Back to Love: A New Beginning - Chapter 537

Chapter 537:.

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According to the lawyer, Derek had entered into an agreement to transfer all of his shares in Dere International. He owned fifty-one percent, of which twenty-one went to me, twenty to Lean and ten to Aaron. The news of Derek’s death caused quite a stir.

With such a huge company deprived of a head, tension and anxiety pervaded the entire group. A board meeting would be held to find his successor. I now owned a large proportion of the entire stock, which gave me greater power to influence the outcome of the election.

Thus, the lawyer hoped that I would be able to attend the meeting. The day of the board meeting arrived. I had specially selected a business suit from the closet.

I put it on and turned to the mirror, fixing my hair and putting on my makeup.

The outfit had the desired effect. Gone was the pale, tired face I was so used to seeing lately. I looked like a strong, powerful woman.

Derek built Dere International from the ground up. He had passed away, but his legacy would live on. I would never forgive myself for failing him now.

I finally understood why he had decided to guide and encourage me. He was a true mentor who taught me everything he knew. Everything to make sure I was ready. Even now, he was one step ahead of me, clearing the way for me.

Derek had made preparations beforehand, foreseeing the problems that awaited me. I knew he had high hopes for me, and he had made sure to arm me well: my arsenal loaded with all his teachings so that I would be able to find a way out of any problem. I was ready.

With one last glance at my reflection, I walked out and headed straight for Dere International. I had already prepared myself for this day. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, but no matter how much I prepared, my mood did not improve when I walked into the company. I had been here a thousand times before.

In the past, I had come looking for him, but he was gone. The staff murmured polite greetings, one of them pressed the elevator button.

I went straight to the top floor, where the meeting room was. The door was closed. The others were inside, probably already discussing matters. I approached the door and heard muffled noises. I took a deep breath and pushed the door.

There was silence in the room and everyone looked at me as I entered. I kept my back straight and my head up. Lean sat in the chair previously occupied by Derek. I could already tell that the major shareholders were unhappy with Lean being in charge of all of Dere International.

The muffled sounds from earlier were from a discussion they were having just before I walked in.

“My apologies for being late.”

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I pulled up an empty chair next to Lean and sat down. The occupants of the room exchanged confused glances. As if on cue, the attorney rose to explain my appearance immediately.

“Eveline Stone owns twenty-one percent of the stock of Dere International, hence her attendance at this meeting.”

The other shareholders burst into loud expressions of disagreement. Most of them criticized Lean as incompetent and as having nothing to show for his accomplishments.

There was no way they were going to let him become the boss. Someone else would be a better fit for such a high position, and they already had a recommendation in mind. Lean was uncharacteristically silent as he listened to their put-downs.

I understood how he felt. No one could blame him for feeling trapped and powerless. He was at the center of everyone’s disapproval, and it wasn’t as if his words were empty accusations.

True, Lean was young and had only been with the company a short time. He had not yet achieved anything significant enough to be recognized. To others, being empty-handed and underachieving meant a lack of ambition. It was not unreasonable for shareholders not to trust him.

I listened to them ramble on until I decided enough was enough.

Calmly, I stood up and said, “I will transfer my shares to Lean.”

Lean’s head turned to me with wide eyes.

“I’ll transfer my shares to him too!”. Suddenly a voice was heard from the doorway.

Once again, there was silence in the room as Aaron entered. The lawyer dutifully announced that Lean now owned fifty-one percent of the shares of Dere International and had absolute control of the entire company.

The other shareholders had hatched their own plans, but they should have come better prepared if they wanted to prevent Lean from being named the next president. I bet they had never seen it coming that Aaron and I would back Lean. Some of them stubbornly opposed the decision and even threatened to withdraw their shares.

My lips curved into a slight smile. “Of course, they can do what they want with their shares. The Jolly Mayer Company will be happy to support Dere International.”

I watched with great satisfaction as surprise appeared on the faces of the shareholders. It seemed that they had finally realized that the president of the Jolly Mayer Company was none other than me.

They were dumbfounded, too dumbfounded to say anything.

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