"Miss Wu, can we talk in private? This is not a subject we should discuss in public."
The Secretary tried to divert the attention but Wu was just getting started, smelling something dirty going on.
"No, I want to listen to them," Wu replied with her palm raised to stop her. "Am I hearing it right? You don't want to leave the Capital but you are forced to do it? Were you threatened to be fired?"
One of the male employees stood forward and complained, "Miss Wu, it's either we move or we will be replaced by someone else. We just learned about it this morning and we don't even have time to discuss it with our families. Is this how we are treated after years of work?"
Secretary immediately counterattacked.
"It has always been like this. If we want to promote you all to a higher position, we need to see if you can manage in any situation. Moving out within a day is one of the tests. If you are resolute enough and want to climb on the ladder, such setback won't bother you."
She didn't stop and added, "It's not like we are asking you to move out forever. After one or two years you would be back in the headquarters, taking over one of the higher positions. Are we that bad for promoting you? It's all written in the contract we gave you. I'm sure you didn't read it all carefully."
With Secretary's words, the employees began to hesitate. Even for Wu such promotion seemed normal. The things that rubbed her wrong were the lack of choice the employees received and lack of communication. Why was everything rushed without her knowledge?
Wu gazed at the Secretary and seeing her calmness, she could tell who was the culprit behind it.
"I agree this is a good opportunity but I am against such an aggressive approach. No one will be forced to move out against their will, you have my word. If you want to stay in the Headquarters, Trade Union will definitely not fire you," Wu assured openly. "Why would we fire someone we wanted to promote in the first place? That would be ridiculous. Don't you think so Secretary?"
Her question got ignored as the Secretary asked with her brows knitted, "What about the new employees coming to the headquarters? Although we don't want to make the exchange mandatory, we need to vacant some spots to bring new blood. It is harsh but we have no other choice if we have the Trade Union future in mind."
"Don't worry, there is plenty of work available. We will find them something suitable," Wu said confidently. "We will not force our employees to move out against their will. We didn't spend so much effort into teaching them just to let them go."
"As you wish, Miss Wu," Secretary agreed after a brief pause.
"Please go to my office and inform the client I will arrive shortly. I will settle this matter first," Wu ordered.
Secretary didn't complain anymore, bowing slightly as she walked away, "Yes, Miss Wu."
"And one more thing," Wu stopped her after a few steps. "All changes have to go through me. I won't tolerate it again if this repeats without my knowledge."
Secretary grew visually annoyed but she still smiled with a nod, "Of course."
With her gone, Wu turned to the silent employees and suggested, "I will give you a day to think about what you want to do. Go home after work and discuss it with your family. I will respect your decision and you won't be treated worse if you decline. Everyone has their reasons. For now, just focus on your tasks."
They all instantly brightened with gratitude.
"Thank you, Miss Wu!"
Wu only smiled in response and gazed at her two bodyguards.
"Follow me."
They looked at each other confused as they would follow her anyway and caught up with her as she already walked in the same direction as the Secretary. She didn't walk up the stairs to her office though but entered one of the conference rooms on the way.
"What do you think?" She questioned right after the doors closed. Even a dumb man would realize what she was talking about.
"Secretary should have informed Miss Wu before the change but she has an excuse why she didn't. Usually, she was the one who handled matters like those without President Wu need for approval. But, although she settled such cases, they didn't happen often," one of the guards explained.
He paused before continuing, "It is quite a coincidence the entire floor of management is being replaced in a single day, right after President Wu departs. It's a big change, so she would normally need his approval for this. With Miss Wu taking the charge, Secretary would require your permission instead. I'm not sure how she pulled it off without it."
"Damn, I knew something was off…" Wu cursed. She could sense a plot from a mile away. "Did you notice anything weird lately?"
The two thought for a moment before both of them paled as if they realized something bad at the same time.
"Tell me," Wu demanded, frowning. She wasn't scared of any challenges.
"For some reason, we felt like there are a lot of new faces within the guards today. We didn't pay it much attention as the guards change every now and then. Our task is protecting Miss Wu and we focused on that," the two admitted while hesitating. "What if—"
"—Secretary is behind all of it and tries to forcefully take over the Headquarters?" Wu finished for them, her face turning grim.
The two guards weren't any better, sweating from just the thought of it.
"This is not good… She has more than enough connections to make it happen…" the guard muttered worriedly.
"Huh? Really?" Wu asked in surprise. "Isn't she just a Secretary?"
"She is more than a Secretary," the guards replied while scratching their heads. "She is more like President Wu's hidden lover. Everyone already knows about it but we don't speak about it. How else would she get so much power, acting as she pleases in President Wu's name?"
"She must have been planning this for a while… First, she sacrificed her body to gain my grandpa's trust, then build up her power in the Trade Union over the years only to strike while he is away," Wu theory-crafted.
"But how can she keep the power like this? Once President Wu comes back, he will get it back. She can't control all branches from the headquarters alone. They are almost as big as the headquarters and equally powerful. Once President Wu calls for help, all powerful experts will arrive and kill her. One cannot simply self-proclaim as a Trade Union President. They need to be approved by all other Presidents," the guard countered.
"Maybe she is not after the power? What else does Trade Union have that she could want?" Wu asked and her mind flashed her with an ideal answer.
"Treasures." Both she and the guards said it at the same time.
"Trade Union's money is safely stored in the Central Bank, so it's hard to claim. Treasures are much easier in comparison. She only requires the key to the Treasury which only President Wu has."
"He didn't pass it to me and I doubt he would pass it to her else she wouldn't need to scheme. She could just enter inside and steal the treasures," Wu said convinced.
"So her target must be the high-tier Treasures, but she can't just break into the treasury else everyone would stop her. Even if she has a way to do so, she needs to first exchange all the employees with her own people. Everything makes sense now."
The guards breathed out deeply.
"Miss Wu, are you sure this is exactly what Secretary wants? Maybe she just forgot to inform you about it?" The guard asked in hesitation. "If Miss Wu's theory turned out to be true, this would be a really scary development…"
"I am ninety percent sure. I can tell she is a schemer. I met a lot of them in my life." Wu nodded confidently. "What's more, she will probably try to catch me and use me as her backup plan. The client is probably an excuse to lure me into a trap. If there was an important meeting scheduled, my Grandpa would have told me about it."
"Trap…?" the guards' eyes widened. "Secretary is not that stupid. She wouldn't hurt you, Miss Wu. If she did, the whole Trade Union would hunt her down and President Wu wouldn't stop till she is dead. It is not really a smart move."
"Oh, she won't hurt me but that's her only backup. I'm probably the only one my Grandpa cares about. She would only release me once she is safe and her robbery is successful," Wu suggested with a smile, acting as if she didn't talk about her own kidnapping.
"Miss Wu… What do we do then?" the guards questioned. "Miss Wu must have a plan while being so calm. Shall we contact President Wu?"
Wu immediately shook her head.
"No need. We can handle it by ourselves. It just happens that she chose the wrong person to mess with. Someone, who is an even bigger schemer than her. Hehe."