her chin to look up at him through her thick false lashes, “how can I be of service to you…to your firm?” She grinned like a Cheshire cat.
Anabelle didn’t know whether to scream or throw up. She did neither and just silently fumed.
Giorgio looked from Raquel to Anabelle and back again, sussing out the dynamics of the room. He took a sip of coffee, savoring it for a moment. “Mmmm, good coffee. Thanks , Anabelle.” He smiled at her. He then leaned back in his chair and turned to Raquel. “We have a unique problem that we’re hoping your firm can help us with.”
“You have me intrigued,” Raquel said as she leaned forward, putting her ample cleavage back on display. “Do tell.”
“First off,” Giorgio said, not batting an eye, “I’d like some assurances that what is discussed here will remain confidential.”
“Of course,” Raquel said, “we’re professional and very discreet. You’re in good hands.” As she said that, she wove her fingers together, her long manicured nails painted blood red. She brushed her thumb along her forefinger for emphasis. On what, Anabelle knew exactly.
Giorgio looked to Anabelle.
She nodded. He had a powerful presence. The type of man it was hard to take one’s eyes off of.
“Good. Well, to begin with, my family has been in the investment and venture capital business for over thirty years. We’ve had a very successful run.”
“Splendid,” Raquel said, shifting in her seat, then leaning forward a bit more. More cleavage on display.
Anabelle rolled her eyes.
Giorgio gave no indication of taking note of her posturing. He continued, “We thought so, too, until a couple of months ago.” He nodded to Bernard.
“I had been doing some due diligence, ensu ring our company’s messaging was consistent across all of our platforms, when I came across a disturbing and somewhat alarming series of anonymous comments to a recent news article that was posted. The article was meant to showcase Tsar Enterprises’ financial track record and provide insight into its various business arms.” Bernard pulled out some paper and handed one to both Raquel and Anabelle. “These are copies of what they wrote.”
They read them in silence. The comments were accusing the company of financial indiscretions including padding the books, setting up fictitious accounts, misleading entries meant to make their profits look larger than they were, and of hiding losses in certain segments.
“Whoa,” Raquel said. “These are pretty serious allegations.”
“By anonymous commenters,” Anabelle said. “That’s a bit suspect.”
“Agreed,” Giorgio replied. “Obviously, what these comments are saying is untrue. We’re looking into where they might be coming from, but we haven’t found anything definitive yet.”
“I did look into it further,” Bernard said, “and there was more. Lots more. I’m not sure yet when it started or why, but it’s continuing.”
“Someone has it out for your company,” Anabelle stated. “Do you have any known enemies?”
“Well, in the financial services industry, our enemies could be our competitors and potentially anyone who’s ever been burned by a bank or brokerage firm.”
“That’s a lot of people,” Bernard added.
“Indeed,” Raquel said. “How can Kinetic help you?”
“We want to get a series of clear messaging out there about our company’s long history of solid returns for our investors, our ethical investment strategies, some of our big wins, and our diversified portfolio. We want the public to get to know us on our terms. Showcase our strong track record. Trump this nonsense that these internet trolls are spreading about us. We’d like to run a series of ads in the major financial papers, both print and online, highlighting these various aspects.”
“Well,” Raquel smiled, “you’ve come to the right place. The financial services sector is one of my specialties.”
“So Bernard has told me,” Giorgio
Anabelle didn’t know whether to scream or throw up. She did neither and just silently fumed.
Giorgio looked from Raquel to Anabelle and back again, sussing out the dynamics of the room. He took a sip of coffee, savoring it for a moment. “Mmmm, good coffee. Thanks , Anabelle.” He smiled at her. He then leaned back in his chair and turned to Raquel. “We have a unique problem that we’re hoping your firm can help us with.”
“You have me intrigued,” Raquel said as she leaned forward, putting her ample cleavage back on display. “Do tell.”
“First off,” Giorgio said, not batting an eye, “I’d like some assurances that what is discussed here will remain confidential.”
“Of course,” Raquel said, “we’re professional and very discreet. You’re in good hands.” As she said that, she wove her fingers together, her long manicured nails painted blood red. She brushed her thumb along her forefinger for emphasis. On what, Anabelle knew exactly.
Giorgio looked to Anabelle.
She nodded. He had a powerful presence. The type of man it was hard to take one’s eyes off of.
“Good. Well, to begin with, my family has been in the investment and venture capital business for over thirty years. We’ve had a very successful run.”
“Splendid,” Raquel said, shifting in her seat, then leaning forward a bit more. More cleavage on display.
Anabelle rolled her eyes.
Giorgio gave no indication of taking note of her posturing. He continued, “We thought so, too, until a couple of months ago.” He nodded to Bernard.
“I had been doing some due diligence, ensu ring our company’s messaging was consistent across all of our platforms, when I came across a disturbing and somewhat alarming series of anonymous comments to a recent news article that was posted. The article was meant to showcase Tsar Enterprises’ financial track record and provide insight into its various business arms.” Bernard pulled out some paper and handed one to both Raquel and Anabelle. “These are copies of what they wrote.”
They read them in silence. The comments were accusing the company of financial indiscretions including padding the books, setting up fictitious accounts, misleading entries meant to make their profits look larger than they were, and of hiding losses in certain segments.
“Whoa,” Raquel said. “These are pretty serious allegations.”
“By anonymous commenters,” Anabelle said. “That’s a bit suspect.”
“Agreed,” Giorgio replied. “Obviously, what these comments are saying is untrue. We’re looking into where they might be coming from, but we haven’t found anything definitive yet.”
“I did look into it further,” Bernard said, “and there was more. Lots more. I’m not sure yet when it started or why, but it’s continuing.”
“Someone has it out for your company,” Anabelle stated. “Do you have any known enemies?”
“Well, in the financial services industry, our enemies could be our competitors and potentially anyone who’s ever been burned by a bank or brokerage firm.”
“That’s a lot of people,” Bernard added.
“Indeed,” Raquel said. “How can Kinetic help you?”
“We want to get a series of clear messaging out there about our company’s long history of solid returns for our investors, our ethical investment strategies, some of our big wins, and our diversified portfolio. We want the public to get to know us on our terms. Showcase our strong track record. Trump this nonsense that these internet trolls are spreading about us. We’d like to run a series of ads in the major financial papers, both print and online, highlighting these various aspects.”
“Well,” Raquel smiled, “you’ve come to the right place. The financial services sector is one of my specialties.”
“So Bernard has told me,” Giorgio
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