Fiction: Group 4
“Well, Robert,” Simon said as he sat on his seat. “Have you made a decision?”
“Father,” he replied with a respectful tone, “I really appreciate your offer. However, I think it
would be better if someone else would take your position.” His father nodded. Simon presciently foresaw
this kind of answer. He sighed and clasped his hands tightly together.
“Very well then,” he said with a sigh. He knew that his son would decline, but he still felt quite
disappointed, though he knew he would not be able to change his mind. “However, I had always wanted to
tell you something.”
His son’s eyes widened with curiosity.
“Although you refused to work here, I have always planned on telling you my story nonetheless.
You are my son, after all.”
His father gestured his son to stand up and walk towards the wide window of his office.
“What do you see?”
His son looked at him with surprise and confusion.
“Um…” his father could not help but chuckle at his son’s expression. It has been a while since they
had a father-to-son conversation.
“I see buildings, I guess?”
His father nodded to show that he was listening. “What else do you see?”
His son tried his best to look at what his father seemed to be looking at, but to no avail.
“Cars? Buses? I don’t really get what you’re trying to say, dad.”
His father chuckled again.
“You know, long before you were born, and even before I met your mother, these buildings
didn’t exist. Do you know how they came to be?”
His son furrowed his brows together.
“Construction?”
“Yes, but there’s more to that. Before construction, they needed a plan. Before a plan, they needed
discussion. Before discussion, they needed communication, and so on. But the very first thing they needed
was inspiration.”
His son still looked perplexed as his father continued.
“Have I ever told you my stories when I was your age?”
Simon graduated university as an honor student with a degree in Banking and Finance. A few years
later, he even managed to work as a management trainee in the famous HSBC. Though, to Simon, it was
not a job he reveled in.
“I have to work harder,” he would say to himself. “If I want to have a better position, I have to
prove to them that I am capable of it!”
After numerous months of hard work, his manager finally recognized his determination and
outstanding performance.
“Mr. Chan,” his manager’s assistant called. “Mrs. Zhang wants to see you.”
Mr. Chan quietly followed her to the office, where he saw Mrs. Zhang talking with a very tall
man.
“Ah, Mr. Chan.” His manager said with a smile. “It’s good to see you, please take a seat.”
Simon was tempted to know what was in store for him.
“Am I going to be fired?” he thought. “No, it can’t be. I haven’t done anything wrong. Maybe she
just has a new task for me to do. Yeah, that’s probably it.”
“Mr. Chan, would you like to have a promotion?” Mrs. Zhang asked, after pouring her glass of
water.
Simon’s eyes widened as she spoke. A promotion? He was holding in the urge to just cheer in
victory.
“Why, that sounds…nice.” That was all he could say due to his lingering surprise.
“Well, firstly, I would like you to meet Mr. Tsang,” she gestured to the tall man who she was
talking with earlier. “He’s the manager of the Global Private Banking branch.”
“It is such a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Chan,” Mr. Tsang greeted.
“As you see, the economy is growing at an exponential rate,” Mrs. Zhang explained. “With this
speed of growth, things will be quite heated from this time around with more competition, more job
