Arabelle

Chapter 14 - We meet at last

Derrick’s POV

At exactly 10:55am, Alfred knocked on my door,

“Come in” I called out when I heard the knock on the door,

Alfred walked in and said “Sir, it’s almost time”

I shrugged and said “There is no reason to hurry over there, it’s not a crime to show up a little late, is it?” a rakish smile pulled at the corners of my lips,

I could see Alfred pale a little “But Sir, today’s is of great importance, we can’t afford any mistakes today, the board members are counting on you to make a mistake so that they can take advantage of it” he said, I could hear the worry in his voice,

I smiled inwardly “Wow Alfred, I never knew you cared so much about me, I am actually touched “I said,

Alfred cleared his throat and said “I am sorry if I was out of line, but I really feel that we should prepare ourselves for today’s meeting, they are after your position and they will do anything to get it”

I shrugged my shoulders casually like I didn’t have a single care in the world “Well they can try to come and get it, I think I will find it rather very interesting” I said,

Alfred smiled and I realized this was the first he had actually smiled in front of me “Just let me know if you need anything, I am here to help” he said,

“Thank you Alfred, that sounds very reassuring but I think I can handle today on my own” I said with a smile,

Alfred also smiled and said “I find that statement very reassuring Sir”

I glanced at my wrist watch, it was now 11:00am, I thought I could wait for another 10 minutes before leaving, I could almost imagine the look on their faces when I finally walked in, I felt like today was going to be a battle of wits and I was well equipped to face my opponents,

I sat in my seat for 10 minutes before finally standing up from my chair, Alfred gave me a small smile, I slipped on my jacket and headed toward the door Alfred was holding open for me, I walked out feeling not at all like Derrick King but like Lord Richard Blackwood, I felt that surge of confidence I hadn’t felt in a long time, because of my self-pity and self-loathing, I had almost forgotten who I was, I had allowed myself to be trampled upon by people of little importance, I had done wrong to only one person and it was only she who could do with me, every other person will have to go to hell because I cared nothing for them, and today, I won’t let anyone take what was mine, this company was built by my ancestors and I won’t let it be taken away.

With a stride of determination, I walked into the conference room, they were all already seated, their faces looked just like I had thought it would, seated at one end of the table was my mother looking like she was seating in a throne room rather than a conference room and seating to the far right was Ruth, looking more like a harpy than ever before, she was looking at me coolly with those beady eyes of hers, she looked like she was ready for anything, I found that very interesting, I would hate to go against an unprepared opponent.

I swaggered over to my seat which was positioned at the other end, opposite to my mother, she gave me a cool look when I took my seat, I nodded my head about half an inch and said “Madam President” she gave me a small smile that was meant for the sake of appearances, because there was no warmth in it at all, it was cold as ice, I smiled inwardly, I was glad that my mother was back to her usual self and that whatever it was she had been playing at was forgotten.

“Good morning” I said to the group of unwelcoming faces of old wrinkled men and women, sometimes I wondered how they could be so old when they probably just a few years older than my mother who looked like she was in her early 40s,

Good mornings were murmured across the table, there was no time to waste and I couldn’t wait to get out of this damn place, their faces sickened me,

“Let’s get down to business, I was told you called for an emergency meeting, so what is the reason for it if I might ask?” I said,

The room was quiet for a few seconds then that voice I disliked so damn much came piercing through the silence,

“I think you know the reason why this meeting was called” Ruth said, her beady eyes watching me like a hawk,

I chuckled and said “If I knew the reason for the meeting I believe I wouldn’t be asking now, would I Ruth?”

The others gave me looks that hinted at displeasure, looks which I completely ignored, I kept my eyes on Ruth,

She smiled a little and then said “Well Derrick, this meeting was called because of your recent negligence of responsibility, you have been absent without reason over the last few weeks, and your actions yesterday were inexcusable, you gave no reason for your absence yesterday and you ignored every phone call when we tried getting in touch with you, and on top of all this, your actions almost jeopardized a very important business deal that a lot of effort had been into, up until now, the fate of that deal has not being decided, if the investor decides to back out because of what happened yesterday, nobody can blame him because your actions yesterday were completely unethical and professional, so today’s meeting is basically for you to give us your reason for actions”

