Ch 724 - Scapegoat

"In retrospect, Norman, it was really careless, but Alex set a good trap." Riley came over and picked up his coffee.

"At the beginning, he deliberately baited me," he continued. "He used Golden Health in front of me, letting me see how effective it was. He clearly knew that I was interested in creating my own powder, and he tempted me because he knew I would eventually steal the recipe to make it.

"In order to lower my defenses, he got Maryann involved. Not only did that make me let down my guard, but it also set me up to use Julie to help me steal the secret recipe.

"I spent a lot of manpower and material resources. After I got the recipe, Alex wasn't in a hurry to register his own patent, and he left an opportunity for me to register it first and start production, so that we could completely own it."

He sighed, unable to hide his contempt for Alex.

"We thought that we were only going to see the benefits of the formula," Norman said. "But we took on the risks as well. And once the risks appeared, the benefits completely vanished."

He furrowed his brow, looking sullen. He had never had the interaction with Alex that Riley had, but he had never expected Alex to do this to them, and he had never imagined that he would end up losing everything.

"Our customers have canceled all their orders, and we've halted sales and production," Alf said. "And Cam, that son of a bitch, is demanding a huge amount of compensation, causing a lot of trouble.

"The worst thing is that Alex has been pretending to have nothing to do with Dynamic Health. Since our powder has been proven to be a different formula than his, he'll face no consequences. And now the mass media has made him out to be a hero after today's tragedy."

Public opinion of Alex had changed overnight. He was suddenly being praised as a good young man and a social justice warrior standing up to big pharma.

At the same time, people in Baltimore were making a lot of money from the lawsuits.

"Alex has both fame and wealth now, but he is also hateful and vicious," Alf said, thinking about how much he wanted to rip Alex into a thousand pieces.

Norman looked around at everyone and asked, "What should we do now?"

"We need to be patient," Alf replied.

Elon Wexler sneered from across the table. "Everything is a mess, and you want us to sit back and wait? Don't you think that's a bit naive? We need to do something."

Elon was another important executive at the Naysmith Group. He was not a fan of Norman, and the animosity was mutual. Although he was angry at the whole situation, he was secretly pleased that Norman was being blamed, and he was enjoying watching him being reprimanded by his superiors.

There had always been some friction between the older and the younger members of management. Riley had been imposing some restrictions on the older senior management, and they were very aware that he wanted to squeeze them out to make room for younger, fresher minds.

Of course, most of them, including Alf, were not willing to go. They had enjoyed their positions for a long time, and they were not willing to give them up without a fight, so they had teamed up with some of the younger people to fight both openly and secretly.

Although Norman was older, he had always supported Riley, carrying out his orders to the letter. Riley had always relied on him and regarded him as a buffer between the old and the young.

But because he was close to Riley, many of them did not particularly like him, so it was no surprise that most of the board were angry and happy to place the blame on him.

Riley went over to Norman, put his hand on his shoulder, and addressed the men. "This matter really came about due to Norman's and my carelessness. Alex fooled us. So, you can punish us as much as you want; we deserve it.

"I just hope that this matter can be rectified as soon as possible, so that the Naysmith Group doesn't have to suffer any more losses."

He knew that such a big loss to the company would also have an adverse impact on the production and sales of the original Naysmith Healing powder, and the directors wouldn't be happy.

He decided that it was better to simply admit his mistakes. Not only to help Norman but also so that he could sincerely apologize, and to allow the directors to express their anger.

Seeing Riley come forward to admit his mistake, Alf and others relaxed slightly. Then Alf said, "It's going to cost a lot of money to deal with the fallout of what's happened."

Riley nodded, saying, "I know, sir. It's my fault. It really wasn't Norman. He just did what I told him to do."

Norman was touched that Riley would defend him like this.

Riley continued. "The phones are ringing off the hook. The drug association and the media are all over this. We need to give them an explanation, and someone is going to have to take the fall."

Alf added, "It can't be someone insignificant either. It needs to be someone with status within the company."

Elon looked up at him and asked, "How can Riley be the successor of the Naysmith Group if he takes the fall? It can't be him." Then he looked at Norman. "It's time to be loyal."

Norman mumbled something incoherent, and then he said, "Okay."

"No!" Riley interjected. "I will not agree to this! Norman can't be the scapegoat." He didn't hesitate to defend him. "I think Alyssa would be a better choice. She's relatively new to the company, a public relations manager, and the vice president of the company. She has power.

"Dynamic Health powder itself wasn't the problem. We'll tell them that it was Alyssa's lust for profit that caused this mess. Let's say that she made the powder with inferior ingredients, which led to the side effects. Then we'll say that our company will not tolerate such a thing, so we will hold Alyssa responsible. Alyssa's team will be fine without her, and I can pick up the slack until we replace her."

Alf looked over at Norman and Riley and said, "That's settled, then. The police will be making arrests soon, so you'd better get on top of this."

Riley nodded. "No problem. We'll get right on it."

But before they could go, Elon stopped them. "This incident is going to have a big impact, and people are already blaming you. You and Norman keep a low profile until the dust settles."

Riley frowned and said, "But everything has been settled. Why should we run away?"

Alf took a sip of his tea and looked at his nephew. "Things are going to get worse before they get better. Right now, everyone is blaming you, and people are going to come after you until we can get the story out about Alyssa. It's better if you lie low for a while. Get out of the country until it's safe to come back. We need to deal with Alex, too. He will certainly make trouble."

Riley and Norman both stood, unmoving.

"You better not waste any time." Elon coughed. "We've already gotten word that Cam is looking for you. He wants to nail you both to the wall."

The pair looked at each other and nodded helplessly. "Okay," Riley said. "Let's do this for the sake of the company."

They knew that the board of directors was ready to let them take the fall, but they also knew that leaving the country would be the best thing for everyone right now.

Just as they were about to leave, there was a commotion outside the door, and they heard the secretary as she tried to stop someone from entering the room.

"Sorry, Riley is in a meeting. You can't go in there. Please wait outside."