Chapter 24 Jonas Proactively Cooperates
Two days later, whenever I thought about Lucas's expression when I said he wasn't as good as Siri, I still couldn't help but laugh.
I felt like I'd found the perfect way to deal with Lucas.
Why should I always be the one feeling wronged, always the one crying? I was going to mess with Lucas's feelings, too!
Lucas had been pretty busy these past two days, so we hadn't met up, but we'd talked on the phone twice.
I had Adrian and Cole install broken glass and animal traps on the wall to stop Lucas from climbing over again.
I exposed the whole story of Grace bullying the hotel staff. However, public opinion only reversed for one day. That employee betrayed the hotel - not only did he deny the facts, but he also accused me of forcing him to slander Grace. He even claimed the surveillance footage I released was fake.
Internet users were already tired of this whole thing. No matter how many times the story flipped, they found it boring.
But for Platinum Haven Hotel, the impact was getting worse day by day.
First, employee morale took a hit.
They couldn't understand the waiter's betrayal. Apart from being angry, they were powerless. Even when they tried to defend us online, nobody cared.
Second, the hotel's occupancy rate dropped badly, with many guests canceling their reservations. However, we controlled thirty percent of Starstream City's hotel market share, and a large portion of the canceled guests ended up staying at our other hotels, so the losses weren't too serious. The wealthy guests who valued comfort and luxury weren't scared off by the online drama.
But Amelia publicly supported Grace in this matter. She was the first person online to back Grace, and her fans called her a "goddess of justice."
These blind, brainless idiot fans used extreme tactics - booking rooms in large numbers then canceling them all at once, giving Platinum Haven Hotel negative ratings and unreasonable bad reviews on all major social media and travel platforms.
As the hotel's reputation declined, Brian's law firm's business kept growing.
Even though this wasn't my fault, the other board members were somewhat unhappy with me.
On the third day of the hotel's reputation crisis, the board members called a meeting, demanding I come up with a solution.
"Ms. Sorelli, if you don't find a way to turn this around, the hotel might go under!"
I glanced at them. "Even if all the fish in the sea died, our hotel wouldn't go under."
"Revenue has been negative these past few days - the losses are serious!"
I waved my hand helplessly. "We're just making less than before. That's not called a loss."
"Are you planning to just let those troublemakers keep running wild?" A skinny old man got so worked up that he was spitting. "First, we should arrest that traitor. Damn it, how dare he betray us!"
This guy looked like he was about to die of old age, but I didn't expect him to have such a fiery temper.
"Killing him would just waste a bullet. I've issued a blacklist order - no hotel business in Starstream City, no company, enterprise, or shop we work with anywhere in the world will hire him." With Gale away, I sat at the head of the long conference table, hands propping up my chin. "The most important thing right now is to quickly boost Platinum Haven Hotel's reputation and fame in a short time."
"Is that even possible?"
"If we could do that, we wouldn't be so worried!"
"Ms. Sorelli, you're still too young."
"Mr. Sorelli has been gone quite a while this time. Who knows when he'll be back?"
The group sighed and shook their heads at me. James looked at me with concern, and I gave him a reassuring smile.
"I don't think it's that hard." I tapped the microphone in front of me with my finger. "Don't worry, I already have a solution."
"What are you planning to do?" the hot-tempered old man asked me.
I announced loudly, "I'm going to hold a large-scale trade show."
"A trade show? What does that have to do with restoring our hotel's reputation?"
"A bunch of people doing business and selling stuff - how many customers could that possibly attract?"
"And I thought it would be some brilliant idea. She really is too young - no experience, can't rely on her!"
They were all negative about my plan, but I wasn't worried. My phone buzzed once. Finally, I thought, and said with a smile, "You think I'm being unrealistic, but I think you're not thinking big enough! Whether my idea will work or not - wait until you meet my partner before you judge!"
I got up and walked to the conference room door to personally welcome Jonas.
"I'm so glad to get your message at this time." I extended my hand. Jonas shook it, somewhat excited and gripping a bit hard. "I've been out at sea this whole time with a bad signal - I wasn't ignoring you on purpose. Bella, your ointment saved my life, and my uncle's!"
"I'm glad I could help." I let go of his hand and invited him into the conference room. "We can talk about the ointment privately later. Right now, help me win these people over!"
"No problem." Jonas confidently patted his chest and handed out a thick stack of product catalogs.
The board members were a bit surprised to learn Jonas's identity, and when they opened the product catalogs, they gasped in amazement.
This product catalog covered a very wide range of categories. Common items included household goods, beauty and skincare products, clothing, and bags. Uncommon items included firearms, ammunition, drugs, special communication equipment, and so on. Over two hundred types in total, with available quantities starting at tens of thousands of units.
"This is insane." The hot-tempered old man's hands trembled as he held the product catalog, but because it was Jonas, no one doubted the trade show could be pulled off!
"This scale is huge - only big shots and major clients will come!"
"The hotel will definitely be packed. We need to start preparing right away!"
"Who cares about Grace! Ms. Sorelli's vision is much further than ours. We shouldn't waste our attention on irrelevant people anymore."
I listened to the board members praise me while flipping through the product catalog with interest. Jonas was the main force behind organizing the trade show - Platinum Haven Hotel was just providing the venue. Of course, that wasn't simple, but this was a great opportunity to quickly build connections and raise our profile.
Jonas had held several small trade shows on his own turf before. Choosing Platinum Haven Hotel this time was probably because of the ointment.
James quietly asked me, "Did Mr. Valeri introduce Mr. Donovan?"
"No, it was thanks to Gale's money, Brian's brains, Marcus's muscle, and my ace in the hole," I answered him.
James didn't ask what my ace in the hole was. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at me with satisfaction. "Relying on others is never as good as relying on yourself."
After clearing up the board members' doubts, I adjourned the meeting and invited Jonas to my office to talk business.
It turned out that half a month ago, after attending my birthday party, Jonas left Starstream City. On his way home, he heard that his uncle had gone missing in the Phantom Sea.
Jonas suspected his uncle had been assassinated and rushed to rescue him, only to fall into an ambush himself!
"I used up all three jars of Phoenix Blood Balm you gave me, but my uncle and I got our lives back because of it." Jonas asked me bluntly, "I want more Phoenix Blood Balm. However much you have, I'll take it."
"I can spare you 30 jars at most right now. After that, I can give you 45 jars each quarter, at thirty-eight thousand dollars per jar," I said.
"The supply is too limited." Jonas sighed in disappointment.
"For treating ordinary wounds, regular hemostatic medicine is enough. If Phoenix Blood Balm isn't used on life-threatening injuries, it's just a waste," I said while making coffee. "If you can solve the raw material supply problem for Phoenix Blood Balm, production won't be an issue."
"Getting deep-sea plants and mountain animals requires special channels." Jonas became a bit more wary of me. "Your capabilities are somewhat beyond my imagination."