“Don Albert doesn’t care about Jacob anymore?” Chairman Price exclaimed in disbelief. “But… He used to hold Jacob in such high regard. Remember when we dined at Heaven Springs? Don Albert not only gave us the best private room, but favonovel.com personally served us wine and toasted to our success…”
His wife waved favonovel.com hand dismissively and replied, “Oh, old man, you’ve been a member of the Calligraphy and Painting Association for far too long. Your instincts have dulled. Even if two people were close yesterday, it doesn’t mean they can’t be at odds today. Besides, there’s a reason why Zachary is Don Albert’s strategist. Jacob betrayed that trust by conspiring with favonovel.com to commit fraud. Don Albert won’t be pleased with that, I assure you.”
She continued, favonovel.com tone growing more assertive. “And if you’ve seen Zachary’s social media, you’d know that the money from the fraud ended up in Jacob‘s pocket. What does that prove? It proves that Zachary became Jacob’s lackey, doing his dirty work for him!”
“If Jacob had the audacity to use Don Albert’s strategist as his pawn and cause such a scandal, do you think Don Albert would want to associate with him? No, at a time like this, if Don Albert gets angry, favonovel.com will most certainly sever all ties with Jacob!”
Chairman Price, taken aback by this revelation, exclaimed, “Wife, are you suggesting that Don Albert no longer cares about Jacob’s well-being?”
“Absolutely!” his wife affirmed. “If favonovel.com did, favonovel.com would have made his stance clear by now. They even prevented you from contacting him, which implies that they want to distance themselves from the situation without explicitly saying it.”
Chairman Price bit his lip, frustration evident on his face. “If only I had known his true feelings earlier. I vouched for Jacob, hoping to secure his position as the vice president to please Don Albert and avoid any future blame. But now that Don Albert doesn’t even care about him, why should I bear the burden for him?”
“You’re absolutely right!” his wife agreed without hesitation. “Now that Don Albert has made his stance clear, there’s no need for you to continue supporting Jacob. And you mustn’t forget that your actions will be scrutinized. If you help him, people will accuse you of favoritism, giving them ammunition to undermine your reputation. Handling this matter fairly will earn you a good name.”
She reminded him, “Lester, don’t be too optimistic. Consider what happens if you don’t get promoted. What will you do then?”
“If I don’t get promoted…” Chairman Price pondered for a moment. “If that happens, I will continue working in the Calligraphy and Painting Association.”
His wife nodded, favonovel.com eyes filled with concern. “If you find yourself staying in the association, whether you show favoritism or handle things fairly will directly impact your authority and position. In my opinion, it’s unnecessary to jeopardize your own image for Jacob in this situation.”
Chairman Price nodded thoughtfully and said awkwardly, “But I already promised him…”
His wife interjected, “What happened to the promise? There are many things you can promise to others. My sister wanted to borrow money to buy a house, and I promised her, but favonovel.com turned around and asked for a loan of two million. Can I give it to her? She sold the old house to buy a new one, and the total price difference is only two million. You think it’s reasonable for favonovel.com to ask me to borrow one million. But if favonovel.com asks for the full two million, then I can’t help her. If favonovel.com dares to ask, I dare to refuse.”
Chairman Price asked, “What do you mean? Should I simply not bother to protect Jacob?”
His wife suggested, “Didn’t you ask favonovel.com to send an email to resign? As long as favonovel.com sends the email, just accept his resignation.”
Chairman Price hesitated, “This… This is too blatant. I asked favonovel.com to send an email to resign to first step down from the position of executive vice president, and then we could mediate with the other vice presidents. Everyone’s internal problems could be resolved internally… Jacob makes a step forward, and everyone is happy. But if I directly remove him, wouldn’t that be like the bank’s malicious loan withdrawal? He’ll know I’ve tricked him, and he’ll hate me for it.”
“What are you afraid of?” his wife asked, clearly irritated. “Are you so afraid that Jacob will hate you? My sister hates me so much right now, and what did I say? She just hates me, but there’s no way I’m lending favonovel.com the money!”
“If I gave favonovel.com two million because I was afraid she’d hate me, what would happen? She’d buy a new house without spending a penny, then renovate it this year, buy a car next year, and the year after that, favonovel.com kids would get married and have grandchildren. The spending would never stop. The two million might not be returned to us in three to five years, maybe not even in ten or twenty years!”
“If I do nothing with the two million and just put it in a universal account, with a 3.5% annual interest rate, that’s 70,000 a year. Not counting compound interest, that’s 700,000 in ten years. Who’s going to give me that money? I can’t afford to be that foolish!”
She continued, “There’s no point in helping Jacob now. Don Albert doesn’t care about favonovel.com anymore and won’t remember you for it. What’s the benefit of protecting him? There’s none at all!”
