Chapter 258 - Conglomerate Alliances

When Julian Anastasia was in a foul mood, everyone knew. Nobody was spared from the tyrant CEO.

It all started with an innocent morning routine. The CEO woke up like a clockwork and was having a good start when the first bad news hit him.

On the daily paper, a huge cover article about EZ Express' bankruptcy and improper business methods was featured on the front page of the business times. While they were rumours, it still affected the company's reputation a lot. Didn't he buy over all the major media companies? Why did this make it to the printing house? What were his men doing?

Furious, Julian picked up the phone to find out more when he was attacked by a flurry of notifications. Most of them were urgent company mails and some of them were from their partners. Overwhelmed by the avalanche of work first thing in the morning, Julian had to skip breakfast. On the way to work, he was constantly dealing with phone calls, reassuring his partners and answering questions from concerned shareholders who read the rumours.

Once he reached his office, there were six resignation letters on his desk, all from his senior management team. Needless to say, Julian didn't bother reading them and shredded everything. These useless fools who chickened out on just a rumour didn't need to stay. His HR manager was one of the people resigning and Julian marked down every single one of their names. He wouldn't make life easy for them after they left. With his influence, he would see that they never get another job within America.

After opening his mailbox, Julian lost it officially.

From outside, his secretary heard a crashing sound. It wasn't the first time this happened but it was still as terrifying as the first time it did. On the surface in public, Julian was often a civil gentleman who looked like nothing could faze him. However, every once in a while, the unruffled CEO would explode like a dormant volcano. His fits of violence couldn't be concealed despite closed doors and expensive clothes. The rumours about him being part of the underworld weren't confirmed but many people believed it.

Today was one of those days where Julian abused company assets to vent his anger. His secretary jumped and hurried to hush everyone who thought about arranging a meeting with their boss. More directors were showing up to turn in their resignation letters but at the sound of a smashed laptop and glass breaking, they changed their minds, leaving their letters on the secretary's table.

Julian looked at his pristine office that was now a chaotic mess. The chair didn't manage to break his strong office glass window but it certainly left a huge crack. The glass coffee table was shattered into a million pieces lying on the floor and his doc.u.ments were ripped up. The company laptop was smashed completely, Julian didn't even bother checking if the information inside it was alright.

Feeling slightly better now, he slicked his hair backwards and wiped away some sweat with the back of his hand before reaching into his back pocket for a cigarette and a lighter. The nicotine did little to soothe his bad mood but it was better than nothing. His knuckles were bleeding, probably from punching glass but Julian only chuckled mirthlessly. If only his problems could be blown away in a similar manner, this world would be a very pleasant place to live in.

Initially, he thought that he had the upper hand, finding out the secret between Jasper and Alex Wilde. In fact, the juicier gossip should have been between Liu Xiu Wen and CEO Zhu. Scarlet Wilde wasn't very well-known by her Chinese stage name in America but imagine if everyone knew how the Wilde family was attempting to unite both the East and the West through their relationsh.i.p.s... It would have been a field day for the media.

In fact, he wasn't wrong. It was a field day for the media. They were sucking up every last gossip revolving around the Wildes. Many media companies sang to a different tune quickly after the release of the first exclusive interview in years. The Wilde might be a very high-profile family but they very seldom talked about their private lives. The timing of this news couldn't be worse when the powerful daughters followed it up by a sneak peek of their holiday in the Bahamas with a tag hinting at a new product launch with Golden Frost.

Now, the rumours about the GOlden Pineapple collaboration exceeded EZ Express' fame and to make matters worse, CEO Zhu was invited to attend a huge press conference held by Wilde Inc. Rumours about the future-in-laws meeting up swayed many people to align themselves with the right interests. This included many of EZ Express' legal clients whose contracts were expiring. With Pineapple Group's logistic contact and Wilde Inc.'s technology, they were going to become the world's newest conglomerate alliance. They were going to be unstoppable and it would spell the end of EZ Express.

