Chapter 347 As If Nothing Had Happened


    Cindy had always stayed by Jacob''s side. Thepany''s business was not only his business but also


    hers. Because of this, she paid as much attention as Jacob did.


    It was futile to care in silence. Unfortunately, she had no other means to change it.


    Jacob threw a pile of documents on the table and ordered in a stern manner, "Speak!"


    "There are employees who don''t even bother showing up at all. Even if we''ve already informed them,


    they just pretend that they did not hear it, and they stille to work. They reason out that if the


    company is unable to give a reasonable exnation, this matter will not be over."


    Cindy nced at Jacob nervously, afraid that he would be angry and would start thrashing the table.


    Unexpectedly, Jacob looked calm. He just nodded and replied, "The financial department will take the


    matter into their own hands. They''ll remove the people on the list and won''t give them a sry for next


    month. They cane to work, but since thepany has already fired them, their work, even if


    there''s any, will no longer be recognized."


    Cindy looked at him in disbelief. She had never expected that he could solve such a dilemma in just a


    few sentences.


    "Yes, yes. I''ll notify them right away. By the way, Mr. Jacob, is there anything else I can do to help?"


    She nced at him, apprehension could be seen on her face. She was really worried about the matter


    at hand.


    Jacob shot her a glum look and pondered for a moment before he said, "Call Mr. James and ask him to


    come here. I have something to discuss with him."


    Cindy nodded in response and then turned to leave. Meanwhile, Jacob rested his head on his hand. He


    was obviously exhausted due to what was happening recently. As she reached the door, she nced


    at him from the corner of her eyes. Then, with a sigh, she walked out of the office.


    James arrived not long after. He came to the office as soon as he could and waited for Jacob to


    compose himself.


    "What''s wrong, Jacob? Why did you ask me toe here? What happened? Haven''t you finished


    dealing with the matter concerning Sara''s mother?" James''s worried tone calmed Jacob''s anxious


    heart.


    "I''ve already settled that, Uncle. I called you here today because I have something to discuss with you.


    There seems to be a problem with thepanyying off employees. Everyone is expressing their


    disapproval regarding this matter, but rest assured that it''s all within my expectations."


    Jacob put his right hand over his chest. Contrary to what he had said, he looked defeated, which made


    James frown.


    "I know, I know. Don''t worry. I''m trying my best to deal with this as well, but public outrage is something


    else. Until now, significant progress hasn''t been made yet. Everyone is dissatisfied with the way the


    company is handling the problem,"


    James replied with a frown. Thispany was his second home, so he knew what thepany had


    been going through. However, knowing the problem and solving it were two different things. He could


    say that this matter was simple yet very tricky.


    "I know, that''s why I want to tell you this, Uncle. There''s no other way to deal with this. I''ve already


    presented myself as the bad guy, so you don''t have to get involved. People will only be angry at you if


    you take part in this,"


    Jacob exined with a confident smile. So what if he betrayed many people? In this world, one would


    either betray or be betrayed. In this case, Jacob chose the former.


    "It''s doesn''t matter. I''m just worried that someone will use this to their advantage and make things more


    difficult for you. If that happens, thepany will be in so much trouble." James heaved a heavy sigh.


    No matter how great a person is, scandals are always a terrifying thing.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "I know that, Uncle. Actually, I want to ask you to do something for me," Jacob said with a smile. Then,


    he wrote a note and handed it to James.


    James took it and read what Jacob had written with a frown. What his nephew had nned seemed


    too risky for him to do. Unfortunately, James could not think of a better way.


    "Inform the board of directors of this matter. Aren''t they dissatisfied with me? The n I''m proposing


    may actually be better than reducing staff. Instead, we''re going to let them choose."


    Jacob smiled calmly, which surprised James.


    "It''s actually a good idea, but those directors will definitely deem this uneptable." James crumpled


    the piece of paper, but his lips were curled into a smile.


    Jacob nodded. He had already anticipated this beforehand. "Since they aren''t aware of the seriousness


    of the matter, just tell them. It''s not that thepany doesn''t want those people to live. It''s just that


    there are times when you have no choice but to sacrifice people. Since they''re willing to serve their


    friends and family, I''ll give them a chance."


    Upon saying that, the corners of Jacob''s mouth curled into a sneer. Business is like a battlefield. What


    Jacob had said was right. Since there was nothing that could be changed, they had no choice but to


    make a choice.


    There were people who would definitely say that Jacob was being unfair. Even so, being fair didn''t not


    mean being right.


    James coughed a few times and said, "Okay then. I''ll ask Cindy to prepare for the board meetingter.


    I''ll be sure to handle this ordingly. You don''t have to say anything in the meeting. Let me do the


    talking."


    Jacob stared at him in disbelief. "No, Uncle. I was the one who nned this. It has nothing to do with


    you, so let me be the one to announce it."


    James stared back into Jacob''s eyes. He wanted to argue with his nephew. But seeing Jacob''s look of


    determination, he stopped on second thought.


    "Fine. You can speak but only in a polite manner. Although the oue is the same, you should pay


    more attention to the way you speak. Don''t offend more people,"


    James instructed. He knew that Jacob was right all along. Because they could not meet the satisfaction


    of the directors, James and Jacob had to make them believe that it was the best course of action.


    Of course, in order to do that, Jacob had to assure them that he had weighed the pros and cons


    properly and that he was not acting on impulse.


    James left the office after a while. Once alone in the office, Jacob suddenly felt his chest tightened and


    he had shortness of breath. Because of this, he sat back on his swivel chair and took deep breaths to


    calm himself down. Then, as if in a daze, he looked up at the ceiling.


    ''Dad, if you were still here, would you disapprove of my decision? Would you be ashamed of me?''


    It suddenly urred to him that his father must have spent a lot of time and effort into raising arge


    group of idlers. As for Jacob, he had only raised them for a few years yet he could not stand it


    anymore.


    Michael, his father, raised those people for decades just because of a little blood rtionship. People


    were strange sometimes.


    When it came to rtionships, they would immediately talk about those who were rted to them by


    blood. On the other hand, when they were not pertaining to the former, they would talk about human


    nature instead. As a result, everyone was left with no other choice most of the time.


    After all fear, nders, and gossips were terrifying. Nevertheless, Jacob did not care about those. Even


    if lots of people threw stones at him, he would never raise so many idlers in silence.


    He had made up his mind a long time ago. Since he was already resolute and his n had been


    finalized, he now had to carry it out. No matter what other people''s opinions were and how much they


    disagreed, he was not afraid, not even a bit.


    Since the directors could not offend their friends and family, he decided to give them a chance.


    Perhaps by then, everyone would want to be the viin.


    Jacob actually felt unhappy about it. He felt that his life was rather lonely. He never wanted to be the


    bad guy. However, it would be better for everyone if he was.


    Someone had to be the viin. Jacob clutched his chest with one hand and looked at his watch with the


    other. It had been 10 minutes since James had left.


    For some reason, he felt that time slowly passed since James had gone. What he was about to do was


    simple, direct, and would not even leave a trace.


    At the thought of this, he let out a sigh of relief. Those damn directors better wait for him. As a person


    of power, Jacob would never allow himself to be looked down on by anyone, even them. As if he had all


    the time in the world, he picked up the ss of water on the table and took a sip leisurely.


    Jacob had finally regained hisposure. Unlike a while ago, he now looked so affable as if nothing


    had happened.