Chapter 503: 503
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"What is the meaning of this?" Senzo asked angrily.
He looked at Hajime and Kaito with murderous eyes that were like sharp knives stabbing them. The two were standing together outside his board room. He considered the space to be his, so he ensured that he was the only one who could call for a meeting in the room.
He turned from them and looked into the conference room through the toughened and insulated glass. His eyes swept over the few people waiting for the meeting to begin with increasing ire. He saw his two sisters, the representatives for the external shareholders and other members of the board.
Senzo could already guess the reason behind this event. The shareholders were probably here to vote on something, and it would probably affect his life negatively. Humph! He would remember the people who had acted with his foolish nephew.
It had been almost a month since Kaito and Akira returned to Mountain Ridge.
After the initial discussion with Kaito, there was no further communication between them. He ȧssumed that his nephew did not have concrete plans for his revenge. Therefore, he did not take any steps to mitigate potential problems.
How could he have expected that his two nephews were plotting together? Furthermore, they had been so careful that he had not heard reports from his people about their colluding. He did not know if the people on his side had become incapable or if his nephews were so crafty.
"We are holding an emergency shareholders meeting, Chairman Takahashi." Kaito had an unusual air of seriousness around him.
He did not smile with charm or his usual deviousness. He looked like a solid businessman with experience. Even his appearance was unusually formal. The black suit and the bluish shirt would have looked basic on anyone else.
However, on Kaito, it gave him an air of sophistication and restrained wildness.
"I know you are holding an emergency meeting. Who gave you the authority? Do you think you can be uncontrolled just because you have the Takahashi name? This is not the place for you to play around!" He said. "If you continue causing trouble, I will have you thrown out."
Senzo was a little cautious, but he was not afraid of Kaito. When it came to the business world, he was more experienced. He did not believe that he could not deal with two brats. However, if he allowed them to run free, he would lose a lot of face among his employees.
"Uncle, do not act like a fool. It is unbecoming." Kaito said with cold eyes.
Senzo knew Kaito's parents had left him their shares for the corporation. But he always pretended not to recognise this issue before Kaito. He planned to deny the existence of the will to the end, regardless of the situation. Even if Kaito found out about it, he would not be able to do anything.
After all, no one knew who was holding the shares for Kaito. Senzo had exhausted himself looking into the information without success. He did not believe that Kaito would be able to accomplish the feat, even though he had intelligence resources.
And as long as the shares transfer agreement was not available, Kaito would only be a shareholder in theory.
"Are you determined to make this end in an ugly way?" Senzo asked.
He did not care about embarrassing the Takahashi family as he faced his impudent nephew. It would be best if the people working in the building could understand that Kaito did not have authority in the company. He might be a technical member of the family, but he was still an outsider.
If the bad behaviour from the useless nephew was not curbed on time, he would keep running around and ruining things.
"What are you doing outside? The meeting should be starting soon." An old voice reached them as Elder Takahashi came to them.
Senzo's eyes darkened further as he turned to look at his father. "Did you also know about this farce, father?"
The tone was heavy and sarcastic. Based on the old man's confident appearance, he was also probably part of the plan. If he was, Senzo could see how no one had dared to tell him about the plot brewing in the shadows.
The elder was unapologetic as he looked at his eldest son with clear but cruel eyes.
"Did you think that you would always be in power?" He asked with schadenfreude.
Senzo looked at his father with cold amusement. He wondered if he should have gotten rid of the man. He was not someone superstitious, but he thought that patricide would do more harm than good. His reputation would hit rock bottom.
Even without evidence, most people suspected his hand in his brothers' deaths. However, this matter was never too serious because brothers would kill brothers for the sake of the inheritance. It was a common issue in aristocratic families.
The public thought it was about the internal fighting in the family, and he was just the victor.
But if he killed his father, his reputation would suffer, and the company would also be affected. After all, no one knew the resilience of the old man. Most people thought he was a feeble grandfather with a lot of love for his family.
As a result, Senzo left the elder alive.
"Do you see the irony of you implying that I am obsessed with power? You have one foot in the grave, but you are still unable to let go of your glory days." Senzo replied to his father.
