Chapter 457 Dashiell Confronts the Executives
Sure enough, when Cecilia cracked her eyes open, Alaric was nowhere to be seen.
But, of course, he left a note: [Take good care of yourself, and wait for me. — Love, Alaric.]
Every time she found one of these notes, Cecilia would just stare at it for ages.
She couldn't bring herself to put it down.
She kept telling herself, 'Alaric will be back in two months.'
Then she wouldn't have to deal with this long-distance crap anymore.
She tossed the covers aside, got out of bed, washed up, and slapped on some makeup.
George had breakfast ready downstairs. Lately, breakfast had been extra fancy, and today was no exception.
Cecilia was stunned.
She joked to herself that if this kept up, she wouldn't get pregnant, she'd just get fat.
She munched on breakfast, lost in thought.
Absentmindedly, she grabbed her phone to check the trending news.
Her eyes widened.
Seraphina and Dashiell's divorce was all over the headlines.
They'd always kept their marriage and divorce on the down-low, so why was it blowing up now?
After breakfast, Cecilia called Dashiell while heading out, "Dashiell, you know your divorce with Seraphina is all over the internet, right?"
"Yeah, I just saw it," Dashiell replied, sounding chill. "People were gonna find out sooner or later."
"This timing sucks for you," Cecilia said. "You just joined Everhart Bank, and you got your spot 'cause you're Atticus's son-in-law. The board might not have said anything, but now that you're divorced, there's gonna be talk."
"Don't sweat it," Dashiell reassured her. "I got this."
"Alright, just giving you a heads-up," Cecilia said.
"Cool," Dashiell nodded.
He hung up.
Dashiell had just rolled into the company.
Because of his leg, he always showed up half an hour early.
Today was no different.
He hobbled into his office with his cane.
Plopping down in his chair, he checked out the news.
The article wasn't too harsh.
It just straight-up said he and Seraphina were done.
He stared at it for a bit.
The secretary knocked and came in. "Mr. Rainier, there's a meeting in the executive conference room in ten minutes. You need to be there."
"Got it," Dashiell nodded.
He made his way to the conference room with his cane.
All the bigwigs were there, including Seraphina.
Seraphina wasn't an exec, but she always showed up at important meetings because of her special status.
Atticus sat at the head of the table.
They had these high-level meetings every week.
It was all about reporting last week's work and planning for the next.
Dashiell spoke for the group department, "Out of the thirteen projects we're handling this week, seven have made significant progress. Four haven't had major breakthroughs. The last two are tougher. I'll break down the specifics."
Seraphina always thought Dashiell was shy and introverted, the type who'd choke on stage, but surprisingly, in these meetings, he reported his work smoothly and clearly. He didn't show off or downplay himself. He spoke confidently about his abilities, and for problems he couldn't solve, he pointed out the issues and offered suggestions. Many execs were pretty impressed with Dashiell's work ethic.
After Dashiell wrapped up his report, he hobbled back to his seat with his cane.
Just as they were about to move on, Leandro McCall, one of the board members, piped up, "Mr. Everhart, I heard Mr. Rainier and Ms. Everhart have split."
Personal stuff rarely came up in these big meetings. This was definitely on purpose.
Dashiell's eyes flickered.
Atticus shot back, "Let's keep personal matters out of this meeting and not waste everyone's time."
"I'm not wasting time," Leandro said. "I just think it's sketchy for Mr. Everhart to hand out important roles so casually. Before, we thought he was your son-in-law, and Everhart Bank is your family's gig, so it made sense. But now that Dashiell's not your son-in-law, it's kinda weird to just appoint a newbie."
"There's nothing weird about it," Atticus said, his face darkening. "Dashiell can handle the job."
"As far as I know, he has zero business experience. How did Mr. Everhart see his ability?" Leandro shot back.
"My ability will show in the work," Dashiell said. "No point in wasting time debating if I'm fit for the job. Only results will reveal true capability. I'll let my performance do the talking."
Leandro was caught off guard by Dashiell's words.
Usually, Dashiell was a man of few words. When he reported, he was straight to the point, never saying more than needed. Leandro didn't expect him to be so articulate now, which made things awkward.
Leandro said sarcastically, "I was just making a suggestion. Since Mr. Everhart thinks it's unnecessary, I'll drop it. Anyway, performance will tell, and some people might end up eating their words."
Atticus's face was visibly pissed.
Dashiell, on the other hand, stayed cool. "If I don't deliver results in six months, I'll resign."
Leandro looked at Dashiell, surprised by his bold promise.
"My goal is to boost the group's financing loans by fifty percent. If I don't hit that, I'll step down," Dashiell continued.
"Are you serious?" Leandro asked.
"Absolutely," Dashiell said firmly.
"Do you even know Everhart Bank's current market share? Among the top five banks, Everhart Bank holds sixty percent. You want to increase that by fifty percent? Are you trying to take over the whole banking market?" Leandro said.
"Mr. McCall, you'll see the results in six months," Dashiell said, not wanting to waste more words.
Leandro bit his tongue.
Dashiell's response made Leandro feel like he was being unreasonable.
Leandro said, "I want to see how capable you really are."
Dashiell didn't respond.
The meeting continued.
After it ended, Atticus called Dashiell to his office.
"Dashiell, your goal is too ambitious," Atticus said bluntly.
"It's not," Dashiell replied. "I need to do more than just compete with other banks. I need to dig deep into the group's financial businesses. As the market grows, there'll be more money. Boosting sales by fifty percent isn't that hard."
Plus, if things got tight, he could always move his assets around.
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