Umbrella Chapter 10 - Interview (Patreon)

Alexander scanned the newcomer to the room as she was led by one of his bodyguards. Certainly, she was a very beautiful woman; though she was 24 years old, she excluded an aura of authority and strength, which was rather unusual.

Interestingly enough, she didn't really appear to be nervous, which was something surprising, considering the fact that she was in a room with heavily armored people, which would put a certain nervousness in most.

However, considering that she applied for a job in which the main thing to do is to deal with weapons, manufacture them, and sell them, it was a good sign.

"Welcome, Miss Stout."

Alexander stated as he kissed the back of her hand and motioned her to sit down.

"Thank you very much, Lord Ashford. I am honored to have this chance for the interview for the position of CEO."

Meredith Stout knew how to deal with people of high social standings, and before she came to the meeting, she even studied the customs of the British Aristocracy to avoid any embarrassment herself.

She knew that some people in high social standing, especially the members of the nobility, were really keen on the right manners. Alexander was also the case because he liked the formalities and protocols, not to mention he didn't like when people were behaving familiar to him out of nowhere and not knowing their right manners.

"I am glad for this opportunity, Lord Ashford. But I am sure that you are a busy man yourself and don't want to waste any time, so we should go straight to the matter."

Alexander was pleased by her no-nonsense business tone of voice because it was clear that she didn't waste any time. He appreciated it because he, too, wasn't really fond of the useless formalities and wasting time; he was busy as he was.

"Excellent... then, you are the sole person who was eligible from all of the candidates for the position of the Umbrella Corporation. Your profile is excellent and your resume satisfactory. After going through it over, I have decided before I come to a final decision, we need to go through a few matters."

Alex wanted to ask a few things before they would officially come to an agreement.

"As you are aware, the main things that Umbrella is and will be selling are weapons and, at a later date, other things that you will be informed about. You should be aware that Umbrella works differently from the other companies, especially structure-wise. Each Head of Department of the Umbrella would be also CEO of the Subsidiary Company that is charged with manufacturing some things. Departments of the Umbrella are tasked with only research, not manufacturing or creating anything, just research. Your task as the CEO of the Umbrella would be to oversee everything..."

The structure of the Umbrella Corporation was different from the other companies, though, it was purposely done in this way. Alexander planned for the Umbrella itself to manufacture only a bunch of several key technologies. 

All other things would be made by the subsidiary companies whose sole purpose would be manufacturing and upgrading already existing things. 

"Now, your first responsibility would be building the company structure and finding the right people for Management and Executive positions. At the same time, you need to find scientists and people and continue making dealings with the US Military."

Meredith, hearing that, nodded because it seemed like a normal job for the CEO, though it would be a bit harder because she needed to build the company from scratch. That would be a very tough job even for her, so Alexander needed to be fully confident that she was up to the task.

"I am confident to carry out the job according to your wishes. I already have enough experience with similar tasks in my old positions, and my recommendations from my previous employers were nothing short of praises."

She said with a confident expression as Alex nodded with a satisfied smile. 

"I saw the recommendations... very impressive for your age, how did you managed to get into business so young? The resume says that you were an assistant to the CEO of General Stout Arms at age 17, who was also your uncle. It is noted that you did all of the administrative work..."

The Resumé of Meredith Stout was rather impressive. Her family owned a local arms manufacturer stationed in Texas, it wasn't very big but it wasn't small either, rather average, but it was still rather successful company. 

At the age of 16, she started helping her uncle, who was CEO of the company after the death of her parents, and it was actually her who was doing basically everything that the CEO should be doing, but her uncle actually let her do it.

She was apparently natural at the job, far better than even people who had been doing it their whole life. Meredith Stout was like a fish in the water.

"After I stopped working at the General Stout Arms after we sold the company to the Lockheed Martin, the Lockheed Martin hired me for the position of the Senior Executive during the time I was studying at Harvard."

Alexander raised his brow when he heard that as he pondered over something for a little.

"Why did you decide to leave Lockheed Martin? After you graduated from Harvard, they promoted your to the Junior Vice President of the company and your career and future were bright, many were thinking that in a decade or so, you would be named CEO."

This was something that was bugging Alexander to no end.

"Ambition, stability and vision. I want to build something from scratch, and with the fame of Dr. Alexander Ashford and Dr. Catherine Halsey, the youngest prodigies in the field of science of the 21st Century, being in one company, is too tempting to pass."

The reasoning was certainly interesting; Alexander could hear the ambition and pride from her, yet there was no arrogance that one would expect from someone with such high ambitions. 

There was just confidence. 

Nothing more and nothing less.