The Insider

Chapter 4

As fun as it is to catch-up with Glen, Lawrence's demeanor suddenly shifted as he spies a familiar figure approaching his office door.

"Dude, I never knew I have the power to summon the devil, but why is Crazy Karen walking towards my office door?" Lawrence asked Glen.

"Really?" Glen sounded surprised on the other end. "She didn't tell me she'll go there. She only told me she'll go check some matters with Finance."

"Call you later, dude. She'll be here in t-minus 10 seconds."

Lawrence gently placed the phone back to its hook as he stood up to greet Karen.

"Good afternoon, Ma'am. To what do I owe you the pleasure of your visit?" He asked charmingly while extending his hands for Karen to shake.

"Shut the fuck up, Renz," Karen retorted.

Ever the potty mouth, Lawrence thought that Karen is the epitome of the idiom "look like a woman, think like a man, and work like a horse". Already approaching her fifties, she is still as stunning as the day he first met her. She isn't the usual beauty but the strength of her character can be felt across the room. She's got wise eyes and a fit figure for a woman her age, thanks to her passion for running.

She seated herself on the accent chair across Lawrence's desk without invitation and spoke with a somber tone, "We've got a problem, Renz."

Sensing danger, Lawrence walked over to where Karen was sitting and asked her what the matter is.

Karen looked over her shoulder to the rest of the entire office floor, let out a sigh and looked back at Lawrence, seeking his eyes. "We've been fucked over, as in royally fucked over," she said with a low seething voice. "One of our people in Thailand jumped ship to our competitors."

"What? What happened? How did you know?" Lawrence asked aghast.

"Well, I was watching the stocks as I usually do when I noticed sudden increase in the trading of EMC's stocks. I had a hunch Lawrence, that something's wrong, and never have I been disappointed that I was right, until this time.

"I called up Finance, compared notes with them and found that EMC's stocks are up by 1.8% in a matter of hours." Karen said in a gloomy tone, staring at the floor.

Lawrence looked confused, "I don't understand, Karen. What's this got to do with us?"

"That's what I thought too, Lawrence," Karen once again raised her eyes to look at him. "That's what I thought too until I received this message from Tran on my way back to my office."

Lawrence took Karen's phone from her reluctantly, he then saw Tran's face, the Research Director in their Thai partner's firm, on the sender's logo.

We're in deep shit, Ms. Karen. One of our Engineers was fired from the firm. As payback, he sold all Project Phoebe data to any willing bidder. Unfortunately, EMC got it.

We're already doing our best to do damage control here in base. Let's work together to mitigate our losses on both sides.

"Oh god, Karen," Lawrence was lost for words after reading the text message.

"I already told the President. They're throwing ideas in Legal on what to do about it," Karen reported, sounding dejected and lost.

This is the first time that Lawrence saw Karen look so beaten. Gone was the feisty demeanor that he's been accustomed to in all the years that he's worked with her.

"Why are you here, Karen?" Lawrence asked. "Why aren't you in the Legal Office discussing what to do about this as I'm sure the other bosses are?"

"I'm an Engineer Lawrence, through and through. I don't belong in that stuffy conference room. I need action plans on how to fix the problem through the technical side." Karen addressed Lawrence and the latter understood.

Slowly, he could swear that he can hear Karen's mind's gear already whirring into work.

"What do you want me to do, Ma'am?" Lawrence asked.

"You're trained with handling the program. You're the best man to find a solution to our problem, more than anyone."

"Thank you for your trust, Karen," Lawrence said, placing his hands in his pockets. "But I can't do this on my own, I need my team with me," he continued.

"About that, yeah...uhm...you can't disclose this to just anyone, Renz," Karen said with a low voice, once again glancing towards the other part of the office.

"Most of us here are stockholders of the company, too. So if this information leaks out, we might run the risk of our stockholders suddenly selling out their shares," Karen stated as she looked upon Lawrence's face, searching, looking for a lifeline, an ally during this troubled times.

"There's a shitstorm coming and we must try to contain the situation as long as we can before everything hits the fan. This scandal can ruin our revenues, hell, even the company itself, big time." Karen said, contemplating on their impending doom.

"I trust you, Lawrence. Please do your best to save all our asses," Karen finished. She stood up and turned to leave the room.

Lawrence stared at her back, thinking what he'll do with the issue and asking himself why the burden has befallen upon his shoulders.

Just before Karen left the room, she said, with her hands already on the half-opened door, "And prepare your report by tomorrow. We'll proceed with the scheduled Board meeting. Goodbye."

Lawrence combed his hair with his hands in frustration, sighed heavily, and fell on his chair as he stared at the now empty doorway.