Chapter 44

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Monsters

As I stared down at an audience of uncomfortable board of directors trying to avoid eye-contact... I was suddenly reminded of an earlier conversation with my mother about deadweight and sinking ships.

Nero Hotels was possibly one of those. The Black family, along with centuries of history, was painfully carrying these passengers who wanted to snatch the helm and throw them off-board. I had just married into this family.

In the crevices of my rational thoughts, I always knew this was a bad position. But being at the center of their self-inflicted storm... the damage and potential damages we were looking at were as clear as a cloudless sky.

And it begged the question of whether my marriage with Jace Black and dealing with all these people was worth it. The Black surname... was it really at par with Prestigio and the Porters?

I understood now what grandma was trying to say. Was all this worth the trouble or was it time to ride with the next family?

Whatever next step my grandmother had in mind; she was going to settle with having to deal with after-effects of my actions today. I was already a part of this family anyway.

Therefore, I cannot, in good conscience, turn a blind eye on how preposterous the current situation was.

"Sierra," I called to Jace's assistant, "The presentation."

Sierra quickly played the obedient staff, placing the remote control in my waiting hand. I pressed the key and the first page of the presentation flashed on the giant white screen behind me.

This was basic. This was that I was good at. And sliding my fingers across my notes, this was a wake up call this group needed.

They just need a bit of shaking but they weren't completely a lost cause.

"To start, I'm going to give a brief comparison of Prestigio and Nero Hotels' business models," My hand waved at the screen, "For one thing. Prestigio is an economy-class chain that aims to integrate their hotels to the local scene. Suppliers, contractors are scoped within the country and the branch is blended in to fit with the vicinity of the hotel. The main selling point of the Prestigio chain is the local experience at inarguably competitive prices. While on the other hand, Nero Hotels is a luxury chain whose standards in hotel experience remains the same wherever in the world you opt to check in. The main selling point is the luxury. The same dependable top-notch quality service wherever they go."

"The increase in travel from the middle- and lower-income brackets have spurred on the growth of Prestigio. While luxury hotels such as Nero Hotels are heavily dependent on steady clienteles whom you've grown a relationship with—"

An older man from the back cleared his throat and I stopped. He immediately turned to the chairman, his back to me. "Is this some sort of lecture about hotel management? I thought this meeting was specifically about Sand Castle—"

"You may direct your concerns to me," I interrupted just the same, "I am the current presenter and I'm welcome to your questions. I was just getting to the issue when you cut in, Sir." I gave him a wry smile, "Will you allow me to continue with the presentation? I will give you time to raise questions afterwards."

My blue eyes zeroed in on the man. He was the same balding man earlier and he really wouldn't look at me. My lips pursed before opening again, "What's your post, sir?"

"George Baker. Internal Audit," Pride was injected into those words.

My thoughts went to an immediate internal memory search.

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