I smiled, things were going exactly as I wanted, I cleared my throat and said “Let me begin by saying, I am sorry my actions over the last few weeks but they were due to personal matters that could not be avoided, and as for the deal you spoke about, it is under control and if it ends up not going as planned then I believe that’s not a problem, we are already well established in the foreign market, this was simply just an attempt to boost our image, in this deal, winning or losing is really of no consequence, if we end up getting the deal then, it’s just an added bonus to our already established reputation and if we don’t get it then like I said, our reputation is already well established, and as for the you said was put in, with all due respect that has nothing to do with the board members, that was all done by me and my team so I believe that is a matter concerning me and my team”  I concluded,

My eyes met that of Ruth, she still had that steely look in her eyes, telling me that this was just the beginning, the other board members simply cleared their throats and remained quiet, looks like Ruth had been selected as the spokesperson for all them, I looked at my mother, her expression was complacent, I could read nothing from her expression, honestly, I didn’t even know which side she was on, I didn’t know if she was supporting me or not, it felt like I was alone with no one to support me, it felt sad and heartbreaking to know that I couldn’t count on my own mother,

“Personal matters you say? And can I ask what those matters are and can I ask if they will be a problem in the future?” Ruth said,

I was quiet for a while, I was giving her the impression that her question bothered me, Ruth wasn’t really what you called a seasoned business woman, she was more of a politician than a business woman, she  was a woman with a lot of money who decided to invest it in a place where she could gain a lot,

“As I said before, my reasons are personal and I would rather not discuss personal matters at a business meeting, and as for if these personal matters will continue to cause problems in the future, I can’t say that they will not” I said,

A small triumphant smile crossed Ruth’s face, I smiled, did she really think she had won, it turns out I had overestimated her if she thought victory was that easy,

She cleared her throat and said “Then I think I speak for all of us when I say that that is highly unacceptable, your personal matters might end up putting the company at risk and we cannot have that, so a decision must be made now, will you be able to promise us that there will be no repeat of yesterday’s events and if you cannot, I am afraid, we will have to find someone who can carry out duties without personal affairs getting in the way”

This was the part I was waiting for “Is that the decision of all the board members?” I asked,

They all answered “Yes” I smiled and said “I am sorry but I cannot accept that decision, I will give you the reason why I cannot accept your decision, but first can anyone of you tell me the exact number of projects that King’s Enterprise is currently undergoing?”

There was silence then I finally heard my mother’s voice for the first time since the start of the meeting “Two Hundred and one thousand projects in over 13 countries” she said,

I looked at her, she was now looking at me with curiosity, like she wasn’t sure what I was up to,

I continued “Two hundred and one thousand, just like madam president rightly said and seventy five percent of that number is personally handled by me, most of which are in their final stage of completion and changing the person in charge at this crucial moment can result in unfavorable results, so that is one of the reasons I must reject your decision because that decision will only jeopardize the future of the company and as for my second reason, I still remain the highest shareholder with about 48% percent of the company’s shares under my name, so you cannot remove me from this position right now”

A smile crossed my mother’s face, she seemed proud, well I wasn’t done yet “I almost forgot, I now own  53% of the shares  rather than 48%, Mr. Jarvis is planning on retiring soon and was kind enough to sell his shares to me therefore making me the highest shareholder of this company and making illogical for you to suggest removing me from my position” I concluded.

By the time I finished speaking, the conference was deathly quiet, I turned to look at Ruth, she looed like she was about to explode with anger, she was looking at me like she wanted to murder me on the spot, I couldn’t help but smile brightly at her,

My mother cleared her throat and said “Well I believe the outcome of today’s meeting s very clear, Derrick will remain in his position, he has brought forth his reasons and they are very strong reasons which cannot be ignored, I can only ask that he solves whatever personal problems very soon to avoid a repetition of today’s event”

The other board simply murmured a few words that I didn’t care to listen to, their spokesperson had lost so they obviously had nothing to say anymore,

“Well I no one else has anything to say, I am afraid I must take my leave now, I have another meeting to get ready for, have a great day, excuse me” I said and stood up and walked out, Alfred followed behind me,

Once we were far away from the conference room, Alfred said “Congratulations Sir”

I smiled and said “Thank you Alfred”

I noticed hadn’t stopped smiling since we left the conference room “What’s next on my schedule?” I asked,

Alfred proceeded to tell me my schedule for the rest day

“Just another day at King’s Enterprise” I thought  as I walked to my office with a very pleased Alfred following behind me.