"You are a thankless creature! Are you cursing me? I gave you everything you have. I built you into who you are. What is wrong with me taking back my favour? This power was never yours, to begin with!" The old man was overwhelmed with anger.
Senzo laughed out loud. "Do you think that you are going to get your power back?"
Elder Takahashi frowned, but he did not respond. He was not sure what his eldest son meant. Perhaps Senzo had a counterattack in position to prevent them from going on with their plan. He had always been a man with foresight.
However, there was something about his tone that made him think that there was another hidden matter. The plan with Kaito was to return the position of Chairman to him and kick out Senzo. The arrangement was foolproof.
Now, he felt a little apprehensive. However, he was the one chairing the meeting, so he was not going to give anyone a chance to mess with his plan.
"It is time for the meeting to begin." Elder Takahashi said after a long moment.
The four people walked into the room with a lot of tension between them. Senzo was as full of rage as before because he did not know how to deal with the situation. He did not expect that any vote would go his way.
His father was well-prepared.
As they entered, Elder Takahashi pulled Kaito's arm, preventing him from going in with Hajime. He looked at this unfamiliar grandson with stern eyes.
"Do not do anything to disrupt the plan." He whispered harshly.
"Everything will go according to plan, grandfather," Kaito replied.
The old man scoffed. "And do not think of fighting with Hajime for the position of CEO."
Kaito's lips arched a little. "Don't worry. I am not interested in being the CEO."
When the meeting began, the first order of business was a vote on changing the structure of the chairman and CEO roles. This matter was a big problem for the Takahashi Corporation, and it had attracted a lot of criticism from the business world.
For smaller companies, it was not uncommon for the CEO to also serve as the chairman. However, such companies did not thrive for long due to the complications that the structure created. The Takahashi business was naturally plagued by the same issues.
Although Senzo was a good businessman, he was also an individual who looked out for himself first. It was the reason he took advantage after removing his father as chairman to merge the new role with the CEO position.
It gave him complete autonomy over the company. After all, the purpose of the chairman and the board was to monitor the business operations and prevent internal problems. Ideally, they would keep the CEO in check to mitigate improper practices.
With Senzo in both positions, he did not have to report to anybody. He could do whatever he wanted because no one could keep him in check. Over the years, he had taken advantage of this to run rampant and use company resources for his own goals, such as dealing with Martial Island.
As expected, the motion passed without much convincing from Elder Takahashi. Most people were already displeased by the audacity of Senzo, so they were ready to vote in favour of the plan to separate the roles.
Elder Takahashi was happy and became complacent after the positive beginning of the meeting. His eldest son's ugly face was a bonus. He moved on to the matter of firing Senzo with glee. He did not save his son any face.
About three hours later, Elder Takahashi burst out of the conference room with unrestrained anger. His face was a mottled colour that was beyond ugly. Senzo followed him out instead of exchanging personal greetings with the other individuals in the room.
His smile was a little smug as he laughed at other people's misfortune.
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"What is the meaning of this?" Senzo asked angrily.
He looked at Hajime and Kaito with murderous eyes that were like sharp knives stabbing them. The two were standing together outside his board room. He considered the space to be his, so he ensured that he was the only one who could call for a meeting in the room.
He turned from them and looked into the conference room through the toughened and insulated glass. His eyes swept over the few people waiting for the meeting to begin with increasing ire. He saw his two sisters, the representatives for the external shareholders and other members of the board.
Senzo could already guess the reason behind this event. The shareholders were probably here to vote on something, and it would probably affect his life negatively. Humph! He would remember the people who had acted with his foolish nephew.
It had been almost a month since Kaito and Akira returned to Mountain Ridge.
After the initial discussion with Kaito, there was no further communication between them. He ȧssumed that his nephew did not have concrete plans for his revenge. Therefore, he did not take any steps to mitigate potential problems.
How could he have expected that his two nephews were plotting together? Furthermore, they had been so careful that he had not heard reports from his people about their colluding. He did not know if the people on his side had become incapable or if his nephews were so crafty.
"We are holding an emergency shareholders meeting, Chairman Takahashi." Kaito had an unusual air of seriousness around him.
He did not smile with charm or his usual deviousness. He looked like a solid businessman with experience. Even his appearance was unusually formal. The black suit and the bluish shirt would have looked basic on anyone else.
