Chapter 3. The new order.

Mr. John Patrick smiles at Mr. Taiye and tells him, "Oh, she studied business administration at the University of Nigeria."

 

"That is fine, then. Have her send us her resume once she gets home. I am confident we have more openings for new bees like her. I will be expecting her response."

 

"Father!" Liam cut his father's speech short as his frown deepened.

 

"You cannot simply court me with her yet." Liam says, and his father smiles at him.

 

"I know, son, I am only trying to compensate Mr. John Patrick for his good will and commitment to working with us for over twenty years," Mr. Taiye responds, while Mr. John only smiles faintly to Liam before bowing slightly to leave.

 

"I am going to take my leave now, boss. Thank you, and congratulations again, Liam."

 

Liam nodded as he heard Mr. John's final words, and he walked up with his father to the front of the meeting hall, near the exit door, and said, "I do not like what you just did, father. There are many other ways to compensate Mr. John without harming myself."

 

"What exactly do you mean, son? Mr. John has been a dedicated worker. I know you will not understand everything because you are new to us, but that is fine. Besides, he said if only his daughter agreed. So she might not even agree to work with us, and you do not need to be concerned about what I have just said." Mr. Taiye turns to leave the meeting hall, and Liam responds, "I sincerely hope she does not accept. Women are not of interest to me right now."

 

"Liam!" Mr. Taiye pauses, looks back at his son, and shakes his head.

 

"Do not say that in front of your mother. Someday you will find a good wife, but that is all. Let us get down to business and forget about everything we have just said."

 

"Okay, Father!" Liam sighs as he watches his father exit the meeting hall, leaving only him. His personal assistant returns to the meeting hall to meet him immediately after his father departs.

 

"What shall I do now, boss?" Brown asks as he stands in front of Liam.

 

"Prepare the car; I will be returning home today. "All official duties begin tomorrow."

 

"Okay, boss!" Brown leaves the meeting hall on the second floor and returns downstairs to notify Liam's personal driver to prepare the car.

 

"Israel, prepare the car; the boss is about to leave." Brown informs Israel on the ground floor, and he nods.

 

The Benson Group is a 5-story multi-million dollar company with a lot of staff and workers, and Liam steps out of the elevator and walks towards the car park while some of their workers are standing out and talking beside their cars because it is a free day, and there is not much work to be done because his father gave them a break the day before to witness him as the new CEO.

 

Liam sits in the backseat as Israel starts the engine and drives him home to the Benson residential villa.

 

Liam steps out of the car and walks directly to the downstairs living room, where his mother is cooking, despite the fact that they have a large number of maids and servants working for them at home. Mrs. Juliet Jackson, his mother, still prefers to cook for herself because she enjoys cooking local dishes.

 

As soon as she heard the car arrive, a maid stepped out to greet him, bowing to Liam and greeting him formally, "Welcome back, Master Liam."

 

"Thank you," Liam looked away from the maid as he made his way to the kitchen to find his mother.

 

The aroma of the food she is cooking has filled the entire living room as she prepares the popular Egusi soup, garnished with beef and fresh fish.

 

"Good afternoon, mom," Liam says to his mother, as he walks into the kitchen, and the two maids assisting his mother immediately lower their heads to him. "Welcome back, Master Liam."

 

"Thank you," Liam replied to them as his mother washes and dries her hand in the kitchen sink with a short kitchen towel before approaching him and hugging him warmly.

 

"Welcome home, Son. How was your day at work today?" Mrs. Juliet inquired.

 

"Fine, Mother, Has my father not arrived home yet?" Liam asks, and his mother responds, "No, son. He is probably with his friends. You know he is happy you have returned and are now the new CEO."

 

"I know that, mom," Liam says faintly to his mother as he steps out of the kitchen first, while his mother instructs the cook on what to do with her nearly finished meal.

 

"Just keep an eye on it so it does not get burned. Once it is ready, serve it right away." Mrs. Juliet instructs the maid.

