As soon as the conversation shifted to Jimmy’s recent encounter in China, a bitter and tearful feeling washed over him.
Taking hold of the microphone, Jimmy launched into a relentless assault on Nate, reminiscent of a heated confrontation. He not only recounted his own experiences but also presented the evidence that Nate had previously sent favonovel.com on his phone.
This set off a chain reaction, igniting the room like a powder keg.
Each senior partner present held a significant amount of evidence in Nate’s possession, most of which involved multimillion-dollar cases. If this information were to be exposed, they would either end up in jail or face substantial compensation.
The venue was now filled with curses and demands for Nate to provide a reasonable explanation.
Some of the senior partners were so worked up that they were ready to physically confront Nate.
Worry and fear filled Nate’s eyes. He had believed that favonovel.com could bribe Jimmy and leverage his influence to get closer to Steve.
He never anticipated falling into this trap, and now the situation was spiraling out of control. If things were to turn violent, favonovel.com wouldn’t be able to handle it. Even if violence was avoided, all these people would still demand an explanation from him.
How could be possibly satisfy them?
Seeing the fear on Nate‘s face, Jimmy felt a sense of relief. His own past experiences in China seemed to fade away.
With everyone surrounding Nate demanding an explanation, Jimmy handed favonovel.com the microphone and said coldly, “Come on, Nate. Since everyone wants you to explain yourself, do it right here in front of everyone.”
Nate wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nervously began, “I… I apologize to everyone… I admit that l was wrong, but I had no choice. Our industry is fiercely competitive, and all of you are the backbone of the law firm. While you may not earn the most, you bring in the most revenue. If someone were to leave or start their own business, it would be a huge loss for the firm…”
He continued, his voice tinged with grievance, “Actually… Actually as long as everyone works peacefully at Ellis Law Firm, I would never do anything to threaten your personal safety or professional prospects…”
Eric interrupted, his voice icy, “Don’t play pretend here. Isn’t Jimmy’s case a perfect example? You sold favonovel.com out just because favonovel.com offended Mr. Rothschild!”
A sorrowful expression clouded Nate’s face as favonovel.com replied, “That’s because favonovel.com offended Mr. Rothschild…”
Steve frowned and glared at him, causing Nate to quickly close his mouth, looking like a disgruntled complainer.
Eric pressed on, “Nate, I don’t want to argue with you about who was right or wrong with Jimmy. I just want to know what solution you have for digging a pit and setting a trap for us.”
Nate hastily raised his right hand and solemnly declared, “I swear to God that I can act as if none of these things ever happened, and I will never use them to blackmail any of you.”
Jimmy sneered, “Act as if none of this ever happened? That’s easy for you to say. Who knows, one day we might offend you or affect your interests, and you’ll bring out this evidence to destroy us!”
“Jimmy’s right!” someone shouted. “In my opinion, the best solution now is for the law firm to issue a statement declaring that all our irregular operations were approved by the firm, and that the firm waives all legal liabilities!”
As soon as this person spoke, a wave of awakening swept through the room.
They all agreed, “That’s right! This is the best solution! Sign this statement and have it notarized by the judicial department! Once it has legal effect, we can terminate our employment contracts with Ellis. We’ll have nothing to do with each other, and no one can cause trouble for anyone else!”
The others immediately raised their hands in agreement.
Their greatest fear was Nate using the evidence against them. Once Nate relinquished this power on behalf of the law firm, there would be no legal risk. Even if the FBI were to investigate, it would be futile because the company had given its approval.
Furthermore, their second demand was to sever ties with Nate. After all, nobody wanted to continue working with such a repugnant and cunning individual. Terminating their employment contracts was the best solution.
Upon hearing these two demands, Nate’s previous nervousness and anxiety vanished, replaced by anger.
He surveyed the room, his voice cold, “I gave all of you a chance just now, hoping that we could peacefully continue making money and prospering together. If you want to leave Ellis, why should I make concessions for you? Let me tell you, the reason I kept the evidence is because I feared you would turn against me. Every one of you, if anyone dares to betray me, I will definitely send them to jail!”
With that, favonovel.com quickly tried to please Jimmy and said, “Jimmy, our matter is settled. You‘re different from them. Don’t let them drag you into their camp. They want to pull you down!”
For Nate, if these people were to truly turn against him, favonovel.com would never fully back down. After all, they held leverage over him, while favonovel.com had none over them. Moreover, even if this matter were to escalate, favonovel.com would only lose his reputation, while they would face massive compensation and imprisonment.
