Snippets

Though Sean did not have the slightest doubt that he had the wherewithal and leadership attributes to handle the CEO position, three questions lingered on his mind. One, did he have strength and the resolve to steam roll his way to the top? Two, did he have the courage to step on some toes, bruise some egos and ruffle a few feathers in his quest to achieve that all-important mission? Three, would his unrestrained ambition ultimately prove to be a benevolent blessing or a malevolent curse?

As he reflected on these questions, little did he know that in time his integrity would be severely compromised. That he would sacrifice important principles on the altar of expediency. That his mantra would be ‘if the end justifies the means, don’t look back.’ And that his overweening ambition would leave behind a trail of tragedies that would earn him enemies and haunt him for life.

Snippet Two; Chapter 3

While working on the final touches to his appearance, the self-proclaimed perfectionist walked towards the dressing table and preened himself in front of the mirror. When Sean saw his image, he mused over whether he was developing a narcissistic personality disorder. In his view, it would take inordinate dearth of imagination for anyone to consider him plain. He did not need anyone to validate the fact that he was handsome. After all, he had won the coveted title of ‘Mr. Perfection’ at the Langley Grammar School in Slough during his teenage years.

Sean reflected about his high school years. He fondly recalled there were two leading contenders for the title of ‘Mr. Perfection,’ himself and one six-foot flamboyant, handsome and cantankerous egotistic dimwit whose only claim to glory was his father’s wealth. His name was Leonardo, but his physique and impressively chiselled chest had earned him the epithet ‘The Beast.’ His well-carved abdominal muscles endeared him to girls who significantly outnumbered boys.

Presumptuously counting on the girls’ vote, The Beast had arrogantly advised Sean he was going to ride on the crest of his popularity with the girls to scoop the title. But when the numbers were tallied, Sean emerged victorious by an impressive margin of one hundred and twenty votes. The question that sealed victory for Sean was, ‘If you had the power, what would you do to change the world?’

When the question was put through to Leonardo, Sean recalled seeing all the confusion on The Beast’s face. An involuntary pause followed. Sean discerned the poor boy was all at sea. The question and the answer were not in the script. Leonardo waffled his way through the answer with a subdued voice. His eyes darted from one corner of the hall to another as he said, “Uhm, you know, I would give all children the toys they need, uhm…uhm…and-uh…I would make sure…there’s uhm…you know, some sort of equality between children and parents and-uh…”

For stating those boyish and impractical views, The Beast suffered damning humiliation at the hands of unforgiving students who booed loudly and ended up swamping his shaky voice in the process.

The demeaning booing came down so hard on Leonardo that he quietly exited the stage, his face covered with his hands, desperately trying to hide the outpouring waterworks drenching his cheeks. The Beast must have impassionately prayed for the earth to open up and swallow him.

To his credit, for the first time ever, Sean shed a tear for someone he considered a rogue. When his turn came, with measured enthusiasm, Sean who had anticipated the question confidently raised his pitch and spoke rapidly with a sense of excitement and confidence. He rehashed his well-rehearsed response, “I would find ways of stimulating the economy to create some buoyancy that would result in the generation of sustainable job opportunities for my fellow countrymen.

“I take a long-term multigenerational perspective on life. For that reason, I’m concerned about the environment. I always remind myself that none of us has secured a permanent title-deed to this planet. We are only favoured with the custodial duty of efficiently managing it for the eternal benefit of posterity. A solemn duty that we have to execute with the greatest possible care and utmost diligence. This applies to all of us, whether we are sons and daughters of the masses of the underprivileged landless or of the few privileged land barons.”

Sean paused, cast a glance at the panel of ‘judges’ seated in the front row of the hall and continued, “I have a part to play in ensuring global warming caused by avertible pollution and degradation of the environment is contained. I would lead the youth in engaging influential global leaders, be they political, commercial or civic in spreading the gospel of protecting the vast swathes of land and rainforests. I would also consider myself as the world’s special envoy endowed with the sacred environmental advocacy role of saving the endless variety of animal and marine life in our beautiful home, planet earth, the only part of the universe capable of sustaining human life.

“In conclusion, I have noticed that many of my contemporaries give up on life at an early stage, giving into social ills associated with empty instant gratification, addiction to habit forming substances and immoderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. I would embark on an organised global educational campaign targeting the youth…”

As he was speaking, Sean’s voice was drowned by loud cheers, sustained applause and whistles from the students who were already on their feet giving him his first ever standing ovation. He handled that gracefully and took three bows. Sean evoked the pleasant memory of seeing Laura, a normally sedate but extremely brilliant girl in his class passionately jumping up and down with unrestrained joy. All these memories helped Sean boost his confidence as he prepared for day one at JVM.

