章節 11: Backstory (2)
Mr. Wong was surprised that a girl as young as Clara wanted to volunteer in the dojo just to get her lessons. She told him about her recurring dream of being abducted, and she wanted to learn how to defend herself, in case it happens in real life. It was a valid excuse, and he did not want to discourage her, so he accepted her offer.
The two bonded over time because of her dedication and diligence. She would always come after class when her schedule permitted. After each lesson, she would proceed to help clean up the room. Returning the mats to their proper order and mopping the entire area clean. He had never seen a student so concentrated like her before, figured she should be out with her friends, enjoying her life, watching movies, but there she was, working her butt off to get what she needed. He never thought he wanted a daughter until she came into his life. When he learned of their little family’s plight, he did everything possible to help them out.
When business was slow, she volunteered to help him with his flyers and advertising. Encouraging him to place some ads on the radio and the newspaper so people would know where he was. This revived his business enough to survive a few more years until she went off to college.
Mr. Wong had assigned himself to be her guardian as long as she needed him. He had kids, but Clara became dearer and dearer to him. When she helped his business get back on track, he started paying her a small salary. So she could quit the other odd jobs that did not pay her that well. And since she, Max, and Jeremy were always a package deal, he had volunteered to be their guardian as well, with no questions asked. He taught the boys self-defense so they could defeat their own bullies.
They would always hang out with Mr. Wong after school and did odd jobs in his building, cleaning the different gym equipment, the dojo, and the bathrooms, among all things. To pay him back for all the lessons and the help he was handing out to them. Like Clara, they helped with cleaning the dojo and distributing the flyers.
The siblings strived to be somebody rich and distinguished when they grew up. They wanted to get out from the stigma of being an orphan, uneducated people who would never amount to anything. They studied hard to ensure they could land scholarships to help with college tuition. She guided both Max and Jeremy to take computer classes, as she did. Computers were becoming popular, and people in the computer and software industries were getting paid a lot of money to learn to program software or build computers.
Mr. Wong helped the siblings with their other bills and school supplies while they worked for him part-time, so they could concentrate on studying instead of working too many odd jobs that always left them too tired to do their schoolwork.
Again, Mr. Wong’s business was begging to fail. Another facility with more updated and high-tech gym equipment had opened a shop in the next city over. They claimed they were training better security personnel. And because money was getting tighter, instead of competing head-on with their competitor, Clara had suggested they venture out further and specialize in the technology side of the industry. Something that didn’t need a lot of capital because they needed to supply the equipment only upon demand.
It was slow going at first, installing security cameras, monitoring systems, and intruder alert technology, but as their clientele grew, so did their profit. Eventually, when the business kicked off, they were able to buy all the updated gym equipment they needed to compete with their rival.
She would often tinker with the new camera equipment and take them apart in his office. Practicing what she learned in school and applying it to whatever hardware or software she could get her hands on. So, even before she graduated, she knew how to enhance and manipulate the different monitoring systems offered in the market. So when they reached their intended clients, they performed better than they were designed for.
Mr. Wong hired Clara as soon as the money started coming in. She was in charge of the software and technology side of the operations since he was not really that tech-savvy. Giving her the fancy title of Chief Technology Officer. She, in turn, hired Max and Jeremy to help with the development of the security systems. This gave them firsthand experience of the numerous applications of the things they were learning in school.
After her college graduation, Mr. Wong mentioned he wanted to close down the entire business and advised her to think about her future. He suggested maybe she should join a more advanced technology company to showcase her skills or open up her own shop. He was getting old and didn’t think he could handle the business side of the company on his own anymore. Clara secured a loan with a local bank and bought 70 percent of his shares to keep the company afloat. She hired a personal assistant, an accountant, and a marketing director to boost sales and keep Mr. Wong off his toes. She kept 30% of the shares and divided the rest between Max and Jeremy.
He declined to be part of the company any longer, but Clara could never imagine training the security personnel without him. Mr. Wong had more wisdom to give out to the people he was training. So she promised that as soon as they both found his replacement, he could retire. But in the meantime, he could be part of managing and screening the security personnel they sent out because Clara knew nothing about training people and weighing in on their capabilities.
She hired several trainers and instructors that taught the different disciplines of self-defense: Karate, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, and Jujitsu, among a few others.
In turn, her only request was to allow her free rein on the software and technology side. And as an added bonus, she would allow the personnel he was training to learn their software to make them more hireable.
When their security company got more jobs than they could fill and enough money to sustain the business, they hired more people and expanded their office. Moving them to a newer location. They constructed new buildings for the newly named Security and Software Technology (SST) offices.
One building was for the Security Workforce department. They had the largest dojo Clara has ever seen. A gym with the latest equipment, where they conduct training and drills. Training rooms for holding seminars, and sessions on how to use the most recent SST software were also being provided. In the same building, they had a placement agency the trainees could avail of as soon as their training ended. Mr. Wong’s office is in this building, so he could oversee the trainees.
The second building was dedicated to the Science and Technology department. She had the contractors build a state-of-the-art research lab to enhance and develop proprietary technologies and software. This building housed the Accounting, Finance, and Marketing Department, along with Clara, Max, and Jeremy’s offices.
A glass-covered bridge that overlooked the lake in the distance interconnected both buildings, giving everyone a marvelous view of the sunrise and the sunset on both sides. This served as easy access to any department they desired to visit.
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