Chapter 96


    My first battle


    I studied the list of names that Neil had sent me while I was on the way to Lan Diamond Tower. I turned


    on myptop and used a few tricks to get myself leverage, but I wasn’t too certain of what I was doing.


    Those people whom I was about to face spent most of their lives, working in their positions, and certainly


    knew a lot more than I did about running apany. It was easy for them to prove that I was


    ipetent because of my absoluteck of experience, but what if I shifted their focus from the amount


    of experience to real sales records and achievements? What if they turned out to be reasonable people


    who valued and appreciated hard work? I truly hoped they were, but at the same time, I needed to be


    prej for the worst.


    For now, I was wearing my armor; the one I packed from the penthouse just in case I’d need it


    -my ck Dolce suit with a pencil skirt and Manolo hnik heels. I ran through the entrance hall straight


    to Aren’s private elevator and a minuteter, I was darting across the corridor toward the CEO’s office.


    Neil was waiting for me outside, and judging by his expression, I could tell that things weren’t looking


    good…


    I opened the door and saw aplete board of executives waitingfortably inside my husband’s


    office. Neil gave me the thumbs up and closed the door behind me as if he didn’t want to stand in the line


    of fire with me. My jaw instantly clenched itself. I bet that they wouldn’t act so arrogantly if it was Aren


    instead of me. My eyes instantly turned to the boldest one; the Chief Operating Officer, who decided to


    wait for me while sitting in Aren’s chair. The blood in my veins began to boil.


    “Mr. Hill, I believe you took the wrong seat,” I said, ring at the bald man in his fifties.


    “Oh, do you think this seat belongs to you then?” he sneered, looking me up and down. I took a deep


    breath, reminding myself that it wouldn’t be good if I started the meeting by pping that guy.


    Nheless, it required a lot of restraining from me to smile instead of punching him. “This seat belongs


    to my husband, and you”-I slowly scanned him from head to toe-“certainly don’t look like my husband.”


    Mr. Hill growled and cursed me under his breath while the rest stifled augh. Well, at least he got up


    from behind Aren’s desk and sat on one of the sofas like the rest. I exhaled, trying to calm down before


    sitting on the desk and crossing my legs, making sure to grant them the right level of distraction.


    “Now, gentlemen, what is it that brought you here today?” I asked, forming a polite smile and ignoring the


    stink of their hostility.


    The CFO, Mr. Cooper, stood up first. He cleared his throat and nervously corrected his sses before he


    spoke, “There should be a change in the CEO’s position.”


    “Oh?” I blinked my eyes as if I hadn’t already known that they were after my blood. “And why is that?”


    Mr. Cooper red at me. “Because you, Mrs. Lan, cannot run thispany, and Mr. Lan is… Mr. Lan


    is…”


    “Dead?” I ended his sentence. Anger shed in my eyes, and I jumped down from the desk.” My


    husband fell into aa a little more than a week ago. ording to thepany’s inner status, which


    you all agreed on when you signed your contracts, the major holder has the right


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org - ?.


    to name the temporary CEO in case of an extreme urrence. If the special circumstancesst longer


    than a month, then and only then do the board of directors have the right to remove the temporary CEO


    from his position and call for an inner vote,” I recited the memorized paragraph, making everyone’s jaw


    drop.


    Mr. Hill burst into viciousughter. “Bravo! You are certainly a bright student, Mrs. Lan! But I believe that


    it might not matter if the month passed or not. All we have to do is tell the press that the CEO of Lan


    Diamond Corporation is in aa and hispany is ipetently run by his newlywedded wife.” His


    venomous words made me reconsider punching him. I looked around the office, and all those people


    seemed to be unanimous about that sickening idea. I smiled bitterly. “I came here hoping to stick to the


    company facts and show you that, so far, my decisions have only increased thepany’s sales


    records. I also came to assure you that my husband can wake up at any moment now, and I would


    suggest you all keep calm and wait a few more days at least until it all happens…”


    “Keep calm?!” the curly-haired CMO, Mr. Dawson, spat. “Do you expect us to work under some wench


    who knows nothing about running a business and her only attribute is a pair of nice-looking tits?!”


    My eyebrows raised in disbelief. That bastard actually dared to disrespect me, and act like a chauvinistic


    pig! On my way to the meeting, I was nning to be courteous and y by the rules, but I realized that


    those men in the office weren’t worth it. My n A had just gotten burned. I was absolutely determined to


    use solely legal arguments because I guessed that Aren would prefer it that way, but it was time for the


    less legal n B…


    “So, let me rephrase your demands…” I smirked sarcastically. “You want me to give up on my position,


    and if I am not willing to, you are going to drag thepany’s good name through the mud because you


    don’t like having a woman as your boss, even if her actions don’t jeopardize thepany and the


    situation is temporary?”


