Chapter 107

Chapter 107
For a moment, Dorian looked like he was actually going to transform and lunge at Jethro, but he didn’t. Instead, his body relaxed, and the shimmering in his eyes stopped, and they returned to their normal dull grey color. He took one long look at Jethro before he stormed out of the room wordlessly.

“So, anyone else want to give it a try?”

Jethro tried to goad the rest. He needed a good reason to release all that anger that was hiding behind his cool composure. Rashel saw this and tried to avoid it at all costs. This kind of thing would become a huge scandal; considering they were recently under fire by the entire city, it was exactly what they did not need.

“I don’t know what was being discussed here, and even if I had the faintest idea, I’m willing to pretend just for your sakes. The alpha and I will leave this room without any harm coming to any of you, but I promise you, one more move in the wrong direction and you’re done for. Do not let us revisit this matter.”

Jethro saw what she was trying to do, and even though it annoyed him that she was being diplomatic where it wasn’t needed, he played along.

“Very well, gentlemen. See you at work tomorrow.” He said tightly and turned immediately, heading for the door.

They walked to the car in silence, more briskly than they had when they first got out.

“Why did you do that?” Jethro asked as calmly as possible the moment they were both in the car.

“Do what?”

“I wanted to teach Dorian a lesson. All of them had done something stupid, and you—”

“Stopped you from doing something stupid? Yes. We don’t need this right now, Jethro. We just got our lives back after the council saga, and you still have enemies out there. Doing this puts us in the spotlight and gives people who don’t know you room to judge you. I don’t want that for you.”

“I don’t care what anybody thinks. I built this whole thing from scratch.”

“That’s all the more reason why you need to protect it at all costs, even if it means acting a fool or showing a little weakness. Violence would only make your empire crumble even if you win the war.” Rashel said calmly as she watched Jethro. She watched as he gradually stopped working his jaw and closed his eyes before he took a deep breath and rested his head on the steering wheel. Rashel reached out and ran her fingers through his hair.

“We’re going to be okay, I promise you.”

Jethro nodded and then raised his head up, and without another word, he started the car and drove off.



Conference room seven was crackling with tension even though it was silent. For a long moment, nobody spoke as all thirteen members sat waiting for Jethro to begin the meeting. It was evident that everyone present—including those whom Dorian hadn’t bought over—knew what had transpired the previous night, or at least a version of it.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for convening here on such short notice.” Jethro said suddenly. “Now, to the topic of the day. As we’re all aware, a meeting was held in the absence of some of us, which I think is unfair, as we’re all members of the board and deserve to know what was being discussed, especially as it concerns this company.”

Dorian and all the other five board members who had converged the previous day remained silent as they looked at one another.

“We don’t have all day, Dorian,” Rashel said, looking directly at Dorian.

“Very well then, if you insist.” Dorian cleared his throat before he continued with that cockiness that always accompanied his scowl. “Being board members and seeing as our investments are tied to the growth of this Scepter, we converged last night to discuss ways to move this company forward. Unfortunately, those plans did not include having you as CEO anymore, Alpha.” Dorian said without stuttering.

The room fell into total silence when Dorian finished speaking. It felt like the world outside had stopped, and they were the only thirteen people left. Everyone watched Jethro intently, and he knew exactly what they expected from him, but he wasn’t going to give it to them. From Dorian’s reply, he confirmed that Rashel was indeed right, and they wanted him to strike first so they could use it against him.

“Thank you for the very detailed explanation. Anybody else have something else to say?” Jethro said very casually, like they might have been discussing a monthly report and not his downfall.

They still hadn’t gotten over their shock, so the room was still silent. Jethro waited for a long moment, and when no one spoke, he did.

“We’re going to vote. Those in favor of me stepping down as CEO, please indicate with a raise of hands.” Jethro said as he stood from his seat, watching and waiting to take count. Dorian’s hand went up immediately, followed moments later by Edward and Emilio and then Clara. The other three people who were present at the meeting didn’t raise their hands, and if Dorian was disappointed, then he didn’t show it.

“Very well, then. Those in favor of me remaining CEO, raise your hands.”

Out of the remaining six, including Rashel, four raised their hands: Serena, Hughes, Kennedy, and Rashel, while two people remained neutral. This left them with three known votes against Jethro, four known votes in his favor, and five neutral board members.

“Very well, then, as we’ve always done, the majority gets the vote. This means that I remain CEO, and this madness stops immediately.” Jethro said firmly.

“You might have won this vote, Jethro, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to let you destroy this company. A few weeks ago, we were at risk of being blacklisted by the council because of you and Rashel.”

“But we weren’t. And you know damn well those were false accusations, Dorian. You saw the evidence, and you know that Veronica was responsible for that.”

“Since you got here, the balance of this company has been shaking, Rashel. Lots of lives were lost in that fire, and many more were put at great risk, and it was all because of you, so no. No, I will not stop. It’s either you’re removed from the board, or Jethro steps down as CEO.” Dorian hissed.

Jethro didn’t reply; instead, he nodded once and took his seat.

“Very well, ladies and gentlemen, this meeting has come to an end. I’ll send out a memo if there’s a need for another.”

Everyone stood quietly and left the room one by one until there were only three people left: Jethro, Rashel, and Dorian.

“Look here, Rashel, you might fool everyone, but you can’t fool me. I will fight you.”

“Don’t you ever ever speak to her like that again, Dorian, or I’ll make sure it is the last thing you ever do,” Jethro growled.

“Very well, then. We shall see.” Dorian hissed and stormed out of the room.

Jethro turned to look at Rashel, and she saw that he had let go of the cool façade he wore, and worry was etched into the lines on his forehead.

Rashel waited for Dorian’s receding steps in the hallway to fade completely before she stood and went to stand beside Jethro, where he sat, pulling him close to her as he wrapped his hands around her waist.

“We’re going to be alright, I promise. Dorian isn’t going to take Scepter away from you.” Rashel said calmly as she rubbed his head.

“If we don’t do something fast, he might successfully recruit the rest of the board, and I’ll be forced to step down.”

“The company hasn’t experienced any losses that have tampered with their shares, so even if they want to go to the council, we have a very strong case. You’re doing absolutely well, my love, and we’ll stop Dorian’s foolishness somehow.”

“I didn’t think I’d have to fight for this company like this again. I did that a lot in the beginning and tried to ensure as much as I could that I would never be put in that position again, but Dorian is pushing too much, and I don’t think I can restrain myself for too long.”

“No one is going to take Scepter away from you, okay? Now, let’s go home; you need to sleep or something.”

As Rashel stepped aside for Jethro to stand up, she took note of how his shoulders were slumped and how tired he looked, and she resolved to help him get out of this as soon as possible.

The real reason for Rashel’s calmness through the entire meeting was that she had sent Milla to find some dirt on Dorian, and she brought back a whole truck of dirt. It was discovered that Dorian was involved in the black-market business, where he was illegally trading some of Scepter’s tech to the outlaws. This information alone was enough to get the man into a lot of trouble, but Rashel worked with hard evidence, so she had Milla gather solid evidence against Dorian. The man could carry on with his hypocrisy in Scepter; he didn’t know what was coming for him.