So I stood in the rain holding a black umbrella to protect the precious, and now sobbing, daughter of our late CEO from the rain as his coffin was lowered down to six feet under. He was a great man, possibly the greatest I have ever known, and certainly the greatest I have ever worked with. I have joined the company at the tender age of 25 under the strange circumstances of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but somehow that turned my life around for the better - I think.

The great man had so many relatives. Brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, and nieces. It took quite a while for everyone to get their turn to say the last goodbye with a shovel full of soil over the coffin. When her turn came, the young Miss - Hina - grabbed the shovel with a shaky hand, and the quiet, through the gritted teeth sobbing has become a full wail as she buried her father.

Even before the soil that now fully covered her dead father dried, she - and I - was put through the cruel and cold reality of having to attend a meeting where the will of Mr. Biaz, our late CEO, will be read. We all knew Mr. Biaz wrote this will well in advance when it became evident that he will not survive through his lung cancer. I knew because I was there as his doctor apologetically delivered the grim news to Mr. Biaz. When he heard that he will die soon he knew he had to do something now to avoid his mega-corporation and the family falling into a mess that is a dog fight for the inheritance of money and power. He sat silent for a full minute and turned to face me and said,

“Poos. This is what happens when you’ve been smoking for most of your life. Everything you do in your life will bring a consequence, sooner or later”

“I’m truly sorry to hear that sir”

“Poos”

“Yes, sir”

“Give me a cigarette”

I fetched one out from the inside pocket of my jacket and passed it over to Mr. Biaz, lit it for him, and waited.

“Poos”

“Yes, sir”

“I will die”

“I’m sorry, sir”

“You know what I need to do now”

“I will call for him right away sir”

“Good. Let’s go back home”

I helped Mr. Biaz to get up as he struggled to breathe.

—

There were now 12 people sitting at the long table, with six on each side. It would normally have been thirteen with Mr. Biaz sitting at the head side, but he can no longer take that seat ever again.

The twelve gathered here were his wife, his three sons, two brothers, and two sisters, the CFO & CTO of our great company, a Managing Director who has served the longest time under Mr. Biaz, and his daughter.

Of course, I did not have a seat and just stood well behind everyone, positioning myself in the corner of the room as I did not want to appear standing behind anyone in particular. That might give an impression that I am waiting to serve the one in front of me. I did not want to get mixed up in the inevitably upcoming power struggle and politics at all.

The lawyer then entered the room, holding an A4 paper-sized and about 3 inches thick ‘safe’ that had the standard zero to nine numbers for keying in the password.

“Why are you the one showing up the last while keeping everyone waiting? Your entire life costs less than an hour of my time”, snarked Mr. Biaz’s third son Jiko, who was only 25. For he did not actually have a job or did any work or generate any income, the only way an hour of his time cost anything was in terms of how much it costs to keep up his lifestyle.

“I apologise young Master, but it was Mr. Biaz’s order that we commence this procedure only after everyone is present and ready”

“That dick of a dad, phew”, Jiko let out a sigh.

“Watch your tongue you spoiled brat. The way you smoke you will end up just like dad, dying of lung cancer. The difference will be that nobody will gather like this to hear your will, and you will have nothing of worth to pass over”, the second son of Mr. Biaz, Roto shot back.

“Behave, kids. Don’t disgrace your father anymore”, Mrs. Biaz ordered in her usual calm and firm tone.

“Ahem, then without any further ado, let’s proceed with the opening process”.

The lawyer announced and keyed in 6 digit code on the safe’s keypad, and passed it over to Mrs. Biaz, who also keyed in another six-digit code and passed it over to Tolo, the first son, who also keyed in yet another six-digit code.

When it did the full round around the table of twelve, I anticipated the safe to open like Pandora’s box, but it didn’t.

“Poos, ahem... Sorry, Mr.Poob”

“Oh no please, just call me Poos that’s alright”, man this lawyer always makes the same joke. There is a reason why I want people to rather call my nickname than address me as … Poob.

“Right, Poos, please come over and key in your numbers”

“Er… sorry, what?”

