Chapter 249: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend
"In business, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
A single sentence from Alaric Blackwood answered all of Chairman Lancaster’s questions.
"Chairman Lancaster, you’ve been fighting for your career for so many years, always on edge. Don’t you want to slow down, take a proper vacation, and experience life?"
The young man’s words hit a nerve with Chairman Lancaster.
He was indeed tired, exhausted. He had fought Quentin Blackwood in the business world for half his life and had always seen himself as a failure. Yet, in the eyes of many, he was a highly successful entrepreneur who had built a commercial empire like the Reid Group from scratch.
But what good was a net worth of over ten billion? It couldn’t warm his already cold heart.
He had originally just wanted a happy family, but reality had pushed him forward relentlessly, never giving him a moment’s rest.
He was born into a well-off family. He never worried about money growing up, but he wasn’t from a super-rich household either. In his student days, he met the woman of his dreams. The first time he saw Mandy Halloway, he had already imagined their future, even picking out a name for their son: Ethan, a name representing a great journey and lofty ambitions. He even named his company, the Reid Group, after that dream.
Mandy Halloway’s family was wealthy, and her parents looked down on him. They broke up in college. To become someone worthy of her, he seized the opportunity to study abroad and left without hesitation.
After returning to the country, he started his own business while continuing to pursue Mandy Halloway. But Quentin Blackwood had set his sights on her before he returned. Compared to his own humble background, Quentin Blackwood had far too many advantages: he was the son of a rich businessman, a gentle and chivalrous man, and someone who understood romance.
Mandy Halloway ultimately chose Quentin Blackwood. A rivalry to the death was born from the theft of his love.
From the day Mandy Halloway married Quentin Blackwood, his war with the man had never ceased.
In the blink of an eye, thirty years had passed. He was truly tired, too tired to fight anymore.
"Is your mother really getting a divorce?"
Alaric Blackwood smiled thoughtfully. "Chairman Lancaster, I am here only on my own behalf. This has nothing to do with my mother. Her divorce is her business, and I don’t want to use her private affairs to negotiate with you."
"My apologies. I was out of line."
The waiter brought their food, placing the dishes on the table one by one. The two of them talked as they ate.
Alaric Blackwood spoke at length about the company’s future prospects and sustainable growth strategies. Chairman Lancaster listened intently. After Alaric had contacted him to arrange a meeting, he had looked into the young man’s background.
The returns from Alaric Blackwood’s personal investment projects were more than enough for him to start another company and grow it slowly. Within his lifetime, acquiring the Blackwood Group wouldn’t be difficult at all.
But clearly, Alaric Blackwood didn’t want to take such a roundabout path. He wanted a quick, decisive battle—to give Quentin Blackwood a swift end.
"If I let you parachute into the Reid Group, would that be considered getting involved in the inheritance struggles of your generation?"
Alaric Blackwood shook his head. "There is no struggle for inheritance. What I’m doing is a sign of respect for my father."
’?’
’Taking over your own father’s company is a sign of respect?’
Chairman Lancaster couldn’t comprehend it, but he respected the sentiment.
"I will seriously consider what you’ve said. I’ll give you an answer in a few days."
After that, the meal became more relaxed. Alaric Blackwood was in a good mood and ordered a bottle of wine, sharing a few glasses with Chairman Lancaster.
After dinner, he saw Chairman Lancaster to his car. He then waited on the ground floor and sent a message to Sophie Shaw. When he learned they were still eating, he went ahead and paid for their table, planning to wait for them to finish and come downstairs so they could return to the Heart of the Ocean building together.
During the breaks while he was keeping Sophie Shaw company at work, Alaric Blackwood wasn’t idle. He’d set his sights on a security company and remotely instructed Preston Chase to negotiate its acquisition. He also didn’t forget to personally contact Galton Law Firm to prepare for pulling his investment.
Hearing him on the phone with the law firm about pulling his investment gave Sophie Shaw a headache. The HR department had been unable to hire a legal counsel for ages. Zack Rhodes couldn’t handle everything on his own, and they’d had to hire outside lawyers for the lawsuit against the Kane Group.
She needed her own legal team.
She picked up her desk phone and called the head of HR, who arrived shortly after.
He was a man in his early forties who had been working in the HR department since Heart of the Ocean was founded, making him one of the company’s old guard.
"Why haven’t we been able to hire a legal counsel?"
The HR head held a folder containing all the resumes for the legal counsel position that had come in since Sophie Shaw took over the company. Seeing the thick stack of resumes, Sophie was quite surprised. "This many?"
"Most of them were filtered out during background checks and initial interviews."
"Let me see."
Sophie took the resumes and looked through them, one by one. She found that there were quite a few candidates with law degrees and extensive work experience. The ones rejected after background checks had some issues, all of which the HR head had marked. But there was another portion with no marks that had been mysteriously rejected.
Sophie sorted through that portion of resumes and noticed most of them were from women. She was shocked. "Why were these rejected?"
The HR head glanced at the resumes and said matter-of-factly, "The company gives hiring preference to men. That’s a rule Mr. Morgan established when he founded the company."
Sophie’s head was buzzing. She froze for a full thirty seconds before snapping back to reality. "So that’s why it’s been so damn hard for every department to hire anyone!"
’So there’s a dinosaur like this hiding among the senior staff!’
"Women cause more trouble than men, and they’re the ones who usually take leave. What’s wrong with giving preference to men, President Shaw? I’m just thinking of the company’s best interests."
Before Sophie could say anything, the HR head started telling her about his previous job. A female employee went on maternity leave, and her work was distributed to other employees. Outwardly, no one said anything, but privately, everyone complained bitterly about the increased workload.
"Some female employees quit right after their maternity leave, as soon as they get their subsidy, and jump to another company. They’ve already lined up their next job. This is something I’ve personally experienced. My last boss got burned badly. Several women in a row pulled the same stunt, like they’d all planned it together."
"I really am thinking of the company’s best interests. This saves a lot of trouble."
Sophie looked down and flipped through the resumes in her hand again. When she saw several graduates from top-tier universities, she was instantly furious.
"I want to see your resignation letter on my desk before the end of the day."
The HR head looked baffled. "I’ve put so much thought into the company, and you’re firing me?"
"Yes."
"This is wrongful termination! According to the contract..."
"I’ll give you N+1. Go write your resignation letter."
Seeing his wife so decisively and swiftly cutting out the cancer, a faint smile touched Alaric Blackwood’s lips.
After the HR head left, he rested his chin in his hand and watched the serious-faced Sophie with great interest, his eyes full of adoration. "Honey, you were so impressive just now. You completely captivated me."
"I’m about to die of anger, and you’re still smiling."
"Don’t be angry, honey. It’s not good for your health."
Alaric Blackwood stood up anxiously, walked over to Sophie, bent down, and cupped her face, giving her a light kiss on the lips. "You’ve had a long day, honey. How about I give you a shoulder rub to help you relax?"
Sophie gave him a look of consent. He moved to stand behind her, kneading her shoulders while watching her re-examine the rejected resumes.
She circled them one by one, then picked up the phone to call them, asking if they had found a job yet. If not, she scheduled an interview.
In addition to the legal counsel, she had the HR staff bring all the rejected resumes from other departments. Upon review, she discovered that several outstanding designers had also been filtered out.
"Damian Morgan really caused a lot of trouble."
The man wasn’t even at Heart of the Ocean anymore, yet he was still invisibly influencing the company’s culture.
The thought that he still held shares in Heart of the Ocean made her agitated.