Chapter 7 Never Expected It

Armani had talked to Ben after discovering the truth.

Way back then, Armani was so naive to think that if the two people were together, they could possibly change the situation. Ben was from Ming Group while she was from Xu Group. As long as they were a couple, they could share the benefits together.

She was hurt when Ben unexpectedly betrayed her.

On the day of the shareholders' meeting, the Xu family got busy early in the morning.

Armani was preparing the things she might need for the meeting. When she came down for the breakfast, she was confused about why she was alone at the dining table. "Where are they? Aren't they going to have their breakfast?"

May gave her a glass of milk and smiled helplessly. "Mrs. Xu and Miss Jessie are choosing their clothes for today's shareholders' meeting. They already tried on several sets of clothes."

Armani grimaced about what she heard. Suddenly, she stood up and smiled apologetically at May. "Sorry, I lost my appetite," she said and left the table.

Her father had been managing their company all his life. For her, today's meeting was a battle for her father's position. But Edith and Jessie treated it like a party where they wanted to appear like some lovely butterflies.

Armani gathered her things and left the house. Even though the road was quiet, the uneasiness she felt was eating her. She was nervous that she thought maybe something bad would happen.

She touched her neck and covered the marks with a black lace neckband. Armani thought about the unknown man who made love with her when she was unconscious.

When Armani woke up, the guy she slept with was facing the pillow so she didn't see his face. She blushed at the thought that even though she didn't see clearly what he looked like, she was very sure that the man would be handsome and gorgeous, or she wouldn't like him even if she was drunk.

Armani regained her posture and walked inside the meeting room. She sat on the chief chair and crossed her legs. She had this haughtiness and unreadable calmness expression, like a flower blooming quietly in the wilderness, stubborn and beautiful.

"I will officially take over my father's position and become the CEO of Xu Group. If no one objects, then it's settled," she said, closed the computer and looked at the eyes of the people in front of her.

At the moment, someone pushed the glass door open and said in a warm voice, "I object."

The people in the meeting room didn't know how to react to the situation. It was so sudden and unexpected.

Armani frowned when she saw the smile on Ben's face. "And what rights do you have to object?" she asked him.

Ben walked towards her and sat next to her.

"Miss Xu." Joy, Ben's assistant, gave her a folder. "As of now, Mr. Ming holds fifteen percent of Xu Group's shares in total so he has the right to object to your decision."

"What?" She was surprised. She should have known when Ben bought the fifteen percent of shares in the company.

After turning her gaze at Jessie and Edith, Armani suspected there was something wrong.

Jessie looked agitated and lowered her head when Armani looked at her, while Edith, in her seat was calm and quiet. She smiled at her future son-in-law, enjoying how messed the situation was.

Armani crossed her arms and glared at Ben. "I don't understand why you object it? Do you want to be in charge of the Xu Group, Mr. Ming?" She looked at Ben and said those words word by word. Ben smirked at her.

"I'm just doubting your ability. Armani, although our engagement has been called off, I feel guilty about it. I just want to be responsible for everyone and most especially for my assets. I will accept if you hate me now, but there are some things that should be known by everyone."

Armani raised one of her eyebrows and said, "Whatever, go ahead."

Ben signaled to Joy, and she walked up, looking at the documents. "Miss Xu, you have caused the stock price of Xu Group to change because of your scandal. After you clarified some things in front of the reporters, the stock price rose again, but sorry to tell you, the stock price didn't return to its normal market value."

Armani looked at the assistant intently. "Do you think it will go back to normal easily? Of course, it will take a long time to regain the stock price we lost. Eventually, it will rise again," she said flatly.

Joy smiled at her sympathetically and said, "I'm sorry to tell you this, Miss Xu, but the stock price of Xu Group has been falling all the way since your new scandal was released this morning. It said you had hooked up with a male escort in a nightclub. Our company has suffered a great loss, and you have to explain it to everyone and show some evidence to clarify it. Otherwise, we have the right to question your every decision after you become the new CEO. Your leadership might bring bad impact and damage the reputation of the company."

"What? You're kidding me." Armani's eyes widened at the real situation she was in. She just went to the club and this happened? Though she did sleep with a stranger, it was an accident. Besides, DS Nightclub was a decent and legal place. How did this happen?"

Armani realized that due to her issues, she may not be qualified for the next CEO of the company. Even though some of the shareholders were on good terms with her father, they might not help her when it came to decisions like this.

"Oh, so my shares' price also fell? So I suffered a great loss?" Edith touched her chest and continued, "How could this happen?"

Jessie consoled her mother and said, "Mom, don't worry. Since Ben is here, we don't have to worry about it. He will surely give us a satisfactory solution."

Edith patted her chest and sighed. "I am so scared, I thought we would lose everything. How could this happen to us?"

She glared at Armani and said with malice, "Armani, you didn't come home the night before yesterday. Where have you been? Did you hook up with a man? I don't care if you go out and find a man to satisfy your needs, but please be careful because you're bringing the company to its grave."

Armani looked at her with fiery eyes. "Shut up!" she shouted coldly while gritting her teeth.

Edith was shocked that Armani yelled at her. Seeing the livid face of Armani made her feel scared that she didn't dare to say anything. She just complained in a low voice, "You're getting more and more rebellious huh? You don't even treat me as your mother."

Armani turned her attention at Ben and scoffed. "You are really smart huh? Showing up at the most critical moment."

Armani didn't bother herself that much about what happened. Besides, Ben already made his decision that he wanted to prevent her from being the CEO of the company. 'Great, ' she thought sarcastically. At that moment, she never expected Ben could retrieve the surveillance footage of the DS Nightclub. It had ruined her reputation after it was exposed to the media.