Chapter 85
After handing Oscar over to the caregiver and going through all the important details, I drove straight to the Brown Group's factory.
Their office was still located right next to the workshop. I didn't know if they hadn't had time to move it yet, or if they were deliberately dragging their feet.
None of that mattered anymore. After today, he probably wouldn't be making any decisions anyway.
When I walked into the office, several board members were looking at each other, confused: "Why the sudden board meeting? Is there some major company decision?"
"Who knows? With the company in this state, what difference does it make whether we have a board meeting or not?"
"Could it be a company restructure? Our company really needs to find ways to innovate, or sooner or later, we'll be swallowed up by that SoftGlow Biotech."
"I think the boss of SoftGlow Biotech is here."
When they saw me walk in, they all went silent.
Charles was the last one to arrive. As soon as he came in, someone asked loudly: "Mr. Brown, what's going on? Why was this board meeting called so urgently?"
Charles looked confused: "I didn't call it. I also got a text notification and came here to ask you guys what was happening. Is someone trying to sell their shares or what?"
He quickly spotted me sitting to the side, and his expression darkened: "Emily? What are you doing here? This is the Brown Group's board meeting."
I placed the share certificates I was holding on the conference table, sat down firmly in the chairman's seat, and said slowly with a smile on my face but cold eyes: "Since most of the shareholders are here, everyone, please take your seats. The shareholders' meeting is about to begin."
Charles's face turned livid, his temples throbbing. He slammed his hand on the conference table: "How dare you? I'll say it again, this is our Brown Group's board meeting. It's not your place to act up here just because you do some contract manufacturing for us. Get out."
I looked at him with a cold smile: "You'd better look carefully. Of the Brown Group's shares, you hold twenty percent, Jasper holds fifteen percent, and I have fifty-one percent. I've brought the share certificates. If you don't believe me, you can take a good look."
My words shocked everyone.
Charles looked at me in disbelief: "What? How is that possible? Even if you bought up all our company's scattered shares, it wouldn't be more than ten percent. Where did you get so many shares? Your share certificate must be fake."
I lifted my chin slightly, looking at him with cold eyes: "Whether the share certificate is real or fake, you can come verify it in a moment. Right now, I'm conducting this board meeting. I don't want to waste everyone's time. Today's board meeting is to announce a few things. Before that, let me introduce myself again. My name is Emily. I'm the founder of SoftGlow Biotech, and also a permanent director of Watson Tech. Of course, besides these roles, I'm also the largest shareholder of the Brown Group."
I slowly scanned them all. Their expressions varied, but they looked at each other, unwilling to break the silence when they couldn't figure out the situation.
Charles looked at me with a dark expression, opened his mouth to say something, but, seeing the others' silent attitude beside him, he weighed the pros and cons and sat down angrily.
His face darkened from the effort, and I savored it. After glancing at him, I continued in a relaxed tone: "The first matter is company personnel integration. I'm sure everyone still remembers the Brown Group's glory days. Roughly speaking, that was about seven years ago, right?"
I opened the projector and displayed a bar chart of the company's performance over recent years: "Right now, I don't want to analyze the reasons for the company's declining performance. Just looking at the reports from the last three years is enough to show serious problems in the company's decision-making. As a company shareholder, I'm suggesting we replace the senior leadership. Chairman Charles and General Manager Jasper are not up to the task and need to be reassigned."
Charles couldn't listen anymore and stood up abruptly: "Even if you own shares now, don't forget that the Brown Group is a company created by the Brown family. It took us three generations and decades to grow from a small factory into the listed group company we are today. And you're telling us to step down?"
Facing his anger, I still wore a faint smile and raised my eyebrows: "If it were just ordinary shares, I wouldn't have the right to say these things. But now I hold half the shares. Tell me, do I have the right to say this? Or maybe, Mr. Brown, would you like to explain why you originally had half the shares but now only have this little bit left?"
I clicked to the next slide. "So let's calculate carefully now - with the company's current operating situation, can it even last another year? Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, I'm giving you two options. Option one: within half a year, not even a year, SoftGlow Biotech can completely acquire the Brown Group. When the company goes bankrupt, your shares will be worth nothing. Option two: hand the Brown Group over to me now, and your dividends will only increase year by year. Everyone can think about it. I don't have much time - ten minutes for your final decision."
After I finished speaking, everyone at the table looked at each other. No one expected that the first thing I would propose was for Charles and Jasper to step down.
I wasn't surprised by their wait-and-see attitude. After all, in their eyes, I was just an inexperienced woman: "The company's financial situation over these years is all here. In the past three years, the company's losses have been growing, and so has the debt gap. Mr. Brown, that loan shark debt of yours is due at the end of the year, right? What are you planning to use to cover it then?"
Charles looked terrible. He pointed at me with a trembling hand and shouted, "Where did you hear all this nonsense? I can sue you for defamation. Emily, slandering the Brown Group like this - I won't let you get away with it."
"Whether it's slander or not - naturally, the evidence will speak." I smiled and pulled out a piece of paper from the file folder, looking intently at Charles. "This is the loan contract you personally signed. You're not going to say this is forged too, are you? Look carefully - you've already mortgaged the company. If it weren't for all these workers and board members who need their salaries, I really wouldn't want to take over this mess of yours right now."
The moment I pulled out the contract, Charles's face went pale. He probably never imagined that the connection he had swallowed his pride to establish two years ago would ultimately become his weakness.
"You... you're Boss Johnson? No way!"