The others from The Williams Group chimed in.


    "Mr. Gardner, Israel no longer holds any real power in The Williams Group. His opinion doesn''t represent thepany''s."


    "Rest assured, Israel was rude to you first. We won''t let this go. We will definitely give you a satisfactory exnation."


    Joshua nced at Israel, who was ring at him with a face full of resentment and indignation, and smiled faintly. "But it seems Mr. Israel doesn''t feel the same way, does he?"


    No one even looked at Israel. "Don''t worry, Mr. Gardner. We will make Israel apologize for his disrespectful behavior."


    Several of Skyler''s supporters turned to look at him, their eyes filled with disapproval and a hint of pressure.


    Over the past year, Israel''s series of absurd actions had already bred resentment among Skyler''s supporters. Watching Ste''s faction rake in huge profits while they earned nothing and had to constantly clean up Israel''s messes was infuriating. The contrast was too stark... no, it was too devastating. It was hard for anyone to remain calm.


    Of Jonathan''s three siblings, Israel couldn''t beat Ste, and Coleman had his deals snatched by her. As for Aurora, she waspletely outmatched by Ste, with no notable achievements to her name.


    Jonathan was one thing; as the future heir, he only participated in major decisions. But Israel, Coleman, and Aurorabined couldn''t match Ste''s performance. This made many of Skyler''s supporters begin to doubt their capabilities.


    Losing so badly when it was three of them against just Ste made them look like absolute failures next to her.


    Israel and Coleman had worked at The Williams Group for years and


    had their ownworks osts


    and influence. Aurora had the


    backing of both The Burton Group and The Lerman Group. And Ste? Even with Joshua''s help, it was still just him. But look at how many people the three siblings had on their side: Skyler and Jonathan''s support, backing from externalpanies, and Aurora''s admirers.


    To lose despite all these advantages was deeply disappointing. Especially with Israel, who was more trouble than he was worth.


    The disappointment of Skyler''s supporters had reached its peak. If Israel didn''t apologize this time, many of them would shift their allegiance to Ste.


    Skyler, of course, saw what was happening. He said to Jonathan, "You take Mr. Gardner to the conference room to rest first. I will personally bring Israel to apologize to himter."


    Skyler took Israel away.


    In the office, Israel was still unrepentant. He said defiantly, "This deal was just for Joshua to prop up Ste anyway. Not signing it is more beneficial to us than not. If this deal goes through, Ste''s support will probably be on par with Jonathan''s."


    Skyler looked at his indifferent son, his voice heavy. "Israel, you''re only thinking about reducing Ste''s achievements, but have you thought about morale?" Israel looked at Skyler, confused. "Morale?"


    "As you said, not signing this one deal will mean fewer


    aplishments for Ste," Skyler exined. "But you and your siblings will lose the support of the people because of it Taking money out of people''s pockets is a cardinal sin. When you deliberately let a great deal like this slip away for the sake of internal conflict, what do you think the shareholders will think?


    "Apany''s decline always begins. with rot from within. I don''t care how you fight amongst yourselves normally, but if you start harming. thepany''s interests because of your personal grudges, the


    shareholders will start to think that following us not only brings no benefits but also incurs losses. That


    would be pushing our own supporters right into Ste''s arms."