Chapter 381: Enrico Takes Control of the Corporation
Jaden, who had returned to The Capital ahead of time, came to greet Enrico.
The top-tier luxury car drove back to the Gustin Group headquarters.
Outside, fallen leaves drifted in the wind, signaling the arrival of a harsh winter.
Inside the car, however, it felt like an endless spring.
Jaden sat in the front passenger seat, exchanging a glance with the driver next to him before silently looking into the rearview mirror.
In the backseat, a certain president lounged casually, one leg crossed over the other, leaning back lazily against the seat. His elbow rested on the car window, with his long fingers propping up his face as he gazed out at the desolate scenery. The smirk that had formed the moment he got into the car hadn’t faded.
That smile stretched from his lips to his eyes.
Jaden had never seen Enrico smile like this before. As Rafael would put it… it was cynical and mischievous.
He even wondered if Paige had cast some kind of spell on the boss to make him this captivated.
“Jaden,” Enrico suddenly called.
“Yes,” Jaden immediately snapped back to attention, pretending not to have noticed anything.
“What’s the most extravagant dowry you’ve ever seen?” Enrico asked in a deep, nonchalant tone.
A dowry?
He hadn’t seen many dowries.
But Jaden couldn’t leave the boss’s question unanswered. After racking his brain, he said, “A few years ago, I attended a classmate’s wedding. The bride’s parents were quite generous. They gifted her four or five properties, and a whole box of gold jewelry.”
That’s it? Four or five houses as a dowry? Jaden, you really haven’t seen the world, Enrico thought with a sneer.
“That’s it? You’ve really never seen the world.”
His woman’s dowry-now that was a real dowry, and she had earned it herself without relying on her parents.
“…”
Silently chastised, Jaden lowered his head in embarrassment.
He had only been to a few weddings, how was he so inexperienced?
Despite this, Enrico’s mood wasn’t affected. He remained in high spirits until they reached the Gustin Group’s headquarters, the smile on his lips practically etched into his face like a painting.
Jaden stepped out of the car and respectfully opened the door.
Enrico bent down as he got out, adjusting the priceless watch on his wrist. As he raised his eyes, the towering gates of the corporation came into view.
He stood there for a few seconds, quietly observing, then reached up to tighten his tie. The smile vanished from his lips, replaced by a cold, murderous glint in his eyes.
“Notify the executives. We’re having a meeting-now,” Enrico’s icy voice cut through the air.
“Yes, sir.”
Jaden couldn’t help but marvel at the sudden shift in demeanor. It had been a while since he’d seen Enrico switch so quickly.
Enrico’s return shook the entire corporation, as if a bomb had just gone off.
The spotless conference room, decorated in cool, gray tones, felt icy and distant.
Enrico sat lazily at the head of the table, one hand resting on the edge of the gray oak desk. His well-manicured fingers tapped rhythmically on the surface, a sound that wormed its way into the pores of everyone present, like a thousand insects gnawing at their nerves.
The executives seated around the table watched the return of their boss with cold sweat dripping down their backs, secretly dabbing at their foreheads with tissues, afraid to meet his gaze.
The ones in more trouble were those executives who had not been doing their jobs. They had rushed back from various entertainment venues, some so hurried they wore mismatched socks. One executive stumbled in, immediately falling to his knees.
“Mr. Gustin, Mr. Gustin!”
“Mr. Gustin, you’re finally back.”
“Are you feeling better? That’s such wonderful news.”
They flattered him with words, one after another.
Enrico remained seated, unmoved, as if he hadn’t heard a word of their praise, his fingers continuing to tap on the table.
Seeing this, no one dared to speak any further.
Their attention was drawn to his fingers, anxiety bubbling within them as the sound drilled into their minds.
“Bang!”
The conference room door slammed shut, the loud noise causing several people to jump in fear, though they tried to keep calm.
Jaden stood slightly behind Enrico, placing several thick, black folders on the table in front of him. “Boss, aside from the executives who are out of town or abroad, all The Capital employees are accounted for.”
“…”
Enrico’s fingers finally stopped tapping.
Yet the crowd remained tense, feeling as though a string had been pulled tight, too scared to move.
Enrico raised his hand to check the time on his watch, his lips curving into a cold, sarcastic smile. “Not bad. I’ve only been waiting for this meeting for an hour and twenty-five minutes.”
Not bad?
Three years ago, no matter where they were in The Capital, when the president called a meeting, they had to be there within twenty minutes.
But they couldn’t really be blamed.
It had been three years. Jaden’s methods had always been gentle, allowing them to slack off. Although they’d seen the newspapers reporting on Enrico’s return, they’d only been tense for a brief moment. When Enrico didn’t return to The Capital immediately, they assumed he was merely resting near River Town.
But now, he had suddenly stormed back without any warning.
Every executive at the table hunched over, trying to make themselves as small as possible, hoping to disappear from Enrico’s sight.
The last few executives to arrive stood up, summoning the courage to speak.
“Mr. Gustin, I was on my way out of town for business. As soon as I heard you were back, I turned around immediately.”
“So did I. I was working on a project and didn’t hear my phone.”
“A project?”
Enrico repeated the words, his gaze sweeping over them, eyes filled with mockery.
He opened one of the folders in front of him, pulled out a stack of photos, and threw them onto the conference table. “So, your projects are conducted in a woman’s bed?”
Enrico’s voice dropped to a chilling depth, his expression darkening ominously.
“…”
Everyone stiffened as they glanced at the photos, which depicted the executive, Mr. Chandra, in compromising situations with young women, clearly not his wife. The timestamp indicated it was from just minutes earlier, in a certain club.
Shocked, the others realized that Enrico had been monitoring each of them before calling this meeting.
The realization sent shivers down their spines.
Mr. Chandra, his legs now weak, stammered, “I’m sorry, Mr. Gustin. I-I just lost control for a moment…”
“Lost control of your third leg, did you?”
Enrico’s eyes turned cold and sharp. “The small shares you own-I’m taking them. Your current position-I’m taking that too.”
Jaden gestured to the bodyguards standing by the wall.
“No, don’t! Please, Mr. Gustin! I’m sorry!”
Mr. Chandra was forcibly dragged from his seat by the bodyguards. Knowing that losing his position would mean losing everything, he shouted in desperation, “I won’t sell! I’m not selling my shares, unless you take it to a shareholder vote…”
Hearing this, Enrico chuckled as if he’d just heard a joke. Leaning back, he crossed his fingers and looked up at the man with indifference. “Why would I waste my time with that? A shareholder vote?”
“You…”
“Have a nice chat with Mr. Chandra here. Keep chatting until he agrees to sell.”Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.
Enrico’s smile was polite but full of menace.
The word “chat” carried more weight than anyone dared to imagine.
Mr. Chandra was dragged out of the room, and after thirty seconds of silence, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the distance, chilling everyone in the conference room.