Chapter 60: Re-elect
Wendy was a bright girl, after all. She had managed to guess what was happening with just a few short sentences from Christian. It was no wonder why Michael had been so busy recently. It had started the last time they were at the mansion, when he witnessed Anthony bully his mother. After that incident, he was constantly working and barely had time to talk to her. Or perhaps he had been plotting this takeover for a long time, but the opportunity had not yet been ripe until now.
When Wendy arrived to work the following day, she discovered Michael asleep at his desk. She tiptoed over, found a thin blanket, and draped it across his body. However, she accidentally brushed his hand, and he was startled awake.
"Have you notified the shareholders about the meeting?" Michael blurted.
"It’s me..."Wendy felt her heartache when she saw how worn out he looked.
Michael sighed with relief, realizing it was Wendy in his office. He rubbed the area between his eyebrows, feeling much more awake now.
He said, "it must be late, since you’re already at work." He pulled the blanket off of him and set it aside.
Rising, he walked over to the window that overlooked Lake City.
He cracked a smile as he said confidently, "Wendy, after today, I’ll be MC Enterprise’s real, sole owner."
"Is this what you’ve been so busy with over the last few days?" asked Wendy.
"Did you know about this?" Michael turned his head, frowning slightly, "I don’t recall telling you what I was up to."
Suddenly aware that she might have said too much, Wendy blinked and casually explained herself, "It was just a guess."
"That’s impossible." Michael stared inquisitively at Wendy as he asked tentatively, "Did Christian tell you about this?"
"..." Since Michael was so clever, there was no real option for Wendy to deny it. She could only answer him honestly, so she said, "He called me yesterday. But before you get angry about it, I have to say that I didn’t know it was him calling. When I answered, he told me that he was bidding me farewell because there won’t be a place for him here at MC Enterprise anymore. He really didn’t say anything besides that, I guessed most of it myself."
Michael’s doubts slowly dissipated as he observed Wendy’s cautious demeanor. He chose not to tell her about his plans because he wanted to give her a surprise. After he gained full ownership over MC Enterprise, he intended to tell everyone that she was his wife and give her an official status publicly.
He did not expect Christian to be such a bigmouth and expose the truth to her before he had the chance to.
However, it made no difference. In any case, he was about to take over MC Enterprise completely.
"Will you feel bad about me driving Christian out of the company?" Michael asked her in a thoughtful manner.
If this were the past, he would have felt confident about Wendy loving only him. But after everything that had happened, he realized that he had also become very paranoid about his place in her heart.
Whenever he found out about any kind of connection between Wendy and Christian, he would worry incessantly about her falling in love with his half-brother. After all, Christian’s motive was obvious, and his own horrible treatment of Wendy in the past did not help in the least bit.
Hence, he fully believed that it was possible for Wendy to end up falling in love with Christian instead. At the end of the day, Christian was also a man with money and power. Putting everything else aside, any woman would find it difficult to reject a man of such stature if he treated her nicely and pursued her.
"Michael, there is really nothing between me and Christian," said Wendy.
Even though she had explained this to Michael many times, she was still afraid that he did not believe her. She realized that she had become the same person she used to be-she was now cautious all the time and afraid of angering Michael.
She thought, Loving someone is really quite tiring.
Two months ago, all she wanted to do was get divorced and protect her child by getting away and having a smooth delivery. At that time, she did not have to worry about Michael’s feelings in the least bit. Even if he misunderstood her relationship with Christian, she could not be bothered to explain herself. Now, she had fallen back into the same habits. She knew that this was not a good sign.
The suspicion Michael felt slowly faded as he looked into Wendy’s clear and sincere eyes. He said, "I don’t care what you and Christian were like before, but you’re not allowed to contact him again in the future. My father isn’t the only reason why I’ve had to take over MC Enterprise sooner than planned - I also wanted to make Christian leave sooner so that the both of you will have no reason to meet again. You should understand what I’m trying to say."
If Christian remained in MC Enterprise, he was bound to run into Wendy from time to time.
Wendy could not deny that she felt moved when she heard Michael’s words.
She thought, am I one of the reasons why Michael is doing this?
A smile surfaced on her face, one that could not be concealed. If Michael was really willing to do so much for her, it proved that her decision not to leave was the right one.
Suddenly, Wendy stood on her tiptoes happily and leaned in, pecking Michael on the cheek.
Before he could react, she was already retreating with her face flushed.
Looking at her bow her head shyly, Michael reached out and pulled her into his embrace.
However, before he got the chance to do anything else, Mr. York rushed into the office anxiously.
He said, "Mr. Lucas-"
When he saw what was happening, he felt his stomach twist.
He said, "I know I came at the wrong time, but I have some urgent news..." Then, he remained standing where he was and waited for Michael’s instructions.
Wendy quickly squirmed out of Michael’s embrace. With her head lowered, she said, "Please, go ahead. "
This was the second time that Mr. York had walked in on them in an intimate moment.
Wendy felt very embarrassed.
"Don’t go yet," Michael called out to her as he looked at her back.
