10x Cashback: Your Wealth Is Mine

Hindsight is twenty twenty or so it was said.

Charles Harrington knew he should have been suspicious when his day had started with a pounding headache two weeks ago but right now, there was nothing he could do about this situation.

All he could do was sit at his desk and stare at the screen of his monitor, the red number and downward pointing arrow sitting there as if taunting him.

It had all started with what looked like an innocent article but now, it was anything but.

The company's stock price was falling faster than a shooting star and the media were circling like vultures, looking for the parts the company was trying to cut away.

The intercom sitting on his desk buzzed and he teared his eyes away from the screen to stare at it as his assistant's nervous voice came through the speakers. "Mr. Harrington, you have a call from the board. They're asking for an update on-"

"Tell them I'm busy!" Charles barked, slamming his fist on the desk.

His assistant's voice crackled, cutting off mid-sentence, and he exhaled sharply. He knew there was no way for him to avoid the board forever, but facing them now was the last thing he needed.

He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples, replaying the events of the last two weeks in his head.

The spark that had started the whole thing had actually been traced to the company itself. The rumors of nepotism had apparently spread like wildfire through the company grapevine and the media and quickly jumped on it.

He could still remember the first headline very clearly.

"Harrington & Co.: Is Nepotism at the Helm?"

The article had claimed that Charles had appointed unqualified family members and friends to senior positions, putting the company's credibility at risk.

While most of it was baseless speculation, the timing had actually been impeccable, since the company had just gone through a round of promotions and there were indeed a few family members promoted.

But what were the people expecting? This was a family business and it had always been. It was literally in the name!

But did people use their common sense? Of course not. The shareholders demanded answers, the employees kept whispering in hallways, and the press had, of course, latched onto every tidbit like a parasite.

Charles had tried to brush it off as a smear campaign, after all, things were always like this, but then, the next bombshell dropped.

Honestly, he should have been aware of what the article had been about but how could that be? He'd invested and handed it off to his employees to manage but when he'd seen the headline, it had stung.

"Harrington & Co.'s Shocking Debt Levels: A Speculative Gamble with FleetForward Logistics."

What had surprised him the most wasn't that the press was using his recent investment into FleetForward Logistics to attack Harrington & Co., but the fact that the company was steadily driving itself deeper into the red even with the money he'd pumped into it.

Of course, some employees had found themselves fired after the whole thing.

The investment wasn't even that related to their debt but when the press latched onto something, they had a hard time letting go. Whoever said billionaires could control everything the masses heard clearly doesn't know how stupid humans can be.

Yes, he hadn't consulted the board before investing because he knew they'd shoot it down but it had to be done.

Now, the deal was public, linked to the company's debt, and the backlash was merciless.

The article had been as detailed as it could be about the company's ballooning debt levels, the speculative nature of the investment, and Charles's one-sided decision-making.

The shareholders certainly were livid, and the board was demanding an emergency meeting. He'd managed to put a stop to the idea but as if the world had collectively decided that he hadn't suffered enough, the coup de grace came two days later.

The headline hadn't even been creative or anything but had done the most damage out of all the news.

"Toxic Work Environment Lawsuit: Harrington & Co. Faces Employee Backlash"

A former employee had filed a lawsuit on the company, claiming a toxic work environment. The accusations ranged from verbal abuse by managers to excessive workloads and even retaliation against those who raised concerns about the whole thing.

It was bad enough on its own, but to make matters worse, others had begun to come forward. Social media exploded with anonymous accounts corroborating the claims.

Former and current employees posted horror stories of intimidation and harassment. Within hours, the hashtag #HarringtonsHellhole was trending. The people he'd fired two days previous for the FleetForward thing had even joined the lawsuit with claims of their own.

By the time legal and PR teams were mobilized, the damage was already done. Harrington & Co. was now a lesson in what not to do as a publicly traded company, and the stock market responded in kind.

Now, there was no way to stop the board meeting.

"Charles!" He was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of one of the few people who called him by name, his head of PR and a member of the Harrington family, a woman named Linda, who stormed into his office without knocking.

"I told you to knock!" He snapped.

"And I told you we need to act fast!" Linda shot back, slamming her tablet on his desk. On the screen was another article, this one speculating that the lawsuits and debt crisis could push Harrington & Co. toward bankruptcy. Another reason for the share price to keep plummeting.

"You've got three hours before the board demands a public statement." She said, her voice clipped. "And you need to have something better than the usual damage control."

Charles glared at her. "What do you want me to say? That it's all lies? That the employees are just doing all these because they can't handle the pressure?"

Linda pinched the bridge of her nose. "That might have worked five years ago, but this is 2024, Charles. The public is siding with them, and you being silent only makes it worse. You need to address the lawsuit, Charles. Show some accountability."

"Accountability?" Charles sneered. "Do you want me to admit to something I didn't do?"

Linda leaned forward, her voice a low growl. "If you don't, Charles, this will be the end of your time sitting at the head of this company, and you know it."

Before he could respond, his assistant's voice came through the intercom again, trembling. "Sir, another employee just went public. They're claiming they were forced to work overtime without pay and... and that you personally threatened them during a meeting."

Charles' face turned a dangerous shade of red and he spoke through gritted teeth. "Get legal on this. I don't care what it costs. Shut them up!"

"Legal can only do so much when the entire internet is against you, Charles." Linda muttered with a sigh. "You need to get ahead of this. A public apology, a statement, anything to show you're not hiding."

He slammed his hand on the desk, standing abruptly. "I don't hide, Linda! I fight. And if these ingrates want a fight, I'll give them one!"

Linda sighed at his words, a resigned expression on her face. "Listen. You don't have to follow this road. The more you fight, the more you bleed. And right now, you're bleeding out in front of the world."

"Not everything can be solved with a fight, Charles. It's high time you realized that."

With that, she turned and left the office, leaving Charles alone with his fury and the sinking realization that this nightmare was only just beginning.