Fast forward to the present, Sean was content with his dress and grooming. He was not necessarily a snazzy dresser, but for some inexplicable reason, he had a strong urge to dress to the nines. He left for JVM all poshed up, energised and on top of the world.

Sean jumped into his car and drove towards Paddington Train Station where he parked his car in a parking lot approximately three hundred feet from the tube station. He used the tube to proceed to his new workplace off Oxford Street in London’s busy CBD.

He sat next to a young woman in her mid-twenties. She was elegantly dressed in a red pencil skirt, a white long-sleeved blouse with a round neck and a red jacket that matched her skirt. Her heels were red with a touch of white at the tip of the sharp point. On her lap was a glossy striped red and white pochette.

Sean picked a strong whiff of a sweet and seductive floral scent from the woman’s fragrance. She was fidgeting with her perfectly manicured nails and at the same time flipping through the pages of the Financial Times. Subconsciously aware of Sean’s interest on her, the young woman grinned nervously and in the process exposed an impressive set of perfectly crafted gleaming white teeth. These complemented her brown lips, piercing blue eyes and oval face.

In the normal London culture where locking eyes is an anathema, Sean gave a cursory glance at the young woman’s newspaper and one headline piqued his interest before the woman swiftly turned the page.

And there it was, in bold letters, on the third page of this widely read newspaper, “Sean White Lands the Plum CFO Position at JVM.” It was a surreal moment that prompted Sean to gently pinch himself on the forehead to make sure he was not dreaming. He was pleasantly chuffed and he made a mental note of buying himself a copy of the newspaper as soon as he alighted from the train at Bond Street Tube Station.

He grabbed the newspaper at a Kiosk in front of Debenhams, a big departmental store in Oxford Street. He was going to arrive early at JVM and would have ample time to devour the article carrying his story before Andrew’s arrival.

Snippet Three; Chapter 10

Alexis ventured into a trip down memory lane. He had always told his friends and family that Susan fortuitously parachuted into his life from outer space. A story he had always been keen to relate with the greatest pleasure and aplomb. He recalled theirs wasn’t a conventional love story. They had met at a restaurant Alexis liked frequenting.

Susan was the manager on duty that evening. Alexis was galled to see a small roach in his food. Nausea swept over him and he nearly threw up. He held his breath for about a minute and thereafter took three successive deep breaths. This helped him defuse the unwelcome sickening sensation. After that he drank soda water served in a chilled highball glass. But he was seething with anger and curtly demanded to speak to the manager.

Alexis was determined to give the manager a thorough dressing-down. He had expected to see a man and was on the verge of flipping out. Out emerged the well-endowed Susan. At the prime of her life. A blooming charmer in the pride of womanhood, flashing her glorious trademark smile. Confidently swaying her hips in harmony with the rhythmic sound produced by the tapping of her heels on the tiled floor. With a measure of extreme self-assuredness, the swathes of her lustrous heavenly hair caressed her shoulder blades as the velvety strands bounced back and forth on her slightly raised shoulders. She radiated resplendence in her stylish loose-fitting floral evening gown with a low neckline and three-quarter sleeves that clung beautifully to her arms.

Upon setting his eyes on Susan’s face, Alexis smiled, concertedly dissembling his true emotions. Petrified by this sudden apparition, all the anger that was glaringly visible on his face vanished in a split second, melted by the alluring power of Susan’s endearing smile. Although Alexis wanted to jump to his feet and affectionately wrap his hands around Susan, he fought with his emotions and succeeded in exercising restraint.

Alexis was captivated by the warm glimmer radiated by Susan’s sapphire blue eyes. Eyes that oozed with extraordinary selflessness and conviviality. Alexis involuntarily dropped his eyes to gaze on Susan’s décolletage. Embarrassed, he swiftly moved them up to her mouth, only to be momentarily frozen by the glossy red pillowy lips. Alexis, a self-styled fragrance cognoscente picked the punchy fusion of overpowering jasmine and subtle vanilla scents in Susan’s perfume.

The manager extended her right hand and while softly clutching Alexis’ hand, she engaged her well-rehearsed rhapsodic tone. A tone that with the passing of time Alexis got to appreciate was reserved for knocking out incensed patrons from hell off their feet.

Susan confidently said, “Good evening Sir, my name is Susan Williams. I’m the manager on duty this evening. How is your meal?” Alexis stared at Susan with a blank face and slightly trembling lips. It was as if he was hit by a wave of hot air. His sweat glands burst open and his face glowed as thin trickles of sweat rolled down his forehead, nose and cheeks. The manager handed him a tissue paper. He gently mopped the sweat that was building up on his face.

