He remembered my name after hearing it only once, and he apologized to me, twice, Zhao Yunlan thought as he looked at the phone with a slight frown on his face.
Shen Wei's first day at the office was hectic, to say the least. All the executives came to formally introduce themselves to him, one by one. He had listened to the board meeting from the back room, and Zhao Xin Chi had also warned him about which ones were about to stand for Zhu Jiu. They were easy to spot - they were the ones with the biggest, most unctuous smiles, and their hands were sweaty as he shook them. He lost count of how many cups of tea he had drunk; he wisely switched to water after a while because he did not want to stay awake from the caffeine.
He was worried when Zhu Jiu was announced as his next visitor. He knew how much Zhu Jiu wanted this position, and how he had loudly voiced his feelings about him and his father in front of the board. It was true that Zhu Jiu was not particularly bright, and he showed poor judgment when he decided to hide documents during the company audit the other year. His father had to apologize publicly for the deceit, and he personally sat in the audits with the Ministry of Finance. It was the only way to restore the faith. Had it been anyone else, Zhu Jiu would have been dismissed immediately. However, he got away with a month's suspension and was confined to his house. He was family after all. Then Zhao Xin Chi had to bring that up along with his mistress. He must have been so humiliated!
But the Zhu Jiu that walked into his office was all smiles, not overly so like some of the other executives, and he was relaxed and confident.
"My dear cousin," he purred, as he took Shen Wei's hand, "Being CEO becomes you."
"Zhu Jiu, I really did not know what my father was thinking when he did this," Shen Wei nearly apologized but stopped. Zhao Xin Chi had told him not to show weakness, especially to Zhu Jiu.
"I'm sure you didn't know. But you accepted it anyway. I had no idea you had such...aspirations," Zhu Jiu said as he ran a finger over the fancy name plaque on the huge desk. "CEO Shen Wei. You even had time to have this made."
Shen Wei felt that familiar ache at his temple - it tended to happen more whenever he spoke to Zhu Jiu, he just realized. Zhu Jiu had often bullied him as a child, and while he did not use his fists anymore, he still managed to bully him to this day, in more subtle ways. But not today, he sternly told himself, and surprisingly the ache went away.
"Apparently my father had prepared this in advance, hoping that I would take the position," Shen Wei replied, looking Zhu Jiu in the eye.
"So, I'm sure you heard my little tantrum in the board room, obviously opposing you at the time. What are your plans for me, dear cousin? Will you demote me? Dismiss me?" Zhu Jiu walked over to the couch and sat down.
"It depends on you, Zhu Jiu," Shen Wei kept his voice even as he sat down, not over by the couch where his cousin sat, but in the CEO's chair, behind his desk, a quiet assertion of his power.
Zhu Jiu's eyebrows raised at this, and his knuckles tightened ever so slightly, but Shen Wei's sharp eyes noticed them.
"I was more than willing to help you in the past, and it did not matter to me who got the credit, as long as it helped the company. In fact, I should thank you for those times, for making my work get recognized. You are very charismatic, and you get people to listen to you."
Shen Wei stood up, but still remained behind his desk.
"I know I have a long way to go before I can convince everyone, including you and myself, that I am worthy to become CEO. There will be those who will try to trip me along the way, or will not pick me up, should I fall. I want to keep you close, Zhu Jiu, and not just because you are family, but because I need your help. But I also need your loyalty and support. Do I have them?"
Zhu Jiu sat in silence, analyzing what Shen Wei had just said. He knew the general sentiment of the board was wary at best, and some like himself had openly opposed the decision. If he wanted to remain in the company at his present position, he would have to declare his loyalty to Shen Wei now. He slowly stood up and walked over to Shen Wei's desk, then bowed deeply.
"I declare my loyalty and support to you, Shen Wei," he said, trying not to grit his teeth.
Shen Wei walked around the desk and held Zhu Jiu's hands in both of his.
"Thank you, Zhu Jiu," he said sincerely.
Shen Wei took a deep breath and exhaled after Zhu Jiu left the room. He knew Zhu Jiu was a double-edged sword that could easily cut him if he was not careful. He could not bring himself to release him from his duties just because of that outburst in the board room. That would not be fair, and it would only cause more opposition in Zhu Jiu's supporters. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Wise words by Sun Tzu.
"Bravo, Shen Wei! Well done!" Zhao Xin Chi clapped his hands as he entered the office.
"You heard all of that?" Shen Wei was surprised.
"Your father told me to do this," Zhao Xin Chi admitted in a silent apology. "Knowing your tendency to...wander, we installed some cameras and microphones in this office. I was concerned about the executives, especially Zhu Jiu, so I watched and listened. I had planned to monitor you for a while, but after watching you handle Zhu Jiu just now, I don't think that will be necessary. Just know that the cameras will be running, and should you 'lose time,' as you often put it, the videos may be able to help. I will never watch you live anymore, not unless you want me to."
"On the contrary, thank you for doing this," Shen Wei said, waving his hand around the room. "I feel secure, knowing that you are watching me. And being here in my father's office makes me feel like he is also here as well."
"Your father made the right decision," Zhao Xin Chi grasped Shen Wei's arm. "Now let's get going. We have a dinner with the Minister of Finance. He is the one your father had to bow to and apologize when Zhu Jiu messed up a couple years ago. He will be watching you carefully, so be on your guard. I've already called your driver. We'll go together in your car."
"Thank you, Zhao Xin Chi. I'll never forget this," Shen Wei said gratefully.
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Bzzz! The buzzing of the alarm clock made Shen Wei jump, and then he held his head when it began to pound. He slapped the alarm clock to make it stop that noise that was making the pain in his head worse. Oh, no, was he going to have another episode?
He got up, meaning to go to the bathroom and wash his face, when he tripped on several beer bottles and some leftover street food. Huh? Who had a party here and left their things here? Maybe he had his talk with the house staff to be less formal around him, and they all got together here and had an informal drink. Yes, that must be it, he told himself as he sighed in relief.
The bathroom seemed so far away with the floor swaying so much. How much did he drink anyway? Why was he drinking in the first place? He always tried to stay away from alcohol since it sometimes brought on an episode - oh! The dinner with the Minister last night! He had only one drink - he had to take it from the Minister to be polite. What happened after that? And he was still in his clothes from yesterday. He quickly ran to view the videos taken last night, and he groaned as he held his head. The videos showed him drinking and eating in his room all alone, and he was wildly gesturing at times.
He had lost time from last night to this morning.
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A/N:
What happened to Shen Wei???
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Fanfiction"Shen Wei, your mood swings are giving me whiplash." Zhao Yunlan knew that keeping up with the new CEO of Shen Enterprises would be a challenge. Based on Guardian characters created by the wonderful Priest, and heavily influenced by the Korean dram...