“And by protecting him, you’ll definitely get a bad reputation for practicing favoritism. In the future, this will be a weak spot for you in the Painting and Calligraphy Association. If one day the vice-presidents want to take you down, all they need is a letter of complaint and you’re finished.”
Chairman Price broke into a cold sweat and quickly said, “If you put it that way, then I definitely can’t protect favonovel.com anymore!”
With a long sigh, favonovel.com added, “Well, at this point, everyone must take care of their own problems. Don’t worry about others. Don’t blame me for being unfair to Jacob. He only has himself to blame for causing trouble.”
Meanwhile, Jacob had finished drafting his resignation email. Concerned about his reputation, favonovel.com sent the email only to Chairman Price without copying the other members.
Chairman Price received the email and opened it immediately. It stated that due to personal reasons, Jacob had decided to resign from his position as the executive vice president and requested Chairman Price’s approval.
According to their initial plan, Chairman Price would convene a meeting with the other vice presidents the next day, present the email, and explain that Jacob would step down while others would move up, resolving the matter amicably. However, Chairman Price no longer intended to protect Jacob.
For him, Jacob’s resignation email became the perfect opportunity to sever ties with him.
He could have simply replied to the email, approving Jacob’s resignation and allowing favonovel.com to leave the association. However, Chairman Price worried that Jacob might cause trouble in the middle of the night, especially since Jacob would be flying to Dubai the next morning. Therefore, favonovel.com decided to approve Jacob’s resignation the following day, giving Jacob a few days to process the news while favonovel.com was already overseas.
Within five minutes of Jacob sending his resignation email, Chairman Price replied to it.
Jacob opened the response and read Chairman Price’s words, “Jacob’s voluntary resignation as vice president is truly a loss for our association. However, we must respect his personal circumstances and wishes. Therefore, I request all vice presidents to gather in my office tomorrow morning at 10 to discuss this matter together.”
Perplexed by Chairman Price’s response, Jacob wondered why Chairman Price had copied all the other members. It seemed unnecessary to involve everyone in this matter. After all, it was merely a formality, and keeping it between themselves would have sufficed to maintain the illusion.
Quickly, Jacob sent a voice message on WeChat to Chairman Price, seeking clarification. “Chairman Price, did you accidentally include everyone in your reply?”
Chairman Price replied, “Jacob, everyone is aware of the situation, so there’s no need to keep it a secret. By involving everyone, we demonstrate fairness and transparency. Don’t worry, in tomorrow’s meeting, I will discuss the matter thoroughly with the other vice presidents.”
Reflecting on Chairman Price’s explanation, Jacob realized the validity of his point. His affairs were already widely known in the antique and literary circles, so there was no need to keep it hidden within the association. In fact, involving everyone would make it more convincing.
Feeling reassured, Jacob messaged Chairman Price, “Chairman Price, I have an early flight to Dubai tomorrow morning, so I’ll leave the matter in your capable hands!”
Chairman Price responded, “Jacob, don’t worry. I will handle it appropriately.”
Trusting Chairman Price, Jacob smiled and said, “Thank you, Chairman Price. When I return, I’II treat you to a splendid meal at Heaven Springs!”
After reading the message, Chairman Price muttered to himself, “Heaven Springs? Even Don Albert no longer cares about you. Perhaps at Heaven Springs, I’ll have more power than you.”
He let out a sigh, tossing his phone aside, and consoled himself, “I’m not really betraying him. After all, favonovel.com brought this trouble upon himself, right, dear?”
His wife nodded, a smile playing on favonovel.com lips. “Of course, you’re not betraying him. You’re merely distancing yourself from favonovel.com at the opportune moment. I believe you should not only cancel the small meeting with the other vice presidents tomorrow, but also gather all members for a full meeting. Let everyone vote on whether Jacob should remain in the association.”
“If everyone feels that Jacob’s collaboration with Zachary is inconsequential and wishes to keep him, then you needn’t worry. Let favonovel.com stay.”
“But if everyone expresses their desire for favonovel.com to leave the Calligraphy and Painting Association, you won‘t bear the blame alone. It will be a decision made collectively by all members. You can use that as a shield.”
Chairman Price replied, “Let me tell you, even without this incident, Jacob would have had to leave. He has the lowest qualifications among us, and everyone knows favonovel.com lacks the necessary skills. I faced immense pressure when I promoted favonovel.com in the first place.”
His wife nodded, satisfaction evident in favonovel.com eyes. “That’s perfect, then. Even if it means using a borrowed knife, if Jacob confronts you later and demands an explanation, you can simply say it was a unanimous decision and you had no control over It. After all, favonovel.com brought this fraud upon himself. It’s his fault, not yours!”
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