CHAPTER 194: TG FOUNDATION

October 24, 2029

TG Tower.

Executive Conference Room

3:05 PM

The executive conference room was smaller than the main boardroom. No long polished table, no wall of screens. Just a solid rectangular table, six chairs, and a quiet view of BGC through the glass.

Timothy sat at the far side, a folder in front of him, a glass of water within reach. He had already read Adrian Reyes’s file twice. He had watched the recording of Hana’s interview once. What mattered now was not paper or footage. It was how the man handled him face to face.

Hana sat to Timothy’s right, tablet on the table, pen in hand. She looked calm, but this meeting mattered to her. She was the one who had pushed for a full foundation, not just one-off donations. She had found this candidate and now waited to see whether Timothy would confirm her judgment.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Timothy said.

The door opened. Adrian stepped inside wearing the same kind of simple clothing he wore during his first interview. Button-down shirt, dark pants, no tie, no expensive watch. He closed the door softly and walked forward.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Guerrero," he said.

"Have a seat," Timothy replied.

Adrian sat across from him. He did not fidget. He did not rush to speak. He waited.

Timothy looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything. He wanted to see whether Adrian would try to fill the silence. He did not. He just held his posture and waited.

"You already spoke with Hana," Timothy began. "She tells me you want this role."

"Yes," Adrian said.

"You understand what it involves?"

"I do," Adrian replied.

"Explain it to me," Timothy said. "In your own words."

Adrian took a breath, not as a dramatic gesture, just to organize his thoughts.

"The TG Foundation," he said, "will run continuous infrastructure and support programs for public schools. Its work will focus on rural and underfunded areas. It will build and repair classrooms, provide basic equipment, and support teachers through training and supplies. It will report to a five person board. It will be audited. It will be funded by a fixed percentage of TG’s net income, not by unstable yearly pledges. It must be independent enough to refuse interference but accountable enough to justify its budget."

Timothy watched him. "What is the real job of the executive director?"

"Guard the mission," Adrian said. "Make sure the money goes where it should. Make sure the projects do not become political favors. Hire the right people. Fire the wrong ones. Stand in front when something goes wrong and answer for it."

Hana glanced at Timothy. He did not show approval or rejection.

He leaned forward slightly. "You have experience in remote provinces. You know what crumbling schools look like. That is good. But this is a different scale. This is national. There will be more than broken roofs and missing chairs. There will be governors who want their pet districts funded first. There will be lawmakers who want to attach their names to your projects. There will be groups that accuse us of using charity for image."

Adrian nodded. "I expect that."

"What will you do when a senator calls you," Timothy asked, "and tells you that if you prioritize a certain school in his province, he will support us publicly and shield us from critics?"

Adrian replied without hesitation.

"I will tell him the selection criteria are fixed," he said. "I will explain that we follow data, not requests. If he insists, I will tell him to talk to the board. But my recommendation will not change."

Timothy studied him. "What if he threatens to attack the foundation in public?"

"Then he attacks," Adrian said. "If we bend once, we bend forever. The children in other regions do not deserve to be pushed aside because a powerful man shouted louder."

Hana wrote something on her tablet. Adrian sat still.

Timothy flipped open the folder in front of him, even though he already knew its contents.

"You worked in Samar for four years," Timothy said. "Rebuilding schools after storms. What did you learn there that you could not have learned in Manila?"

Adrian’s gaze shifted, not to avoid eye contact but as if he was looking at something that was no longer present.

"I learned that people are tired of promises," he said. "They do not trust speeches. They trust concrete and wood and steel. They trust it when a roof does not leak during the next storm. I also learned that the first time you show up, they are grateful. The second time, they watch. The third time, they start to believe you might stay. Consistency matters more than any launch event."

Timothy nodded slightly. "Good answer."

He turned a page.

"You coordinated with foreign funding agencies after the typhoon," he said. "How did you handle them when they wanted branding and photo opportunities?"

Adrian’s jaw tensed for a moment. "I negotiated. We set limits. They could visit three schools. They could bring media once. They could put plaques on the buildings. But they could not stop construction while they filmed. Work came first. If they did not like it, they could find someone else to use their money."

"They stayed?" Timothy asked.

"Yes," Adrian said.

Timothy let that sit for a moment.

Hana spoke for the first time. "Adrian, this foundation will disclose all financial flows to the public. The board will publish quarterly reports. Are you comfortable operating under that level of scrutiny?"

"Yes," Adrian replied. "If we do nothing wrong, the data will protect us from manipulation. And if we make mistakes, the data will show it, and we will correct them."

Timothy closed the folder and folded his hands on top of it.

"Funding," he said. "Tell me how you understand our funding structure."

Adrian did not look at Hana. He looked straight at Timothy.

