Chapter 292 You've Done So Many Stupid Things for Sharon
Zachary's eyes went dark when he heard that, and he snapped, "Got it, I'll be there ASAP."
The shareholders' faces turned sour, knowing the partners were here to talk about bailing on the contract.
One shareholder barked, "Zachary Cook, if you can't change their minds, you better resign today, or I'll call Doyle Cook and see if someone else can do your job better!"
Zachary's stare turned icy as he glared at the loudmouth shareholder, who flinched under his gaze. The guy's face went pale, but he quickly bounced back and spat out, "Mr. Cook, giving me the death stare won't help. I'm doing this for the company's good!"
"I always knew these rich kids couldn't handle business. Letting them run the company is a joke!"
"Shut up. We don't have as many shares as they do."
"If this keeps up, I'm selling my shares and putting my money somewhere else," other shareholders chimed in.
The snide comments hit Zachary's ears as he stormed out of the office, looking pissed.
Brad trailed behind, whispering, "Mr. Cook, the partners look pretty ticked off. Today might go south. Maybe you should talk to Mr. Smith..."
Before Brad could finish, he clammed up under Zachary's cold glare.
Brad sighed to himself, thinking Zachary's struggles in the company because of Sharon were pointless.
He'd seen how well Zachary treated Sharon over the past five years, but Sharon was always cold to him, never giving anything back.
Sometimes, he thought it wasn't worth it for Zachary.
"Make some coffee." Zachary said coldly, pushing open the door to the meeting room and walking in.
A few hours later, the partners walked out of the meeting room, looking pissed.
The last partner, Clifton Wall, sneered, "Mr. Cook, since we're here today, we're done with the Cook Group. If you don't want to end the contract, fine, whatever. But we can't promise any future cooperation will go smoothly!"
Zachary smirked, his eyes cold, "Mr. Wall, you're the ones breaking the contract, and the Cook Group can wait."
These partners were all trying to cozy up to Silvercrest Group, which is why they wanted to bail now.
When they were nobodies, only Zachary was willing to work with them, helping them get to where they are now.
Their greedy faces made Zachary sick.
"Fine, Mr. Cook, I hope you don't regret this!" With that, they stormed off in a huff.
The shareholders, knowing the partners still wanted out, started griping immediately.
Hugo, seeing the others' frustration hit a peak, spoke up, "Everyone, chill out. I have a way to fix the Cook Group's mess."
All eyes turned to Hugo as soon as he spoke.
"Mr. Lowe, what do you suggest?"
Hugo grinned, "To be honest, I'm tight with Mr. Smith from Silvercrest Group. He's agreed to let the Cook Group join their amusement park project."
Hearing this, the shareholders lit up. If Hugo was telling the truth, they could bounce back from the recent losses and maybe even make a profit.
"Mr. Lowe, I didn't know you had such a connection with Mr. Smith. Thanks to you, the Cook Group can get through this crisis!"
"Yeah, I gotta say, Mr. Lowe is more capable than Mr. Cook!"
"Don't even bring up Mr. Cook. He did great for a while, but now he's tanking the company over some chick. It's nuts!"
Hearing the others praise him and bash Zachary, Hugo felt pretty smug inside.
For years, Zachary had been killing it at the company, and Hugo never had a shot at taking his spot as president.
But now, with Zachary losing the shareholders' support, Hugo was dead set on grabbing this chance to become the president of the Cook Group.
Nah, scratch that—he'd rename it the Lowe Group!
Hugo chimed in, "I can steer us through this mess, but if Mr. Cook pulls another stunt that tanks the company, no one's gonna be able to fix it. Sure, he helped the company grow, but a guy who puts a woman over the company's well-being? Not fit to lead. What do you all think?"
Everyone there was sharp enough to catch Hugo's drift—he wanted Zachary's job.
Given Hugo's shares, he was the most logical choice for president after Zachary, holding 30% of the shares, making him the second-largest shareholder.
Hugo's dad had co-founded the Cook Group with Zachary's dad and had been a major player in the company. Before he died of a heart attack, he was still grinding on company stuff, totally dedicated.
But Hugo had always kept a low profile at the Cook Group, so they weren't sure about his skills.
Even though Zachary messed up this time, they still leaned towards him.
Seeing the shareholders' hesitation, Hugo smiled, "I get it, you don't trust me yet, but I'll prove I can handle the Cook Group."
"Good!"
Suddenly, a booming voice came from the conference room door. Everyone turned to see Zachary's dad, Doyle Cook, and they were all floored, except for one shareholder in the corner who had tipped Doyle off.
Doyle walked in, and the shareholders greeted him.
He took the main seat, looking at Hugo with approval, like he was seeing someone else through him.
Seeing Doyle, Hugo's hand on the table clenched, a flash of hatred in his eyes.
If it weren't for Doyle, his dad wouldn't have died!
Now, it was time for the Cook Family to pay back the Lowe Family!
Quickly, Doyle looked away and addressed everyone, "I've got the gist of it. It's my fault for not teaching Zachary better. I agree with Zachary stepping down and appointing Hugo as the new president of the Cook Group."
As soon as he finished, the whole room went dead silent.
Everyone looked at each other, totally shocked.
Doyle agreed to Zachary stepping down? No way!
Originally, Doyle held 51% of the Cook Group's shares. A few years ago, when he handed the company to Zachary, he gave him 46% of the shares.
Basically, as long as Doyle and Zachary were on the same page, no one could boot Zachary from the president's seat.
But now, Doyle agreeing to Zachary stepping down meant he wouldn't back Zachary, giving Hugo a real shot at becoming president.
Suddenly, the conference room door swung open, and Zachary walked in, looking pissed, asking, "Dad, what brings you here?"
Doyle's expression was cold but carried a heavy weight.
"If I didn't come, how would I know you've been doing all this dumb stuff for Sharon?"
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