Page 17 of Don't Point at the Moon

“Honestly, Tommy, I’d love nothing more than a glass of red right now,” said Mitchell eventually, stopping by one of the motorcycles. “But I have this work dilemma that I need to sink my teeth into before tomorrow morning. And I’m driving, too. Some other time, perhaps?”

“Sure, no problem. Hey, I wasn’t snooping but I thought I heard you telling that guy, Oscar, that you own a BMW,” said Tommy.

“I do,” said Mitchell, putting his hand on the black leather seat. “This here’s mine. Two-fifty-four cc engine, top speed of two hundred kilometres—”

Tommy’s mouth dropped open as he did a double take between the shiny scarlet, black and chrome bike and mild-mannered Mitchell.

“And here’s me thinking you were gay,” said Tommy, watching as Mitchell unlocked a bag and placed a black crash helmet onto the seat. Mitchell laughed good-naturedly before adopting an admonishing expression.

“You should know better than to reinforce wildly inaccurate stereotypes that gay men can’t possibly be into fast cars and motorbikes. I’ve had this baby for three years, and let me tell you, it has turned out to be a godsend navigating Hong Kong’s traffic jams.”

“Are you giving Tommy a lift back on that?” asked Devon, who had sidled up to them.

Tommy let out an involuntary gasp and turned to see Mitchell equally stricken.

“I could. I mean, I do have a spare helmet—” began Mitchell, stopping while throwing a black leather jacket around his shoulders.

“There is no way on God’s green earth you’re getting me on the back of that thing,” said Tommy simultaneously. “No offence, Mitchell.”

“Wuss,” said Devon. “Faint heart never favoured the bold.”

Tommy turned to see Mitchell trying to suppress a smirk while pulling on black gloves.

“See you guys around.”

Mitchell pulled his jacket zipper up and secured his helmet on before swinging his black-jeaned leg over the bike. After flipping down his dark visor, he leant forward and started the machine. With a twist of the throttle and a roar of the engine, he rode the powerful beast out of the parking lot.

Tommy stared after him, after mild-mannered Mitchell, his throat going dry and his imagination ramping up with the distant up-change of Mitchell’s bike’s gears.

Chapter Five

Mitchell glanced down at his phone. Usually he wouldn’t care about the time. After all, he worked late most nights. And Hong Kong locals didn’t seem as obsessed with punctuality as their Western counterparts. But for his boss to keep everyone sitting around in a conference room until almost seven, like the accused awaiting the jury’s verdict, felt nothing short of cruel. None of the nine managers in the room spoke or made eye contact, each playing with their mobile phones, everyone probably suspecting something serious without realising how bad things had become. The smell of fear and foreboding would have been tangible even to someone not employed by the bank. Such was the suspense that when the conference door finally opened, at least one person dropped their phone.

Pauline Ng once confided in Mitchell that any interview candidate who said their desire to work in human resources stemmed from their love of humanity or because they considered themselves a ‘people person’ would instantly raise a red flag. In their business-critical department, she argued, staff witnessed the very worst of human nature. Even what should be considered the positives of a business, things like promotions, wage increases or bonuses, were all too readily met with jealousy, or grumbles of dissatisfaction or inequality, which often resulted in escalations. Pauline’s thirty years in the business may have jaded her to the positives, but some of her team swore she relished the opportunity to dish out bad news.

“I’ve come directly from a call with the global head of operations. What I am about to tell you is in the strictest confidence. You are here because this involves you in your role within this department. Nothing I tell you can be discussed with or communicated in any form to anyone outside of this room without my explicit consent. You all know a privacy clause is included in our terms and conditions of employment, but due to the sensitive and confidential nature of what I am about to divulge, I need you all to sign a separate non-disclosure agreement before I continue. Mitchell, if you will, please.”

Mitchell handed out the soft folders containing the NDAs produced by their legal department. He already knew the agreement prohibited the person from disclosing details to anyone, including family members, friends, colleagues and, in particular, to members of the press. If anyone in the room had not grasped the seriousness of the meeting before, they did now.

Pauline waited patiently until everyone had signed the agreements and handed them back to Mitchell, and he had checked them and nodded his confirmation. All the while, the room remained deathly silent.

“The board has come to a decision about the future of operations here in Hong Kong. Our job is to make changes happen as smoothly and efficiently as possible with the minimum disruption to business. In a nutshell, the bank will move regional operations, such as support departments and the China desk, to Singapore. All other core roles will be absorbed back into London. Hong Kong will become a satellite office—like Seoul and Tokyo—with minimal staffing. The board want everything completed by the end of the second quarter.”

Even as hardened HR professionals, nobody could have anticipated the extent of the change and the inevitable consequences. He’d had the same reaction in the back of the taxi when Pauline had first divulged the news.

“That makes no sense.” Helen Cheong, Pauline’s assistant regional manager and an Australian expat, had been brought up and educated in Sydney and tended to be vocal in meetings. Mitchell wondered why Pauline had not confided in her before the meeting, but his boss always had her reasons. “Even in the wake of the recent turmoil, Hong Kong is still—commercially—the main gateway into the China market. Our Singapore office doesn’t have the talent to run a China desk.”

“Not yet. But they will. We’ll be enticing key staff members to relocate with the right incentives. And there are plenty of other banks operating there with skilled staff who might welcome the opportunity to work for a more global organisation. Moreover, the business language of Singapore is English, and plenty of people in the workforce speak two or three other languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese and other Chinese dialects. And many speak Hindi and other Indian languages, as well as Bahasa Indonesia and Malaysia. It’s a no-brainer.”

Helen did not seem satisfied but, surprisingly, let the matter go. Mitchell wondered why she did not mention the strict entry criteria for foreigners to work in Singapore. Nobody knew more about regional labour laws than Helen. How they would meet the deadline to get everything done was anybody’s guess.

“Look,” said Pauline, softening her tone. “We all know the board has been nervous about the mainland’s influence over the region for years. In this way, we’re future-proofing the organisation against any developments or changes to Hong Kong’s regulatory framework, changes that might adversely affect the way we do business. The point is the decision is final. It’s our job to make things happen as smoothly as possible. Members of the board understand the critical nature of your involvement and have promised financial incentives. I’ll be flying to London to meet with my counterparts and discuss the realignment of key positions. While I’m away, Helenand Mitchell will hold down the fort. Going forward, they will manage all retrenchment activities and, once we have the green light, help run them alongside senior staff. The rest of you will help to coordinate them for all other staff. When I return from London, I expect to have a full list of exactly who will go and who will remain.”

“Who else in the office knows about this?” asked Helen.

“Upper management, naturally. And heads of department heard the announcement Tuesday. They, too, have signed NDAs and will be pivotal in ensuring this is executed smoothly.”

“And what about us?” asked Helen, a question everyone was probably thinking. “What’s going to happen to us once we’ve done the dirty work and this is all over?”

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