However, on Kaito, it gave him an air of sophistication and restrained wildness.
"I know you are holding an emergency meeting. Who gave you the authority? Do you think you can be uncontrolled just because you have the Takahashi name? This is not the place for you to play around!" He said. "If you continue causing trouble, I will have you thrown out."
Senzo was a little cautious, but he was not afraid of Kaito. When it came to the business world, he was more experienced. He did not believe that he could not deal with two brats. However, if he allowed them to run free, he would lose a lot of face among his employees.
"Uncle, do not act like a fool. It is unbecoming." Kaito said with cold eyes.
Senzo knew Kaito's parents had left him their shares for the corporation. But he always pretended not to recognise this issue before Kaito. He planned to deny the existence of the will to the end, regardless of the situation. Even if Kaito found out about it, he would not be able to do anything.
After all, no one knew who was holding the shares for Kaito. Senzo had exhausted himself looking into the information without success. He did not believe that Kaito would be able to accomplish the feat, even though he had intelligence resources.
And as long as the shares transfer agreement was not available, Kaito would only be a shareholder in theory.
"Are you determined to make this end in an ugly way?" Senzo asked.
He did not care about embarrassing the Takahashi family as he faced his impudent nephew. It would be best if the people working in the building could understand that Kaito did not have authority in the company. He might be a technical member of the family, but he was still an outsider.
If the bad behaviour from the useless nephew was not curbed on time, he would keep running around and ruining things.
"What are you doing outside? The meeting should be starting soon." An old voice reached them as Elder Takahashi came to them.
Senzo's eyes darkened further as he turned to look at his father. "Did you also know about this farce, father?"
The tone was heavy and sarcastic. Based on the old man's confident appearance, he was also probably part of the plan. If he was, Senzo could see how no one had dared to tell him about the plot brewing in the shadows.
The elder was unapologetic as he looked at his eldest son with clear but cruel eyes.
"Did you think that you would always be in power?" He asked with schadenfreude.
Senzo looked at his father with cold amusement. He wondered if he should have gotten rid of the man. He was not someone superstitious, but he thought that patricide would do more harm than good. His reputation would hit rock bottom.
Even without evidence, most people suspected his hand in his brothers' deaths. However, this matter was never too serious because brothers would kill brothers for the sake of the inheritance. It was a common issue in aristocratic families.
The public thought it was about the internal fighting in the family, and he was just the victor.
But if he killed his father, his reputation would suffer, and the company would also be affected. After all, no one knew the resilience of the old man. Most people thought he was a feeble grandfather with a lot of love for his family.
As a result, Senzo left the elder alive.
"Do you see the irony of you implying that I am obsessed with power? You have one foot in the grave, but you are still unable to let go of your glory days." Senzo replied to his father.
"You are a thankless creature! Are you cursing me? I gave you everything you have. I built you into who you are. What is wrong with me taking back my favour? This power was never yours, to begin with!" The old man was overwhelmed with anger.
Senzo laughed out loud. "Do you think that you are going to get your power back?"
Elder Takahashi frowned, but he did not respond. He was not sure what his eldest son meant. Perhaps Senzo had a counterattack in position to prevent them from going on with their plan. He had always been a man with foresight.
However, there was something about his tone that made him think that there was another hidden matter. The plan with Kaito was to return the position of Chairman to him and kick out Senzo. The arrangement was foolproof.
Now, he felt a little apprehensive. However, he was the one chairing the meeting, so he was not going to give anyone a chance to mess with his plan.
"It is time for the meeting to begin." Elder Takahashi said after a long moment.
The four people walked into the room with a lot of tension between them. Senzo was as full of rage as before because he did not know how to deal with the situation. He did not expect that any vote would go his way.
His father was well-prepared.
As they entered, Elder Takahashi pulled Kaito's arm, preventing him from going in with Hajime. He looked at this unfamiliar grandson with stern eyes.
"Do not do anything to disrupt the plan." He whispered harshly.
"Everything will go according to plan, grandfather," Kaito replied.
The old man scoffed. "And do not think of fighting with Hajime for the position of CEO."
Kaito's lips arched a little. "Don't worry. I am not interested in being the CEO."
