Page 88 of The Thorne at My Side
“Can you see which people started the rumors?”
“We can see who read the article and who shared it.” I tell him before I realize why he’s asking.
“Then I’m suing them. Fucking idiots don’t know how to tell fact from fiction and they’re going to pay me back.”
“Seriously? You can’t sue people for misinterpreting something?”
“Watch me!”
And with that he storms out of my office. Elizabeth comes to the door and looks at me for instructions or next steps but I’m frozen. I can’t believe Dad would go after our subscribers like that. Sure the stock dropped but it bounced back once we were able to get a clarifying story out.
Kevin and Tyler had a chat with the original writer of the TMChatter story and explained the importance of putting a “history” tag on any content that covers past events so AIM knows how to summarize it. And they started to build a guide that we’ll distribute to all staff writers for how to properly categorize their content.
All things considered this was a good lesson for us to learn. No one really got hurt, sure some people might have a year’s worth of toilet paper now but they’ll use it eventually.
“Mr. Thorne, Kevin is here to see you,” Elizabeth says. She sounds as tired as I feel. I’ve been at the office for eighteen hours. She has too.
She was arriving at the office when I pulled up. Greg sent her a message that I was headed in. She stayed up all night with us and helped keep us organized. Greg offered to pick up team members so theywouldn’t have to take the metro or get a ride share in the middle of the night. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve their support and loyalty but I’m grateful for it.
We first removed the story as best we could. After that, we had to issue a statement explaining the situation. Then, we spent the next several hours hounding news outlets to print the statement or at least summarize it but the damage was done.
Shares opened at about 50% of their previous value. The good news from where I sit is they’ve bounced back to 95% over the course of the day.
But that’s still not 100%. Or better.
“Thank you, Elizabeth, and thank you for being here overnight and all day today, but please, head home. I don’t want to see you in the office until next year.” I tack on a cheesy smile and it works. Elizabeth is just delirious enough to laugh.
“Of course Mr. Thorne, Happy New Year.”
She steps back and Kevin walks in.
“Why did I get a request from our legal team for the usernames and data of the people who shared the story?” He asks as he sits down across from my desk.
“Because Dad is going to sue them.” I state matter-of-factly. It’s so absurd to me I don’t even feel like I have to joke about it.
“Really?”
“Yes, or he’s going to try.” I take off my glasses and toss them on my desk. As I rub my temples I continue, “I don’t see the point, I mean, yeah they caused the stock to waiver but it’s basically back and we’ve fixed the issue. It just feels vindictive.”
“What’s his case? Emotional damages?” Kevin laughs.
“That and defamation. He’s building a case for both libel and slander against them. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and the lawyers ask for a lot more data. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he went after the other networks that reported on the story.”
“I can’t say I blame him,” Kevin says and I slide my glasses back on to see if he’s serious. “I’m a little mad I didn’t buy low this morning knowing we were on our way to bouncing back.”
“That’s called insider trading Kevin,” I tell him.
“Eh, no one really has time to investigate that these days,” he says as he stands and heads towards the door. “I think we’re good here tonight, thanks for coming in and helping us get this fixed.”
“Yeah sure,” I mutter as I watch him leave.
I am dumbfounded. Flabbergasted.
Am I the only one who thinks suing people over a misunderstanding is wrong?
CHAPTER 26
Alone at the Head Table
