After arriving at the Villa, Edie and Stuart sat down and ate dinner. They were both exhausted from the incident at the hospital; they barely spoke. When Edie was finished, she went to her bedroom to rest. Stuart couldn’t relax because he still had a lot of work to deal with. The eting with the board mbers from yesterday was lingering in his mind. Stuart decided to go back to the study. He opened his computer and started a video conference with the board mbers from headquarters. He wanted to see if they had finally made a decision.
Stuart was called Europe, and it was in the middle of the afternoon. When everyone was connected, one of the executive mbers of the L. N. Group asked, "According to our agreent, all board etings are to be held in the morning. They are not to be held in the middle of the afternoon. We have been waiting for you for over six hours. Would you mind telling us what was more important than your business?" The man sounded impatient and angry.
"There was an incident today at the hospital. I’m sure you will see it on the news. Enough, I didn’t call to talk about my personal life," Stuart explained as brief as he could.
One of the mbers was Louis. He was a descendant of the French Royal Family, who was one of the richest families of Europe. He was a true aristocrat in the best sense of the word. His family has been in the higher social ranks for as long as Stuart could rember.
L. N. Group had a board of directors and executive directors. Everyone had a distinguished status, which they passed on from generation to generation. They controlled which direction the company took in order to be successful. For this reason, Stuart was truly resentful.
’Everyone looks to you, the owner. You need to provide a clear direction that helps them to know and understand where they are going and what they are doing. Do you understand?" Louis asked.
"Don’t tell how to run my company. Since my mother passed it over to , has there been any issues?" Stuart said in a stern voice. He was never polite to them because of the positions they had in the company. Stuart was a proud man. "I know your ti is precious. Do you not think that mine is not?" he asked. "So, let’s not talk any more nonsense and get right to the point. Have you co to a decision from the other night? Must you have discussed it? Who is going to be the representative?" No one was answering his questions. Stuart tapped his fingers on the desk. It was obvious, and he was getting annoyed.
Louis was old, and everyone always treated him with respect, but the way Stuart was treating him only irritated and angered him. "What do you have to tell us about your decision?" Louis asked.
Stuart’s eyes bead with a trace of arrogance and pride, and this annoyed Louis. "My suggestion is, "I choose to adopt the plan," Stuart stated.
"What are you saying? You have no idea what our decision is or what went on in our discussion after you left yesterday. That should be of great importance before you make the final decision!" Louis said, raising his voice. Among all the mbers of the board, Louis had a worse temper. He wasn’t afraid of Stuart and made it perfectly clear what he thought. There was no backing down.
"The directors are highly qualified and very thorough. I was inford the discussion had good results. So, I based my decision on that. I trust your judgnt," Stuart said with a touch of satisfaction in his voice.
Mr. Mike squinted at the screen. His face was alight with joy. "I see! I will send the results to the other board mbers as soon as the eting is over," he said.
While the discussion was going on, there was faint whispering in the background. Stuart remained calm and didn’t let Louis’ attitude affect him. He didn’t care what people thought, and he was the CEO of the company. "If there aren’t any more questions, the eting is over!" Stuart ended the video conference without giving anyone a chance to say another word.
Louis was enraged with anger. He pointed at the screen and said, "This is how he treats us! How dare he end the conversation like this! That was by no ans professional, and he calls himself the CEO of the company."
The board mbers started talking amongst themselves. "We need to teach him a lesson; otherwise, he will continue to treat us in this manner. What does he think? We are old and useless?"
"If his father were alive, this would not happen. He always treated us with respect."
"This needs to be dealt with imdiately!"
Mr. Mike was the only one in a group that remained calm. "Stuart’s decision is not what you wanted. What exactly did you want from the eting today? Was there sothing else?" Mike asked.
The room went silent, and everyone stared at Mike. Then soone finally spoke. "We want Stuart to respect us. He can’t make decisions about the L. N. Group without our approval. Do you not see what he’s done?"
"We need to show the CEO what power we have on the board, and it needs to be done now!" Louis said.
"Yes, I agree! His attitude towards us is unspeakable. His mother should never have never given the power to Stuart."
Mr. Mike didn’t completely understand why everyone was so upset. "I don’t understand? This is what you wanted, so why are you all so upset?"
The room fell silent again. They looked at Mike and then at each other with a puzzled expression on their faces. Mike began to speak. "Is it not our job to protect the company? We have to do what the CEO of the company asks of us. Stuart is completely different from his father, but the question remains! Will he be a good heir?" Mike said with a aningful smile. "Let’s do as he asks and see what happens. I know we will have to face more incidents like this in the future."
No one questioned Mr. Mike anymore. Everyone left except for Louis. Mr. Mike sat back in the leather chair, with his hands behind his head, and looked out the window. Louis looked at him and couldn’t understand why he was so calm. "I don’t understand why you’ve changed your mind. Yesterday, you were totally against it, and you wanted to teach Stuart a lesson!" Louis respected Mr. Mike and went with every decision he has made for the company. They worked together side by side for years.
Mike chuckled, "Do you really think we need the CEO’s opinion? Are we not perfectly capable of making decisions on our own? We have an influence on the company. Do you understand?"
"We make the decisions," Louis said, with hesitation in his voice.
"Stuart likes to do things alone. Unlike his mother. Yes, he is doing a good job, but how long do you think it will last before sothing crucial happens? He thinks we have no influence in the company, but he is deadly mistaken. In ti, you’ll see!" Mr. Mike said.
"I still don’t understand?" Louis was a bit embarrassed.
Mr. Mike grinned and said, "It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I’m doing the right thing."
"I don’t know! But I have a feeling you may be making a mistake," Louis said decisively.
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