Cornered by the CEO

Chapter 285: Put Their Lives on the Line

It was time for her to accept that and let it go. The only problem was, it was much easier said than done.

"Do you understand what I just told you, Qian Meng?" he asked again, a trace of impatience in his voice.

"I understand," she said quickly, feeling like she had lost a battle.

"Good."

- - - - -

The next few days were uncomfortable and Qian Meng just felt tired despite getting a lot of sleep. Mo Qingchen and she were relatively quiet as they ate or drove to work or home. The clanging of forks and knives against their plates and the sound of the busy streets were painfully loud as they invaded the silence.

Qian Meng knew why Mo Qingchen and she were not in the mood to talk, but she wasn\'t sure was Xiong Hua also seemed to remain quiet. She seemed deep in thought and Qian Meng didn\'t pester.

On Friday night, the Venus outlets opened to the public. For the most part, Qian Meng focused on making sure nothing went wrong on that front.

The new security system, all complete with cameras and a security team trained to handle evildoers was stationed. Qian Meng watched closely as stores opened and people went in.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" Qian Meng asked as they monitored everything.

"The sales are higher than our average day. I think the promotions and celebrity mentions are working in our favor," Ma Qui spoke tersely. "But I fear that it will fall sharply within a few days." He frowned.

Qian Meng looked at Ma Qui sharply. Suddenly, Mo Qingchen\'s words from Sunday night floated back to her. To make her take control. "Ma Qui, you are the Director," she stated. The man looked at his boss in confusion.

He also knew that he was a Director. What was the Boss getting at?

"Shouldn\'t the problem you conveyed to me be followed by the solutions that you have in place?" Qian Meng questioned.

Ma Qui frowned. "You have always wanted us to be precise, so…"

Qian Meng shook her head. "Understood. Don\'t just tell me the problems, find me the solutions with it."

Xiong Fen looked startled at the end of the table.

"Ideas?" Qian Meng threw it out into the open.

Someone from sales put their hand up. "The new jewelry line is being launched in two days. Should we be focusing on main sales right now?" they asked. "I think the sales will spike once the collection hits and then level out to our usual average."

Ma Qui spoke up. "The marketing team can put more emphasis on the advertisements rolling out."

Xiong Fen also spoke up. "The PR team is shortlisting influencers to whom the PR packages for the new series will be sent."

Qian Meng froze. "They haven\'t gone out already?" she asked, her voice low.

"No, they go out tomorrow morning. It should reach all the influencers on the list by evening tomorrow."

"And when will the videos of it come out, then? We need a first look from them to get the talk going!" Qian Meng felt her frustration pour out.

The people in the room froze. Qian Meng was a boss who rarely spoke in such a nasty voice. She was strict but mostly kind. She understood and wanted the best for her employees.

For some reason, they thought it was something to do with her personal life. So, they didn\'t pry.

"Let me explain. The top influencers have already received their packages, the second and third tiers are on standby and will go out tomorrow," Xiong Hua spoke.

Qian Meng felt her anger rise even further. "Only the top tier? After the whole scandal about the top 1% getting the privilege?" she asked.

Xiong Fen was stunned. "Ma\'am. According to the procedure, we need to look through all the videos before they go public…" she trailed off.

"They are PR packages, not paid promotions. The influencers will talk about whatever they want to. Let them be. Focus on sending out the packages early. Are there any companies that will send packages within a few hours?" she asked.

The sales team looked stumped for words.

"We can have it parcelled from a package dropping company. But…" she paused.

"What about it?" Qian Meng asked.

"It looks unprofessional," she whispered.

"That\'s an old-fashioned way to think about it. Modern problems need modern solutions. Someone chalk up the costs and sent it to me. I want a comparison with the courier services available in the city. Is that okay?" Qian Meng called to the people.

Everyone nodded. "For the influencers living outside the city. We will send everything out tonight by priority mail. They should reach tomorrow morning." Qian Meng dismissed everyone.

As she walked back to her office, she felt the urge to talk to Li Min.

"For a second, stop being my secretary and tell me objectively," Qian Meng began, her voice low and calculated.

"Yes, Boss," Li Min said calmly.

"Do you think I am a bad manager?" she was straightforward.

"No. You\'re a good manager," Li Min responded without much thought.

"No. As in… should I be assertive and let them do all the work?" She didn\'t know how to put it. The way Mo Qingchen had put it, she understood it a little.

Li Min seemed to ponder on that a little bit. "You\'re very creative in your business practices. That has been the case since the beginning, but I think you have two problems. One, you like to be involved in everything that happens in the company and the second is thinking of your employees as somewhat close to friends and family."

Qian Meng blinked. "This is your first real job. What are you talking about? I am supposed to treat them as machines?" she asked.

Li Min shook her head. "No. Your need to control everything means that your employees are not in full control of the decisions they need to make. Second, because you treat them so nicely, they don\'t think it is necessary for them to… metaphorically… put their lives on the line for the company."