Consequences of Dumping the Obsessive Boss: Stuck with Him Forever-Chapter 39: The Sinclair Group Facing Disqualification?
Sinclair Group, top floor President’s office.
Assistant Collins knocked on the door, anxiously walking to the desk: "President Sinclair, Director Adler of the PR department and Director Nash of the design department are just outside the door, saying they have something urgent to discuss with you."
Maxim Sinclair lifted his gaze from the document, frowning slightly: "My instincts tell me they’re not bringing good news."
"It’s regarding negative press about our company." Assistant Collins replied with his head lowered, somewhat afraid to meet Maxim Sinclair’s eyes.
"Regarding the Sinclair Group’s negative publicity," Maxim Sinclair removed his gold-rimmed glasses, taking the soft cloth next to him and carefully polishing them, "sounds familiar, if I’m not mistaken, wasn’t there a similar issue not long ago?"
"Yes, but the one stirring it up this time isn’t an ordinary person, and this instance is more severe than the last, affecting our company’s core interests."
The previously indifferent look on Maxim Sinclair’s face instantly faded: "Let them in."
Assistant Collins dashed to the door, signaling to the two impatient individuals outside: "President Sinclair wants to see you."
Rachel Nash and PR Director Adler exchanged a glance, quickly stepping up to Assistant Collins: "Did you get a read on President Sinclair’s mood just now? How is he feeling? Is he calm?"
"Hard to say," Assistant Collins shrugged, "you two better be mentally prepared; after all, this negative publicity really affects the Sinclair Group’s interests. Don’t play any games, just speak your mind. Remember, President Sinclair despises people scheming in front of him."
"Not telling the truth isn’t an option either, things have escalated this far." Rachel Nash shook her head with a wry smile, then took the lead to push the door open.
Once both were standing in front of the table, Maxim Sinclair finally looked up, calmly scanning the two: "Let’s hear it."
Director Adler swallowed hard, bracing himself to speak first: "In these past two days, several companies from whom we previously poached talent have suddenly banded together to write a joint complaint letter accusing us of malicious competition, claiming that our designers were snatched from them, implying a suspicion of plagiarism."
"Poaching is so common, what’s there to make a fuss about?" Maxim Sinclair clasped his hands, asking coldly, "The negative publicity we didn’t suppress last time, combined with this joint letter, are they being used against us?"
Rachel Nash nodded: "Yes, originally the poaching wasn’t a big deal, but we didn’t handle it promptly last time, creating negative public opinion, now it’s been collected and submitted to the authorities."
"Get to the point," Maxim Sinclair stared at her intently, "has this affected the first round of the bidding conference?"
"Yes," Rachel Nash’s expression turned quite complicated, "I just received a call from the organizers, they might cancel our slot."
"It’s hard not to suspect the same group is behind both incidents," Maxim Sinclair mused, then shifted his gaze to PR Director Adler, "check if Stellart has any involvement in this joint letter."
"It’s been checked," Director Adler shook his head, "at first I suspected Stellart too, but tracing back through the online trolls they used last time, I found it’s actually the previous companies trying to retaliate under Stellart’s cover. This indeed has nothing to do with Stellart."
He sounded certain, but disbelief was written clear on Maxim Sinclair’s face: "With us exiting the bidding, the biggest beneficiary is Stellart. All capable designers from other companies have been poached by us, now Stellart is our only real competition. Under these circumstances, it’s hard not to suspect Stellart’s hand in this."
"Then I’ll check further," Director Adler changed his tone accordingly upon seeing this, "see if anything can be traced back."
"Investigate thoroughly," Maxim Sinclair pointed at him, "if you find any clues linking to Stellart, call me immediately. But if it’s unrelated, don’t bother notifying me."
"Understood, President Sinclair." Director Adler nodded in agreement.
"Alright then," Maxim Sinclair impatiently waved them off, "go do what you need to."
Director Adler, swamped with tasks, turned and left, leaving the hesitant Rachel Nash still standing before the desk.
Maxim Sinclair looked at Rachel Nash, guessing her thoughts: "Don’t disband the project team just yet, try negotiating with the organizers and see if there’s still a chance. After all, you’ve worked hard for so long; it shouldn’t go to waste."
"Yes, I’ll personally contact the organizers later, but," Rachel Nash cautiously observed Maxim Sinclair’s expression, "President Sinclair, you have a broad network locally, maybe you should have someone say a word to the organizers? This incident has clearly been manipulated; which company hasn’t poached talent? People with skills naturally want to go to better companies."
Upon hearing this, Maxim Sinclair looked up at her, emotionless in his long, handsome eyes.
Under this weighty gaze, Rachel Nash struggled to explain: "As you just said, this project has involved so much manpower and resources to come this far; abandoning it now would be such a waste."
"Nothing’s wasted," Maxim Sinclair put his gold-rimmed glasses back on, picking up a pen and continuing to flip through documents, "it’s not like we’ve never experienced this before, isn’t failing in project bidding just a wasted effort?"
But the situation this time is different though!
This project was set up initially to counter Stellart!
Suppressing various doubts in her heart, Rachel Nash said: "Alright, I’ll contact the organizers, but if it really doesn’t turn around, then the project team will have to disband."
She was still tentatively probing for Maxim Sinclair’s reaction.
Losing patience, Maxim Sinclair looked up at her: "You’ve been in this position for years, do you need me to teach you how to do things?"
"No, no, I just thought you might care about this project, so I wanted to ask for your opinion."
"It’s just a small project, does the Sinclair Group lack projects like these? Alright, go do what you need to, stop testing my reaction here."
"Understood, President Sinclair."
Rachel Nash turned and left after speaking, making sure to close the office door behind her as she stepped out.
Inside, Maxim Sinclair stared at the document in his hands, dazed for a long time before he turned a page.
Only until later, when Maxim Sinclair snapped the document shut with a "snap," and angrily hurled it to the floor.
"It seems the heavens are aiding you! Little fox."
...
"Achoo~"
Hearing the sound, Assistant Fletcher turned and looked over: "Director Lowell, are you catching a cold? You’ve sneezed quite a few times just now."
