Whispers of Wealth: The Mysterious Son-in-law

Ch-7 : Shareholders' meeting

The conference room was abuzz with chatter and gossip, as the Blue Mountains Group shareholders’ meeting had been called by Lady Mariella Holmes at an extremely short notice.

Major shareholders- both new and old, had flown in from various corners of the country for this meeting, and those who couldn't make it due to the tight schedule had joined in via video conference.

It was time for the Holmes family’s matriarch to announce who would be chosen as the new Managing Director after the stipulated trial period was over.

The twenty - four hours after her initial announcement had been rife with tensions, and everyone from the board members to the receptionists were talking about what the outcome could be, and even hedging their bets according to their own preferences.

Naturally, this was a matter of great interest as after all, the upper management of their company was going to change after today.

Andrew Holmes strode through the glass doors, barely two minutes before the meeting was supposed to start and took his seat near the head of the table.

His success was pretty much guaranteed today, and he couldn't wait for his grandmother to announce his new position in front of the board of shareholders.

An abrupt hush fell over the entire conference room due to the arrival of Lady Holmes.

Once the initial formalities were over, Mariella Holmes spoke up from her seat with a soft smile;

“Good Morning, esteemed members of the Blue Mountains Group.

As you all must be aware, I had previously made an announcement regarding the uncertain future of the company. I am very glad to announce that my grandson has risen to the occasion, and brought in 100 million dollars as funding for the company.”

This news was received with a resounding round of applause from the members, as Andrew sat in his seat, beaming with pride.

Once the sound had died down, Mrs. Holmes continued;

“He has successfully proven his undoubtable capabilities, and hence, being an heir of our family, he shall be the next Managing-”

“If you don’t mind, Mrs. Holmes!”

It was Mark whose voice rang throughout the conference room, interrupting the announcement and causing all the heads to turn in their direction.

He had entered the conference room five minutes into the meeting, with Cassie by his side.

Seeing him there, Andrew was so frustrated that he could punch him right then and there.

The nerve on his forehead was twitching uncontrollably as he glared at this uncultured man who had dared interrupt this precious moment.

Mrs Holmes was quite annoyed at this sudden interruption as well, and she would have liked nothing more than to have him thrown out of the building for this misbehavior.

However, in spite of her dislike for him, he was still known as the son- in- law of the Holmes family, and she had to keep up pretenses in front of the world.

She did not say anything, but just nodded to let him continue.

“With all due respect, ma’am, but you cannot announce your decision without listening to the contribution brought in by my wife, who was one of the candidates for this position as chosen by you.”

Andrew finally got the chance to vent the anger he had been feeling, and he said in a mocking tone,

“Your logic would be fair, if only she had any significant contributions to point out!

What should we listen to, that she has successfully begged someone for a few hundred dollars?

Or have you begged for some alms from people on her behalf?

After all, I am quite sure that you must be a master at that.

Otherwise, how have you managed your expenses before marrying my sister?

But I am sorry to say this, my dear sister.

The company doesn't need your contribution of a few dollars, I suggest you donate them to another beggar.

Or maybe, keep all that money to yourself and search for a good investment plan.

After all, you are really going to need it once this meeting is over, because I am not going to support this beggar husband of yours.

Or you may consider divorcing -"

Mark stopped Andrew’s rant by cutting him off and addressed the members,

“While it is good to know what my dear brother- in- law thinks of the matter, I would like to tell you all that Cassie has managed to secure 500 million dollars for the company.”

There was a pin- drop silence in the room after this statement.

Mrs Holmes’ voice pierced the tense silence as she choose to ignore Mark and addressed her granddaughter directly,

“Is that so, Cassandra?”

Cassie immediately responded and gave the answer that shocked everyone present there.

“Yes, Grandma.”

This admission from Cassie’s own mouth was even more shocking than the initial statement, and whispers swiftly traveled from one corner of the conference room to the other.

“How did she get so much money in such a short period?”

“Does she really have some mysterious powerful backer?”

“Could it be some old friend or distant relative whom she asked for so much money?”

“I didn’t know she still had this kind of influence in our circles!”

“I think it must be one of her admirers or someone pursuing her, who has given up this much money at one request!”

“Didn’t she marry a commoner, then I don’t think anyone from her in-laws could even dream of such a huge amount of money!"

_________

One hour earlier:

Cassie had walked out of Mr. Clarke's office with a spring in her step.

She had ensured that her family's business would be saved, and she had an unknown shareholder of Clarke Communications to thank for it.

She pulled out her phone from her purse, wanting to inform Mark as soon as possible.

As she walked towards the lift, however, the smile vanished from her face. Her grandmother had called an urgent meeting of all the company shareholders at 11:30 AM.

She had not checked her phone since reaching the Clarke Communications headquarters, and the notification was already an hour old.

This left her with only half an hour to reach the main office of the Blue Mountains Group, which was on the other side of the city- not to mention the traffic at this peak hour!

Cassie had almost given up the hope of reaching there on time, but as soon as she reached the main doors, she spotted Mark standing near the entrance.

He was leaning against his bike under the scorching sun, checking something on his phone. He immediately straightened on seeing Cassie, just as she ran up to him, surprise etched on her face.

"Mark! What are you doing here?"

He put on his helmet and gestured towards his bike with a smile,

"I'm here to take you to your destination. We have a shareholders' meeting to attend, remember?"