Chapter 87 - Alex VS Alan 4

There was only one word that could describe the state PRICELESS was now in, and that was 'hell'. Everything was going down the drain, there was nothing left in the company account, and the workers were afraid of losing their jobs in the blink of an eye. It was not easy to get a well-paying job these days, and losing it without having a plan for the future was something everyone was afraid of. In addition, the management was not saying anything, so everyone was nervous.

Clyde was tearing his hair out trying to find solutions. He had to pay all the compensation that PRICELESS had to pay to the artists or for all the contracts they had broken because of the bad image the company now had. Unexpectedly, he found enough money to pay the first investors and artists so they could avoid lawsuits, and now they had to find a solution to keep the company and avoid bankruptcy! Not knowing what to do, he ran to his father, who was still in the hospital also thinking about what he could do to preserve PRICELESS.

"I see you were able to pay off some of the company debt? That's good, I know I can count on you. Next, we need to call a shareholders meeting and see who can put money into the company so we can try to save it."

Hearing his father talk about shareholders, Clyde gulped and remembered how he actually got all that money. It was a blessing that Alan had not asked him where the money came from! He did not know how his father would react when he learned the truth!

Meanwhile, Alex was enjoying the sweet taste of her victory. She did not want to go that far, but Alan gave her no choice. She had to protect herself and the people she cared about, so she didn't feel bad at the end of the day when she saw PRICELESS go down. The only thing she regretted was that innocent people would lose their jobs because of this whole mess. Thinking about it, she felt a little depressed and Eliott didn't miss seeing it when she lay in his arms that night after her live video.

"Baby...? What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing... It's just that PRICELESS is going to fall and..." Alex sighed and stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to do.

"And...?" Eliott loosens his embrace and kisses Alex lightly on the forehead, 

"I was just thinking about the people who worked there, they had nothing to do with any of this and yet they are going to lose their jobs... It makes me a little uncomfortable, I feel like it's all my fault."

"It's not... Don't think about it too much, you were just protecting yourself, there's nothing wrong with that!" Eliott comforted her and smoothed her hair before lightly grabbing her chin and giving her a deep kiss!

After catching her breath and calming her dazed mind that was still trying to regain its sanity after Eliott's kiss, Alex looked into his golden eyes that sparkled mischievously and smiled, "You have already thought about it and have a plan?"

Eliott just smiled broadly, "Indeed, only a wife knows her husband best. Yes, I have thought about it, and..."

"I don't really want to know honey, if you have a solution to the problem, then deal with it, I don't want anything more to do with all this." Alex was reassured now, her guilt was gone and she didn't want to talk about the Porter family and PRICELESS anymore. She had faith in Eliott and knew that she could rest assured.

"Okay, just watch the show then..."

A few days later, at his father's request, Clyde organised an urgent meeting with all the shareholders of PRICELESS. That day, Alan had already prepared his speech on how to convince people to invest their money to save PRICELESS. He knew it would be difficult for the company was really in bad shape and even own them a lot of money, he needed a good plan to convince them.

But what he saw in the meeting room that day was something he had not expected at all. When he entered the large office, someone was actually sitting in the chairman's chair, that is, in his seat. Only this person's back could be seen, as he was sitting with his back to the door, looking out through the office's large window.

Alan frowned and was annoyed at the rudeness, no one had ever dared to sit there before, it was his seat and to see someone in that seat was like he had lost all his power and PRICELESS was no longer his! Just the thought of it makes him angry!!!

"Who are you? How dare you sit there!" Shouted Alan and took a big step towards the man. He didn't need to take another step because the man sitting in his chair quickly turned and looked at him with a mocking smile.

"It's only me, Mr. Porter, no need to make such a fuss!" Eliott looked at Alan innocently.

"What are you doing here? Do you think this is a place where you can come and go as you please?"

"I am more in my place than you are, Mr. Alan! I must say, you have a good view from here! No wonder this is the chairman's place!"

"And this is my place! So get out of here now, we have important things to discuss here!"

"I am afraid I can't! Because I am here to represent my wife. She didn't want to see your face, so like a good husband, I have come to enjoy the mess you are making here!"

Alan couldn't suppress his anger and glared at Eliott, who was smiling innocently, as if he was really just here to watch a funny show! Unable to vent his anger, all he could do was scream and curse Clyde, who sat there quietly and didn't say a word!

"Where the hell is everyone!!!? You incompetent, can't you even prepare a class reunion well?"

"Wow, Mr. Porter, your language, please! Besides, you shouldn't be beating up on your poor son who didn't do anything! No one else is going to come! Guess why? Besides, I am a shareholder in this sinking ship too!"

"Wait, what? Impossible... You... You"

"Yes, I bought all the shares that your other shareholders had!" Eliott claimed calmly.

"Why? Is this a joke to you? Are you happy now? This is all your fault if my company is in this state!!!"

"I bought it to give to my wife so she could play with it...! But Mr. Porter, it's a bad habit to blame someone else for your own wrongdoing! Everything that is happening now is your fault! You know you should not mess with karma because: to reflect your dirty way of speaking, karma is a fucking bitch!!!"

When Alan heard that, his head was spinning. He could not possibly imagine that Eliott was the one who was quietly buying his shares in the company, and he regretted that he had not investigated further, because now it was already too late to think about it! The only thing that reassured him was that even though he had bought those shares, he was still the majority shareholder, so technically PRICELESS still belonged to him and he still had the right to decide! And since Eliott was now a shareholder too, he would let him share in the debt and make him pay!"

"Now that you are a shareholder, you should find a way to save the company, shouldn't you?"

"Well, I have a way... I think I would just close it down and declare bankruptcy... What do you think?" Eliott laughed brightly when he saw Alan's contorted face.

"What, what right do you have to think you can do that?" screamed Alan, unable to contain his rage! There was no way he was going to let his company fall like that!

"By what right? Well, since I am the major shareholder here, I think I have more right to decide what happens to something that will not make me any money in the future! I am the one who stands to lose more here if this company does not file for bankruptcy!"

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? There's no way you can have more stock than me! Besides, if you add up all our shares, the Porter family has at least 60% here!"

"Well, your addition is not quite right, because your two children here have no shares at all! So you should add zero to your and wife's shares!"

"What? how come? What the fuck are you talking about?" Alan looked angrily at Clyde and Aria, he couldn't believe they had betrayed him like that! How could they go and sell their shares to the enemy just like that?

"I must say it was easy to get those shares, your daughter's greed was easy to exploit! At least she knows how to protect her own interests, she sells them without complaining much.

As for Clyde, I must say that it was a little heartwarming that he only accepted my offer because he needed money to pay off some of your debt! You should be proud of him, Mr. Porter!" Said Eliott, looking seriously at Alan. It was a real pleasure to see the desperation in his eyes. His only regret was that Alex was not there to see this show.

Maybe she was tired of this family and did not want to bother with them anymore. He could not blame her, because he didn't know how he would react if he was the one who had such a father was him!