Chapter 574 Hear Of Her Own Gossip Again
Klein's smile was faint.
"Of course."
After that, the meeting officially began.
Most of the people at Solomon Energy were following Klein's lead.
Everyone had initially thought that once Solomon Energy got back on track, Darwin would definitely hand it over to Klein.
But Darwin got married, and suddenly Solomon Energy had a new boss.
At first, when everyone knew that the other party was the heir to a powerful financial group, they were just a bit uncomfortable.
But recently, that heir had turned out to be none other than Fiona who had in the past rivaled Klein for the control of Solomon Energy.
With this revelation, everyone's attitudes started to undergo a subtle shift.
Who didn't know?
Fiona, back in the day, had used Darwin's favor to do as she pleased, even daring to vie for the presidency of Solomon Energy.
As a result,
throughout the entire morning meeting,
there were indeed quite a few who were looking to stir up trouble.
The group had conspired the previous night over drinks. Their main goal today was to ensure that Fiona would be humiliated. However, things didn't go as planned.
Fiona, with her Charles-like tact, defused every professional slight and attack they aimed at her with grace, leaving no room for critique. The morning meeting, which extended for four exhausting hours, took an unexpected turn—as it was Fiona who subtly exposed their professional mistakes, leaving them feeling embarrassed instead.
Although she didn't coldly reprimand them upon finding a fault like Darwin, Her approach still made them feel as if they'd lost face.
"Today's meeting ends here," Fiona announced, glancing at the clock and then at the employees, who acted like players defeated in a game. "This is my first time participation in the operations of Solomon Energy and corporation with all of you. There are shortcomings on both sides. I hope we can put aside our prejudices and work together to better manage Solomon Energy in days to come."
With that, Fiona stood up, nodded slightly to the room, and left the meeting space.
A deathly silence followed until one of the executives, who didn't get along with Klein, stood up chuckling. "You know, that was quite the targeted questioning. Aren't you scared of the trouble you'll bring if Darwin finds out?"
"What do you mean by targeted questioning?" Klein retorted with a sneer. "Shouldn't our boss at least have some professional knowledge?"
"But Fiona does," the happily smiling executive replied. "And not only does she know her stuff, she pointed out mistakes some of you big shots made. You've got to respect that ability. I know I do."
Klein and his people were at a loss for words.
Just then, the CEO's Secretary entered. "Ladies and gentlemen, Fiona has arranged a seafood lunch for everyone at the restaurant across the street. Please enjoy."
"Fiona is such a great person!" the cheerful executive who opposed Klein called out to the others. "After a long morning meeting, it's time to recharge. Let's go!"
Most people were delighted and followed the executive out, leaving Klein's group with soured expressions. "What's our next move, Klein?" they inquired uneasily.
"I've done so much for Solomon Energy. Does Darwin think he can just kick me to the curb? No way!" Klein gritted his teeth. "Either Fiona leaves, or I take my people and leave. Let Darwin decide."
A few of Klein's people exchanged uneasy glances. Leave? That was ludicrous. Who in the industry could compete with Solomon Energy's salaries and benefits? One of them had won a two-bedroom apartment at last year's company drawing, a luxurious property with an average price per square foot of $22,000. It's impossible for workers from other campanies to receive such benefits.
In other companies, all perks come with strings attached—when you leave the company, you return them.
Darwin's gifts came with no strings attached.
Last year, the middle management team made a fortune, each pocketing bonuses in the hundreds of thousands; in other companies, they could only dream of such amounts. How could anyone even think of leaving?
Klein was totally in the dark about this. His mind was clouded with rage at having lost the position of president.
Fiona hadn't had a meeting like this in a long time. She just got back to her office and was about to call Darwin to discuss Klein's situation. As she opened the door, someone swept her into the arms.
Fiona was flabbergasted. She looked up at Darwin, "When did you get here?"
"After I dropped off Charles and Chicago at school, I came over," Darwin said, smiling warmly at her. "I've got the video conference feed synced to my computer. I have watched the whole thing. My wife is truly impressive!"
"Of course!" Fiona patted his hand. "Put me down, will you? What would people think if they saw us?"
"Oh." Darwin set her down on the sofa. "Klein seems rather disgruntled. He wouldn't be surprised if he starts throwing his weight around," Fiona mentioned.
Darwin responded with an indifferent tone, "In this company, anyone can be replaced immediately, Klein is no exception." Whether it was Solomon or Solomon Energy, no employee in Darwin's industries was irreplaceable.
Of course, the Secretary Woods was an exception.
"As long as you're aware." Fiona nodded.
Darwin stayed to have lunch with Fiona before heading to the Solomon Building.
Fiona, feeling restless in the unfamiliar setting, couldn't take her usual nap. She decided to head to the company's outdoor lounge, ordered a milk tea, and basked in the late autumn sun.
Then, she overheard some gossip.
She had just sat down when two couples arrived. As soon as they settled, they dived into passionate gossip: "Did you see the Secretary Woods yet?"
"Nope, went straight up the private elevator to the meeting floor. But—I heard Klein tried to mess with the Secretary Woods today and got his comeuppance!"
"I heard about that too! It was so satisfying, I had extra helpings at lunch!"
"Hey, did you hear about that incident last year?"
"What incident?"
"About Lilian. She fought for ages to take over our energy company, and then Darwin publicly rejected her proposal at the meeting!"
"Oh, that? Shocking. Lilian acts so pretentious, but with the clout from being Darwin's... Darwin's first love, how many shady things has she done? A colleague from the public relations department at Solomon left because of her bullying. Do you know why she bullied her?"
"Why?"
"She had a good relationship with Secretary Woods before Lilian came to the company. Lilian spread some rumors about Secretary Woods and naturally, so she came to Secretary Woods's defense. Hence, Lilian had her eye on that colleague!"
"It's not exactly breaking news. Do you know how many seasoned employees have left Solomon in the last two years? Most of them were close to Secretary Woods..."
Fiona was silent. She had no idea about this situation.
"Who could have imagined the President of Solomon Energy, whom Lilian has been pining for, is now in Secretary Woods's hands. Ah, seeing Lilian's unrequited love is oddly satisfying for me."
"Totally! I'm so curious to see what Secretary Woods really looks like. It's killing me. Everyone who has met her says she's not photogenic, yet she looks so good in photos, she must be stunning in person!" "
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