 

"Okay, Ma'am." Nora responds, as she is the cook, and heads to all of the maids and servants in their home, while Mrs. Juliet finally steps out to meet her son as he sits on the long couch, stretching his long leg.

Mrs. Juliet walks out in her usual long brown gown, takes her kitchen apron off her chest, and hands it to a maid who walks out next to her.

 

"Please take this to the laundry room and wash it."

 

"Okay, ma'am." The maid took the apron and walked away, leaving Mrs. Juliet to sit on the opposite couch across from Liam.

 

"Mom, why are you focusing so much on cooking when you have maids and cooks at your disposal?" Liam inquires as he watches his mother sit.

 

"I understand, son, but you are aware that cooking is part of exercise, and I enjoy cooking as well. I can not leave all of the work to the maids and cooks; I risk becoming lazy and ill, as I retired from the nursing home earlier this year before you returned."

 

"Hmm," Liam hums.

 

"It's okay, Mother. So long as you are not stressed about it, I am fine with it," Liam says.

"Not at all, son." Tell me how the event went."

 

"Fine, Mother. It is just a new staff meeting, but I do not like how some of the young female employees are dressed," Liam said, his face twisted in irritation.

 

"What do you mean by that, Son? Were they not putting on clothes, or how else would you have expected them to be dressed?" Mrs. Juliet asks, wide-eyed, perplexed by her son's claims.

 

"Decent mother. Decent!. This is how a cooperative worker should dress for office work. Decent; not attempting to seduce anyone at work."

 

"Ooh, Liam!" Mrs. Juliet has a slight smile on her face.

 

"They are young females who are probably looking for a husband. You would not expect them to dress like a married woman, covering everything. In addition, they might want you to admire one of them."

 

"No mother!" That is not something I will allow. Tomorrow, I will issue a new dress code order to Brown, and any new female or old staff members who do not comply will be fired."

 

"Liam!. You will not do just that. You have recently resumed your role as CEO." Mrs. Juliet frowns and says, "You will not be harsh to your office workers and colleagues just because you are their boss."

 

"I am sorry, Mom. But that is how I want them to dress starting tomorrow; I will have them inspected at the gate before they are allowed into the company, and I have already prepared the dress code, which Brown will distribute to them tomorrow." Liam stands up, and Mrs. Juliet is taken aback.

 

"Liam!" She finally calls him, and he stops.

 

"I am sorry, mom, but if my father gets involved in this, I will have to resign from the company because one must maintain focus, and I do not want to be tempted by any of my female employees."

 

"Okay, Son, If that is how you want it, I just hope there is no backlash against the company's already rapid growth."

 

"Not at all, mother," Liam finally smiles at his mother, noticing that she has already agreed.

 

"I will have to go upstairs now to freshen up. The aroma of the soup is inviting; let me freshen up first before returning downstairs to join you for dinner."

 

"Okay, son, I will be expecting you."

Mrs. Juliet Benson watches her son walk up the stairs in the living room to the second floor of their standard duplex. Even though her husband has the money to buy a multimillion-dollar mansion, she prefers to stay at the Benson Villa because it reminds her of many of her past memories.

 

Mrs. Juliet sighs as she stands up with the maids to prepare the dining table, and just then her husband arrives home with another of his friends, Mr. Tunji Martin, and she greets them as they walk into the living room and meet her on their way to the dining room.

 

"Welcome, Honey!" Mrs. Juliet walks back to greet her husband; despite his age of 68, she still addresses him as honey.

 

"Wow, the soup smells delicious." Mr. Taiye says this to his wife, who smiles at him.

 

"Where is Liam?" Is he still not back?" Mr. Taiye inquired.

 

"He is back; he went up to freshen up," Mrs. Juliet explains.

 

"Okay, Meet my friend Tunji; we have a brief business discussion, but that can wait because Tunji will be joining us for dinner."

 

"Okay, honey," Mrs. Juliet smiles at Mr. Tunji, who greets her with, "Well done, ma."

 

"Welcome," she answers.