    I heard their snorts and a few mocking remarks as a response. My fury kept rising within me, putting me


    on the verge of exploding. Nevertheless, I knew the real reason they were doing this, and it wasn’t about


    me taking over the CEO’s position. They didn’t care if my husband was going to wake up or not. In fact,


    the sooner he was going to wake up, the quicker they needed to act because their only goal was to


    remove him from his position so that one of them


    could take over Aren’spany. Greedy idiots. It was time to let them know that they pissed off the


    wrong pair of tits.


    I let out a deep sigh and raised my hands in surrender. “Fine, you can have it your way.” “W-what?” Mr.


    Cooper choked out in surprise.


    “I said that you can shout from the rooftops that my husband is about to die, but there’s a catch…” I


    smirked coldly, pulling out my phone and sending each one of them an email I prepared in advance on


    my way to Lan Diamond Tower. The iing email sounds spread across the room, and soon they were


    followed by a wave of stifled shrieks and gasps. “What’s this?!” Mr. Hill burst out, opening an email with a


    few intimate pictures of him with his secretary


    “I think that the press would call it hot stuff.” I chuckled.


    “This… this is ckmail!” Mr. Dawson roared as he examined the few kinky photos of him from the S&M


    gay club.


    After a few more seconds, the entire board of executives was staring in panic at the evidence of their


    dark deeds. Some of them had only one unpaid traffic ticket, but others had a much darker conscience.


    Of course, I didn’t enjoy peeking into their lives because I had to lower myself to their level, but I guess it


    was time to get my hands dirty. Most of the facts I had dug up were scandalous, but that only made me


    wonder whether I would find some illegal activity if I dug deeper…


    I straightened up and cleared my throat. “Let me clear it out for you: I don’t want to use the information


    I’ve just sent you. I am disgusted with it, but I cannot guarantee that these photos and documents won’t


    get to the press if you decide to act against what is best for my husband’spany.”


    “This is outrageous!” Mr. Hill thundered. “How dare you threaten us with some photoshopped pics and


    forged documents?!”


    I chuckled coldly. “It took me fifteen minutes to find the information I sent you on the inte. The traces


    of your indecent private lives are everywhere. The only thing I needed to know was where to look for


    them. However, if you think that the information you’ve just received is false, then you have nothing to


    worry about, right?”


    Some of them were more pissed than others, and I knew why. I had them all in the palm of my hand, and


    I could crush them. Yet, looking at their faces, I notices that some of them still thought that I was bluffing.


    I stepped closer to Mr. Cooper and smiled devilishly. “Everyone has their own addiction, don’t we? Mine


    is coffee, but yours, Mr. Cooper, apparently is gambling. It might not look good for the shareholders if


    they found out that their Chief Financial Officer is on the verge of personal bankruptcy?” As I watched


    him gasp and seal his lips, I moved closer to Mr. Hill and said, lowering my voice, “Many married couples


    have their problems. My husband and I don’t have them, but it seems that our Coo does. I only wonder if


    your wife knows that you are in an intimate rtionship with your secretary… I don’t think she does.”


    Mr. Hill turned pale in an instant. As I observed the fierceness disappear from his face, a faint whisper


    escaped from his throat. “Please…”


    I smirked before shifting my gaze to the CMO. “Mr. Dawson, we all have our sexual needs, and I am not


    going to judge you, but youe from a conservative family, don’t you? As I recall, your father is a


    member of the Republican Party. I also found more than a few articles when you spoke against LGBT


    and the conservative press proimed you “a catholic family defender.” I bet it woulde out as a


    scandal if they found out that -”


    “All right! We get your point!” Mr. Dawson snapped. “What is it that you want from us?!” I blinked


    innocently while inwardly celebrating my victory. Then I took a deep breath and stepped away from them


    to lean my back against Aren’s desk. “I just want you to calm down, get back to work, and give my


    husband two more weeks to return. If you do, then I promise not to use any information I found against


    you. Aside from being terrible human beings, as far as I know, you do your work well, and unlike you, I


    won’t endanger my husband’spany because of personal resentment.”


    They looked at each other, clenching their fists. I could see them struggling to contain their anger, but


    they already knew that they had lost this battle. As they silently came to an agreement, Mr. Cooper


    stepped forward. “We ept your conditions,” he tossed before shifting on his heels and walking out the


    door.


    The rest followed him, ring at me as they walked past me, but it was all they could do. As thest one


    walked out, Neil timidly entered the office and closed the door behind him. “I was eavesdropping…” he


    confessed, slowly walking toward me, and looking at me in awe. “You are the Devil in disguise…” I


    snorted but then quickly sighed. “No, I merely know how to find information and how to use it, but I’m not


    proud of what I did…”


    “Are you kidding me?! You were beyond amazing! I showed them who’s the boss! Now they won’t dare


    go against you again!” Neil eximed, glorifying my dirty game. I smiled faintly. “You are wrong, Neil.


    This battle might be over, but we should prepare for the next one, and pray that Aren wakes up soon…”