Chapter 208: Do I Know You?
The person who spoke up was Ruby; she looked on the verge of tears as she cried for Sinclair to help them. Ruby had given Sinclair a lot of support in recent months after he said that he wanted to become the next CEO.
The amount of money that she had poured into supporting him was not small, and she was sure that he would not just allow them to be taken away like this, but the cold look that she saw in Sinclair's eyes as he turned to her froze her to the bone.
Sinclair's gaze would have been enough to freeze fire itself.
"Huh… Do I know you?"
Ruby's shock was too much, and she couldn't even mutter another word as a female police officer came and put her in cuffs. They would all be tried for fraud and embezzlement, and Mark knew that they would be spending quite a lot of time away.
Once they were gone, the meeting continued as Mark tapped his fingers on the table and drew attention back to him.
"Now that we're done with that, we should finish up what we started. The recent chain of events in the company has led me to realize the incompetence of the board, and I am dissolving the board of directors from this moment onwards."
Kate leaned forward.
"Mark, that is going too far. Just because some of us committed a crime –"
"And why weren't you able to realize that they were committing this crime even though you were right there with them? If not for the fact that I trust you, I would have believed that every single person here was also working with Vincent and arrested you as well."
Kate had to sit back down as she heard the genuine anger in Mark's voice, and she realized that he was not wrong. They were so blinded by the power struggle that they were not able to notice the blatant theft that was going on right in front of them. That was an oversight that cannot be easily forgiven.
Mark continued.
"I knew that Vincent and the other members who stole from the company were not working alone. They were able to take too much money in a very short time, and that is impossible unless they have someone deep within the company. That means that for now, I cannot trust any of you until we have found out who that person is.
All decisions about the company's activities or major finances will be passed through me before it is vetoed, and no one is allowed to make any lasting decisions without my go-ahead. If I hear that a single penny goes missing from my company again, I will have you all indicted without batting an eye. Do not fuck with me."
Sinclair scoffed as he finally had enough of Mark's bullshit, and he spoke up.
"You have no right to do something like that. In fact, you have no right to do anything in this company. You aren't a member of the board and you aren't the CEO. What are you then? A child swinging his arms around like a fool. Your words have no weight in the four walls of this room."
"They do if I have anything to say about it."
Hugo finally spoke up for the first time since Mark started throwing accusations around. Mark could see that there was a deep well of anger inside of Hugo that was threatening to burst at any moment, and Hugo was only managing to hold himself back through sheer force of will alone.
Hugo stood up and went to stand behind Mark.
"As the acting guardian of Mark Vanitas as well as the acting CEO of this company, with my support, all of his decisions are law. And he has my full support."
Sinclair still had a smile on his face, but on the inside, he felt his heart shake in distress as he looked into Hugo's eyes and saw the intense determination in them. Hugo has been insulted many times in this meeting, and it was obvious to Sinclair that Hugo was going to start trying to prove himself once more by standing against anyone who opposed Mark.
Things could get difficult if Hugo suddenly starts acting like a real CEO.
Mark leaned forward and glanced at everyone there stoically while making sure that they all saw just how serious he was. Mark was pissed that the board was not able to see something so obvious happening right in front of them, and as far as he was concerned, if they were not able to see it, then they were not suitable to be members of the board in the first place.
"In due time, a new board of directors will be chosen by Hugo, and from this moment onwards, all executive decisions about the company will be passed to him so that I can veto them. If there is anything that you feel requires my input, you will go through Hugo to get it to me, and I will be happy to sign it if it makes any sense.
This company is going to recover from this slump whether we like it or not, and it is going to go back to its former glory. If there is anyone that does not agree with my decision, then please speak up now."
There were no hands, and no one was willing to stand against Mark and Hugo as they knew that they had lost this round. The members of the board could appeal this decision in a court, but they knew that that would also be a bad idea since Mark had a very good reason for dissolving them. They were more than likely going to lose any case that they opened against Mark.
"Well, since there is no one, I will be taking my leave."
Bzzttt!!
"Awnn~ You're leaving already?"
"!"
Mark's eyes narrowed in shock as someone suddenly appeared in the room! The person was sitting in the middle of the table with a small smile on her face as she leaned on her elbow on her knee and her cheek on her closed fist. She was wearing shredded dark blue jeans and a black leather jacket over a white shirt.
She had bright yellow hair that was cut into a short bob cut to frame her beautiful oval face, and eyes that were lightning blue! Her grin was wide and playful, and there was this electric feeling that surrounded her and piqued Mark's interest as she gazed right into his eyes.
"I just got here."
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