Aurora stepped out of the meeting room and let out an exasperated sigh. As much as she would like to have things all go her way and to have the board just support her without any questions, it would require her to start spreading the revelation that magic was real beyond the core group of people who she could trust.
And the potential fallout from that would only cause her problems. Thus, she had to solve the issue through the tried and true methods she had practised since the start; politics and money.
Either way, the little meeting she had just gone through had given her mixed results. On the side of the Branford group, for now, things were fine. She had asserted that there was nothing that the board could do to stop her, while also making it clear that she would act should they try to cause problems through their roles as directors.
Like when she was Chester, she had also, agreed to take financial responsibility should the conglomerate's new direction be detrimental to its net profits, meaning that the members of the board would not lose out financially and keep them from going to the point they would do all they could to hinder her.
On the other hand however, her grandmother had managed to drag the Branford family's internal drama into the meeting, and by extension brought it to the attention of everyone who kept tabs on the Branford group. And the number of people paying attention to her family's conglomerate was by no means small, including those who were interested business partners, competitors, or anyone who decided to talk about the latest gossip in the professional circle.
It is true to say that the internal split of her family had not exactly been a secret, especially when her grandmother’s particularly biased and misleading rumours had been circulated once she had been pushed away from the main family.
Almost all of them had been twisted or just made up, designed in a way to discredit the Branford family and to make Miriam look like the wronged party.
It had taken her parents some time to resolve the situation, but thankfully it had not impacted the Branford Group too badly. They had lost out on a couple of deals here and there due to the misguided perception people had, but it was likely for the best since those who were so quick to trust rumours without actually finding out their validity were the kind of mindless cattle who would quickly turn their backs on her family the moment things started to look unfavourable for them.
It also meant that the many people and companies associated with the Branford Group in the present day were those who had the simple ability of critical thought, that they had the capacity to make informed decisions due to actually spending time looking into the information they heard and discerning if it had any truth. That is instead of just believing the first thing they hear then sticking their head into the echo chamber that reaffirms their existing beliefs.
In the end, it allowed the Branford group to be able to associate with far more steadfast companies and people, giving them reliable partners who would think before acting and thus find the truth before abandoning them.
And from Aurora’s experience of the future, while a simple skill, it meant that the group was surrounded by people who were far more likely to support them instead of following whatever nonsense popular opinion pushed. It had meant that the Branford Group could survive the Upheaval where so many others fell.
Her slight mental tangent had managed to preoccupy her along her short trip to her office as she moved behind her desk and sat down in her comfortable chair.
Stolen story; please report.
Harold stood to the side of her desk awaiting instructions while she checked out what was now waiting for her to deal with.
“Let's see… a report from Gainbridge Manufacturing regarding her request for 4,000 sharp steel swords following legal guidelines, 14,000 large hammers, and 14,000 hatchets, all to be created and delivered by December…”
Aurora hummed in acknowledgement as she flipped through the pages. The price was exactly as had been estimated through the initial discussions and they estimated they would be able to deliver a week before the company's specified deadline.
It was better news than she was expecting, and they had the extra week available if any issues were to appear in production.
This little project was the very first countermeasure she had come up with when thinking of ways to reduce the number of initial casualties when monsters would start to appear. She would provide a large number of weapons all over the country to arm people when everything goes to hell. The biggest weakness people faced was being unable to properly defend themselves when up against a monster who was armed.
By spreading weapons out as far as she could, it would mean people would be able to defend themselves, and in so doing, slow down enemies while allowing those who could not defend themselves or had no weapon to prepare or hide.
Just the simple act of slowing enemies down would save thousands of lives as a consequence, it would allow for regular people to react to the crisis and either hide or prepare.
And that was just one of many ideas she had, and when they all came together their individual effects should all multiply and create a snowball effect.
The main issue however, was that right now her reach only went as far as her businesses, those being mainly located across the UK where she had the most influence. While the Branford Group did have many other overseas businesses and companies under their ownership, they were spread out globally meaning that they could only assist in a small percentage of cities across the globe.
Still, there were other ways she could help, such as by boosting the average player's level by spreading information and guides and through organising some kind of formal training in whatever capacity she could. Either way, she would do what she was able to within her limited reach.
As Aurora looked through the predicted figures and production schedule she heard a little bit of commotion outside. She glanced upwards after hearing Sasha’s slightly raised voice through the door only to see her grandmother, Miriam, barging past her secretary and letting herself into the office.
Aurora narrowed her eyes while she followed her grandmother’s steps as the elderly woman haughtily stomped across the room to stand in front of her desk. It was clear from Miriam’s face she was throwing an absolute tantrum, and Aurora really didn’t want to deal with such an unreasonable woman.
With slow and deliberate movements to convey her annoyance, Aurora slowly placed her pen next to the document she was reading as Miriam took her last few steps and slammed her hands down onto the glass desktop. The few rings worn on Miriam's elderly fingers made a sharp clanking noise as they hit the table, the sound grating on Aurora’s nerves as her gaze became even more stern.
“How can you, a girl raised by the Branford family, act like some entitled brat and just order the board around, especially your own grandmother, your family? Chester was a disgrace, but at least he had the manners befitting a man of the Branford family. You, however, are a disgrace in every way. Dressing like a slut, taking the role that belongs to the men of our family, ordering around your seniors. You will relinquish your position to your uncle at once.”
Aurora slowly blinked at Miriam while maintaining her cold expression, her eyes staring directly into the elderly woman as she took a breath after her words were spoken with a raised voice.
After a few silent moments, Aurora responded with a flat and uninterested tone.
“Are you done?”
Miriam took a moment to process her words before she straightened back up, looking down her nose at Aurora with anger and disdain plastered all over her face.
“Not until you learn your place as a woman of this family. The neglect of a proper social education in your childhood is showing, and it is clear to me you need to be properly disciplined and taught how to properly behave like a woman of the Branford family.”
Aurora felt a little slither of disbelief as she heard what had just come out of her grandmother’s mouth. This time, her slow blink was less deliberate and more bewildered. Her grandmother had always been unreasonable, and held her antiquated beliefs alongside an entitled nature, but she had never seen it this bad.
From what Aurora could piece together, what made this current situation far more extreme when compared to when she was a man was that she was now a woman with extreme beauty, and that was something Miriam was no doubt jealous of. Not only that, but she had control over the family and its conglomerate, something that the older woman was no doubt incredibly envious of, after desiring such a position herself for so many years.
Either way, it was becoming very annoying, very quickly, and she was after all known for her lack of tolerance when dealing with people who could not sit down and have a normal conversation.