“Everyone has keyed in their six-digit code, including me, in the correct order. The only thing left is for you to enter your final code and this will open, and we can get the procedure started”

“What? What code?”

“Mr. Biaz said you will enter the last six digits”

“Mr. Biaz never told me such a thing!”

“That does sound like something Mr. Biaz would do”

“How could I know the code if I didn’t make it myself?”

“Mr. Biaz didn’t tell you?”

“No!”

“That does sound like something Mr. Biaz would do”

“What is this farce!”, shouted the snobby Jiko again.

“Are you trying to tell me without this fucking idiot we can’t open the safe?!”

“I’m afraid so, sir”, said the lawyer.

Oh. FUCK.

The entire destiny of our corporation, and possibly the Biaz family lays in my hand.

All eyes were on me, almost all of them hostile, except Mrs. Biaz, who hardly ever showed any emotions anyway, and Hina, the young daughter of Mr. Biaz, who was probably too deep in sorrow to care - probably the only one at the table that genuinely grieved.

“Please, you must be pulling my leg. I know Mr. Biaz loved these pranks, but I can’t believe he made up some number in his head and expected me to guess it, and put all his trust in me to get this right when it comes to deciding something so important”, I pleaded but the entire room was silent.

“Maybe..:sob:”

Huh? Hina was trying to say something.

“Maybe that’s exactly the reason Dad chose you. Because he felt only you could understand him without needing an explanation. :sob:”

Jesus. Now I do not only have the duty of opening Pandora’s box as a burden on my shoulder but Hina will be disappointed that the only person her Dad trusted (she assumed) actually couldn’t get it right.

“Poos, let me tell you one thing”. Spoke the lawyer, breaking the momentary silence.

“What is it now”

“If you get this number wrong, a capsule containing corrosive fume will be broken and dissolve the will document inside the safe”

“What?!”

“And one more thing, you only have one chance to input your numbers”

Oh man this is crazy.

“Did.. Did Mr. Biaz give any hint to you?”

“He did actually”

“Why the fuck are you only telling me that now?!”

“Watch your tongue in front of your superiors you mongrel!”, interjected Jiko. Gees, you are the one to talk.

“So what was the hint”

“Mr. Biaz said, ‘Poos, value yourself because I value you’”

Then something clicked in my mind. I, although with no particular talent or outstanding achievement to boast about, somehow became Mr. Biaz’s right-hand man even before I hit 30. That made many enemies for me as everyone wanted to be the right-hand man for the great Mr. Biaz because that brings you closer to his wealth and power. Even I wasn’t always sure why Mr. Biaz kept me around so closely for so long. Even he used to say “Poos, to be honest, you are quite useless sometimes”. But I have always been there with him, and for him. I am getting way ahead of myself, but if Mr. Biaz told me to value myself, that’s what I shall do, and value myself like how he valued me.

Once I made my mind up, I walked towards the safe and keyed in my date of birth in six-digit format, and voila, Pandora’s box opened.

“Wow, Poos, Mr. Biaz was not wrong”, even the lawyer was a little taken back.

“He’s usually right. You know that”

“Ahem, then, I will read it out for everyone now”

There was a very short but intense silence between the lawyer saying these words and starting to read out the will. Even I did not know what Mr. Biaz’s will was. As close as I was to him, he wanted to keep this one secret until he passes away. As the lawyer continued reading the will, I knew an apocalypse was about to start. Some looked surprised, some looked angry, or even furious, and some looked shell-shocked, like me.

“FUCK THIS! You must be kidding me!”, ever so elegant Jiko shouted as he threw his cup across the room, smashing it against the wall, destroying the cup that probably costs more than my monthly salary, and in the course also destroying the artwork on the wall that would cost more than my next life’s full earnings.

“Calm down Jiko”, the ever-so-calm Mrs. Biaz spoke.

“Actually mum, even I think this is a bit absurd”, the usually reserved Tolo chimed in.

“With all due respect, I think Mr. Biaz might have erred in his judgment here too”, the longest-serving Managing Director added his opinion too.

