Chapter 496 S. D. Incorporated Launch Party (One)
Imperial Hotel, Zen City
Jacob welcomed the guests at the event hall entrance and had a quick chat with them before he greeted the others.
On the red carpet, Jacob spotted the CEO of the Shang Empire, Jeremy Shang.
"Welcome, President Shang." he greeted.
"Good evening, Mr. Davies."
The two men shook hands; Jacob noticed the older couple posing for the cameras. It was rare for the business reporters to see this couple attending such gatherings together in the passing years.
"I'm glad your father made it," said Jacob, glancing at the couple entering the venue.
"Indeed. Lately, Dad is more likely to spend time with his grandkids than attending social events."
Upon Jeremy phrasing that, a pang in Jacob's heart has awakened.
For some reason, he retired early to enjoy his life with his grandkids. But now, his grandchildren were lying in the incubator with medical machines connected to their tiny bodies. Jacob wanted to break down in tears.
However, today is not the time to show his vulnerable side. His grandchildren needed him, so he must stay strong for them and his precious daughter.
Jacob snapped himself and straightened his back as he smiled at Jeremy. "Please, excuse me, President Shang. Let me greet your parents."
"Of course, Mr. Davies."
"Kristian will escort you to your table."
"Thank you." Jeremy Shang nodded his head and then followed Kristian.
"This way, President Shang."
Kristian brought Jeremy and his beautiful wife toward the table near the stage as a major investor in the company.
Jacob had an enormous smile at the door as he waited for the Shang older couple to get near him.
"Harry Shang and Nina Li… It's nice to see you both well."
"Congratulations, Jacob." Harry extends his hand to shake hands with Jacob.
"Thank you. Congratulations to us indeed!"
Jacob and Harry continue chatting while Nina excuses herself to greet some people she is close to in the business world.
The invited reporters and guests in that gathering had an impression of these two tycoons. Though both are retired now, they were once remarkable leaders in their territories. And ever since Vincent Shen got married to Hailee Davies, they learned that Theo Shang has an excellent relationship with Vincent Shen.
Watching these two powerful men together with Vincent's father displays an obvious fact that Jacob is so fond of his son-in-law amidst the criticism that he is only after the Davies trillion dollars wealth.
Instead, Jacob entrusted the Davies Corporation to him. It was something envied by those billionaires who wanted to woo the Davies heiress. Now Vincent even received help to establish a large company in C Nation.
After half an hour, the event finally began. At the stage, Kristian delivered an important announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. We will officially begin tonight's gathering. Kindly please take a seat at your given table. A quick reminder of tonight's event is as follows. First, we will present the new name of the Z Group. Second is the opening of the floor, where we will choose ten questions related to the company. Before I give the stage to our host for tonight's launch party, let me introduce our on-call service crew on standby on the sides. They will serve you drinks and food. So please, set back and enjoy. Now, may I present to you, Director Sheena Shen Keller!"
Climbing the stage with elegant strides, Sheena wore a red velvet gown that made her look stunning and regal. Below the stage is Fred, clapping his hands, looking at his daughter with proudness in his eyes.
As time passed, Sheena looked a lot more like her mother in her prime age. May those eyes show warmth and pureness that opposite to Hilda, the powerful aura coming from Sheena is definitely from her mom.
Hilda always gives a strong temperament that turns the room into a terror state. However, Hilda does not deserve her title as Great Madam Shen if she could not shake the enemy and leave them trembling on the ground.
Despite all misunderstandings and disputes with the three women in his family, he is proud of his children's success lately.
In the past few months, their family has been constantly struck with issues and problems ever since Vincent was involved with the sole heiress of Davies' empire, Hailee Davies.
Gratefully, his girls stood bravely and fought the issues thrown at them effortlessly with smiles on their faces like tonight.
Sheena walked toward the glass stand, placed in the middle of the stage that is exquisitely decorated with pink peonies, dahlia, and orchids; they are some of Hailee's favorite flowers.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming to tonight's launching party. On behalf of the Z Group, S Group, and Davies International, I am honored to welcome you to witness the cooperation of three companies as one, and it first happens here in your city!"
"Zen City is such a prosperous capital. As we all know, it is the Shang Empire's home."
