377 Chairman Damien Park 1

Crown Resort Group

A long, sturdy table and executive chairs of white and gold designed the modern boardroom of the main office building, making it look pristine and royal. Damien took a seat at the head of the table, looking like a true king in his custom-fit black pinstripe suit with the view of Harbor City from the tall glass window behind him as his backdrop.

He scanned the room, taking in all the faces of the executives that were present in the meeting as though he was making a mental note to see those who had malicious intent and those who were just genuinely concerned. 

"Are the articles true about you and…" Mr. Akins was the first one who spoke, he sat a few seats away from the head of the table—to the left of Damien. The latter looked at Mr. Akins with an impassive expression but remained quiet until someone else from his right spoke, "Chairman… With all due respect, we need to know the truth about your relationship with your former secretary," said Mr. Tyer—a big-headed executive who had always been a pain in the ass.

Damien found Mr. Tyer's fake smile to be nauseating. Mr. Tyer was in his forties. He had hands like that of an elephant, jeweled with gold rings that were clearly too small for his fat fingers. He had the physique of a bouncer with no neck. Damien had long been tolerant of this buffalo and something was telling him that his patience might just see the red line today.

"Regardless of whether it's true or not, my personal life has always been separate from my business. I hope you understand that, Mr. Tyer," Damien responded with a smile of his own.

"Of course. But it's vital information especially since it is putting the company in a bad light… Don't you think so, Chairman?"

Eyes darted between Mr. Tyer and Chairman Damien Park as the two exchanged controlled statements that were laced with obvious taunting. 

Damien leaned against the backrest of his throne and steepled his hands, looking arrogant in his form as he remarked and addressed the board, "Whatever I do with my personal time has got nothing to do with everyone in the room. I don't go asking what you do with yours, do I? Whether you're sleeping with your wife at your million-dollar homes or you're fûcking your mistresses in Crown Hotels and Resorts." He eyed a few of the men in the table who were guilty of what he said.

The guilty cleared their throat and averted their gazes, afraid to meet the Chairman's intense stare. Mr. Tyer was one of those guilty executives, but unlike the others, he didn't hide it—he only chuckled at the comment. His wife was someone from the upper class while his mistress was a model who also came from a prominent family.

Mr. Tyer hardened his face at the statement, not liking what Damien said. "Chairman…" he muttered as if calling Damien's title was unpleasant for him. "Weren't you also using our hotels for your… nightlife?"

Damien saw the amusement in Mr. Tyer's eyes and he matched his gaze with his fiery ones, leaning forward on the table and curling his mouth into a smile. The nightlife that Mr. Tyer accused him of was all in the past. It had been a really long time since he partied like there was no tomorrow. Gone were those days.

"I did, didn't I? But did you also know that I always paid my bills? I don't rob my own company, Mr. Tyer." Damien's words were simple, yet it gutted the men who took advantage of their position on the Board. 

Despite knowing there were those who used privileges more than they were allowed to, Damien looked past it and didn't demand settlement from them. But it didn't mean he would just let it go, especially not if they were to go against him. Having power didn't mean that you have the right to abuse it, rather it's knowing when to use your power at the right time.

Obviously, Mr. Tyer was also one of the guilty ones. However, he was the only one who had a thick face who tried to challenge Damien. Brushing off his guilt, Mr. Tyer added, "Even so… How are we any different? Why can you… but not us?"

How ridiculous. Damien couldn't believe he had someone on the Board just like this buffalo. "The difference? Isn't it still obvious by now?" Opening his arms in front of him, he continued, "I'm not married… I don't have a mistress. And I'm the one sitting here."

Mr. Tyer's face darkened. The arrogant bastard from the Park family rubbed his role as the chairman on his face. Being more than ten years his senior, he couldn't take someone else, who was younger than him, had a higher role and was domineering. It hurt his ego.

Mr. Akins, who had been quiet since his first question earlier, decided to sway the topic back to the matter. "Chairman, what do we do about this issue?"

Damien turned to Mr. Akins and nodded, thankful that he was sensible enough to talk to. The others who were also eager to address the problem turned their focus and waited for the chairman to speak. Turning to his assistant who was sitting to his right, Damien asked, "Bring us up to speed regarding the current situation, Markus."

"Certainly, Boss." Markus pulled up his tablet and started, "There are at least ten different versions of write-ups from several famous online columns published an hour ago and it's now all over the internet—mostly just from curious citizens whose interests are nothing but gossip. However, we have been receiving non-stop calls from the media who wanted to know what the company has to say about this. Some of the bidders had also demanded to hear from us."

The current situation was just like how Damien had predicted. More than the truth about his relationship with Katherine, the bidders all wanted to know if they could still trust Crown Resort Group to exercise fairness and equality.

While he was on his way here, he had already thought of ways on how to solve the problem. At the moment, he allowed the executives to absorb the current situation. With tablets on their hands, they read the file that Markus had distributed to the group regarding the concerns of the bidders.

Damien rested his forehead on his interlaced fingers with his propped up elbows. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to different factors—firstly, Katherine. Secondly, Young Corporation. Next, Katherine and her family's stand on this matter. Lastly, the bidders.

"Boss?" Markus called his attention and when he looked up, he saw that everyone was waiting for him to speak.

This was just a trial. He didn't care about any gossips regarding him but what he couldn't take was that Katherine was involved. Not to mention, Young Corporation was also implicated. Taking everything into consideration, Damien wasn't one hundred percent sure of his next steps but he would do it with everything he got.