“This could reflect badly on our shares in the market. The death of Mr. Biaz itself is already causing concerns, but if this gets announced I think there’s significant risk our stock values would drop - maybe even crash”, now the CFO.

“To be honest I don’t mind as long as our R&D fund does not get cut”, the CTO shrugged.

“Well, if the company’s having financial troubles your R&D budget WILL be cut”, the CFO shot back.

“I didn’t always agree with Dad, but he always had his reasons. I still don’t understand, neither do I believe this is a good choice, but I respect his decision and will accept it as such”, Roto spoke to everyone’s surprise.

“Are you fucking serious?!”, well, Jiko.

“He left a generous amount for us sisters and brothers. I don’t think any of us are in a position to complain or try to meddle in this now”, said Mr. Biaz’s elder sister on behalf of the four siblings. I would have expected they would fight for their prize and the place, but it is true that they have been promised just about enough to give everything up right now and take the deal.

“I think we are all forgetting the most basic thing. You can not ‘inherit’ the CEO position. You need to be appointed by the Board of Directors and will need shareholders’ support. Hina is not receiving majority shares of the Group, and the way Dad distributed his shares to everyone here, Hina needs majority support from us to earn this CEO position.”, Tolo chimed in with a fact check.

Then the lawyer fetched another paper out of the document safe box.

“Here is an appendix, which describes the conditions under which Mr. Biaz will distribute his own shares to all of you here”

The condition that the lawyer read out was simple - all the families and board members will only receive their portion of Mr. Biaz’s shares if they make a pledge to vote for and appoint Hina as the CEO.

“Oh please. Even I know this shit. The children and family members of the deceased can claim their share of inheritance even if the will says otherwise”, yes, even the stupid Jiko was actually correct here.

“Not if father’s will is to donate his wealth unless you make the pledge”, Tolo noted, keeping his face expressionless but I knew he must be hurting inside.

“Master Tolo is correct. I will remind you of the case a few years ago where the former Vice President passed away and his sons attempted to claim the inheritance, against the pledge the Vice President made throughout his political career that he shall donate all his wealth upon his death. It went to the Supreme Court and was decided that the principle of protecting family members’ claim to the inheritance was to ensure that favoritism and gender discrimination will not disadvantage other members of the family, such as the old tradition of the eldest son inheriting all the wealth. This protection of the claim to the inheritance, however, was not to be used to overturn the conscientious decision of the deceased, such as donations to a charity. Granted, if the donation was to a religious organisation, you may have some ground to challenge Mr. Biaz’s will as discriminating, but his donation is to a trust fund that offers scholarships for university students, and if followed, will fund thousands of extra students per year. You could still decide to challenge, but I’d advise you that this will be a long and painful process, and can only be harmful to the public image of the Biaz family and its owned businesses”

“Jesus fucking Christ! You mother fucker must have given that idea to that shitty old man!”, Jiko was fuming.

“The only way Ms. Hina Biaz to NOT be the CEO is for her to forfeit the offered position herself now, so what does the young Miss think about all this?”

Now all eyes were on Hina. Poor little girl, only 19 years old, still grieving for her father and just been designated to take over the Biaz Group as the CEO according to her father’s will.

She looked around incredulously, but being young and naive doesn’t mean she can’t sense the hostilities. Actually, soft-hearted people are often more sensitive to such things and I could see the tears swelling up in her eyes. Oh no, don’t do it now - I thought to myself as I imagined Hina running out of the room in tears any time now.

Then she turned to look at me.

Why. Are. You. Looking at me like you want me to say something.

But I could not turn my eyes away. I wanted to give her courage - not courage to accept the job, but at least courage to decide for herself. At the same time, I could not show any sign of encouragement or disapproval in my expression. Without Mr. Biaz’s protection, my position in the company will be extremely precarious. I’m sorry young Miss, but I dedicated so much in my life to this company, I can’t let myself crumble now either. So I just kept a solemn face and tightly clenched fists, and after a few more seconds of staring at me, Hina turned away.

Phew, that was my best poker face ever.

Hina then stood up and announced to the room with a solemn face and tightly clenched fists.

“I will do as Dad wished. I will take the job”

Oh. FUCK.