Chapter 271 - Meeting Alaric Rhionen (1)

After Sam Atlas died, things went awry. The initiatives they were trying to carry out just stalled. Sam was the spirit and soul of his company. Without him, there would be no more encouragement and passion for all employees to continue with his aspirations.

At an emergency meeting of the top management of the company, they urged Laura to organize a restructuration, but alas, the girl was completely disinterested and she didn't even understand her father's business and ideals.

Friedrich was the only person who understood and could continue the leadership of the company after Sam Atlas died, had the young man been healthy. However, he couldn't even dream of doing that since he had to fight for his life.

They still hid his health condition from everyone for fear that the company's valuation would get worse, if potential investors found out that Atlas X would lose the second most important person in it, after Sam Atlas's passsing.

"I can't work without Sam," Friedrich excused himself. "I'll stay until Atlas X finds a new owner, but after all the acquisitions are successful, I'll resign."

"No, Mr. Neumann. Suppose potential investors hear that you are also leaving Atlas X. In that case, no one will buy this company, and everything will crumble. Then what about the hundreds of employees who work for us?" asked David, the HR director. He was twice Friedrich's age but had always had great respect for the young genius.

"Nobody is allowed to tell anyone that I'm going to leave Atlas X. We have to keep this a secret until the whole acquisition process takes place," Friedrich said. "Sorry, I really wish I could stay, but I can't."

Friedrich was the second lifeline that Atlas X had because he was a source of knowledge that allowed Atlas X to have visions into the future. He, together with Sam Atlas, gave them the long-term visions that made Atlas X what it was today. It was he and Sam who aspired to take humans into space with Atlas X.

If Friedrich left, then they could be sure that their initiative would be hampered and experience a huge setback until Atlas X could find their replacement. There were several large corporate groups interested in purchasing Atlas X from Laura, as her father's sole heir.

One of them was Rhionen Industries, a new technology company that was on the rise for having a very popular social media platform. This group appeared to be very aggressive in entering into various industries involving technology. The space initiative was one of them.

"It looks like the offer from Rhionen Industries is the most attractive," Laura told the board. She looked at Friedrich in particular. Her expression looked worried. "They want to come over here and talk to us. Can you still meet them?"

Friedrich understood that Laura was worried about his condition. The woman was afraid that Friedrich would not be able to meet the potential investors with a clear mind due to his illness. 

In fact, they relied on him to convey all the company's details, the technology they had developed, and encourage potential buyers to buy Atlas X with all the requirements they put forward.

Friedrich nodded slowly. He gave a signal to Laura not to worry. 

"I'm all right," he said calmly to soothe her.

Friedrich did feel that his condition was not deteriorating too much. Apart from a slight tremor in his hands, he didn't feel any significant changes. After all, didn't the doctor say he still had two years left?

"All right, then, we can have them visit our office. I entrust you to handle them," said Laura.

Friedrich just nodded. He felt indebted to the Atlas family. He couldn't just let the company crumble if he could help them find good buyers. At a minimum, with the money from the sales of Atlas X, Laura would be able to secure her life until she was old.

There were several company groups who were interested in buying Atlas X, but the entire board of directors really hoped they could be bought by Rhionen Industries because they heard so many good things about the group.

The meeting was scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning, a week later. The very impressive owner of Rhionen Industries arrived at 10 am. He only came with three staff, who seemed to be experts in their fields.

All the female employees who saw his presence began to chatter. They had heard how handsome this man was but had never seen his appearance firsthand.

Now, when the person they had been waiting for arrived at the Atlas X Building, they all competed to see him.

"Gosh .. he is so cool! He is still so young but already becomes the leader of a large corporate group," commented an employee while stealing glances at the small group of newly arrived guests.

"I heard that his father founded his first company ten years ago, and Mr. Alaric Rhionen recently inherited it."

"Still, even though he inherited it, if he is not good at developing his family's business, his company will not thrive like it is now. You can see our boss's daughter who is completely incompetent in managing Atlas X. She cannot do anything and now our company has to be sold," her friend said. 

"Mr. Alaric Rhionen managed to grow the company his father founded into a large consortium group and slowly expanding his business to various industries."

"Eh ... he's looking this way ..." The three girls who were gossiping hurriedly lowered their heads and pretended to be busy when they noticed Alaric, who was waiting for the elevator doors to open to the highest floor, turned his head towards them.

"Gosh ... did you see his gaze? It looked so cold and ruthless. Does he hate us? I've never seen such a scary expression," said a staff member while pressing her chest in shock, once Alaric disappeared behind the elevator doors. The woman's face suddenly turned pale. "Look ... I've got goosebumps..."

Her two friends also seemed to be holding their breath. They accidentally saw Alaric's gaze towards them, and from that handsome face, they could see a terrifying cold expression. There was something about the man that made them feel uneasy and scared.

They didn't dare to look again.