Chapter Six

Cassie's pov

“What fucking petition is that? Who on earth petitions to overthrow the CEO of the company?”

Clinton let out a loud laugh that was unacceptable in a board meeting, but everyone's attention was on me, so no one cared what he did.

“Ma'am Cassie, haven't you heard of CEOs losing everything they own all because of a single movement by the shareholders?” Mr Riley asked

My heart began pounding like crazy, I felt my palms trembling as reality dawned on me. I was going to be thrown out of a company I built with my blood, sweat, and tears? No! I can't let that happen even in a million years from now.

I swallowed as I carefully recollected myself so these wolves who call themselves investors don't see through my miseries

“So why exactly were these petitions raised?” I opened one of the letters in front of me and my lips curved up. The failure of his handwriting made me realize who exactly wrote the letter; Clinton!

It read as;

“ To: Lynxium Board of Directors

From: Clinton Shapiro, Shareholder

Subject: Petition for Removal of CEO, Cassandra Hudson

Dear esteemed members of the Board of Directors,

I am writing to express my deep concern and disappointment regarding the current state of our company, Lynxium. As a shareholder, I am alarmed by the significant decline in our stock price over the past year, which I believe is a direct result of the ineffective leadership and poor decision-making of our current CEO, Cassandra Hudson.

Under Cassandra's tenure, our company has failed to adapt to changing market conditions, resulting in a significant loss of market share and revenue. The CEO's inability to innovate and make strategic decis…”

I let out a breath of frustration as I let down the paper, I didn't have the patience to continue with the nonsense he wrote. I know Clinton has always hated me but who knew he'd be this bitter?

I looked up to see the director's eyes fixed on me, it was as if they were waiting for what I had to say next so they could attack me. I cleared my throat to speak; I knew I needed to be careful what I said afterward because any mistake could not crush their faith in me.

“I have gone through the petition from one of us here, and from what I read, I'll have to start doing my research on how to better the situation…”

“We give you a week to fix this, Cassie,” Mr Welch said and I nodded.

“I'll do my best Mr Welch and everyone here. At this point, I think we're done with the meeting.” I got up, bowed to them slightly, and walked away.

**Back at the office**

My eyes ran through the marketing chart. I did see a loophole before but I thought it was one of those minor issues. I didn't think Clinton would cause an uproar because of this.

Well, I'm now aware that my enemies are more spikey than I thought. I have to play smart now. I sent a letter to the marketing department so they could step up their games and almost immediately, the marketing manager came to see me.

“Good day ma'am Cassie”

“Good day Manager Brad, I'm sure you're aware of the recent happenings” I didn't look away from my laptop as I asked but I could feel the hesitation in his voice before he spoke up

“Ma'am we noticed someone's been secretly messing with our record”

“Really?” My eyes moved to the chart on my phone again before fixing my gaze on his face

“Have you been able to find who's behind this?”

“No ma'am…”

“Since when did you notice this?”

“Last week ma'am”

I nodded, exactly what I noticed. Our stock has been deflating since last Tuesday and I need to get to the bottom of this sooner.

“Tell your people to work harder so we can cover up”

Brad's eyes seemed to shoot up at me. I could see the doubt in his eyes; he was going to ask me a question, but he held back and bowed before leaving.

At times like this, I need to play smart. If I should pull this issue now, whoever was responsible would likely withdraw until the matter dies down so it's better I quietly fish out the culprit.

I asked my assistant to bring me the files of everyone in the marketing department. I began going through their background one after the other, maybe I'll see something. Frustrating enough, I found nothing; all the employees looked normal, and I found it hard to see anything wrong as their academic qualifications and even interview scores were all top-notch.

“What do I do now?” I exhaled.

My eyes went to my phone again and I saw Frank's picture with that of the kids on my wallpaper. The thought of calling him to ask for help came to my mind but I had to hold back.

I shouldn't disturb him again, I've used him too much and I wouldn't want to keep drawing his attention to me. He helped me set up this business, the least I can do now is work hard to settle any issues myself.

“Ma'am, your phone…” my assistant walked in with my phone. It was ringing, and when I looked at the ID, it was Frank.

“Hello Cassie queeny” his bubbly voice rang

“Hey dearest, what's up?”

“I'm cool, you don't sound excited today. Is there a problem?”

I shook my head negatively as if he could see me, realizing he couldn't; I had to say No to his hearing.

“Heard about the shareholders issue, mind going out with me tonight? We could discuss the issue”

I rolled my eyes at his tempting request. As much as I'd love to start giving him space, I'd also love to go on this date. If not for anything, for the sake of my company, maybe he could give some advice or two

“Sure, just send me the address and time”

He hung up after chatting for some time and not long after that, I got a message from him.

****

I closed for the day, took my bath in my office bathroom, changed into something suitable for dinner, and went to my car. I started the quiet but interesting drive to the restaurant and in no time, I arrived at the magnificent restaurant. It almost looked like a 5-star hotel, but it was just a nice restaurant.

I found Frank already at our table, his face lit up as soon as he saw me.

“You look breathtaking tonight”

“Keep joking, I came straight from the office”

Like a gentleman, he pulled out my chair and as soon as I sat, the waitress came in with our meal. He'd ordered my favorite drink so I could cool off after a long day at work.

We soon began chatting, and I explained my predicament to him; he promised to help me out in whatever way he could, and his words gave me renewed hope.

“I'll always be right here for you, ok…” his hand rested on my palms on the table. He caressed them lightly, but I pulled away as soon as I realized where this was heading.

“I'm sorry” I whispered as I pulled away

“I…I…it's okay” he stammered.

We soon finished eating, it was now time for me to leave. He saw me off to the parking lot and pulled me into a friendly farewell hug. I was savoring the moment when…

“What the hell is going on here?” Ethan's voice blared.