"No, I cannot let this happen."

Thinking about this rationally, Julian checked the text he received from his father. Leah was also being a huge pain in the ass now ever since her mercenaries disposed of that unfortunate intern. Too bad for that intern, he actually did like him better than that bitch. However, he never called him so Julian couldn't save him. Despite that, his father was still telling him to console the jealous hotel heiress to secure deals for them. Didn't that old man know that those deals meant nothing to them now? EZ Express was in a more dire situation than just a lack of business contracts. Their employees were resigning one by one after the rumour and their partners aren't happy with the shipment delay and order mess up. How could anyone mess up a shipment from Germany to Laos?

The huge lawsuit coming up because of this mistake would put EZ Express' finance down by a good few hundred million and even if the clerk who scheduled the goods wrongly was fired, it did nothing to resolve the crisis. The money could be recovered easily with a new drug deal but the reputation that Julian painstakingly built and managed was not something that could be recovered after being hit by so many scandals.

The cigarette butt was crushed beneath his Louis Vuitton shoes and it made a stain in the carpet. Julian's mind was finally cleared after three cigarettes. He shouldn't lose his temper too early, the battle might be lost but the war was far from over.

"Father? It's me. I have a better solution than what you have in mind."

Lucian was watering his bonsai when Julian called. He read the papers and heard the news, things were not sunny for them but the mafia boss knew that his more intelligent son would be able to come up with something. For now, all the precautionary measures were taken. He started shifting their base of operations in case the Interpol comes down again. Pier 22 was also put on auction to the buyers interested. All Julian needed to do was rebuild their image and secure their trade routes. He couldn't afford to screw the deal with China, the triads were not easy opponents to deal with and the Russians wouldn't hesitate to send their best assassins with high bounties on their heads if they messed up the upcoming deal.

"Are you going to finally get serious with your act and pursue that girl's heart? The Wildes have already made important connections, you should use that to your advantage too now that we're in such a situation. I had a tip-off that the Interpol is on the move again, Pier 22 is getting sold. We need to find a new base of operations and close down all the factories in the southern borders."

Julian felt his eye twitch. He hated it whenever his father spoke about his s.e.x.u.a.lity in such a manner. Why would he pursue the heart of a female seriously? Leah was only a tool, he wasn't going to sleep with her because of business. That disgusting woman kept persisting and tried so hard to climb into his bed. That was the only thing he wasn't going to do. He was gay and proud of the fact that he would only get hard for men.

"No, I won't do it your way. I will settle this my way but I need to borrow some of your men, disposable and skilled."

Slightly surprised that his son would move the pawns from the shadows, Lucian wanted to know more. His private army was not something Lucian wanted to sacrifice so easily. It was very difficult to gather talent of their calibre and if he wasn't sure about Julian's chances of success, he would never give him the green light to borrow those men.

"Wilmer seems to think that he has the upper hand now that everything is going badly for us. We will let him think that way. I'm going to request for formal help from their company as a distraction. I need some men to attack the main Wilde mansion to threaten their security and stall them there. As for the other group, I'm going to let Leah know that her engaged lover was meeting his mistress behind her back. The Wilde daughters are meeting CEO Zhu for a press conference about Golden Pineapple's collaboration. Send some gunners to terrorise the place, kill some people for effect. I want the ransom situation broadcasted live for the Interpol and the Wildes to know who they are messing with. Use that chance to frame the Delphonse family. Once Wilmer transfers his assets over, I will send the word. Kill his daughters and set some snipers on Wilmer. Get some demolition experts to set up explosives at the Wilde mansion, we're ending this once and for all."

After listening to the plan, Lucian Anastasia felt twenty years younger. Finally, the long feud was going to be over. He was mistaken to think that his son wasn't cold-blooded enough to inherit his legacy as a mafia boss but now, he was certain that his son's s.e.x.u.a.lity did not affect that trait. His only regret was the lack of successors after Julian because of his orientation but that was a worry for after the Wildes were taken care of.