Chapter 825: Intuition

Chapter 825: Intuition

Austin didn't have any spare time to think about confronting Preston

right now. With such a big incident happening at Norman Group, he had

to rush back immediately.

But Norman Group was in chaos like ants on a hot pan, and even if

Austin returned, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

The Norman family had the largest share in Norman Group and was

the ultimate authority. However, Norman Group was not solely owned

by the Norman family. Apart from Norman Group, there were Mr.

Davalos and Mr. Moya, who had worked together with Austin's father to

build Norman Group. Both of them were the second-largest directors of

Norman Group. However, even if their shares were combined, they only

accounted for fifteen percent of Norman Group. That was why the

Norman family had maintained their position in Norman Group all these

years.

But whether it was Mr. Davalos or Mr. Moya, they were extremely

dissatisfied with the Norman family behind closed doors, especially

after Austin's father retired and handed over the management of

Norman Group to Austin. Austin didn’t hold them or the senior-level

executives in high regard and was extremely dismissive of them.

So, from the beginning, everyone resisted Austin's management of

Norman Group. However, over the years, Norman Group had been

profitable and showed an increasingly positive momentum. That's why

everyone had silently endured their dissatisfaction. After all, getting

their share of the profits was real money. Who wouldn't be happy about

that?

But now, everyone knew that the reason why Norman Group could

operate so smoothly was because of money with an unclear origin. And

they only received a small portion of that money, while Austin and the

Norman family took the lion's share.

Who could tolerate such a huge disparity?

After arriving at Campole, Austin immediately held an emergency

meeting at Norman Group.

His phone had been lost when Ayan's men were chasing him, so no

one could contact him now. All communication was being handled by

Jeremiah.

He finally had some peace and quiet.

Jeremiah drove him back to Norman Group. The entrance was

crowded with reporters and media, so it was impossible to enter

directly. Fortunately, the car he was driving today was not the one he

usually used, so it didn't attract too much attention.

The two of them entered through the back door of the basement and

took a dedicated elevator up to the office.

When the employees saw Austin, they immediately spread the news in

the internal group chat, “Mr. Norman is here!"

"Mr. Norman has been silent all this time, and it's making me nervous.

Usually, if he hasn't done something, he would have had Jeremiah

issue a clarification. Why is there no movement this time? What should

we do? I feel like I'm going to lose my job!"

"Me too. I feel like Mr. Norman is afraid to make a statement. Is Mr.

Norman feeling guilty?"

"Shhh!!! Let's not discuss it. It wouldn't be good if it reached Mr.

Norman's ears. Let's focus on finding a new job as quickly as possible,

or we won't be able to pay off our credit cards if we become

unemployed.”

Everyone works at Norman Group, so naturally, they hope that Norman

Group will continue to thrive. If it's just the usual small matters or less

influential gossip, everyone stands by Norman Group. But now, the

revealed evidence is completely a violation of the law. It's simply

unbearable.

It's all been confirmed now. Unless Austin presents more compelling

evidence, this matter will be attributed to Norman Group.

The employees’ hearts are starting to waver, and the high-level

executives who Austin never took seriously are expressing their

discontent one by one.

After the meeting began, the time spent on discussing this matter alone

lasted nearly half an hour.

Austin sat there without saying much because he hadn't been resting

well lately and had been travelling all day. He was now exhausted.

These voices buzzed in his ears like bees, making him extremely

irritable and emotionally drained.

He slammed the table heavily, his face icy cold. He narrowed his eyes

and scanned the crowd, saying indifferently, "Did I gather you here to

accuse me of doing something? No, I gathered you here to tell me what

we should do now. Come up with a reasonable solution. Let me be

honest with all of you here. If something happens to me, if the Norman

family gets in trouble, none of you will be able to escape. The money in

you earn comes from Norman Group. Do you think you can walk away

unscathed?"

Although Austin didn't directly admit to the online allegations, his words

were an implicit acknowledgment.

He did it, but now, to find a solution, if he really gets into trouble,

everyone will be in trouble together.

Mr. Davalos said somewhat helplessly, "Mr. Norman, we were

completely unaware of these matters. Now you're forcing us to

knowingly do wrong. In my opinion, if Norman Group really did such

things, it's time to cut our losses. Mr. Norman should apologize to the

public, there's still a chance to resolve this.”

"Huh, so you're not willing to find a solution, nor are you willing to bear

the responsibility together? Are you planning to take the money and

push all the blame onto me and the Norman family?"

Austin let out a cold laugh, his expression extremely ugly.

He stared at Mr. Davalos and then glanced at the others. Everyone

exchanged looks but didn't say a word.

It was evident that they agreed with Mr. Davalos, after all, they would

benefit from it together. But when trouble arises, they won't face it

together.

Mr. Davalos continued, "Mr. Norman, you're still young, and most of us

here are older. We've seen more of the world than you. So listen to me.

Hold a press conference and apologize now. This matter is already a

violation of the law. If you don't apologize and show your attitude, the

media and the public won't let it go."

"I agree with Mr. Davalos. At this point, Mr. Norman, please don't act on

impulse anymore. We're all in the same boat, and we don't expect you

to shoulder all the responsibility alone. But now, as the person in power

at Norman Group, with the largest stake in the Norman family, it's more

convincing if Mr. Norman takes the leading role in this matter."

Mr. Moya spoke these words. Both he and Mr. Davalos were around

the same age as Austin's father. Before Austin took over Norman Group

completely, he used to address them respectfully as uncles. But since

Austin took full control of Norman Group, his respect for them vanished.

The two of them combined had over a century of experience. How

could they willingly be oppressed by this younger Austin all the time?

So over the years, they maintained a cooperative relationship.

Compared to theirs with Austin's father, it was the two of them who

were tightly connected.

After this matter came to light, the two of them immediately discussed

it. They couldn't possibly let themselves take the blame, nor could they

let Austin get away unscathed. After all, Austin is responsible for what

he did. He should pay the price.

Therefore, when Mr. Moya finished speaking, Mr. Davalos and several

close associates of Norman Group all nodded along.

In addition to Mr. Davalos and Mr. Moya, there were around ten people

who were close confidants of Austin's father, apart from their own

people. The remaining five high-level executives were loyal to Austin's

father and had stood by Austin all these years.

But this time, they were unsure of what to do, so they remained silent

without expressing any opinions.

They also contacted Austin’s father, but he kept saying that he was

unwell and couldn't get involved. He left everything to Austin to handle.

The power struggle among everyone around the conference table

made Austin coldly laugh. Austin retorted to everyone present, "So, you

took the benefits and pushed all the responsibility onto me, is that it?"

Mr. Moya glanced at Austin and smiled awkwardly, saying, "Austin,

aside from our positions at the company, we are also your uncles. I

have worked with your father for so many years, and there has never

been anything that let down you or the Norman family. If you claim that

we only turned our backs on you because we received benefits, then I

don't acknowledge that."

“Yes, Austin, you know very well how your Uncle Davalos and I have

worked at Norman Group under your leadership. So, what you said

about us, we don't acknowledge it!"

"What does it matter if you acknowledge it or not? These are facts,

aren't they? Don't tell me you haven't benefited from Norman Group?

Now that the truth has come out, you're all trying to shift the blame."