Chapter 729: 250, A&P Civil Strife_3
All they see are their own interests, not the company’s.
Under such circumstances, John Hartford felt a deep sense of powerlessness!
At this time, he no longer had the luxury of choice. If he insisted on standing against the entire board of directors, then the A&P board would not mind replacing the president for the company’s benefit!
After weighing the pros and cons, John Hartford knew he had no choice!
“Alright, I understand the situation. I’ll contact Donnie after the meeting,” he said.
Upon hearing John Hartford’s response, everyone in the meeting room let out a sigh of relief simultaneously.
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Well, this president is still obedient!
The meeting ended under these circumstances!
John Hartford asked James Cuff to stay behind.
When only the two of them were left in the meeting room, John Hartford’s voice turned cold, “James, I need an explanation. I thought you came to A&P to assist me!”
Without any shame, James Cuff said, “Of course I came to assist you, John, but you saw the situation today. The entire board has made a decision. Even if I chose to stand by your side, do you think it would have any impact on the outcome?”
No impact!
John Hartford was very clear that, although Kraft Foods had invested in A&P, Kraft Foods’ shares were insignificant in the eyes of those people. However, this did not mean that John Hartford could accept James Cuff’s betrayal!
“I think you must have known about this for a while. Why didn’t you tell me earlier, instead of suddenly standing with those people under such circumstances?”
James Cuff explained, “John, I also just learned of their intentions. My decision was made during the board meeting. You have to believe me, I would never betray you!”
“Haha!” At that moment, John Hartford was filled with regret. Why had he ever thought to bring that despicable James Cuff into A&P?
.
“Boss, John Hartford’s secretary from A&P called. He said John Hartford wants to meet with you,”
Dustbog came into Donnie’s office excitedly and relayed the news he had just received.
With Apollo Chain and A&P currently engaged in a fierce battle, Dustbog, as the president of Apollo Chain, clearly knew exactly how much they had lost.
It was not merely the 8 million US Dollars speculated by outsiders, but a full 10 million US Dollars!
Such a financial loss in just over a month would have been devastating for any new company, likely driving the owner to jump off a building.
But Dustbog was still worried that his boss wouldn’t be able to withstand such a loss and might make a decision detrimental to the company.
Even though Donnie had always maintained that there was no financial pressure!
Now things were looking up. A&P’s president’s secretary had called, which was essentially A&P signaling that they were backing down and wanting to negotiate!
“Is it Josh Hunter?” Donnie asked Dustbog expressionlessly.
Dustbog was slightly taken aback before replying, “Yes, it’s Josh Hunter, John Hartford’s secretary!”
The boss really is impressive, Dustbog thought, to have immediately thought of Josh Hunter’s name. It seemed the boss knew far more about A&P than Dustbog had realized!
“Boss, A&P calling at this time surely means they’re ready to soften their stance. I think we should seriously consider how to negotiate with them!”
Donnie waved his hand and said, “No rush. John Hartford having Josh Hunter call us only means that he can no longer withstand the pressure from the A&P board.
But the fact that it’s Josh Hunter making the call indicates that John Hartford himself hasn’t yet conceded. If we agree to meet with them now, John Hartford will definitely use that to cause us trouble!”
A loss of 10 million US Dollars, although not a large sum for Donnie, still put some pressure on him, especially since he had made so many major investments that year. Most of the money he had earned in the private liquor sector had been poured into these ventures.
Currently, Donnie had about 20 million US Dollars on hand, but if possible, he had other uses for that money, so reaching a quick settlement with A&P was also desirable.
But he must maintain the initiative.
Dustbog was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood Donnie’s intention and said somewhat embarrassedly, “I understand now, I indeed got a bit excited just now!”
Donnie waved his hand, unconcerned, and said, “It’s fine, I know you’ve also been under a lot of pressure recently!”
Dustbog was a talent Donnie had brought in from Grain Empire Food Company, and he had proven capable of perfectly handling the role of president at Apollo Chain.
The only issue was that he had chosen to wage this great war at the opening of Apollo Chain. As president, not only did he fail to bring in a cent of profit, but under his tenure, the company had lost 10 million US Dollars.
In such a situation, a less forgiving boss would certainly have taken issue with Dustbog, even if the decision had been their own!
Moved, Dustbog said sincerely, “Thank you, boss. I fully understand that your decision now is to create a favorable development opportunity for the company. After all, if we didn’t show our strength at the launch, the other side would undoubtedly target us without hesitation.
Now, as long as we hurt them enough, they’ll have to behave!”
“Mhm!” Donnie smiled and said, “Tell them, I’m currently too busy to meet with John Hartford!”