78 First Blood Drawn
Just from hearing the sound of my boots on the floor, everyone cleared out even when they weren't standing on the way.
The company was facing one of its biggest crises and I needed to solve it as fast as possible.
I pushed the door to the conference room open and walked in, looking around the room. I took my seat at the head of the table and looked at the occupants.
My PR lead, Sophie, was flipping through pages of notes with her subordinates while our legal counsel, Greg, adjusted his glasses and prepared to speak.
"Everyone here?" I asked.
"Yes, Mr. Voss." Sophie replied.
"Good. Let's get started."
I leaned forward, hands clasped on the table. My mind went back to seeing the notifications on my phone after waking up.
The headlines, the tweets, the speculations, it was all damaging not just Sunset Inn's reputation but mine.
I needed to contain it before my father gets ahold of the news and uses it to cage . I can't just sit back and watch things spiral out of control.
"Let's address the situation." I began. "Sophie, give the PR team's plan."
Sophie cleared her throat, setting her notes down. "We suggest issuing a press release imdiately, denying the claims outright. Sothing short and to the point, along the lines of 'Sunset Inn's financial health is robust and the rumors are baseless.'"
"Why?" I asked bluntly.
Sophie blinked. "To get ahead of the narrative, of course. If we wait too long, people will assu the rumors are true."
"And if we issue a blanket denial without so kind of proof?" I leaned back in my chair. "We look like we're scrambling to defend ourselves. It'll only add fuel to the fire."
Sophie hesitated but nodded. "That's a possibility."
"Greg?" I turned to the lawyer, who had been scribbling notes furiously.
Greg looked up, adjusting his glasses. "We need to identify the source of these allegations as quickly as possible." He said and I motioned for him to continue.
"If we can trace the supposed leak and we all know we can easily prove the docunts are falsified, we'll have grounds for legal action. Defamation, intentional interference with business relations, you na it."
I nodded, considering their advice.
Sophie's plan was what had first co to my mind but it wasn't enough. Denials without proof were aningless, especially when facing a sar campaign of this scale.
Greg's idea of legal action had teeth but lawsuits take ti and ti wasn't on my side.
"No." I said finally, drawing their attention. "We're not issuing a denial. Not yet."
Sophie frowned. "But-"
I held up a hand. "I know what you're thinking but issuing a blanket denial without hard evidence is risky. It makes us look reactive. I want a full investigation. I want a scapegoat when I schedule a press conference."
"We need to trace where this news ca from. We'll use whoever it is to shut down all speculation, along with docunts to prove Sunset Inn's financial health."
Greg nodded in agreent. "That's the smarter approach, though it'll take ti to gather everything."
"Then we don't waste a second." I said, standing up. "Sophie, focus on monitoring the dia and public sentint. I want you to use unofficial channels to contain the fire."
"Greg, I want your team to prioritize the investigation. Work with WireFra to track how the rumors are spreading. We need to know who's behind this and how the docunts got out there."
After confirming my orders, I left them and returned to my office, closing the door behind .
The room was quiet and calming but I wasn't here for relaxation. I picked up my phone and dialed Justin Kale's number.
It rang twice before he answered. "Nico. I was wondering when I'd hear from you."
"Justin." I said with the calm tone of a man who had everything under control. "I assu you've seen the headlines."
"I have." He said. His tone was neutral, not allowing his opinion on the subject to bleed through.
"I'm sure you already know that the reports are all fabricated. Why will Sunset Inn be struggling when our financial health is solid and the project is progressing as planned?"
"And do you have any evidence to counter the claims? Well, except for issuing lawsuits? I hope you're not just doing that." Justin said.
"Of course not." I said confidently. "I've already launched an investigation to trace the source of this whole debacle and prove the docunts are fake. Besides, I'll be presenting Sunset Inn's health to you in our next eting."
"That's good to hear." Justin replied, this ti allowing a hint of approval to seep into his voice. "However, I want you to understand that Eidolon can't afford to partner with a company mired in controversy."
"I get that." I said. "And I promise you, Justin, this sar campaign won't derail us. Sunset Inn will deliver and Eidolon will benefit from being a part of it."
"Alright, Nico." He said. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now. But you need to clean this up, and fast."
"Consider it done." I said before ending the call.
If Justin had any intentions of considering Sunset Inn for the deal, it was gone now.
But don't worry. I have a plan.
[][][][][]
It was late in the afternoon when my phone rang. I picked it up imdiately. "What do you have?"
"I traced the rumors to a few platforms spearheaded by a journalist nad Maria Hyatt." Elsa's voice filtered through the speakers. "She's known for publishing sensationalist news, so it wasn't hard to connect the dots."
"And Maria's source?" I asked.
"That's where it gets interesting." She said. "I was able to… gain access to so important data and found out that Maria received the fabricated docunts from soone who claid to be an insider at Sunset Inn. But when we dug deeper, the trail led to Wang Tae Bin."
"Wang." I spat, gritting my teeth.
"That's right." Elsa confird. "It seems he's doing his best to undermine your project. You were right to co to . This is definitely getting interesting."
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. "Thank you, Elsa. This is exactly what I needed."
I hung up, taking a deep breath. Wang has made his move. He'd drawn face blood and was now enjoying it.
Unfortunately for him, my plan won't be rciful.
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