Chapter 126 - The Meeting

Martheus Hayfield paced around his office floor nervously. He knew who was about to reach his office. In fact, he had to cancel all pre-existing appointments just to facilitate this meeting. Even though Martheus was on the Forbes 100 list for most successful leaders, his success was more or less thanks to the Tobion Family.

Without the stable foundation and vast networking background, the Hayfield Limited group would not have become the monster that they were today. And now, the lady head of the Tobion Family was gracing her presence today, of course everything else was to be put on hold.

The reason why Martheus was so nervous was because usually, whenever someone from the Big family comes for inspection or a meeting, it would be a result of bad news. The last time round, Jerrard Tobion, the second cousin of the Family head came, it was to break the news that the fundings for Urban Expansion in Country Z would be cut down by 20%. This was because the company wasn't able to meet the annual expected growth and as such, the allocation of financial resource was to be cut down and used some where else.

As a result, Martheus had to call for a structural shift in the company's employment structure to cut costs, causing many employees to be laid off. It was quite a debacle, but they couldn't do anything about it as it was the command from above.

Since the Lady head was coming, Martheus was thinking that the news that she brought was even more catastrophic, maybe even the closing down of the entire company. After all, nothing is impossible for such a giant shadow family.

"Ding.."

The elevator sound rang in the large office space. Martheus stood beside the door and waited for it to open. His hands were placed in front of his body and back upright and firm. When the door opened, he bowed 45 degrees and greeted the lady.

"Good morning Madam. It is an honour for you to grace your presence in my company." The CEO spoke eloquently, without showing his nervousness.

"Good morning to you too, Martheus." Melanie did not look back when she replied. She walked forward to the CEO's table and elegantly sat down in the main seat. Martheus followed along with his head looking at the ground. He then sat in the seat that was usually for his employees. The atmosphere was rather cold and stiff.

Melanie was like Gray. When it came to business, her attitude portrayed to others would be cold and aloof. She would never smile or joke around, unless she was dealing with her family. Only those that were close to her would get to see her true self. In the cruel business world, there was a need to have a strong front if you would like to demand respect from others. A kind and soft-hearted superior cannot go far and would be stopped at the gates of success.

"Martheus," Melanie went straight to the point as soon as her subordinate sat down, "I came here today to assign a task for your company. Do you have know of all your competitors in Country Z?"

"Yes, Madam. Our company's Analytics Department would prepare a Competitive Analysis paper annually and present to the directors and me." Martheus answered quickly. He didn't want to waste his boss's time.

"Good. Then you should know about the Copperfield Foundations and their overall development."

Martheus recalled the meeting that he had recently and at breakneck speed, sifted out the information that he needed. The CEO that was in the Forbes 100 list was by no means a dumb person.

"Yes madam. They currently hold approximately five percent of Country Z's properties. They are by no means a high risk competitor for our company."

"Well.. The reason I am here today was to task you on removing Copperfield Foundations from Country Z's ground."

"Pardon?" Martheus looked confused. He couldn't really catch on to what his boss was saying.

"What I mean by that is that, I want you to completely crush this puny company." Holding a piece of paper in her hand, she held it in front for the man to see.

"Like this paper in my hand, I am asking you to smash it up and allow for the shredder to tear it into smithereens." She followed through with her action with an emotionless expression on her face.

A chill ran through Martheus's body when he saw her action. Even though she was just demonstrating it with a piece of paper, she was actually talking about a company that had a strong foundation in Country Z.

Shredding it to smittereens? Only a big family like the Tobion Family would have the resources to do that. After all, it is easily achievable by the Hayfield Group to weaken an enemy's share. But to completely wipe them off the face of this earth? It was a hard thing to do.

"Do you now understand what I am getting at?" Melanie repeated herself to wake the CEO up from his stupor.

"I.. I.. Understand Madam." Martheus bit his lower lip as he answered. He didn't know if he should ask, but he decided to follow through. "However, may I request for some financial aid in toppling the Copperfield Foundations?"

The surrounding was silent. Melanie did not speak for a good five seconds, before giving him an answer. "Alright."

With that, Martheus could finally relax a little from his predicament. Since there was additional backing from the Tobion Family, it was definitely possible to wipe them out.

"I will be expecting results from you within two months time." Melanie headed for the elevator while speaking about the deadline. She stood in the elevator and continued talking. "If the deed is not completed by then, you would have to face the consequences. Understand?"

"Yes Madam." Martheus bowed slightly. The door closed in front of him. He could feel his back was drenched in cold sweat. That short meeting was the scariest thing that happened to him in his life.