Chapter9 One Hundred Million in Compensation
This morning, the one hundred million in compensation from the Prescott family arrived on time, down to the last cent.
This money gave her the confidence to flip the table and confront her father and those old foxes in the company head on.
"Christian, trust me." Miranda met her brother's gaze.
The light in his sister's eyes dispelled the last trace of hesitation in Christian's heart. He nodded firmly, picked up the internal line, his voice steady. "Notify all shareholders. Emergency board meeting at three this afternoon."
Miranda returned to her office that had sat empty for three years.
She pushed open the door. Not a speck of dust.
Her brother had obviously kept people cleaning it, as if waiting for her to come back at any time.
Warmth flooded Miranda's chest. She sat down behind the familiar desk, pulled out her phone, and lightly tapped the screen to send Clifton a message.
[Compensation received. Thank you.]
Shortly after sending it, he replied almost instantly.
[Ding.]
Clifton didn't bother with pleasantries, only sending a location with a brief line of text.
[City center, Platinum Manor penthouse. Our marital home.]
[From now on, come back to the estate with me twice a week to see Grandfather. Just act the part.]
Miranda looked at the words "marital home" and understood immediately.
He was giving them both plenty of private space while also maintaining better cover in front of Clifton's grandfather.
She replied.
[Okay. I won't slip up in front of Grandfather.]
Putting down her phone, Miranda closed her eyes, cleared the jumbled thoughts from her mind, and began preparing for the afternoon's battle.
That afternoon at three, in the top floor conference room of Lancaster Corporation.
Around the huge oval conference table, the atmosphere was stifling.
Miranda and Christian sat side by side at the head of the table. Christian stared at those several glaringly empty chairs across from them, his expression growing darker and uglier by the second.
A flash of coldness passed through Miranda's eyes.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands pointed precisely to three o'clock.
"We're not waiting." Miranda spoke calmly, opening her laptop and projecting the prepared PowerPoint onto the large screen.
[Risk Assessment for Suspension of Stellar Project Initiative]
The glaring title made the faces of the several shareholders present change slightly.
Miranda had just stood up when a snide voice rang out.
"Well well, if it isn't Miss Lancaster." A balding shareholder leaned back in his chair, looking at her with a fake smile. "What's this? Spent three years serving a man at Whitmore, got tired of being a housewife, and came back to the company to try something new?"
As soon as he finished, several people laughed in agreement.
"Drew's right. This board meeting decides the company's future. What business does a woman who doesn't understand anything have being here?"
"Exactly. Christian, your sister may be a shareholder, but she spent three years as a housewife. Does she even understand company matters anymore? Don't let an amateur mess things up for all of us!"
Each comment was more insulting than the last.
Christian slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, veins bulging at his temples, absolutely furious.
"All of you, shut up!"
His chest heaved violently with rage. He wanted nothing more than to point at these old bastards' noses and curse them out.
What did they know!
Before she got married, his sister Miranda had been top of her class every single year. While still in school, she'd already been helping their father handle tricky company matters. Several proposals she made had brought substantial profits to the company!
Just because she hadn't appeared in public for three years didn't mean she hadn't kept up with industry news! And it certainly didn't mean her abilities had declined!
"Christian, sit down."
Just as Christian was about to defend his sister, Miranda reached out and gently pressed his arm.
Her voice was soft, yet carried a calming power.
Miranda knew that if these people didn't even respect her brother as acting CEO, they certainly wouldn't listen to her.
Verbal explanations were the weakest form of defense.
Since they looked down on her, she would use the only language they understood to shut them up!
Miranda slowly raised her eyes, her cold gaze sweeping over each person who had just spoken disrespectfully. Her red lips parted, each word clear and distinct.
"Because I hold twenty percent of Lancaster Corporation's shares."
That one sentence exploded like a thunderclap in the conference room!
Everyone froze, faces full of disbelief!
Twenty percent?!
Impossible!
Everyone in their circles knew Lancaster Corporation's ownership structure. Dominic, as founder, held twenty one percent. Christian, Miranda, and their mother Arabella each owned ten percent. The remaining shares were scattered among other shareholders and individual investors.
Where would she get twenty percent?!
Miranda seemed to see through their confusion. The curve of her lips grew even colder.
"My mother has transferred all ten percent of her shares to me."
"Apart from our family, no one else knows about this."
In other words, aside from her father who still held the chairman title, she, Miranda, was now the largest shareholder in the entire Lancaster Corporation!
Christian looked at his sister in shock. Then the shock in his eyes quickly transformed into knowing amusement.
So that's it!
No wonder Miranda was so confident today!
He immediately caught on, leaning back leisurely in his chair and speaking unhurriedly.
"Directors, you all heard what my sister said."
"If you still refuse to accept my sister and think she's not qualified to participate in decisions," he paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone present as he spoke each word deliberately, "then I'm happy to transfer my ten percent to her as well."
"At that point, what we're holding today won't be a board meeting." Christian smiled, but that smile sent chills through everyone present.
"It'll be a meeting to change Lancaster Corporation's chairman."
This statement carried even more weight than Miranda's earlier one!
Combined, Miranda and Christian's shares totaled thirty percent! Absolute controlling interest!
At that point, forget participating in decisions. If they wanted to kick out anyone sitting here, it would just be a matter of one sentence!
The conference room instantly fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Drew, who had been most vocal just moments ago, now looked alternately pale and flushed, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He didn't dare say another word.
The others were even more subdued, their gazes toward Miranda transforming from contempt to awe and fear in an instant.
A confident, composed smile returned to Miranda's face.
She looked at everyone's reactions with satisfaction, preparing to get down to business and begin explaining her plan.
Creak.
The conference room's heavy glass door was pushed open from outside.
The crisp sound of high heels grew closer as a figure dressed in the latest Chanel haute couture suit walked in gracefully.
Ariana wore a sweet, innocent smile as she gave a slight bow to the room full of people.
"Sorry everyone, traffic was bad. I'm late."
Christian's brow furrowed deeply. He was about to demand what right she had to be here.
But Ariana acted as if she didn't see his ugly expression. She walked straight to one of the empty chairs and sat down leisurely, folding her hands on the table with a harmless smile.
"Oh, forgot to introduce myself. I just became a Lancaster shareholder. I hope you'll all look after me from now on."
Miranda's gaze calmly swept over Ariana, then landed on those still empty seats. Understanding dawned immediately.
So when Ariana couldn't buy shares from her, she went after those absent shareholders instead.
However...
Miranda quickly calculated in her mind. Those old timers' shares, all added together, came to less than five percent.
Such a small stake couldn't make any waves. Nothing to worry about.
Right now, the most important thing was to stabilize the situation and bring all the shareholders present, except Ariana, to her brother's side.
With this thought, Miranda's expression showed no change whatsoever.
"Welcome."