When the meeting began, the first order of business was a vote on changing the structure of the chairman and CEO roles. This matter was a big problem for the Takahashi Corporation, and it had attracted a lot of criticism from the business world.
For smaller companies, it was not uncommon for the CEO to also serve as the chairman. However, such companies did not thrive for long due to the complications that the structure created. The Takahashi business was naturally plagued by the same issues.
Although Senzo was a good businessman, he was also an individual who looked out for himself first. It was the reason he took advantage after removing his father as chairman to merge the new role with the CEO position.
It gave him complete autonomy over the company. After all, the purpose of the chairman and the board was to monitor the business operations and prevent internal problems. Ideally, they would keep the CEO in check to mitigate improper practices.
With Senzo in both positions, he did not have to report to anybody. He could do whatever he wanted because no one could keep him in check. Over the years, he had taken advantage of this to run rampant and use company resources for his own goals, such as dealing with Martial Island.
As expected, the motion passed without much convincing from Elder Takahashi. Most people were already displeased by the audacity of Senzo, so they were ready to vote in favour of the plan to separate the roles.
Elder Takahashi was happy and became complacent after the positive beginning of the meeting. His eldest son's ugly face was a bonus. He moved on to the matter of firing Senzo with glee. He did not save his son any face.
About three hours later, Elder Takahashi burst out of the conference room with unrestrained anger. His face was a mottled colour that was beyond ugly. Senzo followed him out instead of exchanging personal greetings with the other individuals in the room.
His smile was a little smug as he laughed at other people's misfortune.
"What is the meaning of this?" Senzo asked angrily. He looked at Hajime and Kaito with murderous eyes that were like sharp knives stabbing them. The two were standing together outside his board room. He considered the space to be his, so he ensured that he was the only one who could call for a meeting in the room. He turned from them and looked into the conference room through the toughened and insulated glass. His eyes swept over the few people waiting for the meeting to begin with increasing ire. He saw his two sisters, the representatives for the external shareholders and other members of the board. Senzo could already guess the reason behind this event. The shareholders were probably here to vote on something, and it would probably affect his life negatively. Humph! He would remember the people who had acted with his foolish nephew. It had been almost a month since Kaito and Akira returned to Mountain Ridge. After the initial discussion with Kaito, there was no further communication between them. He ssumed that his nephew did not have concrete plans for his revenge. Therefore, he did not take any steps to mitigate potential problems. How could he have expected that his two nephews were plotting together? Furthermore, they had been so careful that he had not heard reports from his people about their colluding. He did not know if the people on his side had become incapable or if his nephews were so crafty. "We are holding an emergency shareholders meeting, Chairman Takahashi." Kaito had an unusual air of seriousness around him. He did not smile with charm or his usual deviousness. He looked like a solid businessman with experience. Even his appearance was unusually formal. The black suit and the bluish shirt would have looked basic on anyone else. However, on Kaito, it gave him an air of sophistication and restrained wildness. "I know you are holding an emergency meeting. Who gave you the authority? Do you think you can be uncontrolled just because you have the Takahashi name? This is not the place for you to play around!" He said. "If you continue causing trouble, I will have you thrown out." Senzo was a little cautious, but he was not afraid of Kaito. When it came to the business world, he was more experienced. He did not believe that he could not deal with two brats. However, if he allowed them to run free, he would lose a lot of face among his employees. "Uncle, do not act like a fool. It is unbecoming." Kaito said with cold eyes. Senzo knew Kaito's parents had left him their shares for the corporation. But he always pretended not to recognise this issue before Kaito. He planned to deny the existence of the will to the end, regardless of the situation. Even if Kaito found out about it, he would not be able to do anything. After all, no one knew who was holding the shares for Kaito. Senzo had exhausted himself looking into the information without success. He did not believe that Kaito would be able to accomplish the feat, even though he had intelligence resources. And as long as the shares transfer agreement was not available, Kaito would only be a shareholder in theory. "Are you determined to make this end in an ugly way?" Senzo asked. He did not care about embarrassing the Takahashi family as he faced his impudent nephew. It would be best if the people working in the building could understand that Kaito did not have authority in the company. He might be a technical member of the family, but he was still an