Chapter 152 Jacob's Foolishness
In the conference room, all the senior executives' eyes turned to Jacob in unison.
Jacob's face instantly turned pale, his heart pounding wildly.
Matthew crossed his arms, looking at Jacob with a cold sneer, "Jacob, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you want to explain?"
The senior executives' gazes toward Jacob grew increasingly hostile. They knew there was strong animosity between Matthew and Jacob, with both competing for the CEO position. But to put the entire company in jeopardy for that position was crossing a line with everyone.
"I..." Jacob managed to get out one syllable, feeling his throat itch. He coughed and forced himself to argue, "I don't know anything about this. Someone must have forged my work badge. My badge was never lost."
Jacob reached into his pocket, pulled out his work badge, and waved it in the air.
Though Jacob offered this explanation, few people believed him. Everyone was more inclined to think this bastard had probably done something stupid for the CEO position.
Mason's gaze shifted from Jacob to his brother, Patrick.
Patrick immediately felt the pressure. He knew that if this matter wasn't handled properly, both Jacob's and his own influence in the company would be severely weakened.
"I know what you're all thinking."
Patrick stepped forward, his expression serious.
"Jacob and I have no reason to harm Puffy; after all, this damages our interests, too. If you don't believe us, you can check Jacob's recent spending records. I guarantee he wasn't anywhere near the Panda Exhibit that night."
Patrick was telling the truth. He knew Jacob too well; at that time, just as Matthew had said, Jacob should have been at some nightclub hooking up with women.
"Exactly, you can go ahead and investigate. You can even call the police. I'll leave my phone right here for you to check, however you want."
Jacob spread his hands, pulled his phone from his pocket, and placed it on the table.
The senior executives looked at Jacob like he was an idiot. For something this harmful, they obviously wouldn't do it personally; they'd definitely find someone else to help.
"Of course, I understand you'll suspect we hired someone else to do this, but please consider—if we really wanted to harm Puffy, why would we use my own work badge instead of someone else's?"
Patrick emphasized this point again. His words did create some doubt among the executives present.
Everyone knew there was strong animosity between Jacob and Matthew. They thought that if they were Jacob, they would definitely try to get Matthew's work badge and frame him instead.
Seeing the crowd's suspicion toward them relax, Patrick and Jacob felt some relief.
Mason crossed his arms, his cold gaze fixed on Jacob's face.
"So this happened because you failed to properly secure your work badge, allowing someone to exploit it."
Jacob gritted his teeth but had no defense—this was indeed an oversight.
"Alright, Mason, don't intimidate Jacob."
Patrick stepped forward again, staring coldly at Mason.
"Jacob was indeed careless with his badge security, but who stole it still needs to be investigated."
Jacob nodded vigorously, then pointed his finger at Matthew's nose.
"Matthew, was it you? Did you steal my badge to frame me? You'd use such despicable tactics."
Hearing Jacob's words, Patrick covered his face while Mason looked at Patrick with some pity.
Matthew and the other senior executives all let out derisive laughs.
"Jacob, is there something wrong with your brain? As the project director, if you screw up, I get punished, too. Tell me, what would be my benefit in doing this? Just to kick you out of the company? Do you think you're worth that much trouble?"
Matthew lifted his chin, looking at Jacob with disdain.
Jacob was so angry his finger trembled, but he knew Matthew was right. In his eagerness to shift blame, he'd overlooked this point.
Patrick glared at his foolish son and stepped forward once again to redirect the conversation.
"I think discussing who took the work badge isn't important right now. Our priority should be figuring out how to get Puffy healthy again, or we'll have a hard time facing the media and public criticism."
Patrick cleverly redirected the entire conversation back to Matthew, since he was the project director and the only one who could solve this.
All the senior executives turned their attention to Matthew.
Matthew's face maintained that same cold, indifferent expression, as if nothing could worry him or capture his interest.
"I already told you—Puffy is fine."
"Then show us Puffy's condition! You can't just use words—if we can't see Puffy's actual state, how can we be convinced?"
Jacob stepped forward, shouting accusations. He still believed Matthew was stalling for time.
At this point, Mason also looked over.
"Matthew, show us your proof."
Patrick and Jacob wore cold, mocking expressions while the senior executives looked worried.
Matthew nodded and stood up.
"You want to see Puffy? Fine then. I'll arrange transportation right now to take all of us to the panda facility for a look."
Matthew finished speaking and walked out of the conference room. Behind him, the senior executives exchanged glances and quickly followed.
Patrick and Jacob brought up the rear.
"Are you certain you heard Matthew say yesterday that the panda was dying?" Patrick lowered his voice to ask.
Jacob nodded emphatically.
"Yes, father. I heard it very clearly. Olivia was nearly in tears."
"But we're heading to the Panda Exhibit right now. Does Matthew have the ability to produce an identical panda?"
Patrick was very worried about what lay ahead.
Jacob felt uneasy, too, but he still trusted what he'd seen and heard.
Meanwhile, Scarlett's online reputation had soared due to the online commentary painting her as an outstanding animal rights activist and a very compassionate woman. Her image had risen once again, and her online follower count was even threatening to surpass Catherine's.
"Matthew, this is what you get for not choosing me."
Scarlett burst into maniacal laughter, but then a video was sent to her phone.