Chapter 182 - The BOD Meeting
Hunter's POV
I can see the anger on my father's face when he darted his gaze at Madeline. And I am sure by now he already knew that I would be a dad, and Madeline was carrying our baby. And until now, I couldn't understand why my father didn't want me to have a child. I have already lost two babies because of his selfish desires that I find hard to comprehend.
"I heard that you plan to hire your wife to become the VP for Finance, and later you are going to promote her as the Chief Finance Officer; this is ridiculous. Did you hit your head during the explosion, Hunter? How could you hire an incompetent individual? She has no experience about anything yet, and because she is your wife, you can hire her?" My father asked me, and I can see my wife's face turned so pale, and I know my father is doing this in front everyone because he wanted to humiliate Madeline.
"Clark, even if Madeline has no experience, I trust her intelligence. Besides, she will undergo training, and you have to leave everything to me because I will be the one to train Maddie." My mom said, and I felt so glad that she interjected, or I would lose my self-control. I know my father is doing this because he was so angry with me when I fired Charlotte.
"Leticia, I know you are good, but I don't trust Hunter's wife, and he fired Charlotte so that he can hire his Madeline, and this is not how we play this game, my beloved wife. I think it is about time we need to fire Hunter. He cannot run this company any more, and what happened at the mining site was crazy, that explosions happened because of his negligence." My father said, and I felt my entire body shook, and I curled my fists on my side, and I felt my wife touched my hand under the table, and she squeezed it, and Madeline calmed me even if I knew she was hurting foo.
"I want to ask all of you now to cooperate, and the board must vote to fire the CEO. I want to request for an emergency votation because Hunter is no longer fit to remain the CEO of this company." My father declared, and I could hear murmurs around us, and I felt so cold and angry at the same time. I couldn't believe he would be doing this now after I got out from the mining site, and I felt so hurt that he didn't even call me to ask if how I was after the incident, I was his firstborn child, and I couldn't believe he is doing all this to me.
"If that is what you want, Clark, then we can cast a vote, yes or no. Yes, if we still want Hunter to become the CEO, and No, for those who wanted him to step down." My mom replied, and I know I can still make money even if I do not become the CEO of this company. I can sell my shares of stocks, and have another business, but I want to help my mother. My grandfather built this company for my mom, and I will never allow my father to take this company, and I will do everything to protect my mom.
"I want to remind everyone that my son is the most eligible CEO, he was excellent with his job, and I can prove that by looking at the profit of the company every year. What happened out there at the mining site was beyond Hunter's power. I almost lost my son, for heaven's sake, and now you are telling me he was to be blamed? Are you even human, Clark?" My mom asked my father, and I could see that my father's face fell.
"We should talk about all this after this meeting, if you want, Clark." My mom declared. And she continued talking about everything I have done for the company to become successful, while I couldn't stop myself from feeling so worried about my wife.
The secretary called for the votation, and she distributed a piece of paper to all the BOD's I don't know whom I can trust anymore. I felt frustrated that every time I felt so happy with my wife, something like this would happen, and I wondered when this problem would stop. How I wish I didn't bring Madeline with me. My father humiliated her, and I felt glad she didn't cry at all. And she looked so tough as of the moment, but I could tell she was trying to mask all her emotions.
I could feel the loud thumping of my heart against my chest when the secretary tallied the voting results, and I could feel the trembling of my knees, but when I felt my wife's soft touch on my thigh, I suddenly felt so relax. I almost jumped on my feet when the secretary said, I am still the CEO, and I smiled when I realized only 30% of the BOD favored my father, and I felt so happy that they still trusted me to run the company.
I proceeded to the agenda, and I discussed the company's future goals, especially after the explosions. I wanted to tell them that I already have a lead, but it wasn't part of today's meeting. I felt so glad that the Board of directors is still with me, and I know Clark Divenson became angrier.
The BOD meeting was over, and I could see the anger on my father's face as he looked at my mom. I couldn't believe that he tried to fire me right away, and I was worried about Maddie's condition because I could tell my wife was trembling the whole time. The rest of the Board of Directors already left the boardroom, and my father asked us to stay behind.
"You are so lucky, Hunter, that your mom manipulated this meeting, but I can tell sooner you will be fired because I will do everything in my power to take you down." He said, and I could see the hatred in my mom's voice.
"How could you do this to your son, Clark?" My mother asked angrily.
"You know why, Leticia." He answered coldly, and I could see the pain on my mom's face.
"This is not over, and you should pay what you had done to your sister, Hunter, and I know you have something to do with Parker's disappearance." He said.
"Why are you doing all this to us, Clark, to mom, me, and Parker?" I asked, and I knew I should have called him dad, but I felt so angry after what he had done earlier to Madeline and me.
"I have my reasons, Hunter, and I hate your guts." He replied.
"I am your son," I said in more than a whisper, and his face became darker, and I couldn't believe he was my father.
"Stop, Clark, please." My mother begged him, but he only looked at us with hatred on his face.
"Leticia, I am going to wreck this family you tried to build for years until you came back to me." He said as he stood up from his seat.
"I am telling you, Hunter, you better hide your wife from now on." My father added.
"You are the most pathetic person I have ever known, Mr. Clark Divenson. You have a lovely wife, beautiful children, but you never appreciated all the things that you have in your life. You are a monster for hurting your wife and children. Why should I hide from you?" Madeline declared, and we were all stunned with her words, and I almost laughed when I saw the expressions on my dad's face. And he was about to hit my wife when I held him, and I dragged him outside the board room.
"Don't ever lay a finger on my wife ever again, or I will forget you are my father," I retorted, and he laughed like he was losing his fucking mind.
"I would love that, Hunter. You better forget I am your father." He shouted, and I felt glad Roman came to us immediately, and I asked him to escort my father to his car while I went back to my mom and Madeline.
"Are you okay?" I asked my wife the moment we were alone.
"Of course, I am fine, Hunter. I am more worried about you." My wife said, and I smiled.
"You looked so sweet right now that I want to take you home and make love with you," I said, and I could see her face blushed, and it was true, but the main reason I said those words was to take away all her worries, and the pain my father did to her. My father's words were harsh, and I know that is why mom left the office ahead of us. I also wanted to go home, but I felt glad my wife looked so interested in learning.
"Hunter, I know your father has a point regarding about me, but I am certain he was wrong about you. He was right; I still need to learn, so I thought I should start from the bottom." She said, and I smiled at her.
"I believe you can do it, Madeline, but if that is what you want, I respect your decision," I replied, and she smiled broadly at me, and I felt so glad she was with me because I don't want her to think about my father's words.
"But you need to convince mom to listen to your reasoning before you can start at the bottom, my dear sweet wife," I said, and she giggled.
"Don't worry, I know mom will understand." She responded, and I became more in love with my wife. Instead of becoming angry with my father, she accepted my dad's insulting words he threw at her, and she is willing to start from the bottom even if she is my wife and her virtue is extraordinary, and I felt so proud that she is my wife.