Chapter 24 - THE SMEAR CAMPAIGN BEGINS
Within forty-eight hours, sensationalized headlines splashed across tabloid newspapers and internet blogs attacking Charlotte's foundation.
Paid actors appeared on morning talk shows claiming the Ohio worker-ownership trust was an elaborate tax evasion scam.
Marcus rushed into Charlotte's penthouse office holding a stack of morning newspapers with glaring front-page smears.
"Ms. Valle, Arthur Sterling's firm is coordinating a full-scale character assassination campaign against your philanthropic work," Marcus warned.
Charlotte didn't even look up from her tablet, continuing to scroll through corporate restructuring spreadsheets with steady ease.
"Let them bark, Marcus. A dog only barks loudest when it knows its master is about to put it in a cage," Charlotte replied calmly.
"Should we issue a formal legal retraction through our PR department?" Marcus asked, tapping his pen anxiously.
"Never interrupt an enemy while they are in the middle of making a catastrophic mistake," she smiled softly.
"What do you want me to do instead?" Marcus asked, sensing the deadly precision in her tone.
May you like
"Call the IRS commissioner and our chief forensic auditor; tell them it's time to open Arthur Sterling's books."
***
