Chapter 598 Candidate of the Chairperson
Sonia had already planned to hold a shareholders’ meeting and become the chairperson after the factories were built and the machines were sent over from Kosovo prior to this.
In that course, she could justifiably take over the other half of the power in management from Asher which was unlike the current situation––she was the biggest shareholder, and yet she had to be enduring Asher’s competition.
However, the factory had not been completed, and Asher was already holding a shareholders’ meeting to elect a chairperson.
Nevertheless, this situation might be a good thing. Since Asher wanted her to have the position of the chairperson so quickly, she ought to fulfill his wish.
At the door, Asher’s assistant lowered his head in fear after hearing what Sonia said. “President Reed, there’s no use telling me that. It’s better if you talk to him in person.”
“Sure. I’ll speak with him.” After saying that, Sonia stood up.
She knew that it was a futile effort to continue talking to the assistant, so she didn’t want to trouble the assistant either. After grabbing the notebook on her table, she spoke up again, “Lead the way.”
“This way, President Reed.” Seeing that she agreed to join the meeting, the assistant heaved a sigh of relief. Immediately, he made a hand gesture signaling Sonia to go in the correct direction.
Walking over, she passed her notebook to him.
The assistant was quick to take it in his hands for her.
After dusting her jacket that was hanging on her shoulder, she walked outside mightily in her high heels.
In no time, she had arrived at the meeting room’s door.
Then, the assistant went ahead and held the door for her.
As she entered the room, she could see that the shareholders and the higher-ups of Paradigm Co. were all present. It seemed like she was the last to arrive.
When the shareholders and the higher-ups saw her coming in, they halted their conversations before greeting her. “Vice President Reed.”
No matter what, she held the most shares of Paradigm Co. despite the fact that she was just a vice president.
Hence, they had to be respectful to her.
Giving them a nod in response, Sonia walked to her own seat before sitting down.
Meanwhile, Asher’s assistant who had been following her went forward and returned the notebook to her by placing it on the table in front of her. Immediately after, he left and stood behind Asher.
Glancing past everyone in the meeting room, Asher had his eyes lingering on Sonia for an extra two seconds before looking away.
Nevertheless, Sonia managed to catch that hint of his scheming eyes.
Out of instinct, she straightened her body as she squinted her eyes.
What does his gaze earlier mean?
What does he have up his sleeve?
She knew that things couldn’t be so simple since Asher held a shareholders’ meeting at this time of day.
After all, Asher’s shares didn’t even sum up to the second-highest amongst the shareholders––he was at least the third or fourth. Therefore, he could only hold the president position. With his sly methods and the fact that the second and third highest shareholders didn’t have high capabilities, no one would go against Asher.
To sum it up, the shareholders’ meeting today was just odd and fishy.
First and foremost, Asher knew that he wouldn’t become the chairperson, so the meeting wasn’t beneficial to himself at all as it would only push Sonia to the chairperson’s position instead.
Not to mention, he wouldn’t be oblivious to the fact that the first thing she would do when she became chairperson was to retrieve the management powers from his hands.
In that case, why would he call for the shareholders’ meeting?
Moreover, Asher’s gaze just now showed that the meeting was held just for her.
Just as she was deep in thoughts regarding Asher’s scheme, he suddenly clapped. “Alright, since everyone is here, let’s start our meeting. Everyone knows that a good business always needs a good leader as not having one won’t be beneficial for the company’s development. Because of that, I’m suggesting that we elect a chairperson today.”
People who were on his side naturally nodded to show their support.
Meanwhile, those who were on her side frowned as they heard that.
Hearing that, one of the managers of a department raised his hand and said, “President Dafoe, do we have to elect the chairperson? Isn’t President Reed the chairperson already? She’s the biggest shareholder of the company. Aside from her, who else is suitable for this position?”
“That’s right. This meeting is meaningless,” Someone added in support.
Hearing the higher-ups and shareholders speaking up for her, Sonia showed a faint smile.
On the other hand, Asher’s face darkened when he saw her smile. “Sonia, my dear niece, do you think that you should be the chairperson too?”
Picking up the cup of tea in front of her to take a sip, she replied coldly, “President Dafoe, I don’t think that this question should be directed to me. Don’t you have an answer in your heart already? But if you really want to hear my opinion, I’ll tell you now. The chairperson position is mine. I own 51 percent of Paradigm Co.’s shares, so shouldn’t I naturally be the person in charge of the company? What do you think?”
Frankly, Asher expected Sonia to answer more tactfully. However, she gave a very straightforward answer.
“After managing Paradigm Co. for the past few months, I see that you’ve become more pompous. I bet you don’t even know how to be modest anymore.” He put on a pretentious smile as he looked at her.
With a smile, she replied, “Humble? President Dafoe, I told you earlier that I am the biggest shareholder of Paradigm Co. It is a fact that can’t be changed even if I’m humble. Since that’s the case, I shouldn’t be humble and just cut straight to the chase. After all, there’s no need to beat around the bush, so I should just say what I think. However, from the looks of it, do you not want me to become the chairperson?”
Her words were nothing short of straightforwardness, making everyone turn to look at him.
Of course, Asher’s people naturally knew that he didn’t want her to become the chairperson.
On the other hand, those who supported Sonia wanted Asher to explain why he didn’t want her to become the chairperson.
Asher just hadn’t expected that what she said earlier would land him in such a difficult spot.
At this point, he couldn’t use what he had originally planned to say; he could only reply with dissatisfaction, “What are you talking about, my niece? Of course, I do not mean it that way. You’ve misunderstood me. You said it too, you are the biggest shareholder. Why would I have the thoughts to stop you from becoming the chairperson?”
Though the truth was otherwise, he could only lie through his teeth now.
Such words could only be hidden in his heart as they weren’t suitable to say out loud.
Otherwise, he would be the one getting the short end of the stick. If he were to anger her, she could always become the chairperson by force with the highest shares she held. With that, she could get rid of him easily.
At the moment, with the shares he held, he was no match to her.
Therefore, he couldn’t do anything to provoke her. If she truly took the position by force, his plans for the future would be futile.
“Oh?” Hearing Asher’s pretentious words, Sonia didn’t expose him. She simply said with a scoff, “So, you want me to become the chairperson? In that case, you held the meeting today for me?”
At once, a gleam of anger flashed in his eyes, but he remained smiling. With an insincere smile, Asher said, “Not entirely, dear niece. Even though I hope you can become the chairperson, it is based on your true ability whether you will get the position or not in the end. After all, there’s another candidate for the position who won’t just sit back and watch you become the chairperson.”
“What did you say? Another candidate for the chairperson?” At once, Sonia’s expression changed as her brows were furrowed.
