Annihilate Me 2: Vol. 1 Read Free

total
collapse.”
    “Have you checked the stock
lately?   It’s still dropping.   I knew the market would be disappointed
when we released our earnings report this morning, but I never thought that it
would behave like this.   Last
quarter, we were clear with our investors.   We projected a loss of sixteen cents per share in the second
quarter.   Somehow, we misjudged that
figure and instead we lost twenty-seven cents per share.   Now everything has gone to hell.   Our market share is down over a billion
dollars.”   She snapped her fingers
in front of me.   “Just like
that—a billion dollars gone.   Worse, is the news that in the third quarter we’ll show a loss of $810
million—and all because Alex wanted to enter the already crowded cell
phone market.   The R&D it took
to create that phone has nearly killed us.   And it’s not even noon yet.   Tell me—what is the end of the day going to look like?”
    I’d never seen her so
flustered.  
    “Wenn Technologies entered the cell
phone market with an excellent product,” I said.   “The SlimPhone is cutting edge—you know that.   Alex is in this for the long haul, not the sprint.   Sales will grow.”
    “How do you best Apple?   How do you crush Samsung?”
    “You offer a better product at a
lower price, which we have done.   You market it shrewdly, which we have done.   Before we even went forward with this
project, we did our research—people trust the Wenn brand, and there was
significant interest in a Wenn phone.   That phone has only been available in stores and online for a couple of
weeks.   So far, the reviews have
been excellent, and sales have been strong.   It’s just a matter of time before Wenn’s
investment turns into a profit.   Certainly, somebody has to see that.”
    “The board doesn’t.”
    I rolled my eyes at that
statement.   “Oh please.   All the board cares about are the
numbers that were presented to them today.   They have zero vision—Alex is the one who brings the vision.”
    “Here’s my concern,” she said.   “From the start, there were a few very
vocal board members who warned Alex against developing this phone in the first
place.   But as CEO, he went forward
with it anyway.   Now, because of
that phone, we have investors who are watching their portfolios
plummet—and they’re bailing on us in droves because of it.   My guess is that those people would be
happy to have your husband’s head served up on an app right now.”
    “This is just one day.   Everyone’s overreacting—including
you.”
    “I’m not overreacting—I’m
being realistic.   I’ve seen this
before.   I’ve seen how ugly it can
get.   You mark my words on
this—people are going to want him to step down as CEO.   They’re also going to want to remove him
from his positions as president and chairman of the board.”   She turned to her computer and clicked
her mouse to refresh the screen.   “Perfect!” she said.   “Now
Wenn’s stock is down thirty-seven percent.   People will want to get rid him of him
because of that.”
    “It’s not as if Wenn hasn’t lost
market value before.”
    “Not like this it hasn’t.”
    I wasn’t expecting it to become
this contentious between us, but I wasn’t about to back down.   Still, I held up my hands in an effort
to bring down the temperature a few notches.   “Can we just take a step back here?   Maybe look at the other facts?”
    “What other facts?”
    “Alex is the face of Wenn.   People identify him with Wenn just as
they identified Steve Jobs with Apple and identify Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook.   Time and again, Alex
has proved himself as Wenn’s new visionary.   He might be under fire now, but over
time, he’s essentially untouchable.   He has controlling interest over the company, and he has over fifty-seven
percent of the voting shares.   Right
now, even if the board wanted to oust him, they couldn’t.”
    “That isn’t true.