Chapter 4
"To handle this, we'll create a new position of Executive Vice President to oversee all daily operations. For now, I propose Bud take on this role in addition to his current duties," I said.
Bud looked like he'd just hit the jackpot.
He was grinning from ear to ear.
He'd been after this spot for ages, and I handed it over just like that.
The shareholders were all on board.
As we walked out of the meeting room, I gave Bud a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"Bud, the company's all yours now. I know you can handle it," I told him.
I didn't bother with Bud, who was busy buttering me up with promises and thanks.
I headed straight back to the villa.
Since I was going to put on a show, I might as well go all in.
I wanted to see who could perform the best in this whole thing.
Misty said, "Honey, don't push yourself too hard.
"Let the others handle the company stuff. You've got more important things to focus on now.
"You're about to be a dad, after all."
Misty's eyes were a little red, showing she honestly couldn't stand to see me overworking myself.
But I didn't miss that sneaky little glint of triumph in her eyes.
I pulled her close, murmuring some reassurance.
I told her, "Misty, I know it's rough on you, but I'm the main shareholder. This matter is very important.
"But hey, I'll do my best to make time for you.
"If anything comes up, just hit me up. I'll drop everything and come running."
"Besides, I'll just be out of town for work a lot, but I'll still be around most of the time.
"When the baby is born, I'll make sure to give them an awesome surprise."
We put on a show of affection, both of us secretly playing our own games behind the scenes.
I stood by the apartment window, swirling a glass of red wine as city lights spilled across the room.
No one knew about this place, not even Misty. It wasn't registered under my name.
This was my secret base for now, where I'd handle all my business out of sight.
Everything was set. All I needed was the right moment to make my move.
Since Misty had betrayed me, there was no way I was leaving her with a single cent of my assets.
If she was scheming to transfer assets, I'd play along and even help her find someone to handle it.
If she wanted to help Bud snap up shares, I'd go ahead and lend her a hand.
I'd already offloaded all those worthless shares before they went down the drain.
On top of repossessing every asset in my own name, I even pulled Bud's holdings under my control.
"Mr. Dennis, what do you need?" my assistant asked.
He could see I was riding high and honestly looked just as pleased as I was.
He'd been by my side since I built this whole thing from scratch.
Eight years of chaos and storms—if there was anyone I trusted to watch my back, it was him.
"How's Bud been lately? Still gambling?" I asked.
My assistant smirked, his eyes cold.
He replied, "No worries, Mr. Dennis. We've made sure he loses a ton these days. He's more hooked than ever.
"That guy's already caught in our trap."
In six months, I would finally be out of this for good.
"Let's stick to the plan. We've still got several months to go. Make sure our target doesn't slip away," I said.
Over the past six months, I barely set foot in the villa anymore.
Misty hardly ever called me.
Just last month, Misty gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
On the surface, I was quite excited.
But when it came to the birth certificate, neither of us ever said a word about it.
The moment of truth was finally here.
Six months later, stepping back into the conference room, I couldn't help but feel a flood of mixed emotions.
A ton of familiar faces were missing. It seemed that they all unloaded their shares to Bud.
I was just about to pull out my report and give everyone a quick rundown of our progress over the past six months.
But Bud just smirked and waved me off. "Alright, that's enough. No need to read it."
He cut me off before I could even start, strutting around like he owned the place.
"Bud, don't forget who's boss here. I'm still the CEO. You're just keeping the seat warm," I said coolly.
The whole room burst out laughing at that.
Bud announced, "Mr. Dennis, we gathered here today to kick you out as CEO.
"You kept talking about going global these last six months, but it was just flop after flop. All because of you, the company's burned through billions of dollars.
"We're all in agreement that you're just not qualified to be the CEO anymore."
All the board members sat there with smirks on their faces.
It looked like they'd all joined forces with Bud now.