Chapter 23 23

Chapter 23 23
Elliot’s POV
For the first time since I became the CEO of Hayes Holdings, the company was in deep trouble. I had never felt so helpless before and day, more bad news came in.
It started with Sally Groups. I had never heard of them until two weeks ago. Suddenly, they were everywhere and their name was in every newspaper. 
Their ads were all over social media. And the worst part? They made our stocks crash. One minute, Hayes Holdings was strong; the next, we were losing everything.
Sally Holdings had bought 49 percent of our company stock; almost half if they acquired two more percent they were majority stakeholder and could make every decision in the company.
At first, I thought it was a coincidence but then, I noticed something strange. A private company had also started buying up our real estate quietly, one by one. Our office buildings, warehouses, even land we had forgotten about. When I found out, I put a stop to it but  it was already too late. They had taken a lot.
Then next  investors stopped calling us and those that used to fight for a chance to work with us suddenly backed away. When I asked why,they all gave the same answer;  Sally Groups offers better opportunities.
That was when I knew it we  were being targeted and someone wanted to destroy us.
I tried to find out who owned Sally Groups but there was no information on them. It was like chasing shadows all  I knew was that their head office was in Canada but they were opening in Houston soon.
That morning, I woke up with a heavy heart. I couldn’t sleep the whole night and my head was full of numbers, names, buildings, and plans that had failed. I turned on the bedside lamp and rubbed my face.
Beside me, Bernice turned in bed. She opened her eyes slowly. “You’re up early,” she said with a yawn.
“I didn’t sleep,” I muttered. She sat up and smiled at me. “Maybe you need a break, you have been so stressed lately.”
I didn’t answer and got up from the bed and walked to the closet. I pulled out a clean shirt and tie and  hands shook as I tried to iron the shirt.
Bernice got out of bed and walked over. “You okay?” she asked.
“No, I’m not okay, Bernice,” I snapped.
She blinked, a little surprised. “What’s wrong?”
I turned to her slowly. “The company is in serious trouble. Sally Groups some ghost owned company has bought 49 percent of our stock. Someone is also buying up our real estate. Investors are leaving. We might not survive this.”
She stared at me blankly. “Stocks? What does that mean?”
I frowned. “It means someone bought almost half of our company.”
“Is that bad?” she asked, tilting her head.
“Yes, Bernice,” I said through clenched teeth. “It’s very bad.” I said wondering how she could be so ignorant.
She shrugged and picked up her phone. “Maybe you should talk to your board or something.”
“I am the board,” I snapped. “I run this company, everyone’s looking at me for answers.”
She didn’t say anything and seemed distracted and just scrolled through her phone like I hadn’t spoken. I watched her for a moment in shock. 
How did I end up with someone like this? Someone who didn’t even understand what I was going through or know anything about the company. She only gave me trouble and accused me of cheating.
I sighed deeply and turned back to the mirror. I fixed my tie and put on my suit jacket.
“Do you need me to make breakfast?” she asked without looking up.
“No,” I replied coldly. “I don’t have time for breakfast.”
She smiled and said, “Okay, good luck then.” I wanted to scream but I held it in.
As I walked out of the bedroom, I thought about everything that had happened. My phone buzzed. It was a message from the private investigator I had hired.
“Still digging. These people are good at hiding; there are no  names yet, but I have a lead on who met with one of your former investors. I will update soon.”
Downstairs, I grabbed my car keys and drove straight to the office. I pulled into the underground parking lot of Hayes Holdings. My hands gripped the steering wheel tight. I sat in the car for a few seconds, staring straight ahead. 
My chest felt heavy, like something was sitting on it. I couldn’t mess up and lose the company no matter what. I took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and stepped out.
I walked into the building and ignored people’s greetings. My mind was too busy and too many things were going wrong at once.
When I reached my floor, the elevator doors opened, and I stepped into the hallway. The air smelled like fresh coffee and cleaning spray.
“Nessa,” I called before even getting to my office door.
She looked up from her desk, already holding a tablet. “Good morning, Mr. Hayes,” she said quickly. Her voice was calm, but I could tell she was worried too.
I stopped in front of her. “Any updates?”
“Yes, sir,” she said. “Three board members sent emails asking for an emergency meeting today. I scheduled it for noon. The real estate team is ready for a video call in thirty minutes and I printed out the investor list you asked for yesterday;  It’s on your desk.”
“Good; tell finance I want every single record of stock purchases in the last three months. I don’t care if it’s ten pages or a thousand.”
“Right away, sir,” she said. I walked into my office and closed the door behind me.
The moment I stepped inside I sighed sadly. I sat at my desk and opened the files Nessa had left. The investor list; stock updates. It was huge. 
I scrolled through page after page and saw how much damage thid Sally Grouo has done and wondered how they quietly bought stock without anyone noticing. 
They had been too fast and smart. It didn’t seem like it was just business it seemed personal like someone had a grudge against me.
There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” I said without looking up.
Nessa stepped in, holding my coffee in one hand and a folder in the other.
“I got this from finance,” she said, placing the folder on my desk. “Stock purchases, broken down by date and amount. Also, I heard back from the registry office in Canada.”
I looked up quickly. “And?”
“They confirmed that Sally Groups was registered last year. Just over a year ago but ” She paused.
“But what?”
“They used a law firm to register the company. The documents don’t show any individual names just the firm’s address.”
“Of course they did,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair.
Nessa stepped closer. “Sir… do you think someone inside helped them? This all feels… too clean.”
I looked at her that’s what I liked about her. She was so smart and knew so much she could even run a company. 
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” I said. “Someone who knows how we operate and who knows our weak spots.”
“Do you want me to check who had access to investor contacts in the last six months?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. “And also find out if any of our team met with new clients recently people they didn’t log in properly. Lunch meetings. Coffee; anything that wasn’t in the reports.”
“Got it,” she said and turned to leave.
“Nessa,” I called again before she reached the door.
She stopped and looked back.
“Thank you,” I said, softer this time.
“You are  going to get through this, sir.” She said smiling. I haven’t seen her have such bright smile on her face before. I hoped she was right.
The door closed and I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of the coffee but it couldn’t wake me up from this nightmare.
The phone rang a few minutes later. It was the investigator I hired.
“Any news?” I asked.
Yes,” the investigator said slowly on the phone. “It was Asher your brother. He’s the one who closed the deal for Sally Groups.”
“What!” I shouted so loud my voice cracked.