"One percent of annual net income from TG Mobility Holdings Incorporated," he said. "One percent from TG Semiconductor. One percent from TG Energy Systems. That forms the foundation’s baseline budget. It can be supplemented by external donations but never replaced by them. The percentage structure makes sure the foundation grows as the companies grow."

"And when the companies have a bad year?" Timothy asked.

"Then the foundation tightens operations but does not shut down," Adrian said. "It should have reserve funds. It should also avoid creating programs that collapse instantly when budgets contract. We must design sustainable modules, not temporary spectacles."

Timothy watched him for signs of exaggeration or performance. There were none.

"Would you accept corporate representation on your management team?" Timothy asked.

Adrian considered this. "You mean TG employees assigned to the foundation?"

"Yes," Timothy said. "People from our finance units. From our legal teams. From our logistics side."

"Yes," Adrian replied. "I would accept them. But their loyalty must be to the foundation’s mission while assigned there. Not to a division head who wants numbers to look a certain way."

Timothy appreciated that answer. He had no intention of interfering with operational decisions once he chose the director, but he respected that Adrian drew the line clearly.

Hana shifted in her chair. "Adrian, what is your personal measure of success for the Horizon Initiative after five years?"

There was a short silence.

Adrian answered slowly.

"Five years from now," he said, "I want to walk into a town that has never seen a serious government project and find a functional school building with proper lights, chairs, and toilets. I want the local people to say that they no longer see education as a favor from politicians but as a normal part of life. I want teachers to ask for curriculum support, not roof repairs. That is what success looks like to me."

Timothy and Hana shared a glance.

"Not number of schools built?" Timothy asked.

"We will track numbers," Adrian said. "We will track every building and every peso. But if the culture around education does not change, then we only rearranged concrete. We did not accomplish development."

Timothy sat back in his chair.

"You speak like someone who intends to stay a long time," he said.

"I do," Adrian replied.

"You know what that means," Timothy said. "It means you will be in meetings where everyone is angry. It means you will visit places where a school collapses in a storm before we finish upgrading it. It means you will explain delays to parents who do not care about supply chain problems. It means you will watch politicians try to use our work for their campaigns."

Adrian nodded. "I know. I have done smaller versions of that my entire career."

Timothy studied him one last time.

"Tell me the truth," he said. "Why do you want this job. Not the prepared answer. The real one."

Adrian’s eyes stayed steady.

"Because I am tired of temporary projects," he said. "I am tired of writing proposals that never get fully funded. I am tired of visiting schools knowing I can only fix one building and leave the rest for another year that never comes. You are putting real money and real structure behind this. I may not get an opportunity like this again in my lifetime. If I do not try to use it, then I am wasting everything I have learned."

The room went quiet again.

Timothy looked out the window briefly. BGC moved at its usual pace below. Cars, buses, people walking under the heat, office towers filling with meetings that would not matter in a few months.

This meeting would matter for years.

He turned back to Adrian.

"Here is how this will work," Timothy said. "If we appoint you, you will report to the Horizon Initiative board, not to me directly. I will sit on the board, but I will not run your operations. You will set your team. You will propose your first three year plan. You will decide which regions to prioritize. You will carry the blame when something fails. You will share the credit when something works."

Adrian did not flinch. "Understood."

"There will be no ribbon cutting on your first day," Timothy said. "No press event. No announcement campaign. You will start with an empty office, a set of documents, and a budget line. You will build from that."

"That is what I prefer," Adrian said.

Timothy glanced at Hana. She nodded once, almost imperceptibly.

He looked back at Adrian.

"All right," Timothy said. "I am leaning toward appointing you. The final confirmation will come after a short background review and legal checks. If those come back clean, the board will vote next week. If they approve, we will send you a formal offer."

Adrian exhaled once. Not in relief, but as though he was marking a transition in his head.

"Thank you," he said.

"Do not thank me yet," Timothy replied. "You can thank me after the first hundred schools."

A small smile appeared at the corner of Adrian’s mouth. "I will hold you to that number."

"Good," Timothy said.

He stood. Hana and Adrian stood as well.

"HR will coordinate with you," Hana said. "We will need additional documents, references, and clearances. Once the board finalizes its decision, we will contact you."

Adrian nodded. "I will prepare everything."

They shook hands.

Timothy’s handshake was firm and steady. Adrian’s grip matched it.

When Adrian left the room, Hana closed the door and turned back to Timothy.

"Well?" she asked.

Timothy picked up the folder and tapped it lightly against the table.

"He is the one," Timothy said. "Unless the background check reveals something serious, we appoint him."

Hana allowed herself a short nod of satisfaction. "Then we have our foundation head."

Timothy looked out at the city again.

"Now," he said, "we see what he builds."