Chapter Twenty–One
MARCUS
I thought nothing on earth would be able to spoll my mood that day, until I walked into the board meeting and heard the terrible news.
“And there’s no way of turning this around?” I asked, a cold sweat breaking out across my forehead despite the air conditioning. Looking at the numbers, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Reynard Tech was on the brink of bankruptcy, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. We’d lost another investor, and it looked like we were going to lose even more. The reality of our situation was starting to settle in, and I felt like the walls were closing in on me.
“I’m afraid this is it, Marcus,” Mr. Jones said. He was one of the senior board members, and the oldest person in the room. He’d been with the company since the days of my father being in charge, and he was one of the few men I actually respected.
“But surely there must be something we can do,” I said. “I mean we can’t just fold our hands and give up, right? This company has stood the test of time for over thirty years. I’m sure we can weather the storm.”
“Not with the way things are looking,” Richard said, and 1 scowled at him as he was my least favourite person in the room. “There are ups and downs in the business world, but I’ve never seen numbers like this. Investors are pulling out left, right and center. Companies are refusing to buy our chips, and our suppliers are doubling their prices and not looking back at all. Things are looking very bleak, and we need to do something before this company sinks.“.
There was a general murmur of agreement, and I slammed my fists on the table, causing everyone to jump back in Shock
“Have you all lost your minds?” I roared. “I never knew I was surrounded by idiots who would turn their backs on this company and let it die at the first sign of danger. Where’s your pride? Where’s your sense of loyalty? Or have you lost all that along with your balls?”
None of them dared to speak, and I glared at each of them before I continued. “We can turn this around. We just need to diversify our markets and reach out to new suppliers. We close down a few departments that are not needed, so we can increase our profit margins and stop bleeding so much money.”
“Y–you want us to start sacking people?” Mr. Jones asked in shock. “Reynard Tech has never fired an employee before, except under serious circumstances. We pride ourselves on our relationship with our employees. This isn’t just a company, Marcus. It’s a family. These men and women have families that depend on them. And you want to cut them off just like that?”
“It’s the only way,” I argued. “Cost–cutting is an ugly thing to do, but we have no other choice. We have to sacrifice the few to save the many.”