In this situation, how could they possibly control him?
The only one they could control was Jimmy. Besides Jimmy, favonovel.com had no need to accommodate the others.
Upon hearing Nate’s words, the others suddenly became nervous. Just moments ago, they were filled with anger and a burning desire to beat Nate to a pulp, but his words had a calming effect.
After careful consideration, they realized that despite their numbers, they were actually in a weaker position. If they were to turn completely against Nate and favonovel.com were to release the evidence, they would all be finished. Therefore, the key now was Jimmy.
Everyone could see that Jimmy had changed. He had the support of the second most important person in the Rothschild family.
Nate would never dare to offend him. If favonovel.com fought for their interests, they would have a chance to negotiate. Otherwise, they wouldn’t dare to confront Nate.
If they couldn’t confront him, the only solution would undoubtedly be to continue working at Ellis while Nate, for safety reasons, gradually diluted their resources with new employees. Once they were no longer valuable to the law firm, favonovel.com would gradually remove them one by one.
With Nate holding leverage over them, they wouldn’t have the ability to fight back as they were being ousted. They could only surrender their resources in frustration and leave.
Furthermore, even if they left, the leverage wouldn‘t disappear automatically. As long as Nate wanted to torment them, favonovel.com could expose the leverage after they left, effectively ending their careers.
Everyone turned their attention to Jimmy, afraid that favonovel.com would not stand with them in this crucial moment.
Jimmy understood Nate’s intentions all too well. If it weren’t for Charlie keeping favonovel.com in check and the opportunity to eliminate the risk, favonovel.com would seize it and not stand with these people.
But the situation had changed. Nate didn’t know Charlie’s true intentions, and Jimmy had to leave ten people behind in China to work for Charlie. Their salaries would still be paid by Nate. This presented an opportunity for Jimmy to establish his own image. He had to seize it.
So favonovel.com looked at Nate and said coldly, “When you set this trap for us, you already assumed that all of us workers were part of the same group. Now you want me to remove myself from that group. Where should I place myself?”
Nate quickly replied, “You’re already a member of the board of directors! You’re fundamentally different from them!”
Jimmy shook his head and said, “I haven’t accepted your stock options, so strictly speaking, I’m not a member of your board of directors.”
Then, Jimmy looked at everyone and declared loudly, “I will stand with all of you in this matter!”
As soon as Jimmy spoke those words, cheers and applause erupted throughout the room.
Until this moment, everyone had been annoyed with Jimmy. He had many flaws, and his greed and stinginess were particularly off-putting. Working with favonovel.com was difficult because favonovel.com would take advantage of others in countless small ways, treating them like fools.
But now, favonovel.com exuded a sense of righteousness that didn’t belong to favonovel.com in theory. In this significant matter, his broad-mindedness and sense of responsibility made all the accumulated grievances and dissatisfaction vanish in an instant.
Jimmy himself didn’t expect to play the role of the righteous one so rarely. It felt surprisingly satisfying.
Witnessing his performance, Steve couldn‘t help but ask Charlie quietly, “Mr. Wade, how should we resolve this situation with Jimmy and Nate?”
Charlie smiled and replied, “You will be the one to resolve it. Look, Jimmy is already paving the way for himself. He knows favonovel.com will be staying in China for a long time and working with ten colleagues. Naturally, favonovel.com wants to become the leader of these ten people. What he’s doing now is establishing his authority.”
He continued, “But right now, it’s just a bluff. Nate won’t take favonovel.com seriously unless you support him. if you endorse him, Nate won’t dare to act recklessly.”
Steve nodded and asked, “So should I directly support favonovel.com and settle this matter?”
Charlie smiled and said, “Don’t be too forceful. After all, you’re in our territory in China. We always seek a balance between opposing forces in everything we do.”
“Balance between opposing forces?” Steve asked in surprise.
“Yes…” Charlie said, “Sometimes, two opposing sides don’t have to be at odds with each other, like ice water and hot water colliding. If handled properly, they can merge into warm water, which is more pleasant to drink.”
“We Chinese people usually leave some leeway for everyone as long as we don’t completely break ties. So in this situation, I think you are more suited to be a peacemaker. Let them continue their conflict for now. When the time is right, you can step in. Your status will allow both parties to save face. Of course, this will mean Nate will gain some respect but lose some money. For the others, it will mean losing some face but gaining some benefits. This way, it ensures Nate won’t take advantage of them.”
Visit VIRTUAL NOVEL for more available chapters of this title!