outsider. If the bad behaviour from the useless nephew was not curbed on time, he would keep running around and ruining things. "What are you doing outside? The meeting should be starting soon." An old voice reached them as Elder Takahashi came to them. Senzo's eyes darkened further as he turned to look at his father. "Did you also know about this farce, father?" The tone was heavy and sarcastic. Based on the old man's confident appearance, he was also probably part of the plan. If he was, Senzo could see how no one had dared to tell him about the plot brewing in the shadows. The elder was unapologetic as he looked at his eldest son with clear but cruel eyes. "Did you think that you would always be in power?" He asked with schadenfreude. Senzo looked at his father with cold amusement. He wondered if he should have gotten rid of the man. He was not someone superstitious, but he thought that patricide would do more harm than good. His reputation would hit rock bottom. Even without evidence, most people suspected his hand in his brothers' deaths. However, this matter was never too serious because brothers would kill brothers for the sake of the inheritance. It was a common issue in aristocratic families. The public thought it was about the internal fighting in the family, and he was just the victor. But if he killed his father, his reputation would suffer, and the company would also be affected. After all, no one knew the resilience of the old man. Most people thought he was a feeble grandfather with a lot of love for his family. As a result, Senzo left the elder alive. "Do you see the irony of you implying that I am obsessed with power? You have one foot in the grave, but you are still unable to let go of your glory days." Senzo replied to his father. "You are a thankless creature! Are you cursing me? I gave you everything you have. I built you into who you are. What is wrong with me taking back my favour? This power was never yours, to begin with!" The old man was overwhelmed with anger. Senzo laughed out loud. "Do you think that you are going to get your power back?" Elder Takahashi frowned, but he did not respond. He was not sure what his eldest son meant. Perhaps Senzo had a counterattack in position to prevent them from going on with their plan. He had always been a man with foresight. However, there was something about his tone that made him think that there was another hidden matter. The plan with Kaito was to return the position of Chairman to him and kick out Senzo. The arrangement was foolproof. Now, he felt a little apprehensive. However, he was the one chairing the meeting, so he was not going to give anyone a chance to mess with his plan. "It is time for the meeting to begin." Elder Takahashi said after a long moment. The four people walked into the room with a lot of tension between them. Senzo was as full of rage as before because he did not know how to deal with the situation. He did not expect that any vote would go his way. His father was well-prepared. As they entered, Elder Takahashi pulled Kaito's arm, preventing him from going in with Hajime. He looked at this unfamiliar grandson with stern eyes. "Do not do anything to disrupt the plan." He whispered harshly. "Everything will go according to plan, grandfather," Kaito replied. The old man scoffed. "And do not think of fighting with Hajime for the position of CEO." Kaito's lips arched a little. "Don't worry. I am not interested in being the CEO." When the meeting began, the first order of business was a vote on changing the structure of the chairman and CEO roles. This matter was a big problem for the Takahashi Corporation, and it had attracted a lot of criticism from the business world. For smaller companies, it was not uncommon for the CEO to also serve as the chairman. However, such companies did not thrive for long due to the complications that the structure created. The Takahashi business was naturally plagued by the same issues. Although Senzo was a good businessman, he was also an individual who looked out for himself first. It was the reason he took advantage after removing his father as chairman to merge the new role with the CEO position. It gave him complete autonomy over the company. After all, the purpose of the chairman and the board was to monitor the business operations and prevent internal problems. Ideally, they would keep the CEO in check to mitigate improper practices. With Senzo in both positions, he did not have to report to anybody. He could do whatever he wanted because no one could keep him in check. Over the years, he had taken advantage of this to run rampant and use company resources for his own goals, such as dealing with Martial Island. As expected, the motion passed without much convincing from Elder Takahashi. Most people were already displeased by the audacity of Senzo, so they were ready to vote in favour of the plan to separate the roles. Elder Takahashi was happy and became complacent after the positive beginning of the meeting. His eldest son's ugly face was a bonus. He moved on to the matter of firing Senzo with glee. He did not save his son any face. About three hours later, Elder Takahashi burst out of the conference room with unrestrained anger. His face was a mottled colour that was beyond ugly. Senzo followed him out instead of exchanging personal greetings with the other individuals in the room. His smile was a little smug as he laughed at other people's misfortune.
