A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

Chapter 1593 A New Business Opportunity

“I just have to say this. I believe that ending our venture into the skincare industry is the only right option. The only chance that the KING Group can succeed is if we start something new right now. Let's use our profits from our skincare department before we lose it all. If I'm being honest here, competing with the HT Group is a losing battle. We'll certainly go bankrupt if we don't do anything about it,“ one of the senior shareholders boldly proclaimed while looking right at Darren.

In fact, the man who voiced out his opinion had been discussing it with the other shareholders for a long time. His plan was simple. If Darren couldn't come up with a solution to their problem at their meeting, he would force the company to withdraw from the skincare industry.

When the man finished speaking, Darren looked at him as if he knew exactly what the shareholder was doing. Having been a CEO for so long, he knew that whenever shareholders mingled and insisted on holding an emergency meeting, it would be about preventing the loss of money.

As expected, every shareholder in that room couldn't agree more. “That's exactly what I had in mind. We cannot gamble on the KING Group's future! There's obviously too much at stake here! But if we stop now, we can still find a way out. Aren't we already successful in the food industry? How about we just focus on that?“

Darren couldn't help but sneer and feel disgusted by their cowardice. Jacob hadn't even done something innovative, he had just copied the KING Group's work and managed to come out on top one time. Now that they were neck and neck, everyone suddenly wanted to quit? Darren knew that if they were going to give up now, he wouldn't be able to live with the shame that this decision entailed.

“I can't be onboard with your decision. It wasn't easy for the company to gather all of our connections right now in the skincare industry. If we were to give up now, all of our efforts up until this point will just go down the drain,“ Darren calmly replied while looking at all of the shareholders one by one. After a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowed and he firmly added, “I'll admit that we could've done things better,

but we can't do anything about the past. Nevertheless, how can a man back down after facing just a single difficulty in life? If we always give up before giving it our best, how can we improve as a company moving forward?“

This was the first time Darren had opened his mouth after entering the conference room that day. He honestly hadn't planned on talking. But when he heard the shareholders say that they wanted to stop the KING Group from continuing on with their skincare line, he couldn't just sit there and say nothing.

Obviously, the shareholders weren't happy about Darren's stubbornness. All of them had a single thought in mind.

'You say that you want to push through with this, but you don't even have a plan for how to keep the boat afloat. Do you want the company to go bankrupt or what?'

Harlan, who was quietly taking notes in the corner, felt a little embarrassed. He could tell what everyone was thinking by the expressions on their faces, so he knew that he had to stand up for Darren. “Everyone, please settle down. Let's not forget that if Mr. Xu weren't around, the company would've probably been in turmoil long ago. I'm sure there's a brilliant idea inside his mind. We just have to believe in him and wait for it to take shape. Besides, an emergency meeting is not enough to decide whether the production line should stop or go on.“

Everyone stayed silent in their seats after hearing Harlan's reasonable points. However, the shareholders had already made up their mind long before the meeting. The fact that they had invested so much money into the company made it impossible for them to take a risk. With a confident stance, the head of the shareholders said, “No matter what, you cannot deny the fact that our skincare venture is costing us money with every second that passes. The longer we ignore this fact, the more money that will have to come out of our pockets. And for what? Mr. Xu, please don't let your pride get in the way of business.“Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Fine! I'll think of a way to save this. But for us to move forward, we need to stop dwelling on our past mistakes,“

Darren replied with a disappointed expression on his face. Even if he agreed to their demands, he couldn't let Jacob do whatever he wanted. As a result, he refused to give up so soon. “Anyway, I'll think of something that the company can work on in the future. But for now, I'll just let our production of skincare products continue.“

His decision to push through without giving a concrete plan irritated the shareholders. One of the senior shareholders couldn't help but exclaim, “Mr. Xu! You cannot run this company for the sake of your personal grudges! The company can't allow you to play games like a child!“

The war between the KING Group and the HT Group was known to everyone. However, it was well- known as well that the real battle was between Darren and Jacob.

With his dignity at stake, giving up wasn't an option for Darren. Unfortunately, companies were made to make money and not settle differences between men. To make matters worse, the KING Group didn't have the finances to fight back.

“Honestly, please solve the problem that you have with the HT Group in private. We cannot continue to allow you with aimlessly gambling the shareholders' hard-earned money as you see fit!“ The more the shareholders opened their mouths, the more furious each of them became. They were determined to change Darren's decision.

With all their boisterous banter leaving no room to talk, Darren just gazed at the crowd while his mind wandered to the past. Back then, he had managed to single-handedly bring back the KING Group to its former glory with his idea of entering the food industry. At that time, all the shareholders had made a lot of money and had had nothing but praise for him. But now that things were looking bleak for the company, everyone had turned against him.

As someone who had been in the business since his teenage years, Darren could understand them. After all, everything in their world always come down to nothing but money. With that in mind, along with the fact that the company was in grave danger, he knew he had to get back their trust and understanding as soon as possible. He would work towards this goal, but he would never stop production just because of an emergency meeting. With a frigid stare, he said,

“Like I've said, I'll think of something to get the company back on track. However, Harlan is right. This is too big of a problem to be solved in a hurry. Let's call it a day.“

Right after that, Darren swaggered his way out of the conference room. No matter how fierce the shareholders' glares were, he didn't pay any attention to them.

Before walking out with Darren, Harlan tipped the shareholders a wink. It was his attempt to calm everyone down.