Alexis’ fury was mollified by the unignorable physical presence and immutable energy of the enchanting damsel. Like an alien from outer space, Susan had vaulted into his space out of the blue. Yes, in a way that threw him off. Though he eventually managed to garner the confidence to stammer his way through a half-hearted complaint about the roach, he did so apologetically, choosy with his words, enamoured of Susan and unwittingly succumbing to the emotions that had been tricked by his heart.

The manager apologised and offered to make up for what had happened with a complimentary meal for two. Alexis winked and gave Susan what she would later describe as an ‘endearing amorous glance.’ Alexis had regained his composure. Despite the fact that he was not actively hunting for a mate, Susan’s elegance, irresistible allure and endearing character dropped titillating ideas into the erogenous zone of his cerebrum. Alexis raised his head, with an imploring gaze he unashamedly stared at Susan and softly said, “I guess you will join me for that dinner, won’t you Madam Manager?”

Susan blushed and exclaimed, “Who am I to say no to you Sir!”

At the dinner that took place a week later, Alexis’ love for Susan caught on fire as he got intimate with his newfound chatterbox friend better. To lift the mood, Alexis had instructed the headwaiter to scatter fresh pink and red rose petals on their table. Placed on the glass centrepiece in individual crystal candlesticks were four tall, tapered and dripless vanilla scented red candles. These emitted a subtle sensual glow and created an invigorating romantic ambience to the date. Alexis and Susan’s bond was amazingly strong, akin to a relationship between childhood sweethearts. Their scintillating conversation flowed effortlessly without any disconcerting gaps. Atypical of strangers on their first date, they did not try hard to impress each other with pretentious flimflam. Both of them were sincere and genuine, naturally sucked up in a romantic whirling vortex brimming with positive emotion. Time ticked away.

On three or four occasions, their animated but barely audible conversation suffered welcome intrusion from Alexis’ spontaneous raucous laughter and Susan’s ripples of low-pitched cackles. They left the restaurant at midnight, only because, out of a natural sense of pity, they couldn’t keep ignoring the ‘please go’ stare from their glaringly agitated waiter.

From that first dinner date, Alexis was convinced that theirs was going to be a glorious relationship. A wholesome friendship that would in the context of quality, emotional connection and longevity outclass the so-called whirlwind of ‘summer romance.’

Charged with heightened adoration for Susan and glowing with a sense of pride and accomplishment, Alexis would often conclude his favourite anecdote with an unforgettable play-on-words, “That’s how my babe dropped into my lap and swept me off my feet. What I find humbling is the fact that she has always said that I was imbued with natural suaveness, and that is what won her heart. I’m convinced that ours is a match blessed with the seal of approval from the supreme being inhabiting the elevated space way above the exosphere. A place beyond the reach of mere flesh and blood.”

Snippet Four; Chapter 13

Sean was not prepared to take all this lying down. He could tell that his integrity was at stake. His survival instincts kicked in. Sean chose the path of ingratiating himself to the board. He raised his hand and was recognised by the chairman. In a surprisingly calm and collected manner, Sean launched into a harangue, carefully enunciating each key word with conviction as he threw down the gauntlet, “In my professional life, I have never been one to speak out of turn. Of course I’ve said a few home truths at this meeting that have not gone too well with some of my colleagues. Mr. Chairman, for the sake of unity, please allow me to put my conduct into perspective.”

Sean swivelled his chair to face Tony and said, “It is true that I attended the pre-board meeting. I admit that I told Alexis that I was comfortable with the board pack. But what Alexis is conveniently omitting to mention is the fact that I couldn’t have read and internalised the entire board pack the very morning of my first day at work after the car accident. I had schemed through it. Naturally my contribution was limited. I was still in pain, but the morphine capsules prescribed by the palliative doctor made it manageable. It would have been unfair and inconsiderate for anyone to confuse my limited contribution to approval of all that was captured in the board pack.

“I was not comfortable with scheming through the board pack. I couldn’t contribute meaningfully before going through the entire pack. I’m glad to say that I have now done so. In the process, I picked glaring omissions and issues that could have been crafted in a more convincing business oriented manner. Caught between a rock and a hard place, I had two options. One; to keep quiet out of a misguided sense of allegiance to my colleagues and consequently fail in performing my duty as a senior executive, or two; to mention pertinent issues and risk offending my colleagues.”

Sean paused and said, “I chose the latter, believing and rightly so, that JVM is bigger than any person. That it is unacceptable for a whole senior officer like me to be more concerned about saving faces of two or three executive directors while ignoring the more important interests of the company. That it is unconscionable for me to tread the path of dereliction of duty driven by a misplaced sense of loyalty. I deplore any narrative that speaks against this. In making business driven decisions, it is of utmost importance for me to always stay true to the dictates of my well-grounded conscience.”

