Chapter 50 Nathan knocked on the door and rushed into Davidâs office. He took out his phone and handed it to David, saying, "Mr. Charrington, a negative post about our company is trending."
David glanced at it. It had been a week since the incident had occurred. However, news of it only appeared on the Internet when he returned to the country.
Nathan reported, "Also, your father informed the shareholders to gather for a meeting in ten minutes."
David mocked, "It seems like heâs really eager to remove me as the CEO."
David asked, "Is the lady in the video the one who asked for 6.5 million dollars compensation?"
Nathan nodded and replied, "Itâs her. Patrick dealt with the incident the moment it occurred. However, this woman was greedy and asked for 6.5 million dollars. The other workersâ families imitated her example. They were completely unreasonable.
"Moreover, the injuries of this womanâs husband were not as serious as she claimed. The doctor had been wanting to transfer the husband from the ICU to the general ward, but this woman did not agree to it. She even threw a tantrum in the doctorâs office."
David instructed, "Inform the legal department to sue the person who spread the rumors online. Also, get the legal department to discuss the compensation with the victimsâ families. Give them as much compensation as we can within a reasonable range."
"Mr. Charrington, should I get someone to remove the post on the Internet now?" Nathan asked.
David replied, "Let it be."
The shareholders of the Charrington Group were all gathered in the conference room. Geoffrey said, "Recently, there was an accident at the construction site of Hillside Resort. Many people were injured, and two of them are in the intensive care unit now. The families of the injured workers are also making a scene and demanding an explanation from us.
"I recall David is the person in charge of this project. It has been a week since this occurred. David, you have never visited the victims at the hospital.
Do you have anything to say about this?"
Geoffrey stared at David sitting in the chairman seat with a serious expression.
Geoffrey was only in his fifties now. However, Logan skipped him and let David become the CEO of the Charrington Group.
Because of this, Geoffrey had to report to David and couldnât do as he pleased for the last few years. Geoffrey felt like he was the son instead. Now, he finally caught the seemingly mighty David committing a mistake.
David was wearing a tailored suit. His expression was cold as he looked Geoffrey straight in the eye.
David said, "What do you want to hear from me?"
Geoffrey accused, "Because of this incident, the companyâs stocks are falling. All the netizens are condemning our group. As the CEO of the company and the initiator of the resort project, shouldnât you go to the hospital immediately to apologize and compensate the families?
"When this happened, you were nowhere to be seen. Are you planning to run away from your responsibilities? Are you disregarding the interests of the company and the shareholders?"
The expressions of the shareholders turned sullen. Indeed, the company stocks falling meant that they were all losing money.
Geoffrey was determined to get the shareholders to side with him.
When the incident happened, David was at the border. He immediately got his subordinates to deal with it. However, some workersâ families were greedy and asked for exorbitant compensation.
They were blinded by greed.
Although the Charrington Group could afford to pay the compensation amount the families asked for, the group could not just give in to unreasonable requests. If they did, they would be inviting more people to scam the Charrington Group in the future.
Moreover, someone was clearly instigating this and blowing things out of proportion.
"What do you suggest I do?" asked David with a grim face.
Geoffrey sat up straight and said matter-of-factly, "You should, of course, compensate the families according to their requests and issue an apology online."
Davidâs eyes were deadpan. With a cold voice, he asked, "Do all the shareholders agree to the suggestion of Mr. Charrington, the general manager?"
When Geoffrey heard David mention his title, his facial expression turned ugly instantly. He was the general manager of the Charrington Group.
However, he hated others mentioning his title because it was his mark of shame.
A small shareholder spoke up. "Mr. Charrington, I think your fatherâs suggestion is feasible. Now that the stock price is dropping, we have to quickly stop the public from discussing this issue."
A few major shareholders seconded this opinion.
Dexter Randall, one of the major shareholders, argued, "We canât resolve the issue like that. If we apologize, wonât it prove that the Charrington Group is a black company just like what the netizens say? We should let the legal department settle it.
Weâll compensate accordingly."
Someone retorted, "Mr. Randall, youâre a major shareholder of the company. Of course, youâre not afraid. Youâre rich, but small shareholders like us arenât as wealthy as you. The stock price is dropping now." Dexter replied angrily, "Your suggestions will only negatively affect the company in the long run. The workersâ families are obviously being greedy."
Edward Price, another shareholder, voiced his opinion. "I agree with Mr. Randall. If we pay the lady whatever she wants, the others will follow suit and ask for more."
Johan Quaid said, "I think a public apology is feasible. We have to resolve this matter immediately and bring the stock price up. Weâre wasting money and resources by not resuming the Hillside Resort project as soon as possible. We will risk delaying its completion too."
Johan was one of Pollyâs distant relatives. He had always been a firm supporter of Geoffrey.
David sat at the head of the table with a cold expression. He listened to who these shareholders sided. He planned to use this opportunity to get rid of Geoffreyâs men.
The shareholders had different opinions on this matter and kept arguing. David interrupted their argument and said, "Are you done arguing?"
Even though he didnât raise his voice, his tone was intimidating. Everyone in the meeting room instantly fell silent. They got carried away in bickering and forgot about David.
David ordered, "Nathan, inform Patrick and the legal team to deal with the injured workers. Also, get the legal team to issue a letter to those who spread rumors."
David figured it was time for their groupâs legal department to get busy. The Charrington Groupâs legal team was renowned for being powerful. They had never lost a lawsuit before. People who could make it into the legal team were all top-notch lawyers.
David scanned the faces of all the shareholders who spoke up for Geoffrey just now. He then said, "This is the last time you will appear in the Charrington Groupâs meeting room."
"The meeting is over." With that, David strode out of the room.
Nathan followed closely behind David.
The Charrington Group quickly issued an official statement.
The statement read:
[Responding to the accident at the construction site of Hillside Resort:
[1. The Charrington Group will bear all the medical costs of the injured workers until they are discharged from the hospital. The company will compensate each worker 300 thousand dollars.
[2. The Charrington Group will take legal action against people and websites that spread false rumors online and have caused major economic losses to our company.
[3. What the lady said in the video was defamation. The details of the event are as follows:
[After the accident, the Charrington Group sent a representative to discuss compensation plans with the families of the injured workers. However, this lady asked for 6.5 million dollars in compensation. The other families followed suit. Our company refused to pay out the amount requested since it was unreasonable.
[In addition, the doctors suggested transferring the two workers in the intensive care unit to a normal ward. However, the patientsâ family members refused the suggestion and wreaked havoc in the hospital. They even insulted the doctor and our companyâs representative.]
Along with the official statement, the Charrington Group also posted a video of the families throwing a fit in the hospital, a video of the lady requesting for 6.5 million dollars, medical reports of the two workers, and body checkup reports of all the workers involved.
On top of that, the Charrington Groupâs PR department urged the netizens to be rational and think before posting since the Internet was not a lawless place. As soon as the Charrington Groupâs official account released the statement and the evidence, it became a trending topic on Twitter.
A netizen commented: [I knew it. The Charrington Group is a well-established company. They will surely compensate the victims under normal circumstances.]
Another netizen lamented: [I really didnât expect the wife of that injured worker to deceive us. She doesnât deserve any sympathy.]
Not A Small Town Girl (Danielle and David)
ï¤Chapter 49 Yet another netizen commented: [Am I the only one paying attention to the compensation? 300 thousand dollars! Itâs the annual salary for so many people! How I wish Iâm one of the injured workers.]
Someone mocked: [Well, big companies are usually quite generous in terms of compensation. Those who slandered the Charrington Group must be crying now. I heard that the group has some really powerful lawyers who have never lost a lawsuit.]