Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 248

Gloria stood in the Rainbow Hotel’s chairman’s office, her eyes fixed on the documents before her, a palpable tension in the air. This was a fateful moment. For her, who had dedicated her life to building the Rainbow Group, no day was as crucial as this. In just an hour, a major event would unfold, marking a significant turning point in her life.

Jade, her assistant manager, stood beside her, bowing respectfully as he spoke.

“Madam Chairman, it’s time to leave.”

Gloria nodded, glancing at the clock on her desk. It was 9 AM. In one hour, the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to decide the ownership of the Rainbow Group would commence. She needed to arrive early and mentally prepare herself.

“Yes, let’s go now.”

As Gloria rose and headed towards the door, Jade followed closely. He had to be present to moderate the meeting, making his attendance essential.

They walked down the hallway towards the meeting hall, where they encountered some unwelcome faces near the entrance: Chairman Lucas and several members of the Black Society. As the ones who had requested the meeting, they would inevitably be present throughout.

“Well, well, who do we have here? If it isn’t Chairwoman Gloria herself?”

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

Gloria responded coolly to Lucas’s greeting. There was no need to be polite to an enemy.

Lucas stared at her with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“It seems I’ve earned your deep displeasure.”

“Surely you don’t expect a friendly atmosphere in this situation, do you?”

“Huhu. Well, perhaps not, but try not to resent me too much. Life is full of surprises, isn’t it? And who knows, maybe you’ll rejoin the Black Society and return as the group’s chairwoman someday?”

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen. We have no intention of working with the Black Society.”

His eyes gleamed sharply as he glanced at Gloria. Starting with this extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, the Black Society would continue to pressure Beomseok. Eventually, he would bow his head in surrender, and Lucas wondered if Gloria would still be so unyielding then.

Lucas looked around, asking,

“Ah, hasn’t Beomseok arrived yet? I expected him to be here waiting.”

“He’s not here, and he won’t be coming today.”

Lucas smiled, pleased. Beomseok was likely in no state to attend.

Based on information from Lexter, Lucas had approached Natalie and urged her to sell her shares. She initially resisted, but money talks. Eventually, she reluctantly sold all her shares to them. Then, they visited the LHN Group and negotiated with Chairman Balbar, successfully purchasing all of Aula’s shares. This brought the Black Society’s total stake in the Rainbow Group to 33%, which, combined with Unique Bank’s 11%, totaled 44%. Beomseok was probably overwhelmed with defeat and betrayal, possibly even bedridden.

“Not attending on such an important day, is he ill or something?”

“Not at all. He simply has other things to do. Thanks to you, Beomseok has been quite busy lately.”

“Oh? I was worried I might have to pay him a visit. It’s good to hear he’s healthy enough to be busy.”

“We’ll see. I hope it’s good for you too.”

With those words, Gloria entered the meeting hall, no longer wanting to engage with him. Lucas watched her go, then greeted the incoming securities company representatives, managing their shares. Victory was practically assured, but the greater the Black Society’s support, the deeper Beomseok’s despair would be.

Soon, Lucas welcomed some familiar guests: Natalie and Lexter. However, he noticed a considerable number of camera crew members following them.

“Who do we have here? Inspector Lexter and Miss Natalie? It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Nice to see you too. It’s good to meet again today.”

As Lexter exchanged greetings with him, Natalie urged the camera crew to enter the hall.

Lucas watched, a bewildered expression on his face. The presence of bird cameras [slang for hidden cameras] and PDs [production directors] setting up filming equipment suggested they intended to record the meeting. While there was no law against broadcasting a shareholders’ meeting, he was not pleased. No matter how well it was packaged, it would reveal that the powerful Black Society was forcibly taking over the small, weak Rainbow Group. Airing the events of today would not benefit the Black Society in any way.

Lucas approached Natalie, his discomfort evident.

“Miss Natalie, what is all this? Surely you’re not planning to film the meeting?”

Natalie nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Yes, we have to film it. LKS is providing viewers with a documentary about life at the Rainbow Hotel. We can’t possibly miss such an important event.”

“Yes, but who gave you permission to film?”

“Why, Chairwoman Gloria, of course. Is there a problem?”

Of course, there wasn’t. The Black Society was merely requesting the meeting; Gloria, as the current chairwoman of the Rainbow Group, was in charge of the proceedings. If she had granted permission, there was no procedural issue.

“Ah, are you sure Gloria gave you permission?”

“Yes, why?”

“But you sold me your shares, didn’t you?”

“Of course. So?”

She looked so brazen that Lucas had no response. He couldn’t understand Gloria’s magnanimity in accepting a traitorous member, nor Natalie’s nonchalant attitude.

“Ah, I see. Go ahead and go in.”

“Yes, take care.”

Natalie entered the hall, directing the crew as if nothing were amiss. Lucas turned to Lexter, perplexed.

“Inspector Lexter, what’s wrong with Natalie? Did she eat something bad?”

“Hahaha. Surely not. It’s just that broadcasting is her true calling, and she’s putting her heart into it.”

“No, even so, shouldn’t people have some manners? Backstabbing Chairwoman Gloria and then brazenly getting permission to film? No human would do that.”

Lexter looked at Lucas with a puzzled expression.

“Is that what you think? Surely not. Natalie respects Chairwoman Gloria too much to stab her in the back. You must be mistaken.”

