378 Chairman Damien Park 2

Damien straightened up and dipped his voice lower as he ordered Markus, "Alright… Take all their sites down and sue each of them under defamation and invasion of privacy on false light. Unless they take down their articles and make a public apology addressing what they did, don't give their sites back. Blacklist them. Issue an announcement that moving forward, they can no longer—in any way or form—use our company's name. Draft a contract and make them sign. Release a list of these entities. Make sure it's clear that we are not tolerating their behavior.

"Also address the mass so that those individuals who will continue to share these articles along with their defamatory allegations would suffer the same fate." Damien's orders were punctuated as he got up from the chair and stood in front of the table, his eyes scanning the executives as he asked, "Do you have any other suggestions on what penalties you want to add?"

The boardroom was quiet as they took in what he just ordered. Blacklisting the entities who dared to write those articles just met their doom. Once that list would be released, companies would take note of Crown Resort Group's status and power in the business industry. Crossing the Resort King was truly a wrong and idiotic move.

One of the executives raised a hand and asked, "What are we going to do with the issue regarding Young Corporation? Shouldn't we just disqualify their entry?"

"Yes, why don't we just take out Young Corporation on the list? If they're no longer part of the bidding, that would pacify the bidders. Anyway, there are other companies that are qualified to win. Like… Hara Construction, for example. And besides, we have worked with them in the past, haven't we?" Mr. Tyer stated with confidence.

Damien's attention was once again brought to Mr. Tyer. Though the latter looked genuinely neutral on this one, that didn't change the fact that Damien didn't like the suggestion. "If we disqualify Young Corporation, that would appear as if we're claiming what's written to be true. Gentlemen, it's already the 21st century."

"What are you saying, Chairman?" Mr. Akins probed.

"Not everyone blatantly believes these gossips nowadays. Not all people are stupid and just believe everything that they see on the internet. We'll turn this situation into our advantage."

"And how will that be possible?" Mr. Tyer raised his chin, truly curious as to how Damien Park would make this situation all better.

Digging his hands in his pockets, Damien looked every bit of a businessman as he addressed the issue, "We'll go through the same process; the bidding will be judged fairly according to our matrix."

"We will call all of the bidders for a meeting on Monday. Address the issues and ensure that it won't affect the results."

"How?"

"Initially, presentations are going to be privately presented but this time, we'll do it with all of the bidders as the audience—where each of them can see the capabilities of their rivals. Bidding will be transparent. This will up their game and the bidding will be even more competitive. After all, this is a multi-million dollar project. We could only expect the best." When Damien saw that Mr. Akins nodded in agreement, he probed, "Any more questions?"

"So… it doesn't matter who wins the bidding? Even if it's not Young Corporation?" Mr. Tyer wondered aloud.

"Mr. Tyer… Young Corporation had been a part of the initial list when we started the planning months ago. During that time, Ms. Young was still working with us under her former identity as Ms. Katherine Miller. That doesn't change anything. This is all just a big coincidence. Whether or not she has connections to Young Corporation, the bidding will proceed as to how it should be: Fair and Transparent."

Not willing to back down, Mr. Tyer challenged, "So, you're not going to address the truth about your relationship with that woman?"

Damien's expression darkened and he planted his hands on the table with force as he responded with conviction, "Mind your tongue, Mr. Tyer. Her name is Katherine Young, an heiress from a noble family. Ms. Young deserves to be addressed with respect."

He pulled his gaze away from Mr. Tyer and met Markus's who understood his silent order right away. Markus got up from his seat and distributed files to each of the executives. As soon as the Board saw the papers that were distributed, their interest was piqued.

When everyone had their copies, Damien asserted, "The only truth that you need to know lies in that paper. Facts and numbers that you only need to focus on and nothing else."

"These are… the company's monthly revenue reports?" one of the Board asked upon seeing the charts and graphs along with numbers and data of Crown Resort Group's monthly financial report. The entire Board didn't understand why they were looking at the charts for the months of April to August.

"That's right. Ms. Young, formerly Secretary Miller, worked under my supervision from May to August. As you can clearly see from the stats, revenue spiked at the end of May. A huge difference compared to April. And it has been steadily growing and improving to this date. The company's profits have increased. So regardless of the truth of our relationship, it doesn't matter and most importantly, it doesn't concern you. 

"As the Chairman and CEO of this company, I promised you that I would deliver my duties and responsibilities, bringing in money and reputation that our competitors could only dream of. We are at the top. The leader of the industry. I haven't failed you since the beginning. I hope that you can share the same views that I have and continue to put your trust in me that this will only bring us higher. Crown Resort Group will only continue to rise."

Damien's words penetrated into the minds of the members of the Board. Whether they came to the meeting with doubts or not, all of them left in satisfaction from the Chairman's way of handling the problem—or at least pacified until the meeting with the bidders comes on Monday.

…

Everyone left except for Damien and Markus. The sky had turned dark and the room was still and quiet—it was as though there hadn't been any arguments a while ago.

Damien slumped on his chair and threw his head back with his eyes closed, feeling a headache creep upon him as he recalled what happened during the meeting.

"Boss, PR is ready," Markus uttered, waiting for Damien's order. His fingers were ready to work as soon as his boss gave the go signal.

With a long and deep breath, Damien opened his eyes and loosened his tie. "Proceed," he said with a simple nod.

"Got it." Markus tapped his phone screen and followed Damien out of the room. "Are you going home, Boss?"

"Hmmm… I'll go pick up Katherine at the Young Mansion."

"Ah… Good luck, Boss."

Entering the elevator, Damien sighed once again. "Yeah… Thanks. I think I'm going to need it."