The Country Girl Everyone Humiliated on Her First Day Was Secretly the New CEO
Chapter 5
The opposition grew.
A senior vice president named Thomas Blake became the unofficial leader.
He was sixty.
Had worked for the company for thirty years.
He believed the CEO’s office existed to preserve order.
Emily’s reforms looked like disruption.
At a leadership meeting, he challenged her.
“You’ve been here two weeks.”
“Three.”
“Three weeks.”
He smiled.
“And suddenly you know how to run a company.”
Emily remained calm.
“I know something about the people who work here.”
“That’s not enough.”
“No.”
She nodded.
“That’s why I’m listening.”
Thomas laughed.
“You think you’re smarter than everyone.”
Emily looked around the room.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I think no one here is smarter than the truth.”
The room went silent.
Thomas stared.
Emily continued.
“That’s why I’m asking questions.”
He looked away.
The meeting ended.
Later, Daniel found Emily in her office.
“You handled him well.”
“He’s not wrong about everything.”
“True.”
“He knows the company.”
“Yes.”
“I should listen to him too.”
Daniel smiled.
“That’s why you’re the CEO.”
Emily nodded.
She didn’t want an enemy.
She wanted the company to function.
She called Thomas back.
“I want your help.”
He looked surprised.
“Why?”
“You’ve been here thirty years.”
“Yes.”
“You know what worked.”
“And what didn’t.”
“Exactly.”
Thomas stared at her.
“What do you want?”
“Tell me what I’m missing.”
He smiled slightly.
“Most CEOs don’t ask that.”
“I’m not most CEOs.”
He agreed to meet weekly.
Their relationship improved.
But the opposition didn’t stop.
Someone started leaking internal documents.
The media published stories suggesting Emily was inexperienced.
A photo of her old farm appeared online.
The headline read:
Rural Heiress Takes Control of Corporate Giant Despite Lack of Experience
Emily read it.
She laughed.
“At least they got the farm right.”
Daniel frowned.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”
“I’m the CEO.”
“I know.”
“Then let’s deal with it.”
She investigated.
The leaks were coming from inside the company.
Someone had access to confidential documents.
IT traced the account.
A senior executive.
Thomas.
Emily was shocked.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She confronted him.
Thomas denied it.
Then admitted he had shared documents with a journalist.
“Why?”
“I wanted the board to reconsider.”
“Why?”
“You’ve changed too much.”
Emily was quiet.
“You could have come to me.”
“You wouldn’t listen.”
“I did.”
Thomas stared.
She continued:
“Every week.”
“You sat across from me.”
“You told me what was wrong.”
“I listened.”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“I was afraid.”
Emily nodded.
“Then you should have said that.”
Thomas resigned.
Emily accepted.
She didn’t humiliate him.
But she tightened security.
The company learned another lesson.
Fear made people do stupid things.
Trust made them tell the truth.
Emily wanted a company where people could disagree without becoming enemies.
That would take time.
But she was willing to invest it.
