Chapter 52: I Am Capital

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: I Am Capital

"I have only one requirement right now. I will not allow any illegal or criminal activities within the company. If this crosses your bottom line, you are welcome to resign. Otherwise, you can wait for me to dig up the dirt myself and fire you.

"But don’t worry, I will pay the triple severance. I’m quite familiar with that part of the labor law." Rian Sinclair rested her chin on her hand and looked at the crowd. She didn’t want to beat around the bush; if they wouldn’t leave on their own, she would fire them one by one.

The entire conference room was dead silent.

No one dared to make a sound. Some were feeling guilty because of their own shady deeds, while others simply didn’t want to court trouble, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire of the new boss’s inevitable shake-up.

Ian Collins finally stepped forward to speak. "President Rian, these are unwritten rules in the industry. Besides, many investors nowadays prefer it this way. It secures more resources, which in turn lifts the company higher."

Ian’s words weren’t without reason. In the eyes of many investors, investments required profits and returns. They weren’t running charities; if they invested in you, you had to be obedient. Therefore, to these investors, artists were nothing more than commodities—items to be bought, sold, and priced at will.

Nancy Lawson offered a fawning smile. "President Rian, we all understand what you mean. But you have to consider the current market conditions in the industry. If you want to go against the grain and stand out, you have to be prepared to face suppression from our competitors."

Leo Lawson rubbed his hands together, then picked up his glass of water for a sip. "President Rian, Nancy is right. In our line of work, you can’t survive without going with the flow!"

Grayson scoffed. "Heh, you make it sound so noble. Do you really think relying on physical transactions will last? Besides, the government is cracking down hard right now. Once they investigate, they’ll catch you dead to rights."

Ian didn’t say anything either. He didn’t know Grayson had connections inside. The information Rian had obtained was provided by the system, so it was absolutely airtight. However, Ian shot Grayson a warning look. It wasn’t appropriate to speak like that in front of the big boss. They were merely employees, not there to assert dominance over their employer.

Grayson fell silent, simply sitting off to the side with a cold expression. Every time those three said something, he rolled his eyes at them.

Everyone in the conference room looked at Grayson awkwardly. Grayson snapped, "What are you all looking at me for? Keep talking. I’d like to see what kind of nonsense you can spin next."

Ron Sherman belonged to the same faction as Ian and Grayson. Hearing this, he almost burst out laughing. Although he didn’t manage many artists, he prided himself on never trading his artists’ bodies for resources.

Ian coughed lightly and nudged Grayson with his elbow. "Watch it," he muttered. "The big boss is still here."

The crowd shifted their gazes to Rian at the head of the table. After all, the big boss was sitting right there while an employee was making snide remarks. Those who were on bad terms with Grayson secretly hoped the big boss would teach him a lesson.

Looking at the people around him, Ian easily read their intentions. He had mentored Grayson himself; the young man was righteous and never resorted to crooked methods. In Grayson, Ian saw his past self. It was a pity. After staying in the entertainment industry for so long, Ian had almost been fully assimilated by it.

Ian stood up. "President Rian, Grayson is still young and lacks social experience. I hope you won’t hold it against him. He’s only acting out of concern for the company."

For a moment, many people waited to see Ian and Grayson make fools of themselves. Ron noticed the atmosphere and, seeing that the boss didn’t reply, knew this was bad.

Leo wore a gloomy, arrogant expression. This Ian really was something else—dragging himself down just for Grayson’s sake. The surrounding crowd didn’t get a response from the big boss; instead, they heard from Ron.

Ron stood up and looked at Rian. "Hello, President Rian. I’m Ron Sherman. Regarding what you’ve said, it will be quite difficult to implement at present. However, we will do our best to fulfill your requirements. Grayson is just too eager for quick results; that’s his mistake."

Rian didn’t speak, but she could tell that Ian and Ron were speaking up in Grayson’s defense. She had no intention of blaming him anyway; Grayson’s views were more or less aligned with her own.

"Grayson made a very good point."

As soon as Rian finished speaking, the expressions on Leo and his cronies’ faces instantly soured. Leo looked displeased. It seemed this new boss was taking Ian’s side.

Nancy and Shane Miller also kept quiet. After all, they were hostile toward Grayson. If the big boss stood with him, their future operations would become much more troublesome.

Leo couldn’t figure out the boss’s attitude. The minds of second-generation heirs were notoriously hard to read. However, the boss was too young; her words could easily be written off as child’s play. But his real fear was that she might be hiding her true strength. If so, the company was in for a massive shake-up. After all, the families of these wealthy heirs never wanted their children to have any blemishes on their records while out in the world. She would definitely clean house, which meant his own power and influence would take a severe hit!

He was used to living large. Going back to a modest lifestyle was something he absolutely refused to accept. He only hoped the big boss understood the ironclad rules of the entertainment circle. If she wanted a slice of the pie, she had to abide by its rules. Furthermore, if the people backing the big boss were just letting her use this company for practice, they wouldn’t have given her unlimited funds. If she wanted to prove herself and make money, she would have to push the envelope even further than they had before.

"President Rian, what Grayson said isn’t wrong, but we have to make money," Leo argued. "How do we make money off our artists? The artists need resources! This method secures resources much faster, and the profits show up quickly as well. Why not do it?"

After speaking, Leo stared straight at Rian. There was nothing logically wrong with his argument, and a few people nodded in agreement, showing their support for his stance. They figured that as long as everyone kept their mouths shut, certain secrets would remain buried forever.

Rian scanned the room. Seeing the expressions on some of their faces, she couldn’t help but scoff. Clearly, they didn’t know that justice might be delayed, but it would never be denied.

"You’re right," Rian said.

As soon as she spoke, the color drained from the faces of Grayson and his allies. Meanwhile, Leo’s faction immediately thought they had it in the bag!

"However..." Rian’s sudden pivot made everyone’s hearts leap into their throats. "What if I am the capital myself?"

Her words left the crowd speechless. They felt her claim was only half-true. Rian was so young; the resources she held must be limited. If an elder in her family had said this, it would have been much more credible. But coming from such a young girl, it was truly hard to believe.

Rian smiled as she took in their expressions, lightly tapping her pen on the table. "You don’t believe me? That’s fine." She slammed the pen down flat against the desk. "I didn’t come here today to plan for the future. I came here to fire you."

The people in the conference room instantly grew tense. Who could have expected this turn of events? Chaos erupted as everyone started talking at once. They had spent so long building their power within the company; no one wanted to be fired now! Who would willingly fall from grace and start all over again when they were already standing at the peak, enjoying everyone’s admiration?

The noisy chatter around her annoyed Rian. "The termination notices will be sent to your emails, along with triple severance pay. Let’s see who ends up receiving one."

With that, she turned to leave, bringing Quentin Sinclair with her. When she reached the door, she looked back and said, "Ian, Grayson, Ron. Come to my office in a bit." Then, she walked straight out of the conference room.