Chapter 30

Zayden

I remained calm, my face devoid of any emotion, because that was what they wanted. Any flicker of emotion I let slip through would be their tool for manipulation.

" You want me to step down?" I raised a brow, my teeth grinding against each other.

My father kept his shoulders high." Yes, and we have valid reasons to do so."

I snorted. "And they are?"

The other members remained quiet, waiting for my father to speak.

"We've thought this through and made a careful decision. You are no longer competent enough." He finished.

I should have expected his vague reason. Why put me as CEO since I was eighteen, only to throw me out now? I didn't think this was all, there was more to it.

" Did the deal with Hale Corporation fall through?" I asked Instead, trying so hard to maintain my cool demeanour.

He retorted." They haven't given us feedback yet."

I relaxed further into my seat, my eyes fixated on him. I stopped seeing him as a father a very long time ago.

The only thing I could see in that pair of grey eyes that stared back at me was hatred. A father hating on his son for years was very ironic.

"Then explain to me why I'm incompetent". I snarled.

My fingers tapped on the table uncontrollably, creating a loud symphony in the room.

He was about to speak when Loren cleared his throat. Adjusting his suit, he turned to face me.

" Incompetence is the least of our reasons." His voice vibrated throughout the room.

I had always disliked this man and the only reason I showed him respect was because he was Oliver's and Sage's father.

"We have been watching you, Zayden. A man who can't control his temperament is not fit to be a leader." He continued with a grim expression on his wrinkled face.

I scoffed, this was unbelievable." Is that all?"

" That's barely half. We all know you shouldn't be sitting on that desk considering the kind of person you are." He paused adjusting his tie.

I knew where he was heading; I glanced at my father, who was staring back at me. I took a look around; from their looks, they had made up their minds.

" You are in this position because you are your father's son. And a number of times you had raised your hand to your brother and my son. Even my daughter is currently in the hospital, you....."

" You're daughter is in the hospital because she was stupid!" I snarled cutting him off. I was on the verge of blowing up.

My father slammed his hand on the desk." You will watch your tongue boy!"

Loren waved a hand." It's alright, Malo. I'll handle this." He put his attention on me again.

" Your secretary made my daughter lose a tooth, and have an injured gum, and what did you do about it?" He questioned.

I shrugged." Absolutely nothing. I'm actually waiting for her to get discharged, then she will apologise properly for attacking my secretary."

He began laughing, his chest heaving up and down." You haven't changed one bit, Zayden. You were making out with your secretary when you had an engagement with my daughter, did you expect her to let that slide."

My nostrils flared." I'm not engaged to your daughter."

He shook his head." Yes, you are. Since you've refused to find a wife for you, then I'm willing to give you my daughter. Besides, marriage will strengthen our partnership and any further advances we have in future."

I clenched my fist, anger swirling inside me." If you think you can make me marry your daughter then Mr Smith, think again."

" Think again? Have you forgotten what you did to my son, Oliver's immediate brother? " He gnarled.

I stiffened, my throat suddenly running dry.

" That's it, you should never forget what you did to the little boy you once called a friend!" He continued, his voice slicing into me like knives.

The memory of that day came flashing into my mind like nightmares.

I wanted to speak, but the guilt weighing down on me was too much.

I should have seen this coming; they, including my father, had a lot of things to use against me, and I cursed myself every day for being such a coward.

"It was an accident." My voice was rough, I couldn't stop the grinding of my teeth.

He scoffed. " Accidents don't happen. But don't worry, that was years ago. Have it at the back of your mind that you are at our mercy. I could send you to jail for the rest of your life; you know that, right?"

My lips tightened. I closed my eyes trying to steady my breathing.

He suddenly smiled." Let's not sway away from the topic, shall we? We are removing you from CEO because you have refused to meet our requirements of getting married, and lately, you've failed to bring us good deals and income."

My jaw tightened. The contracts I lost were all because of Aiden." What does getting married have to do with this?"

" First, believe me when I tell you a woman brings out the best in men. Marriage changes people." The other members nodded in agreement, and whispers of contribution filled the room.

"Second, I've known you since you were young and at this rate, I think you'll remain single the rest of your life if you have the chance. And that's bad for the company. We need an heir; if Aiden produces an heir before you, then he's taking the seat." He paused, pouring himself a glass of water and gulping it down.

I waited impatiently, thousands of thoughts running through my mind as I clenched my fists till they became numb.

"So our major reason for removing you is because you openly told your father you won't be getting married and you just told me that you won't be marrying my daughter."

He sighed before continuing. You haven't managed to seal the deal with Hale Corporation for almost a month now. That's the longest time we've given you."

I took a deep breath. His reasons were lame and stupid. He just wanted to remove me then make Aiden the CEO and probably wed sage to him. He was a greedy bastard.

He knew making his daughter have my last name would bring him promises in the future and increase his status.

I arranged my thoughts carefully. I can't lose to Aiden, I can't let that happen. And I hate when I'm caught between too bad options.

I had a backup plan, but it was too risky. At this rate, taking the risk was my only option.

" Fine, I'll get married" I finally said.

I saw the triumphant look on their faces, especially my father's.

This could have been all a ruse to force me into getting married. My dad knew better than to let Aiden run the company; they all knew, but I couldn't take any chances.

" Good, sage would be happy to hear this!" He beamed.

" Not your daughter. I'll get married but I'm choosing who I want!" I stated, my eyes meeting his.

The last thing I'll do on earth is let Loren win.

My dad spoke this time." There's no one more suitable than Sage; she's the company's ambassador, and when she's done receiving training, she'll become the vice president."

I almost laughed." I'm the one getting married, and I'm not marrying sage."

Loren glared at me." You don't have a girlfriend, and I'm quite sure you've scared all the women away from your life."

I smirked." Not all of them are scared of me."

My dad nodded." If you don't bring a woman home within the next 7 days, consider your brother the new CEO."

I could tell Loren wasn't satisfied with the look on his face. Seven days was enough, I'll make good use of it and do what I can.

" The meeting is over, I hope we see wedding cards soon." My dad said, getting up from his chair.

I waited till they were all gone and slumped back in my chair. I stared at the ceiling, thinking back to when I was young.

I had done a lot of things, bad things that put me in this situation right now.

I felt like a tool my father could manipulate however he wanted and I hated it. Aiden was always the good child, the son he cherished, while I was always like the villain.

I'm not complaining; I'd rather be the villain than some goat in sheep's clothing.

I needed something to lift my mood so I picked

up my phone to check the cameras in my house.

It's not that I didn't trust her but I just wanted to see what she was doing.

My jaw ticked as I stared at my screen. I wanted to rush down there but stopped myself.

I trusted her, but it was Aiden I didn't trust, nevertheless, Noah was there with them, so he wouldn't try anything stupid. Besides, I have some other things to do.

Like, visiting Sage before the day gets dark. I had a feeling that Sage might have persuaded her father to convince me into marrying her.

It was time I cleared some things between us.