Xavier received Mr. Mercer's instructions, wore a professional smile, and stepped forward. "Mr. Howard, you might not know, but in Mercer Group, holding more than ten percent of the shares allows one to become a minor shareholder and join the board of directors. However, it does not grant any position within the company."
After speaking, he didn't wait for Raphael's reaction. He bowed slightly and turned to follow Mr. Mercer.
Raphael watched their departing figures, his smile remaining but giving off a very dark feeling.
Meanwhile, news broke online about the new member of Mercer Group's board of directors.
In the report, Raphael was pictured in a black suit, looking both ascetic and noble. Below the photo were his personal details and achievements.
Many female netizens swooned over Raphael's picture. However, as they delved deeper, their feelings became quite complicated.
Such a young, handsome, wealthy, and capable bachelor had already fallen into the "marriage trap," just like the president of Mercer Group. Moreover, his spouse was someone they were quite familiar with-Emily, who had been blacklisted in the industry.
For a while, various snide remarks appeared online. Emily gained some attention because of this.
Deanna was unaware of all this. She was busy taking care of Eula, who was recovering from an injury, and dealing with issues from the research institute. She had no time to pay attention to anything else.
However, just because she wasn't paying attention didn't mean no one would inform her.
Julia saw the news online and immediately called Deanna.
"Deanna, something's happened. That scumbag Raphael has become a director at Mercer Group."
"Julia, today isn't April Fool's Day."
Deanna didn't believe Julia at all. In her view, even if Raphael worked hard for another ten years, he couldn't possibly become a director at Mercer Group. Not to mention how difficult it was to collect Mercer Group's shares; Raphael couldn't even get past Lance.
Julia knew her friend didn't believe her and anxiously said over the phone, "I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, check online."
Hearing this, Deanna's disbelief wavered. "Wait a moment; I'll check."
She hung up and started looking up the news online. She quickly found that there was no need to search; the internet was flooded with reports.
Headlines like "Raphael is the next Lance," "Howard Group and Mercer Group form a partnership," and "Howard family and Mercer family are on good terms" were everywhere. Reporters wrote anything that could elevate Raphael or the Howard family.
Lance also saw these reports and his face turned icy cold.
"What audacity! Using Mercer Group to boost his Howard family-who gave him such confidence?"
"Mr. Mercer, the PR department has already arranged for the online news to be taken down," Xavier reported on the company's emergency response.
Lance nodded and instructed, "Suppress the news as soon as possible. Also, send someone to investigate where Raphael got the funds to buy Mercer Group's shares."
If he guessed correctly, Raphael must have made his move when Mercer Group was in trouble recently. At that time, the Howard family was just a third-rate family with total liquid assets not exceeding three hundred million dollars.
Xavier nodded and quickly left to carry out the orders.
At that moment, Lance's phone rang on the desk; it was Deanna calling. He looked at the number and knew what she wanted to ask.
Sure enough, in the next second, he heard Deanna asking over the phone, "Lance, I saw online that Raphael has joined Mercer Group's board of directors. Is this true?"
"It's true," Lance admitted.
Deanna found it even harder to believe. "How could this happen? Where did he get the capability?"
She felt increasingly uneasy. "Lance, there must be something wrong with Raphael. You must find a way to investigate him thoroughly!"
"I know. I've already asked Xavier to look into it. We should have news soon," Lance reassured her calmly.
Perhaps it was Lance's steady and calm voice that gradually eased Deanna's worries.
Even so, Raphael joining Mercer Group stirred up quite a storm in Cloudmere.
The first to be affected was the stock market; Howard Group's stock fluctuated wildly like a roller coaster, thrilling many.
In less than half a day, Howard Group's market value quintupled and continued to rise.
Emily was particularly excited about this. She was now very glad she hadn't divorced Raphael yet. Because of him, she received several invitations.
Ever since she was blacklisted, she had been ostracized by the social circle's ladies. Even small gatherings never included her.
After hanging up the phone, Emily couldn't help but excitedly shout to Mia, "Haha, we've made it! Mom, do you know? Just now, Mrs. Holcomb and Mrs. Klein invited me to their tea party!"