CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
AFTER THE BOARD CONFERENCE
The next day, Michael was in a dressing room when his dad and Mr. George entered. Michael was wearing a dark brown tuxedo, with a white shirt underneath it. His hair was sleek. Neatly combed and styled to the back. The people dressing him shifted aside when they saw Alfred Watts walk in.
"Michael, are you ready?" He asked while checking out his attire.
Michael nods, "Yes, Dad." he looks at Mr. George and greets him.
"George!"
Mr. George smiles. "Let's pray that people will find good strength to take their eyes off you," he said, and Alfred laughed. The people in the room just gave a good-natured smile.
Michael gave a small smile.
"You'll be standing in front of a lot of people. You'll be okay with that, right?" Mr. George asked.
"That's not a problem" Michael reassured them.
Alfred Watts smiled.
"What about the reporter?" He asked.
"They won't be asking extra questions. I already made sure of that"
Alfred Watts nods, "Are you guys done?" He asked the people dressing Michael up.
"Yes, Sir. You can go now," one of them replies as they all stand back and bow while Alfred Watts, Michael, and Mr. George walk out.
****
They arrived at where the conference gathering would take place. The hall was filled with men in suits and some ladies. They were all board members and others were investors. Some of them were discussing with other board members.
Michael entered with his father and Mr. George. The meeting had started already. Then everywhere became very quiet except for the man speaking on stage. A woman walks up to them, and with a smile on her face, she leads them to the front seat. His father slightly bowed his head in greeting when he saw some men he recognized. Alfred Watts took a seat. Michael and Mr. George too.
Michael looks around. The reporters sat on the left side of the room with their cameras and stuff. Some were sitting and typing rapidly on their laptops. At strategic places in the room were bodyguards, each of them alert to all that was going on.
"Are you nervous?" His father whispers to him.
"A little" Michael replied.
Mr. Alfred holds his hand, "You're gonna do just well. Okay?"
Michael nods.
Not long after, Mr. George was called to the stage, and he did a little vote of thanks and then introduced Alfred Watts and his son, Michael Watts. The people clapped when Alfred and his son stood up. They sat down and Mr. George continued. After his speech, he calls Michael up to the stage.
Mr. Alfred squeezed Michael's palms softly. Michael smiled at that as he stood up, amidst all the claps, and he walked up to the stage and stood at the place Mr. George had vacated to stand on the other side of the podium, still beside Michael. When he stands before the microphone, the clap dies down.
Michael paused for a while. He was not seeing any of the faces below very clearly because the spotlight was on him. But he was able to see his father's face clearly. He was in the front row, and he was smiling very widely.
Michael smiled softly and spoke into the microphone,
"Hello, everyone! I'm Michael Watts. CEO of DreamWatts" he paused when he heard claps from the audience. When the claps subsided, continued,
"Thank you all for coming to this meeting. It means a lot to me and it shows me how much you support my proposal to lead our new subsidiary company, DreamWatts. I want to thank my Dad, Chairman of WattsHouse, Alfred Watts..."
The audience was already clapping again, and Michael waited for it to die down.
"When I brought up the idea of a new subsidiary company, he demanded a proposal and when I gave it to him, he bought the idea very quickly. I was saying to myself then, 'won't he even think about it, huh?'" Michael chuckles.
The audience chuckles too.
"But then, he helped me through every process. The funding, the investors, and more ideas. Thank you so much, Dad!" He bowed.
There were claps again. Alfred Watts just sat there smiling.
"I also want to thank the company, WattsHouse, for agreeing to form this new company and for the majority of board votes it got. I'm so grateful for that." he bowed again, and the audience clapped.
"I won't be saying so much, so I don't take much of your time, okay?" He smiles.
Small joyful noises were heard from the audience.
And then Michael started his speech with the projector showcasing the company's brand and products and also plans to move forward. After all of that, one of the people from the press asks,
"What are the innovative measures, tech-wise, would you be bringing into this new company? Let's say, artificial intelligence?" She asked, adjusting her glasses.
Her partners were typing rapidly while waiting for Michael's reply.
Michael blinked twice,
"The rise of artificial intelligence is something I can't dispute, and honorably, we'll be using it very effectively for speed and ease in the company's activities," he said.
"Should the employees be worried?!" Another asks.
