Chapter 533

Currently, the shareholders are essentially divided into three camps. One group had already secretly thrown their support behind Bryan. After all, given Bryan’s relationship with Ms. Miller, it was obvious where things were headed. Regardless of what the Wilson Group might do, if something were to happen to Ms. Miller, there’s no way those shares would ever end up with outsiders.

Some people had wondered if there was already a will in place.

"But, isn’t that just nonsense? Who in their right mind makes a will at nineteen or twenty?"

Furthermore, the shareholders could see things a lot more clearly. Bowen might hold the majority of the shares, but he rarely got involved in company decisions. The real reason? Ms. Miller had always, intentionally or not, kept him out of the loop.

There was just no way Ms. Miller’s shares would ever end up in Bowen’s hands and put Bryan way ahead of him.

Of course, everyone wanted to pick the side with the best shot at winning.

Then there was the small camp backing Bowen. There aren’t many, as Bowen just wasn’t the type to let people cozy up to him, but that didn’t stop a few from trying to suck up anyway.

And finally, there were the neutrals. Most of them had been with Aubree since day one, and they were still holding out for real news about her.

“Mr. Turner,” someone asked, “since you currently hold the largest number of shares, do you really think victory is certain for you?”

Bowen gave a faint, composed smile in response, “In theory, that’s the case.”

Bryan let out a dismissive scoff, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Soon, the meeting began. The main agenda item was Aubree’s accident, and the shareholders were to hold a new election for the chairman; anyone interested could volunteer to run.

Bryan immediately put his name forward without hesitation. Bowen lowered his eyes before slowly raising his hand, stating, “I’m joining too, but not for myself. I’m running on behalf of someone else. The re-election of the chairman is a decision made by the shareholders’ meeting. Anyone holding shares is eligible to participate, am I correct?”

“That’s right,” someone replied.

“But who are you running for, Mr. Turner? And why isn’t that person here?” another person asked.

“She’s a bit tied up at the moment, but she’ll be here later,” Bowen replied with a light chuckle. There were plenty of people willing to let it slide for his sake, so this minor issue was quickly ignored.

Even if Bryan managed to get elected as the new chairman, he might still end up working under Bowen.

Bryan was the only one who frowned slightly as a sense of unease crept over him.

“Can I at least ask who this person is?” he asked, looking at Bowen.

Bowen smiled in response, "Does it really matter?"

“Aren’t we here to re-elect the chairman? Let’s not waste time.”

Bryan held back whatever else he wanted to say and agreed, “Fine, let’s get started.”

This shareholders’ meeting was clearly orchestrated from the start. Aside from those who had already picked a side, the only real wild card was the neutral camp. None of them abstained, and surprisingly, every single one threw their support behind Bryan.

Headcount-wise, Bryan definitely had the numbers. But when it came to actual shares, even with all his backers combined, they only just added up to what Bowen held by himself.

“Looks like Mr. Wilson’s lost, huh?” someone commented from the crowd.

Bowen raised an eyebrow slightly.

Before Bryan could say anything, one of his supporters immediately spoke up, “Mr. Turner, that’s not quite right. Ms. Miller’s shares haven’t been counted yet. With Ms. Miller’s situation still up in the air, her shares can’t be dealt with for now. But everyone knows she’s from the Wilson family, and her shares will probably end up with them eventually. If we add her 37% to our side, isn’t that more than enough for Mr. Wilson to become the new chairman?”

Before Bowen could say anything, Birgitte let out a mocking laugh, “Who says Ms. Miller’s shares are guaranteed to end up with the Wilson family? Come on, her situation’s still up in the air. Even if something really did happen to her, she’d probably donate those shares before ever handing them over to the Wilson family!”

The guy who spoke up earlier just gave a sheepish grin as he replied, “Hey, we just didn’t have time to get everything sorted, that’s all.”

Now that was an interesting excuse.

Someone else commented, “Mr. Turner, you’re not just against this because you and Ms. Miller are close but didn’t get a piece of the pie, right?”

Bowen just shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing as he responded, “In a way, you could say that’s true.”

With a thick enough skin, people really can say anything, someone thought with a sneer.