Chapter 135 It's Time To Play This Trump Card
Michelle walked at the forefront, facing the five board members who were older than her, and felt a little nervous. Fortunately, she had William by her side, which helped her calm down.
However, those five board members were not fools, especially Bence. This guy didn't even respect Chairman Noad, let alone Michelle, his daughter.
"Miss Wilson, why did you gather us here in such a hurry? Is there something important to announce?" Bence sat on the chair, crossing his legs, completely disregarding Michelle.
"Indeed, Miss Wilson, if you have something to say, please hurry. We all have matters to attend to. Unlike your boyfriend, we can't just wander around with you," one of the board members retorted.
"Yes, speak up already! We all have important matters to attend to!" The other board members evidently did not consider Michelle important.
Michelle felt her anger rise, wondering if these people knew how to speak politely. However, out of respect for their seniority, she suppressed her feelings and spoke up.
"Today, on behalf of my father, I called for this impromptu board meeting to announce something very important! It concerns the transfer of Bence's shares and his acceptance of kickbacks from suppliers without permission."
"Nonsense!" Bence, furious at Michelle's audacity, slammed his hand on the table, his face turning pale with anger.
He stood up, glared at Michelle, and shouted, "On what basis do you accuse me of accepting kickbacks? And what's this about shares being transferred? You better explain everything clearly, or as Noad's daughter, don't expect to leave this place unscathed."
Bence's outburst frightened Michelle, causing her face to pale. She had never witnessed such a scene before and was momentarily overwhelmed.
The other four board members also questioned Michelle one after another.
"Miss Wilson, do you have any evidence to support your claims of Bence's embezzlement and acceptance of kickbacks? Without evidence, your accusations are defamation. Lightest punishment would be a fine, but a more serious outcome could mean imprisonment."
"Yes, Miss Wilson, what evidence do you have? Without any proof, how can we believe you?"
The board members all stood firmly on Bence's side, indicating that they had likely received favors from him in the past.
"Of course, there is evidence." Faced with their relentless questioning, Michelle felt flustered. She had never experienced such a confrontation before.
Normally, she dealt with cosmetics, handbags, clothes, and fine dining, not this intimidating business confrontation.
Feeling helpless, Michelle looked toward William. He understood that confronting these old men was not easy for her, so he stepped forward and said, "Certainly, we have evidence. We wouldn't make baseless accusations."
William's lips curled slightly into a cold smile as he fixed his icy gaze on Bence, who remained undeterred. Bence retorted, "Who do you think you are? We are discussing matters among the board members here. What right do you have to interrupt?"
"He is my boyfriend, and he has every right to speak up," Michelle retorted as she stood up.
"Apologies, Miss Wilson, but this is a shareholders' meeting. Although he is your boyfriend, he is not a shareholder."
"So you don't even qualify to stay here!" Bence smirked confidently. "Two young people dare to challenge me? I'll play you to death."
"Yes, Miss Wilson, this is a shareholders' meeting. Although he claims to be your boyfriend, he is not a shareholder and therefore does not qualify to be here."
"Miss Wilson, please ask your boyfriend to leave first!"
These board members were truly cunning and sly. They were trying to drive William away. Michelle was frantic, wondering what to do without William by her side.
But just as Michelle was in a state of panic, William remained composed and calmly said, "I apologize, everyone. I am also one of the shareholders of Wilson's Hotel. If you don't believe me, we can have the company's legal counsel confirm it."
His words shocked everyone present, including Michelle. How did she not know that William was a member of her father's company board of directors?
The other board members were all skeptical. "Young man, boasting comes with a price. If it turns out you are not a shareholder of our company, you'll leave immediately," Bence sneered, not believing that this person was a shareholder.
"Yes, if you're not a shareholder of our company, you can't stay here or speak!" the other shareholders mocked, not even considering this young man important.
"Very well, as you wish! If I am not a shareholder of this company, I will leave immediately," William smirked faintly, remaining calm.
William secretly celebrated. At his grandfather-in-law's eightieth birthday party, he had bought 20% of Noad's shares for 200 million dollars. Initially, he was only offered 8% of the shares for 100 million dollars, but William thought it was too low and insisted on purchasing 20% for 200 million dollars.
Now it seemed that this seemingly casual investment had given him the upper hand today. Otherwise, he might not even have the opportunity to speak here, let alone think of overthrowing Bence.
"Very well, let's call the legal advisor, Martin!" Bence immediately instructed someone to fetch the legal advisor. The other board members shook their heads at William. They could understand why a young man would act arrogantly in front of his girlfriend, but there were limits.
"William, what should we do?" Michelle also worried. If she had known earlier, she would have asked her father to transfer some shares to William to give him a say in the company.
"Don't worry, I've got this," William comforted Michelle in a low voice.
Although he said so, Michelle couldn't stop worrying. Without William by her side, she didn't know how to face these shareholders.
Soon, the company's legal advisor, Martin, arrived with a document bag.
"Martin, tell us, is this guy named William one of our company's shareholders?" Bence spoke with confidence, as did the other shareholders who had never heard of any shareholder named William before.
Martin, who appeared to be in his forties, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, giving him an intellectual look. After adjusting his glasses, he glanced at William before replying to Bence.
"A month ago, Mr. Wilson secretly transferred 20% of his shares to a wealthy individual named William. Here is the contract, signed personally by Mr. Wilson and indicating the share transfer. You can take a look," said Martin.
With that, Martin took out a share transfer contract from his folder and handed it to Bence and the others. This shocked the shareholders once again.
"How is this possible? Why haven't we heard Noad mention it?" Bence was taken aback. When did that old Noad secretly bring someone on board as a shareholder? It was obviously a chess move made within the company.
Bence flipped through the share transfer contract in disbelief. It stated that a month ago, Noad, who originally held 35% of the shares, secretly transferred 20% to William for the price of two hundred million US dollars. Noad's genuine signature was indeed on it.
"This cannot be possible. That old guy actually set up a hidden chess piece in the company, and I had no idea!" Bence expressed his shock. Noad's intelligence frightened him.
"Let me see, let me see." The other shareholders couldn't believe it either. William was indeed a shareholder of the company, and when they saw the contract, they were equally shocked.
"This is actually real. Noad transferred 20% of the shares to him." Now all the shareholders were amazed.
Even Michelle couldn't believe it. William had already been a shareholder of her father's company a month ago and held 20% of the shares.
This was Noad's intelligence. He had known all along that Bence would never submit to him, and most board members supported him.
To keep an ace up his sleeve, he intentionally transferred shares to William, but he didn't reveal it, hoping that one day, in the event of a power struggle with Bence, he would have a trump card!
Noad also suspected that William's identity was not simple, so this trump card was an ace, ready to be played when the time came. And now, it was time to play that ace.
"Now, do I have the right to speak?" William said calmly, with a hint of confidence in his eyes.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
