Chapter 7 His seat

"On this line chart, by the left hand side, you can see we are experiencing..."

Ring! Ring!! Ring!!!

The telephone rang aggressively, getting louder as it progressed. This was the third time it rang after being ignored for two sessions.

A young woman in glasses and a formal blow blouse and skirt, asked once more, the telephone within her reach, "Should I terminate the call?"

She referred to the young man with blonde hair, standing before the presentation on the TV.

"Bring it." He replied.

She dutifully handed it over to him and stood at bay to return it to its original position when he was done.

"Um, boss..." A feminine voice came through.

"Nichole, why did you call?! I told you not to interrupt while I'm in a meeting. If anyone needs me, they should wait at the reception till I'm done." He yelled into the phone, already very irritated by the first two calls.

Some of the executives flinched a bit, taken aback by his tone. They all knew the Ceo had quite the temper, if this unlucky fellow didn't have a good reason for interruption, he/she was sure to be laid off.

The young man suddenly furrowed his eyebrows.

"Did he say anything peculiar to you?" He asked a bit more logical than his first outburst.

The caller fed him with some more info on the situation.

"What?!" He roared, a lot of dread appeared on his face.

Just what had he been told that made him react this way?

The door of the boardroom opened revealing a tall figure that walked decisively to the seat of power putting a briefcase beside it.

"Seems you all started without me. That's good! I am in the wrong for not being punctual."

"I am the CEO of Aspen Corporations. Shall we continue the meeting, it isn't wise to waste any more time." Nathan announced, disregarding the stunned young man by the projected presentation.

Whispers were passed around between the executives.

Who was this young man who dared enter the board room while they were in a meeting?

He even claimed to be the CEO of Aspen Corporations!

Did he think they were fools?! The CEO was right before them

Perhaps he has a grudge against CEO Maxwell and had decided to take the risk of disrespecting him this way to get revenge.

Just what was going on?

"Brother," Maxwell called through gritted teeth, " When did you come back? You hadn't announced your return."

Maxwell moved to the seat of power.

"It's that great you are back, Grace misses you a lot! Why don't you go wait outside till I'm done here so we can catch up later?" He squeezed on Nathan's wrist offering him an intimidating smile.

This brat had behaved rashly today, coming here unannounced, ignoring him and charging into the boardroom claiming to be the company's CEO.

Courting death!

How could someone who was so afraid of the dark, that he couldn't even sleep at night dare challenge his position in the company?

Nathan had always looked up to him as a child. He was a cowardly bastard who quivered whenever he was scolded. Right now Maxwell was very sure Nathan would feel bad since he mentioned his mother, grace.

That was one of his sore spots, Nathan never joked with matters concerning his mother. Maxwell had mentioned, Grace missed him while he was gone, this would surely make Nathan feel guilty and disoriented.

He was sure to leave.

Nathan easily got his wrist off Maxwell's grip, "Why should I leave? What use is of a meeting without the CEO present to validate and disregard topics and suggestions brought up?" He shot Maxwell an indifferent look, not budging from his seat.

"What do you mean without its CEO? I'm right here and I need you to leave to wrap this up soon. Don't be stubborn and go wait out or I might have to call security on you." Maxwell spoke sternly as if he was speaking to a little child.

"Do you not hear or you chose to selectively listen to what I've been saying since I arrived." Nathan stared coldly at Maxwell in the likening he would look at an ant, then he focused on the employee present in the room.

"You...!" Maxwell huffed. He was trying not to create a scene in front of the major shareholders, some of which he couldn't afford to offend, but this brother of his was making it really hard to accomplish.

"Board members," He hummed like he had said this phrase a thousand times before, "I am the second son of the Wither Family, Nathan Wither, remember that, I won't be repeating myself..."

"The old man's bastard child? But what is he doing here?"

"I heard he doesn't have a good relationship with the main house, how unfortunate!"

"Nevertheless, he has interrupted an important part of the meeting. I don't have time for shenanigans this morning. Shouldn't someone call security?"

The executives discussed among themselves. Whatever that way happening here was all too strange to be disregarded.

A man stood and hit the table in anger, interrupting Nathan's address, "And what does that have to do with us?! Does this place look like a playground you can waltz in and out anyhow you like? We are all busy here, leave so that we might finish up quickly and get up on our businesses."

He glanced at Maxwell who stood at the other end of the room. His expression held a lot of displeasure for his younger brother. A subtle smile grew on his handsome face, in this matter siding with Maxwell was the right choice.

Although the two men were both sons of the Wither family, one of the most respected and feared families in the US. However, one was legal and accepted and recognised while the other simply wasn't

Jayden, as he was called, was one of the company's major shareholders. He had a very important business proposition for Maxwell which could pull a lot of profit to himself.

Knowing how critically daunting Maxwell was during these kinds of processes, it would lead to zero progress if he didn't benefit greatly from the terms. Being well acquainted with him could help to some extent now this opportunity had presented itself, he would not miss it; this was a great chance to get on his good side.

"Calm down Jayden. Do not be so hot blooded." An older man who seemed to be in his late fifties reprimanded him, already sick of the drama before it reached its peak, "Let the young man speak. I don't believe he is here without reason, it wouldn't be worth all the trouble."

It wasn't reasonable to think that Nathan would come here to make trouble knowing fully well with whatever efforts he would make would be futile and only lead to his humiliation. If they had quarrelled in some sort it should be sorted at home!

When Maxwell saw this scene, he smirked, his dear brother didn't have any leadership skills at all. While the man stood shouting down at him within the pressure of the eyes of the other executives waiting on his next move, it wasn't surprising he would be subdued, shrinking on his seat to the size of a mouse.

Nathan had simply ignored Jayden, continuing his introduction as if no one had had their grotty opinion at the top of their tongues while yelling, he spoke in the same calm tone as before, "Any oppositions would be addressed after I am done, one more word of complaint gives you a mandatory walk out of the company."

Seeing Nathan had failed to respond directly to him it meant he hadn't cared about his tantrum and treated him as air. In other words, he had been unapologetically ignored by the least favourite in the Withers family.

How shameful it was to be treated as such!

The man who had an outburst earlier flushed from embarrassment, "I have to compromise to give face to you Mr Jameson. Otherwise, I won't stomach this at all, I'm sure I am not the only one who has similar views here."

He sat back muttering curses under his breath.

"Regina." Nathan articulated, taking out a stack of white documents.

"Yes." She stood before him obediently, awaiting his orders.

"Pass this around." He gave her the papers.