As Sheena mentioned the famous family, she glanced at the Shang table and nodded.
"Recently, my brother faced such issues, accused by President Zhuo after the incident he was involved in that ended the Jackson father and son's lives. But we proved my brother's innocence. Instead, he saved the Z Group from filing bankruptcy. With the help of his father-in-law, Mr. Jacob Davies, my brother bought Z Group as a birthday gift to the woman that is very dear to his heart, and ours too."
Sheena almost choked at that part upon remembering how Hailee was still in a coma. However, she needed to stay strong and disguise the sorrow she felt deep down in her chest.
The entire world is watching her tonight. One evident emotion flashed on her face; the critics, who are experts in reading someone's facial expressions, would quickly pinpoint that she was going through something, and that would give them the idea that the rumors were true.
Sheena quickly pulled herself together and smiled, traveling her gaze throughout the hall. She carried on…
"Being the major shareholder of S Group base here in Zen City, my brother saw this as an opportunity to expand his business. He proposed to the board of S Group to merge the two companies, and the board members agreed. My brother, being trained at a young age to manage our company, has only envisioned success, and he saw a great potential that Z Group would bring prosperity to S Group."
"And now! Ladies and gentlemen… On behalf of my brother Vincent Shen and sister-in-law Hailee Davies, I present to you… S. D. Incorporated!"
Sheena lifted her left arm and gestured toward the giant screen behind her, turning sideways. As she spoke about the Z Group's history, images appeared on the screen, and then the logo of S. D. Incorporated as the finale.
"From here on, Z Group will be known as S. D. Incorporated stand as Shen and Davies company. May my brother- and sister-in-law weren't here for this joyous event. However, they have a message for everyone."
A video recording then played in the next ten minutes, where both Hailee and Vincent spoke alternately on the screen via FaceTime.
The video recordings were taken at a separate location, giving them an idea that the couple was not together. But the entire video showed how they were affectionate with each other.
After playing the video, Sheena continued her speech and proceeded to the next part of the event.
Those present inside the event hall and the ones outside were perplexed and disappointed. In their minds, they started to believe that the news about Vincent's death was just propaganda to garner attention for the company as they were preparing to launch a new project that will introduce two months from now, and that was by January of the year 2027.
"Is this a joke? Am I just coming here for nothing?"
Outside the hotel, one reporter expressed his disappointment.
"So what's with the news my boss has received? Someone emailed him that Vincent Shen died after a group of assassins attacked him and his bodyguards."
"Our company received one too!"
"Same here. It looks like we are all just tricked?"
"I don't know. It seemed reliable news to me."
"Why do we fall into that shit? Look! We are the first to know about this type of scheme. Hundreds of us gathered only to witness a company launching!"
The reporters outside complained and regretted coming.
"Good evening, everyone! I hope you were all doing well tonight. I know everyone was hungry and exhausted... Mr. Jacob Davies and Mr. Frederick Shen wanted to thank everyone for joining us tonight. To show their appreciation of your presence. Please, enjoy these little treats they prepared for everyone."
The man who spoke at the hotel's entrance gestured his hand toward the two giant trucks parked nearby.
"Please, make two lines in each truck for a smooth distribution of the food packs."
The reporters were delighted to hear this. They followed willingly and started falling in line. After they got their share, they checked out the pack to find a food box with a sumptuous meal, a bottle of mineral water, and a can of beer.
"Thank you!"
The reporters appreciate the two fathers' gestures. As they enjoyed their meal, the launching party inside the hotel continued.
"As it mentioned a while back, we will only accept ten questions."
In the next half hour, Sheena answered the questions. Although the reporters were disappointed that they could not throw the question, they prepared for tonight's event. They had to be respectful and let the party finish peacefully.
"Thank you, everyone. Before we proceed to the next part of the event, dinner…." Sheena made it sound like a joke, causing everyone to smile and chuckle. "I will answer one more question."
Sheena looked around and picked someone on the left side of the event hall.
"Yes, please?"
The guest reporter, wearing a black suit, stood up and walked toward the microphone placed on the side below the stage.
"Good evening, Director Keller. My name is Dion from London Entertainment. Without beating around the bush, could you tell us the truth regarding the news spreading that your brother, President Vincent Shen, had died in an assassination?"
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