Chapter 599
Edward caught the meaning behind Bowen’s words, and his old face turned red in an instant. “Bowen, don’t try to change the subject. We’re talking about you turning your back on your own family for outsiders!”
“If you can’t keep your personal life and business separate, then you should just step down and let someone more capable take over. Now I see why you didn’t say a word about Alvin’s failure with Ridgehaven Town. It’s because you were covering your own tracks from the start,” Edward accused.
Bowen remained seated at the head of the table, looking up at Edward. Even though Bowen was the one being questioned, his sharp, commanding presence made the shareholder hesitate. “Alright, then let’s talk about it, Mr. Lane.”
“Business-wise, you all teamed up to push me out of this project. So what’s wrong with me pushing back against Alvin? The project’s not even under my name anymore. I’m still the second-largest shareholder in Bree Technology. If Bree lands the deal, I make even more money. Why shouldn’t I do that? On the personal side, it’s my girlfriend on one hand, and my nephew, who’s also my competitor, on the other. No matter who I help, I’ve got a reason to, right?” Bowen analyzed.
His words sounded perfectly reasonable. After all, Bowen really did hold a big chunk of Bree Technology’s shares, just a bit less than Aubree. If he wanted to, those shares could be a real threat to her.
But it was also true that Bowen held a large proportion of the shares in Turner Group, although no one dared to point that out to Bowen. After all, the fact is that the Ridgehaven Town project was only handed to Alvin because most of the shareholders had joined forces to push Bowen out in the first place.
Edward was so angry that his chest was practically heaving. “You’re just pulling this logic out of your ass!”
“Oh? That means I must be making some sense at least.” Bowen shot back with a smirk.
Alvin seized the moment to speak up. “Uncle Bowen, Grandpa Lane’s not young anymore. Why bother getting into an argument with him?”
Bowen just shot Alvin a cold look, saying nothing.
“If you really think Bree Technology’s interests outweigh Turner Group’s, then there’s nothing left for me to say,” Alvin concluded.
Bowen had been in the business world long enough not to be fazed by a couple of words from Alvin. “Ever since they chose to stand against me and with you, Turner Group’s interests stopped mattering to me. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all just opponents now. I don’t have the habit of helping people who want to see me fail.”
“If there’s nothing else, let’s end this meeting,” Bowen said, glancing at his watch. He was going to be late getting to Rithol University.
Alvin caught the gesture. “Of course, Uncle Bowen. If you have other things to do, we can wrap up here.”
Bowen nodded and stood up to leave. As he passed by Alvin, he suddenly paused. “Grandpa’s sick. Have you been back to the family estate to see him?”
Alvin was caught off guard. He did not know that his grandpa was sick.
“If you have time, go visit him,” Bowen added, then finally left the conference room. The other shareholders soon followed, filing out one after another.
Alvin frowned slightly but didn’t take Bowen’s words too seriously.
‘Oliver should have everything under control,’ he thought.
Meanwhile, at Rithol University, Aubree’s speech was nearly over. When Oliver arrived, what he saw was her up on stage, taking questions from the students.
She was confident and dazzling. Even though she was already on a completely different level from the students in the audience, she answered every question thoroughly. It was hard to imagine that a girl in her early twenties could have such poise and maturity.
Oliver stood there holding a bouquet, glancing around until he spotted the student backstage. The student had been chosen by the school to go up and present flowers to Aubree at the end.
He walked over and asked politely, “Excuse me, would you mind if I was the one to give her the flowers at the end?” Still dressed in his military uniform, the insignia on his shoulder caught the student’s eye, making them let out a quiet gasp of surprise.