Two days later, it was the Pearson Group's board of directors meeting.
Jonathan entered the president's office. "President Pearson, Mr. Justin and Old Mr. Pearson have arrived."
Aidan was seated behind his desk. He grunted and tapped the surface of his desk lightly, seemingly deep in thought.
Jonathan continued, "And I've told those at the airport what to do. Everything is done."
A few minutes later, Aidan stood up. "Let's go."
Gordon took up the main seat in the conference hall. Sitting beside him was the calm, wheelchair-bound Justin. On his right was an empty seat belonging to Aidan. Everyone else was present and accounted for.
The moment Aidan came in, Gordon said, "Everyone's here. Let's move on to our main agenda." Aidan took his seat, and the old man continued, "As you all know, Aidan is not my only son. Justin had to take a break due to his health, but now that he's almost fully healed, he should come out for a bit."
"I know Aidan has handled the company well, but it's a big corporation, and he can't handle everything. As his brother, Justin is also the legal heir to this company. He, too, should help out." Gordon paused for a moment after that to let his words sink in among the board of directors. Then, he carried on, "And so, Justin shall be working with the company from now on. As a general manager."
The board of directors broke into a discussion. Gordon was just a chairman by name. He couldn't decide most of the company's matters, and he barely had any shares at all.
Nobody would complain if he gave Justin a minor position, but the general manager was a powerful spot. It was second to Aidan's position, in fact. In other words, the company would undergo a lot of change. Gordon would take back control. Will President Pearson agree to it? Everyone was discussing the matter, but Aidan remained silent.
Gordon raised his hand. "Silence, everyone."
Everyone fell silent, and the old man continued, "I know it's hard to accept this sudden change, but Justin now owns forty percent of the company's shares. He is capable enough to be the general manager."
The board of directors shot Aidan a look of surprise.
They couldn't believe Justin had forty percent of the company's shares. Before this, Aidan held eighty-five percent of the total shares and had total control of the company. What happened?
Knowing that the board of directors wouldn't believe him easily, Gordon raised his hand, and his assistant turned the projector on. The screen should have shown the contract John had sent him two days ago, but all they saw was a blurry image. Sternly, the old man asked, "What's going on?"
"But it was fine before this. I made sure of it," the assistant said.
Slowly, Aidan interjected, "Sorry, but the machine started malfunctioning yesterday. Didn't have time to fix it yet."
Gordon shot him a look.
The assistant said, "I'll call someone to fix it, sir."
Gordon stopped his assistant. With a frown on his face, he asked, "Is he still not here?" Without the document, the fax is useless. If Aidan insists that it's fake, I can't do anything about it.
The assistant whispered, "He's already disembarked, but something happened…"
"What?!"
…
Meanwhile, John was detained by the customs officer the moment he disembarked on charges of possessing contraband. They wanted him to go with them.
"Can I make a call, then?"
The officer shot him a look that said, Isn't it obvious?
John handed his phone and worked with the officer, holding the document. I can't believe this. Ever since I got on Aidan's bad side, it's been bad luck after bad luck. I made the mafia angry back in Lachstein for some reason. And just when I finally thought I could escape them, this happened.
He knew Aidan was behind this whole thing, but he couldn't understand how he could make the arrangements so quickly. As far as he was concerned, Aidan had no allies in Lachstein. He could barely keep an eye on the city, which was why they met up in Lachstein back then. However, that almost cost John his life.
Oscar was outside the airport, texting Jonathan, 'Mission's accomplished.'
…
Once Jonathan got the message, he whispered something to Aidan.
"I see," said Aidan.
Gordon looked at Aidan, his face black as thunder. It's him. He thought Aidan would at least hold back if Justin came with him, but things were getting out of hand. If he couldn't get the document, then everything he did would have been for naught.
However, he had a backup plan. If worse came to worst, he could still use the fax to convince everyone he had control of the company. He was just worried Aidan might deny it.
Though, before the old man could say anything, Aidan announced, "I signed the papers. The contract is legally binding." With that, he left the conference room.
Everyone was shocked, including the old man. He didn't expect Aidan to admit the truth so suddenly. At the very least, he thought Aidan would put up a fight.
Justin, who had been quiet all this time, frowned and followed Aidan out.
Aidan had just entered his office when someone called out to him, "Aidan."
Jonathan quietly backed out of the office and closed the door.
A moment of silence later, Justin said, "You shouldn't have done that."
Aidan took a seat on the couch. "The company's yours to begin with. If you want it, I can give it to you."
"You know I'm not the one who wants this company."
"Doesn't matter. You'd still feel conflicted, anyway. So, let's just get everything out of the way."
"But Aidan—"
Aidan interjected, "I won't regret the choice I made. Even if I were to give him half of my shares, I could still take it back someday."
Justin didn't know what to say, and all he could do was sigh.
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