Feeling defeated, Darren's confident steps turned heavy while he walked back to his office. As soon as he was inside, he sat on his chair and rubbed his temples. When he saw Harlan opening the door, he immediately waved his hand and said, “Don't come in here for a bit. I need some time to rest.“

Remembering how bad Darren had smashed the TV the last time he was upset, Harlan just nodded and left quietly.

From inside the CEO's office, one could see the streets, the magnificent buildings, and the wonderful green trees outside. However, Darren was in no mood to appreciate any of it. All he wanted to do at that moment was to quench his thirst. Unfortunately, the only thing left to drink in his office was half a cup of cold coffee that had been sitting on his table before he left for the meeting.

All of a sudden, someone knocked on the door.

“I freaking told you to leave me alone!“ The person outside didn't seem to hear Darren and continued opening the door. But before the person could come in, Darren picked up a nearby folder and hurled it towards the door.

Everything inside of the folder scattered through the air like a rain of paper.

In Darren's mind, the person at the door could only be Harlan. But when he took a closer look, he realized it was actually Siena with a tray in hand. Seeing a bunch of paper in the air surprised Siena and she quickly noticed that Darren was quite upset.

“What are you doing here?“ Darren impatiently asked.

“Well... I just thought you might like some warm coffee after your meeting, so I made some for you,“ she replied in a meek voice.

Even though she had brought just what he was looking for, Darren just gave her a frigid nod.

After that, he cleared his throat and didn't even bother to apologize.

Seeing that he acquiesced, Siena placed the cup of warm coffee on the table, and then turned around to pick up the papers on the ground.

“Mr. Xu, please calm down. It's not good for your health to be so upset. Now—“ Siena tried to comfort Darren the best she could while picking up the documents.

Unfortunately for her, Darren didn't want to hear anything from an outsider. “What are you even talking about? Don't act like you know anything. Leave right now before I ask security to drag you out.“

He knew that a young inexperienced girl like Siena wouldn't be able to tell him anything that he didn't know already, especially since she was just a college student who knew nothing about business.

Siena just kept her mouth shut when she was interrupted. It took her quite some time to tidy up, but it was long enough for Darren to calm down. Seeing this, she spoke again in a casual tone. “By the way, I happened to see Harlan on my way here. I guess he's been under a lot of stress the past few days, since there is a breakout on his face.“

Darren glanced at her and wondered whether she was seriously trying to start a conversation.

If it weren't for the fact that her voice was so similar to Bonnie's, he wouldn't bother to answer her questions. With furrowed eyebrows, he simply replied, “Yes.“

“I'm sure that if he takes care of skin, a lot of girls would go after him,“ Siena said while picking up the cold cup of coffee on Darren's table. After that, she headed to the bathroom in the CEO office to wash the coffee on the cup that had dried up. She continued to talk while in the bathroom even though Darren couldn't see her. Because of this, he felt that it was actually Bonnie talking to him.

Darren's heart immediately softened at the thought of the love of his life. He couldn't help but close his eyes to enjoy it even more.

“I wish there were more high-quality skincare products for men in the market. If there were, I could recommend some to Harlan so that he can always look his best.“

Darren's eyes lit up like fireworks when she heard Siena. The idea he was waiting for had finally arrived. “You're right! Men usually don't take care of their skin. You can continue.“

Siena walked out of the bathroom when she finished cleaning and continued to chat with Darren. “Although I don't know much about business, I know that Mr. Gu of the HT Group robbed you of the best raw materials manufacturer in the world. From my research, I found out that the best chemical to put in skincare products is hyaluronic acid, especially since Mr. Gu can't stop mentioning it in his advertisements.“

Although Siena had only been in the company for a short time, she had managed to gather all this information from the employees. This was her way of getting closer to Darren. Luckily for her, her plan worked and Darren couldn't be more interested in what she had to say. Shortly after, she continued, “Because of both groups' packaging, skincare products nowadays have a nationalistic feel to them, but they're only targeted towards women. Anyway, since the KING Group was the first one to do this kind of packaging, I think it would be a wise decision to just get better at it. It would be such a waste if the company abandoned it so quickly. All that we need now is a chance, especially since we have such a good foundation.“

Darren quickly came up with several keywords in his head, including men, skincare products, traditional style, and a window of opportunity.

He knew that the only reason their products had failed was because Jacob had stolen the best hyaluronic acid manufacturer in the world. He thought that if they continued to use the concept of traditional style, there was a great chance that they would succeed since it was very popular. If they used it for men's skincare products, it would not only bring stability to the company, but it would also place them ahead of their competitors.

Nowadays, there were only a few men's skincare brands in the market, let alone those with the concept of traditional style. If the KING Group took the lead, the public wouldn't have any choice but to purchase their products. Even if Jacob were to find out about the idea, by the time he caught up to Darren, the KING Group would have already made a fortune. In conclusion, there was nothing for Darren to lose.

With these thoughts in mind, Darren was suddenly full of energy! He immediately asked Siena to go out and call Harlan in.

When Harlan was finally in front of him, Darren described what he had just come up with. Harlan thought it was feasible, but he was a little curious. “How did you suddenly think of this idea, Mr. Xu?“

If this idea had been brought up in the meeting just now, Harlan couldn't imagine that the shareholders would have had anything to say.

At this time, Darren thought of Siena. He looked around and found out that she had already left the office.

The reason why he had had such an idea was because of what Siena had said. They had just been conversing casually, but Darren had been suddenly inspired.

It appeared that the girl was not worthless after all.

While looking at Harlan, Darren responded, “It just came to me in a flash. By the way, is Siena still on probation? Make her a regular employee, even if it's in advance. Her salary will be increased by 10% as well.“