fired. Most of you must have heard the announcement at the press conference, but obviously, it wasn't taken seriously. Else, I wouldn't be standing here, being disrespected by my employees. So I'll use you as an example to the others, and as you can see, it worked. I can hear a pin drop in here now. So thank you for offering yourself for a demonstration. Now get out. Your clock is ticking, and you'll be arrested soon if you're still here when the ten minutes I gave you elapses."
The two guards by the doors finally got to him through the crowd and began to pull him away.
"Do not resist, or we will remove you forcefully."
"No, wait. I'm sorry, Miss Eliza. I apologise. It will never happen again. Forgive me. I need this job. It won't happen again, I swear it!"
"Of course it won't happen again. You won't be here to make it happen. And it's Mrs Eliza. That's my husband." She smiled as she pointed at Alrik, who winked at her.
Curt was still pleading while he was dragged out, and no one tried to stand up for him.
"It seems only the security personnel for the company are fully on board with the change in management. I called this meeting to officially inform you that I am now the CEO of this company."
They began to murmur but she raised her hand and the hall was immediately silent again.
"Whatever opposition you hear concerning this news is false, or just a nuisance. I assure you, this news is legitimate, else it would not have been announced to the public. Crestview Group is fully backing my claim to the company since I am now the majority shareholder, and also got a partnership deal signed. For now, this meeting was called since I can't speak to every employee here at the moment. So that's your job. Pass the information along to your respective departments. Make sure everyone is aware of the new management change and make sure they're prepared for it."
A hand went up among the crowd and she pointed at the male to speak. His employee badge identified him as one of the department heads, Charlie.
"What exactly are we to say we're being prepared for?" He asked.
"Change. A lot is going to change now that I'm back in management. I will be reviewing every department one at a time to determine where the losses and excesses causing this company's waning profit comes from. I will also be doing a performance review and give feedback accordingly. Don't bother trying to erase anything, because I already have forensic accountants, and other consultants currently going through the database. If you have skeletons in your closet, I suggest you come to me on your own and confess. If you don't, the punishment will be much worse, and I don't just mean that you'll be fired. Expect jail time. Does that answer your question?" She asked and he nodded.
She looked around and observed that some people looked pale, while others were unaffected. She guessed that the pale ones must have committed one crime or another, no matter how small and were now contemplating their life choices.
"That will be all for now. We'll reconvene when I have anything new to share. Get back to work."
As they dispersed, Alrik walked up to her.
"So what's next, Mrs CEO?"
"Claiming my new office. I have a feeling that Francis won't be willing to let it go so easily." She sighed and rubbed her forehead like she was preparing for the headache her brother would undoubtedly cause her.
"I'll come with you, and we can take two of the security guys to handle him, and move things. You are absolutely not allowed to stress yourself."
"I don't know what I would do without you." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Now, let's go face Francis."