Chapter 1174 Layout
Today, the atmosphere at StandHill Investment Company was unusually tense. Every employee was careful and diligent in their work, not daring to make any mistakes. Everyone knew that this was the first time the company had held such a grand shareholder meeting since its establishment, and even a small mistake would be magnified today.
Casper arrived at the company at 8am and immediately called a meeting with several high-level executives in his office. Naturally, no one dared to disturb them. Miles, as the father of the CEO, also arrived at 9:10am but did not meet with Casper. Instead, he wandered around the company as usual. With his presence looming over them, employees were even more cautious.
Sage had been hovering around near the company all morning. The upcoming event made him extremely nervous and eager to participate. However, Casper explicitly instructed him to monitor Nia and Kevin’s every move instead of joining in on what was happening inside StandHill itself. Although Sage wanted to enter the building while Arthur’s group hadn’t yet arrived, he didn’t dare act recklessly without knowing what might happen next.
Nia and Kevin also received Arthur’s notification last night, asking them to be at StandHill’s underground parking lot at 10 o’clock sharp. Nia and Kevin had already become disloyal and knew that there would be a reversal later. Of course, they wanted to stay away from this troublesome place. However, with Jack and the others present, they didn’t dare to disobey and could only reluctantly set off at 9 o’clock. As soon as they arrived at the underground parking lot, Jack instructed them to stay put and then, without hesitation, the four of them quickly left.
In the car ride over there though, Nia kept shifting positions uncomfortably but nothing seemed comfortable enough for her liking.
“Kevin,” she said finally breaking her silence after some time passed between then, “Do you think Casper will expose us?”
“No, with Arthur’s strategies, he knows that his identity will be exposed today, and the only thing he can do is to make a desperate move. So, he won’t target us. All his attention will be on Lucia,” Kevin affirmed.
“That’s good then,” sighed Nia relievedly while rubbing her chest gently, “I’m just worried about what happens if he does find out though… Arthur won’t let us off easy.”
“Hmph,” snorted Kevin coldly, “We both know how ruthless Casper can be when push comes shove, but once he succeeds today, then we’ll have nothing left worry about anymore except reaping rewards.”
“I hope so,” Nia replied, not as confident as Kevin. She knew Arthur’s abilities all too well. That man was not only incredibly intelligent but also seemed to have the favor of luck on his side. His fortune always surpassed others’, even managing to overcome the trap set by Spencer. Nia could only hope that Casper would have better luck than Arthur.
While Nia and Kevin were talking, Jack and his team had already infiltrated StandHill. Despite the bustling activity of employees, they were able to silently hide their tracks and ambush near the conference room according to their original plan.
Meanwhile, Arthur had gathered his team. Kyle was dressed in a rare suit today, even taking off his glasses. He looked quite fierce compared to his usual gentle demeanor.
“Mr. Davies, everyone is here,” Kyle said seriously without any disrespect.
Arthur nodded and began to deploy the team, “As soon as you enter StandHill, you need to quickly subdue Casper’s men and security personnel. Ethan will lead five people with me and Kyle directly to the conference room. Remember, no matter what happens, your top priority is ensuring Lucia’s safety!”
Everyone knew what Lucia meant to Arthur. They all responded loudly with a promise of completing the mission.
With the preparations completed, at half-past 9, Arthur led the team, and the convoy set off from the Branch of Davonnis, proceeding towards StandHill in an orderly manner.
Lucia arrived at StandHill when Arthur left. Gracie was already waiting for her at the gate holding files alone.
“Ms. Webb, where is Mr. Davies?” Gracie asked when she saw Lucia coming alone.
“He’s not coming,” Lucia replied casually as she walked towards Gracie before being greeted by staff who quickly welcomed her into the building.
Lucia was now a major shareholder in Standhill. Furthermore, within Athegate, who didn’t know this strong woman? As a result, she received the warmest reception, and the manager in charge personally escorted her to the conference room. By that time, Casper had already been waiting there for quite some time.
As Lucia entered the conference room, she noticed that about half of the seats were still empty. Only a few small shareholders who didn’t dare to be late had arrived. Casper was surrounded by them, like the center of attention. Miles had not appeared yet, so it seemed she had come too early.
Looking up at Casper again made Lucia’s eyes colder than before.
“Ms. Webb, I didn’t expect you to arrive so early. I would have gone down myself if I knew.” As Casper saw Lucia, he immediately raised a gentle smile on his face, and walked straight over from the main seat, extending hand out towards her.
Lucia hesitated for half a second but still shook hands with Casper before quickly pulling back her hand afterwards.
The small shareholders of StandHill were not particularly powerful, and they always looked up to big financial conglomerates like the Webbex Group. When they saw Lucia actually show up here, they were all overjoyed and clamored to talk with her. Lucia politely responded to each one, while Casper generously stepped aside and continued waiting for the other shareholders.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lucia went straight to her seat with her nameplate on it – right next to the main seat and beside Casper’s. She was slightly displeased by this but didn’t make a scene. After all, she was a major shareholder of StandHill and deserved to sit in that position.
Everyone held their breaths in anticipation.
One by one, the other shareholders arrived. After some small talk, when it seemed like everyone had arrived on time, they quietly took their seats. Miles was the last one to arrive with his entourage behind him. And naturally no one dared question them.
“Dad,” Casper respectfully said without paying attention as Miles brought his people into the conference room. “Everyone is here now, so we can start the shareholder meeting.”
Miles nodded before responding briefly to everyone’s greetings then sat across from Lucia. Before Casper sat down himself, he gave her a deep look that she barely recognized before nodding slightly at her.
Lucia silently returned his gaze before turning away.
Casper took his place at the head of table while those who weren’t involved in business matters were asked by their moderator leave first. Gracie left after organizing documents for Lucia but Miles’ confidante remained motionless behind him.
“Dad?” Casper called out perplexedly.
“You guys go out,” Miles instructed them curtly then ordered Thomas – who had quick reflexes -to stay behindMaterial © NôvelDrama.Org.
“Dad,” Casper sighed helplessly. “The content discussed during this shareholder meeting is confidential. Nobody brought along subordinates so you should let Thomas leave too.”