The CFO went on to say, “I would surmise that as the board, you can relate to this view, especially in the context of your fiduciary responsibility of duty of care to all shareholders. Such a duty should always be of primary concern to you and should never be relegated to a level where it becomes subservient to personal interests.”

Sean continued, “My conscience has always allowed me to focus on the bigger picture and the bigger picture is the success of JVM. Not that of one or two directors serving in management. This enduring work ethic is central to my life. It will never occupy a peripheral backseat. I want to believe that this is what all self-respecting directors want from executive management. Anything less than that would imperil JVM’s performance in this competitive global economy.”

The CFO creased his forehead and focused his attention on the chairman and said, “I appreciate that I have a more noble mission to accomplish here. My sense of responsibility wouldn’t allow me to sit like a helpless spectator while I see JVM going further and faster in the wrong direction.”

Sean lowered his voice, anchored both of his elbows on the board table, his hands aimlessly moving up and down his cheeks and said, “I’m mindful of the fact that I have inadvertently ruffled a few feathers and stepped on some toes. I wish to apologise. It was not my intention to do so. After this meeting, I will expend concerted effort into mending my relationship with some of my colleagues who have been slighted by what I said.”

Like a school principal disciplining naughty pupils, Sean went on to say, “Mr. Chairman, colleagues and all directors of the board, I will always place the interests of JVM ahead of mine and ahead of those of my colleagues. This is what true business leaders should always set out to achieve. This is my calling to JVM. Complacently doing anything to the contrary would be wrong, devoid of self-respect and unethical. Mr. Chairman, I hope this clears the air and helps you appreciate my perspective, which has unfortunately been put in the worst possible light.”

Sean swerved his chair to face the acting CEO and spoke with conviction laced with minute and almost imperceptible traces of half-hearted humility, “Alexis, of all my colleagues you are the most offended. Let me proffer my sincere apology directly to you in the presence of all. Thank you Mr. Chairman.” Sean concluded his long speech, confident that he had vindicated himself with his rumble.

The CFO’s ability to grab his audience continued to impress some of the directors of the board. Awed by his charisma and the authoritative content of his speech, some believed the poor man was vilified for no good reason. One or two held the view that it takes a true leader to apologise and they were impressed when Sean singled out Alexis. But no one voiced their views.

The chairman gave Alexis a quick glance. He could tell that he was not amused by the show put up by Sean. While he was listening to Sean, Alexis discerned that the CFO was on a well-thought-out warpath. That while he had apologised, Sean’s demeanour had reflected no modicum of remorse. That Sean was not only belittling the entire management team, but specifically him in his capacity as the acting CEO. He was verily saying, get lost Alexis.

Not wanting to engage Sean in another fruitless dialogue, Alexis wanted to treat Sean’s remarks with silent contempt. But the temptation to launch a perfervid attack ended up overpowering him. Alexis gave Sean a patronising glance and fulminated with rage as he shouted, “I’ve always believed a man’s worth has never been a function of his expressiveness, but a function of his enduring intelligence and capacity to inspire respect, trust and confidence through good interpersonal relationships. Though I’m not normally disposed to passing value judgements on colleagues, Sean, I’m afraid by this measure, you are a hopeless failure. Let me share an instructive tip with you. Your contentious attitude is inconsistent with the values we uphold at JVM,”

Lowering his voice to a faint whisper, Alexis concluded his verbal judo, “If you can dish it, you should be able to take it.” He locked his eyes on Mr. Blake’s face, visibly livid and gloating over his success in giving Sean a taste of his own medicine.

Sean chose to be the bigger person. A deafening silence fell upon the boardroom when he kept a stiff upper lip. He quietly shrugged off what Alexis said, opting to end the altercation on a moral high ground. Alexis thought, ‘What a devious bald-faced liar!’

After this dialogue, there were several faint mumblings from management and board, resulting in the chairman’s call for order. Several directors of the board raised concerns that mimicked the one raised by Dr. Miles. All bemoaned the apparent lack of cohesion in the management team. Others expressed hope that time would heal the unfortunate rift that was developing among management.

All agenda items having been exhaustively discussed, the date for the next board meeting was announced by the board secretary as captured in the approved annual calendar. In his closing remarks, the chairman highlighted the need for management to work closely as a team and expressed his desire to see improvement in this area going forward.

Mr. Blake’s mind wandered again to the time he worked at the Western Bank and thought about how petty squabbles that are not nipped in the bud have the potential of driving a wedge between individual executives and board members.

In view of the item for the closed session, the management team was excused from the meeting with the exception of Alexis and the corporate counsel who doubled as the secretary to the board.