Diarmuid smiled. “I thought you just missed me.”
Abigail was speechless–she was being serious here!
“Anyway, you know now. I still have work to do.”
With that, she hung up.
Diarmuid grinned even as he stared at his own phone.
Stan turned around just then and saw that, and asked in a nosy tone, “Was it something amusing, sir?”
Diarmuid’s expression turned serious instantly. “Interested?”
Spooked right then, Stan pursed his lips. “Not particularly,”
James almost laughed at his fearful reaction, and moved closer to ask him quietly, “Can’t you toughen up a little?”
Stan rolled his eyes at him. “What, and talk tough to the boss? Why don’t you do it?”
“I won’t, but at least I won’t be as spineless as you were.”
Stan had no comeback, so he rolled his eyes at James again.
Meanwhile, Diarmuid was watching them. “Now isn’t the time to slip up. Keep a close eye on the company.”
“Yes, sir, James replied, since he was the one in charge.
Meanwhile, Quincy’s arrest and Eastdawn’s bankruptcy directly brought to light the investment that Light Group made on the latter.
The board was in an uproar the instant they found out, and promptly convened for another meeting. However, although Henry was supposed to preside over it, he was taken ill from shock upon being told about Greg’s near shave with death.
He was still in the hospital when they called the meeting, and so was not in the condition to do anything.
That was why the meeting went on without anyone taking the chair–not even lan, who was silent amid the cursing and abuse.
“Why would you invest in Eastdawn?! You know nothing about the field, but you still poured millions into it and sold off two of our most profitable projects as well! The folly… Either way, you’re going to have to make up for this!”
“Yeah! We thought you were a diamond in the rough, but it turns out that you’re just rough! The whole company is now on the brink of collapse–if the investment into Eastdawn ends up destroying us, you’re going down too!”
“To think we’d pick the likes of you…. We must’ve been blind. In the end, Diarmuid Althoff is the one who can lead any other Althoff is just trash.”
lan, who was quiet all this while, shot the last shareholder a furious glare, his knuckles clenching.
The board member was not afraid of him at all, and promptly shot back, “What are you looking at? Did I say anything wrong?”
lan smashed the glass on the side of this table right then. “Don’t you forget–I was CEO because you all backed me. Even if the company is in a free fall right now, you all deserve just as much!”
With that, he stormed out, kicking the door wide open with a loud bang and leaving the board members trading glances.
Soon, they were all scowling–lan was right, since they had all agreed to his mother’s recommendation to promote him.
They were just as culpable for the current state of affairs.
“What if we spoke to Diarmuid? He just might be able to turn things around,” one of them suddenly suggested.
The room was quiet for a while after. “We toppled him mercilessly. He’s not going to be too keen to help.” “But what can we do other than ask him? It’s obvious that there’s no Althoff around who can lead the company, let alone lan. Our numbers are a mess, and our capital chain might rupture soon…”
“Going to Diarmuid when we’re in trouble? When we didn’t think of the bonuses he raked in for us when things were just fine? Everyone here has been ungrateful and disloyal, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m too ashamed to go to him. I never held that much shares anyway, and Light Group’s fate doesn’t matter all that much to me. See you around.”
One of the board members simply got up and left.
However, while his shares were a minor amount, the others held much more significant cuts.
And once the capital chain ruptured, what good would their shares be?
What used to be pure gold was now a ticking time bomb.
“Does anyone know where Diarmuid lives?” One of them stood up just then. “We can go to him–together.”
The others were silent, seemingly considering the thought.
Nonetheless, that was when the door to the meeting room opened, and the entire board turned and became spirited when they saw who it was!
All of them rose to their feet in respect!
Henry was still the head of his family, and there was no one better to ask Diarmuid to return.
That was why the entire board pinned their hopes on him–his very appearance at this moment gave them hope!
“Henry…
Though Henry was taken ill from stress by recent events, he rushed here anyway because he heard about the board meeting, and was worried that lan could not keep the board in line.
Even so, he was still very sick. He was very pale, and he would not be standing if Moneypenny was not helping him.
On the other hand, the board did not care–their money was at stake.
They swarmed Henry right away
“You’re the head of the family. You have to give us something to work with after what happened.”
Henry did not come unprepared, naturally.
Quincy had given him a call before she was arrested, insisting that she would take responsibility for what happened to Light Group.
He also learned that lan had signed an agreement with her to that effect. It additionally stated that she had made all company decisions and was hence culpable for all consequences, including the Eastdawn investment.
However, even though Henry showed the piece of paper in question to everyone, they understood that Quincy was merely scapegoating herself for her son’s sake.
Obviously, that would not satisfy the board.
“Henry, surely you don’t think this is over with just a scapegoat? The company has suffered serious losses
“Well, who else would you want to take responsibility after what happened? lan? Or perhaps me?”
Henry was still able to keep the board in line, and they were silent just as he continued, “None of us wanted this, but it happened anyway. All we can do is work together and weather this–if this is about losses, my family has suffered the most.”
None of the board members could say anything against that.
The Althoffs were the majority shareholders, which was why they had control over the company.
That was why none of them could deny what he was saying.
“May I offer a suggestion?” one of the board members asked just then.
“What is it?” Henry asked.
“We think Diarmuid is the right man to lead us. What do you think?”
Henry’s gaze darkened.
He stayed silent–but it was no silent approval.
It was not as if he had never thought about it… but there was no going back for him now!
He had burned all bridges when he chose to side with Greg’s manner, inadvertently cutting his own means of escape.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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