“But she sold the Rainbow Group’s shares to our Black Society. Are you saying that’s not true?”

“Well, even if she sold the shares, you can’t necessarily call it betrayal.”

“Not betrayal? What are you saying?”

Lexter waved his hands dismissively, looking troubled.

“It’s too complicated to explain. Check it out yourself later. It seems Chairwoman Gloria is alone, so I’ll go in. We have a lot to talk about. Take care.”

As he left for the hall, Lucas was filled with a strange sense of unease. Seeing Lexter sitting close to Gloria, creating a friendly atmosphere, made him feel uncomfortable. But he shook his head, dismissing his worries. With 33% of the shares in his hands, the Black Society was sure to win this battle.

He greeted an incoming securities company employee, shaking his hand warmly.

“Now, let’s begin the 53rd extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. All shareholders and guests, please remain quiet.”

The meeting, moderated by Jade, proceeded smoothly after the brief opening formalities. The only item on the agenda was the replacement of the CEO and management team.

The first to take the podium was Lucas, representing the Black Society. He confidently surveyed the shareholders before speaking.

“Good morning. I am Chairman Lucas of Windhouse, which holds 33%, or 39.57 million shares, of the Rainbow Group. I assume you all know who I am, so I’ll skip the detailed introduction.”

After his greeting, Lucas explained the purpose and justification for requesting the meeting. In short, Windhouse was expanding beyond its existing restaurant business into real estate to create synergy. In reality, it was to strike at Beomseok, but he couldn’t openly admit this to the public, so he made up this excuse. However, it seemed to be working on the securities company employees and shareholders present.

The foundation of the restaurant business, then and now, was the building that provided the service space. With significant rent costs involved, the idea was to reduce these expenses through real estate ventures. Naturally, this argument was quite persuasive to outsiders unaware of the internal situation.

“I ask for the support of the shareholders present today, and I’ll end my speech here.”

As Lucas stepped down from the podium, many shareholders rose and applauded enthusiastically. Some were securities company employees or general shareholders, but most were agitators hired by the Black Society.

Jade, the moderator, shouted loudly, urging them to calm down.

“Quiet, everyone! We cannot proceed with the next order in this manner!”

However, the agitators ignored the moderator and continued their uproar. Jade looked at Gloria, unsure of what to do. It was difficult to proceed with the meeting like this. But she signaled that it was okay and to wait. The longer they stalled, the more it would benefit Beomseok, as well as become disadvantageous to the Black Society. Lucas’s words would gradually fade from the shareholders’ minds, and, crucially, it would buy Beomseok time.

Around this time, Beomseok was entering the entrance of a large building in Serie City. He turned to look at the two old men following him, urging them on.

“Chairmen, please hurry. We don’t have time to dawdle.”

Wilkins said with a relaxed expression.

“What’s the rush? Once we persuade that guy, everything will be fine, no matter how much time passes. If we’re late, we can just hold the meeting again, can’t we?”

“No, it just feels uneasy. To win, we have to crush them completely, right?”

Chairman Balbar, following beside him, agreed.

“I think that would be better too. Since we have to do it anyway, it’s better to hurry.”

Wilkins looked at his friend Balbar, clicking his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk. You seem to be in a hurry too. You should have taken care of it sooner.”

“It’s not that easy. I’m not a dictator like you, am I?”

“Why am I a dictator? I built the company from scratch, so the chairman’s power naturally became stronger. Why is it my fault if the employees underneath me automatically cower?”

“Sigh. Never mind. Let’s just go. I’m in a hurry.”

Wilkins shook his head at Balbar’s hurrying figure. He couldn’t understand why he had kept the matter he wanted to resolve so urgently bottled up in his heart until now.

Reluctantly, Wilkins began to quicken his pace.

“T, this way. Please come this way.”

The guide, escorting Beomseok and the two old men, was in agony. It was because of the pressure of having to escort two giants of the financial world. Doing well would only be breaking even, and making a mistake would mean immediate dismissal.

Balbar, who had boarded the VIP elevator first, looked at Beomseok and said.

“Can you really persuade that old hag? He’s so cautious that he won’t be easily swayed.”

“Well, if the chairmen step in, it might be easier than expected. The person who’s most troubled right now is him.”

Balbar nodded, as if he understood. Although he had never heard it directly, the person who was most troubled, given the circumstances, was the old man they were going to meet.

“I see. Anyway, don’t make any mistakes and do well. I’ll give you a strong push from the side.”

“Hahaha. Thank you. I’ll be counting on you then.”

Soon, they arrived at the chairman’s office on the 68th floor of the building. Beomseok took a deep breath to calm his nerves and waited for the door to open. Although he had won the battle, he needed to persuade the old man inside to achieve a more perfect victory. If this went well, the Black Society would have to taste bitter pain.

“The chairman says you can come in. Everyone, come in.”

Balbar, who had entered the chairman’s office first, sat on the reception sofa and gestured towards an old man with a cane propped against his chin.

“It’s been a while, Chairman Declare.”

Declare was a portly old man with a full white beard, resembling the protagonist fisherman from Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ [a famous novel]. However, he was wearing a sophisticated suit, giving off a different, more luxurious vibe.

Declare stood up and greeted Balbar and Wilkins. Even for him, these two were not people to be greeted while sitting.