Wendy awkwardly remained where she was, her face still flushed.
"Most of the shareholders we notified have already arrived at the company. It’s 9.15 A.M. right now, and the board meeting is scheduled to begin at 9.30 A.M. I spent the whole of last night preparing the documents for the meeting today. Mr. Lucas, you can begin the meeting whenever you are ready," said Mr. York.
Michael nodded. With that, Mr. York turned around and left. Beckoning Wendy over, Michael said with a smile, "Since you are my assistant, you have to help me wash up and get ready for the meeting."
The president’s office was very spacious with its own private bathroom, where Michael headed right away. Wendy could only follow him. She squeezed some toothpaste onto a toothbrush, filled a pail of warm water to rinse his face, and prepared a towel for him. Then, she went to the wardrobe on the far wall and picked out a suit.
When he emerged from the shower, Wendy passed him the fresh set of clothes. After changing, Michael pulled Wendy toward him.
He pointed at his tie and said, "Since you’re not only my assistant but also my wife, you should help me with my tie."
Wendy was suddenly reminded of the past. She had always wanted to do this for him, but he always refused to let her come near him. She never expected there would come a day when Michael would voluntarily ask her to help with his tie.
After straightening the tie, Michael took the opportunity to kiss Wendy’s cheek. Before she came to her senses, he said solemnly, "You should sit in on the board meeting."
"Me?" Wendy pointed at herself, "I’m just an assistant. I just take care of your day-to-day needs, I don’t usually participate in business affairs. Moreover, you are meeting the board of directors. it’s a huge deal, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to be there."
"I want you to personally witness me taking over MC Enterprise," said Michael with his head slightly inclined. He looked just like an energetic teenager who wanted nothing more than his most beloved person to witness his success.
...
Michael escorted Wendy into the conference room. Even though Wendy had worked as his assistant for over a year, she had never really been involved in his business affairs. Before this, Michael never brought her to meet any of his business partners.
Hence, the only people that Wendy could recognize here were Christian and Winnie, even though dozens of shareholders sat around the room. Since it was such a large event, she felt she could only stand behind Michael obediently and hand him documents whenever he required it.
When Christian saw Wendy, a look of surprise filled his eyes. He could not believe that Michael had brought her to meet the board of directors.
It seemed like their relationship was progressing much faster than he had expected.
He had to act fast, or Michael would likely make an official announcement about Wendy’s status soon. And when that time came, Christian feared that it would become even more difficult for him to do anything.
"I apologize for calling this meeting so suddenly. The main purpose of today’s meeting is so we can re-elect the chairman of the board," said Michael. Even though he was the president of the company by title, Anthony Lucas was still the current chairman of the board of directors. By right, his father should be the one presiding over today’s meeting.
However, Anthony had received the news about the sudden meeting at the last minute-same as everyone else.
He rushed over and arrived at the conference room just in time to see his son sitting in his seat. His aged face was flushed with anger. He said, "Michael Lucas, what are you trying to do?"
"I think what I’m trying to do should be very clear," said Michael as he gazed at the other shareholders sitting in front of him. Calmly, he continued, "I wish to re-elect the chairman."
"I own 25% of the company’s shares, which makes me the biggest shareholder here. I’m still the chairman of the board, so what right do you have to go over my head and call for a meeting?!" Anthony was so agitated that his spit flew everywhere.
He had never expected his son to do this to him. He knew that Michael must be fully prepared since things were already at this stage, but he was not willing to give up his position as chairman just like that. After all, he was the one who founded MC Enterprise with his bare hands.
"You own 25% of the company’s shares?" Michael sneered, "Well, I own 26%, which makes me the biggest shareholder of MC Enterprise right now."
"Didn’t you only have 15% of the company’s shares? How is it possible for you to have 26% now?" Anthony questioned him incredulously, "Did you force your mother to transfer her shares to you?"
"This document contains a detailed breakdown of the shareholders’ distribution, you are all welcome to take a look," said Michael as he waved his hand at Wendy.
She understood what he wanted and immediately distributed copies of the said document.
The shareholders combed through their copies with their heads bowed. When Anthony saw the relevant information, it sank in that he was no longer the biggest shareholder of MC Enterprise.
Turning his head, he stared at Winnie who was just sitting by the side and said in a low and imploring tone, "Winnie, you still have 5% of the company’s shares. If you transfer them to me, I still be the biggest shareholder."
Before Anthony could finish speaking, Winnie sneered, "Why should I transfer my shares to you? Just so you can give them to that b*stard?"
Christian and Lily had always been the biggest thorns in Winnie’s heart. Despite that, Anthony had secretly given 5% of the company’s shares to his illegitimate son behind her back. Over the last ten years, Winnie had sought help from her family members to help pave the way for Anthony’s career. Even so, she only got 5% of the company’s shares, which placed her on the same level as his mistress and illegitimate son.
How could anyone expect Winnie to simply swallow this injustice? Hence, she had immediately rushed over to the company the moment she received Michael’s call and heard that there was going to be a meeting with the board of directors. She would pay any price to get Anthony expelled from MC Enterprise.
