Chapter 76 - Shedding Unnecessary Weights
As Arthur stepped into the luxurious conference room of the Brown Company building, he took in the
sight of the dozens of people already seated in neat executive suits.
Questions and suspicions immediately filled the room, their astonishment at Arthur''s identity and
background palpable. After all, just a few months earlier Arthur had been a janitor in thepany, and
now, due to his immense wealth and prestige, he had acquired thepanypletely.
"Who is this Arthur Gardner?" one of the executives muttered suspiciously under his breath.
"I''ve never heard of him in either the affluent or business circles," another one said, his brow furrowing
in suspicion.
"Could it be that he''s concealing his true identity? Is he part of the underworld?" He paused, his
expression growing more serious. "No one would dare take control of the Brown Company, which is
deeply entrenched in the underworld, unless they''re a part of it."
The others murmured in awe, their eyes filled with admiration. "He looks so manly and dignified," one
said.
"It''s the kind of look that truly befits a wealthy man. And it looks like he''s got a personal assistant and
bodyguard, both of them so beautiful they could be celebrities. Mr. Gardner must have spent a fortune
to get them working for him."
The executive members in the room rose from their seats, respectfully bowing their heads in greeting
as Arthur entered.
"Wee, Mr. Arthur Gardner, the new owner of the Brown Company," they said in unison.
Arthur walked to his chair, followed by Edna and Alicia, who sat on either side of him.
"Good afternoon, Brown Company executive members," Arthur said in an even and firm tone. "Thank
you for attending today''s important meeting. Please take your seats." He then motioned for everyone to
be seated.
All the Brown Company employees watched the video from the meeting room with myriad emotions,
ranging from worry to fear, with some of them even feeling a newfound hope rising within the grand
organization.
“To think, Arthur actually became the owner of thispany!” one of the employees mused in disbelief,
“This is a fact that is truly beyond everyone''s expectations. Who would have thought that a janitor could
suddenly acquire thepany that had kicked him out of this ce?” he muttered, his gaze fixed on
therge screen stuck to the cold wall.
"Man, what am I going to do?" someone said, trembling with fear. "I''m terrified of being fired and I was
part of the group that had been tormenting Mr. Gardner. I knew it was all because of Marco; that
scoundrel had persuaded us to do it, and it was all his fault."
"Mr. Gardner is incredibly handsome," the young woman sighed in admiration. "He''s so dashing too.
Even when he was a janitor, his handsomeness was already apparent. But this time, he looked so
dazzling - I fell in love with my new boss instantly. I didn''t expect such a transformation. I hope he can
bring a positive change to thispany."
"Are you crazy? He appeared so callous - he even fired Linda, the one who was carrying his baby! Do
you honestly think thispany can flourish under the control of someone as inexperienced as him?"
"Wait, it wasn''t actually Mr. Gardner who got Linda pregnant - it was Marco. Can''t you see how many
women have been wrongfully dismissed from thispany after they became pregnant due to Marco''s
actions? If you can still defend him after all the harm he has caused, you must be blind!" she
eximed.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was incredibly tense and ufortable; the Brown Company
executives were feeling extremely insecure about their positions, unsure of what would be of
them if Arthur''s policies weren''t profitable.
In an effort to protect themselves, they devised a n to have Arthur merely serve as a shareholder
and to hide any fraudulent activities they had taken part in, continuing their deceitful practices.
Arthur rose from his chair, and Edna followed suit, quickly plugging the sh drive into theptop at the
desk. Instantly, therge screen in the room lit up with the data that Edna had prepared in ordance
with Arthur''s request.
With a desire to further strengthen and modernize the Brown Company, Arthur wanted to rid the
premises of any useless clutter and ensure that thepany could run at a more rapid pace without
being weighed down by it.
"Brown Company has enormous potential for growth," he dered. "It has a major role to y in the
development of this city and our country, and if we make the right decisions when ites to our
projects, ensuring that there is no corruption, we could be the biggestpany in this country or
even the world in a short amount of time."
Arthur exined firmly and authoritatively, making some people think that what he said was just
nonsense and deceit. It seemed impossible to bring thepany to sess and prosperity, as Arthur
had suggested, and they knew that it could take decades to aplish.
Despite the annoyance and contempt they felt towards Arthur''s words, the attendees remained silent,
trying to maintain their respectability in front of Arthur, the new owner of thepany.
“And that can only be achieved if we eliminate all the bad elements from thispany. I think this will
have to be my first action here today," Arthur dered.
When Arthur uttered his final words, everyone in the room and the entire building experienced a chill as
the hairs on their necks stood up in unison. Though some felt a sense of apprehension, others were
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filled with a glimmer of hope.
However, the one who felt the strongest emotion was Cody Hart, a 39-year-old man seated nearby. As
the CEO of Brown Company, his anger was especially heightened.
Though Cody Hart had only a small ownership stake in thepany, he acted as CEO. However, the
jumble of people from The Underworld had enabled him to upy this position. With Arthur''s arrival,
Cody felt a sense of unease that threatened his position.
He stood, pping his hands softly and smiling at Arthur''s greeting.
“Excellent! I''m impressed with your vision and your way of thinking, Mr. Gardner,” Cody said, his calm
and proud facade masking his simmering anger.
The entire room erupted into a slow pping in unison with Cody.
"What an amazing speech, Mr. Gardner!" several people eximed in unison.
"Thank you, Cody," Arthur replied with a grateful smile.
Arthur paused for a moment, allowing the audience to show him praises. When the room had gone
silent again, he carried on.
“As for the burden of thispany, I am confident I know what needs to be done,” he continued.
Arthur slowly swiveled his head to look at Cody, causing thetter to tense up and clench his fists.
“What is this fool going to say?” Cody thought to himself. “If he really wants to get rid of me, I''ll make
sure he won''t live long. I''ll kill him.”
"Yes," Arthur continued. "I believe thepany will be able to progress even further if we change the
head of this organization."
Cody mmed his fist on the table and jumped to his feet, pointing at Arthur.
"What kind of joke are you telling? Do you think you can do whatever you want because you own the
with all my heart and dedication. Without me, thispany wouldn''t have achieved such sess! Do
you think you can run thispany better than me just because you have money?!"
Arthur simply smiled in response to Cody''s outburst. Shaking his head, he said, "Looks like I don''t need
toe up with any excuses to get rid of you from this ce, Mr. Cody. You have just exposed yourself
to inappropriate behavior as a leader."
The atmosphere in the room had been eerily silent, but it suddenly exploded when their own CEO
sparked the first dissension.