Michael smiles, "Of course not. As the company grows, so will the number of employees. I promise that AI won't replace human labor except where necessary. Even now and in the future. Just as other subsidiaries are thriving well, it will be the same at DreamWatts. It has to be because we would be dealing more with connecting human-to-human interactions rather than machine-to-human interactions. Therefore, the human touch will always be needed and recognized" he explained.
This elicited murmurs and nods of approval from the audience. They were impressed. Immediately, they all started clapping when Michael gave his ending speech. He ended again with a word of gratitude before stepping down from the podium.
Mr. Alfred introduced Michael to a lot of people. He got new investors joining his new company and they were so happy to work with him.
****
Michelle cleaned off the tears on her face and sniffed. Kelvin and Sylvester turn to look at her.
Kelvin hands her a handkerchief, "Why are you crying, Mich?"
She sniffs again collecting the handkerchief.
"I don't know. Seeing him there just brings tears to my eyes. I'm sorry, guys" she cleans off another set of tears.
Sylvester sighed as he adjusted the phone stand.
"He told you about it, but you didn't tell us"
"I did; you guys weren't just listening," she replied.
Kelvin nods at Sylvester.
"Oh!" That was all Sylvester said.
They watched his final speech, which made the audience clap. Kelvin and Sylvester couldn't help but smile.
"Will this be broadcasting everywhere?!" Sylvester asked.
"I don't think so. It's a private meeting, which is why Michael sent the link to Mich personally. It's gonna air text but not video," Kelvin explained and looked at Michelle, "You're still crying?" He asked.
"I'm overwhelmed!" She sniffs hard again.
"Over..." They both sigh. "You want Michael to see you like this, with puffy eyes and a watery nose. Come here. I'm gonna take a pic of you and show Michael"
While he was still arguing with her, Sylvester took a picture of her. That turned her attention to both of them and they teased her non-stop.
****
Mr. George excused himself and entered one of the spaces in the men's restroom. He was through and about to walk out but paused when he heard three footsteps enter. They were talking and it was about Michael.
"Now I've finally seen him with my eyes; I'm gonna work so hard to gain his favor," he heard the first man say.
Water started rushing from the tap.
Another chuckles softly. "Are you sure it'll work? I heard he's a snob. More brutal than Alfred"
"What can a sixteen-year-old do? Just because he's the CEO at an early age. That's privilege rights. He knows nothing" the first man said again.
"Oh! Are you saying that because he launched a new company that everyone is buying into? Tho it's a good idea. But then, I heard he's a soft boy. His father pampers him a lot. Alfred's so overprotective of him. I'm not even sure if he'll be able to lead the company after his father. WattsHouse is not a kid's play store"
"Fools! Can't they just leave already..." Mr. George muttered softly. He hears another say again.
"Mmmh! I guess you guys got the wrong info. That's because I know he leads most of the major progress happening in the company. The subs most especially. He just hands them over to competent hands and stays in the shadows. Just like he did today again. He's leading WattsHouse cos I'm very sure Alfred's gonna add up his shares to his. That George too"
Mr. George smiles at that statement.
"Was that his hair? Alfred has a son with such beautiful features. That's the kind of genes I want for my daughter. The one studying in France. I guess it's time to bring her back. It won't hurt to try being a Watts, huh!" The first man said.
"Unfortunately for me...my darling wife has refused to bear me a princess. It's not easy trying to deal with seven sons" another said.
They all laugh. The taps stopped rushing, and Mr. George heard one walk to collect the tissue. Mr. George had earlier rolled his eyes at what the first man had said about making his daughter come back to engage Michael.
"Is it just me, or is that boy rude, despite being soft-spoken?" The second man said and scoffed.
"Either way, he's marrying my daughter," the first man said again as they all walked out, and their voices faded away.
Mr. George sighed and gave a small smile.
"Do I say losers or no?" He asked himself aloud as he walked out of the restroom after washing his hands.
When he entered the conference room, he saw the same men back in the restroom. They were gathered around Michael and Alfred Watts, but Michael wasn't smiling. He looked like he wanted to leave. Mr. George walks up to them.
"Excuse me"
They all turned to him.
Looking at Alfred Watts, he said,
"Can I have a word with Michael?" He looks at Michael, who is also looking back at him. He smiled and Michael smiled back.
"Oh! Yes, you can," Mr. Alfred agreed immediately.
He quickly left with Michael. The other men slightly scowled at what he did but they covered up their expressions immediately.