Chapter 1477 Betrayal
The Jude Group had twelve directors in total. Besides them, Julia, Aaron, and a few senior execs were at the meeting too.
Michael walked in and took a seat next to Aaron.
"Aaron, why didn't you pick up my call earlier?" Michael asked.
"You called? I didn't notice. Dad just called me to his office," Aaron replied, pulling out his phone to show a missed call.
"Alright, today's board meeting is about the issue with Michael's subsidiary," James said, leaning back in his leather chair, radiating authority.
He scanned the room and locked eyes with Michael. "Michael, even though this is a personal matter, your actions have seriously hurt the Jude Group's image. We need you to come up with a solution."
Michael knew that since James was asking for a solution, he wasn't planning to fire him.
Michael quickly stood up and bowed. "I'm sorry for the trouble my personal issues have caused the Jude Group. On my way here, I already came up with a plan. I just need one day to sort it out."
"What's your plan?" a senior member asked, glaring at Michael. "Your affair is a fact. Worse, it happened right after your wife gave birth. And now your mistress is pregnant, and her miscarriage is all over the internet. The company's Facebook is flooded with demands for your removal, and the official website crashed from the traffic. Given your wife's status and the Jude Family's reputation, you've caused a national scandal."
"How I handle it is my business. I'll give everyone a satisfactory answer," Michael said calmly. "If by tomorrow evening, the online comments are still negative, I'll resign."
"You don't need to resign. We think you're not fit to be the president of the subsidiary," another director chimed in.
"James, Michael is your eldest son. Both you and Eric have high hopes for him, even considering him to take over the Jude Group. But over the years, we've seen that while he has some business skills, his morals are a joke."
A director stood up and openly criticized, "He says he'll handle this. We're all smart here. The only way Michael can fix this is by smearing his wife. If she were just an ordinary person, it might be different. But she's the goddaughter of the President. And the President is Michael's uncle. The question is, does the Presidential Palace side with Laura or Michael?"
James frowned but then smiled. "The President is my brother. I know his thoughts better than anyone. Right now, everyone is upset with Michael, but I want to remind you that the energy project under Michael's subsidiary is our most profitable in the last decade. If we suddenly remove him, it could seriously impact the company's future."
"I don't think it'll have an impact," one of the chairmen said, glancing at Aaron. "The energy company is managed by both Michael and Aaron. If Michael steps down, Aaron can still handle it."
Suddenly, eyes were on Aaron.
Michael didn't even look at Aaron, just raised an eyebrow. "Aaron usually serves as the vice president, but all the external processes and production lines were developed by me. He doesn't know anything about them."
Michael was implying that Aaron couldn't possibly replace him.
"Aaron, what do you think?" Julia asked calmly.
Aaron looked nervous. After a few seconds, he suddenly looked up. "I can do it. Although I'm not familiar with many processes, Maximus Tate, the general manager of the subsidiary, knows them well. He has agreed to assist me. I believe I can handle it."
Michael's face changed upon hearing this.
He didn't expect Aaron to want to take his place, and Maximus to betray him.
Maximus was Michael's confidant. That was why Michael had transferred Maximus to the energy company to work under him.
Michael quickly scanned the room.
He saw that James was also quite surprised, but the other directors's faces said totally otherwise.
Suddenly, Michael understood.
This was a setup.
Michael's gaze swept around and finally landed on Aaron, who didn't dare to look at him, and Julia, who was calmly standing next to James.
One was Michael's younger brother, and the other was his older sister.
After a moment, Michael coldly smiled. "It seems everyone came prepared. But don't you think you're going too far? I betrayed my marriage, but many of you have mistresses too. Are you any better than me? How about this, let's release photos of everyone's mistresses and let the public see that I'm not the only one. Maybe what you all have done will make my actions seem insignificant."
"Michael, what do you mean? Are you threatening us?" A director angrily slammed the table and stood up.
"I'm not threatening you." Michael shrugged. "It's just that I'm no longer in disgrace with the public, and I thought of a way to turn the table."
"James, control your son," a chairman angrily demanded.
James pinched his brow, not expecting things to escalate this way.
He didn't want to scold Michael, but he understood that this was the only way for Michael to avoid being removed.
So James could only pretend to scold Michael. "If you dare to do that, I will disown you."
"Dad, it's not the first time you've disowned me. Last time, you even kicked me out of the house," Michael said with a cheeky smile.
James slammed the table again and then looked apologetically at the directors.
Julia glanced at the perfunctory James and then at the sneering Michael.
She closed the notebook in front of her and slowly stood up. "Everyone, I apologize on Michael's behalf. I can guarantee with my integrity that the directors' private matters will not be leaked."
"Julia, since you said it, we believe you."
The directors looked at Julia and nodded, then became even angrier at Michael.
"James, in your son's eyes, do we directors have no private secrets? We are all here for the company's benefit, but Michael is threatening us. We absolutely cannot tolerate him staying in the company."
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