Caelus Online

87. The Board (Part 3)

It was clear that many of the other board members were unaware of his reputation, given their indignant and displeased expressions directed at her grandmother. Aurora didn't want to bring their private family drama into the company like this, but her grandmother had left her no choice having suggested her uncle. 

The man had become increasingly problematic as he grew older, and she assumed that many of the issues originated from his childhood being the second child, aware that he would not be inheriting any of the main family properties or business. It was not like he was given nothing from their grandfather, he had been given more than enough money to live his life however he wanted. But thanks to his temperament he had managed to squander much of it from poorly thought-through investments, partying and gambling. 

At this point in the past, Aurora had her suspicions about some of her uncle's dealings, but nothing was confirmed till her grandmother had asked her to invest in his next big venture. This prompted her to take a deeper look into his background beyond what she had heard from the rumours that had been spread around the family. It was how she had first learnt of his antics, and that he was certainly not worthy to take any position of power. 

“Proposing such a person brings into question the competency of your future proposals and recommendations, as well as your loyalty to the company and its future. I will give you the fact that without the public disclosure for the reasonings behind Chesters proposals, I too may look to be sabotaging the company, but I have at least agreed to reimburse the Branford group of any losses from my own pocket. Would Worthred Branford do the same? Would he even have the money to do so?”

Aurora’s grandmother looked at her with sharp eyes as she started to respond, her tone now far colder and more pointed than before. 

“Listen here girl, As the new head of the Branford family, you should support the remaining family members with-”

Aurora cut her grandmother's tirade off before she could let any more condescension drip into her words. 

“ENOUGH. This is a board meeting for the Branford Group, not a parlour where we are to discuss private matters, nor is this a place to practice nepotism to bring incompetent persons into the company's management. But seeing as though you wish to bring the topic of supporting the family up, I will respond by asking the simple question: ‘What have you done to support the family- that is outside of your most recent attempt to compromise the conglomerate by suggesting the appointment of an unqualified and ill-suited CEO.”

Aurora stared her grandmother down, and as the woman was about to open her mouth, undoubtedly with further insulting and patronising spiel, she interrupted her. 

“I suggest you desist from any further unsuited suggestions or presenting an inappropriate attitude. If you wish to air the dirty laundry of my disavowed uncle, we can do it in private and not within a meeting where the minutes will become accessible to anyone in the public. That is unless you feel that you would be fulfilling your role as the former matriarch of the Branford family and supporting the family members properly in such a way?”

Aurora looked at her grandmother who had been verbally berated as the elderly woman visibly clenched her jaw with a scowl. It seemed that reminding her grandmother Miriam how the meeting’s minutes would be publicised due to the legal requirements placed on the company was enough to get her to stand down. 

After all, she was a woman who cared too much about her social standing, so having her attempts to take over her granddaughter's position as a conglomerate owner publicised was an easy way to corner her and prevent her from making a bigger issue, especially with someone with a bad track record like her uncle. 

 Aurora momentarily closed her eyes and let out a breath, replacing her previously cold demeanour with a slightly more relaxed and agreeable one as she let an apologetic smile form on her lips. 

“I apologise for that unsightly display, but the simple fact is that I will not be stepping down. What The Branford Group is currently working on is frankly too important. I, like Chester, cannot reveal the details, for many reasons. But the bottom line is that the motivations will be revealed by Christmas, and the results will be seen by spring.”

Vanessa Daniels casually raised her hand just high enough to get Aurora’s attention, taking the momentary pause in her words to speak up.

“Miss Branford,  while I understand there is an… incredibly convincing reason behind why both yourself and Mr Branford had committed so vehemently to this particular direction for the Branford group, I do hope you would be able to give us more details in a more private setting. It is one thing to go along with Mr Branford at the helm since he had been groomed for the position since he was younger, but, with no offence to yourself, you have been somewhat secluded in your younger years, as I understand it, due to medical complications. It makes it harder for those of us on the board to be able to fully support the plans made when there is someone with less experience directing the company.”

Aurora gave a small, almost imperceptible smile as she folded her arms and responded to the middle-aged woman's words. 

“Yes, I can understand your concerns. As… Ignorant and inexperienced as my apparent secluded upbringing may suggest I am, I can reassure you that I had been helping my father and brother with work regarding the Branford Group for a long time, so I can say that out of everyone in this room I have by far the greatest understanding of what is going on within the conglomerate. After all, when you are stuck in bed for so many years, there is always a desire for intellectual stimulation and more than enough free time.”

As Aurora looked around the room, she could see that a few of the board members who had initially been quite opposed to her had softened up even slightly judging by the slight looks of guilt and pity they sent towards her. 

Vanessa appeared to be the most regretful as she gave Aurora a shy and awkward smile when their eyes locked. She couldn't help but feel guilty that she had made the older woman feel bad because of her fictitious background, but with the dangerous future looming ahead, she had to use whatever was at her disposal to make things easier. And until she had properly established herself under her new identity of Aurora, her fictitious background was a major asset to use despite the guilt that silently gnawed at her conscience.

Despite the slight shift in the majority of the board's opinions of her, it was nowhere near enough to be able to quell the plethora of complaints and disagreements that were bound to come her way, so she decided to wrap this honestly pointless but required meeting up. 

She could waste an hour of her time trying to convince everyone here to follow her plans, but it would be time that she could have spent to better effect elsewhere. And should any of the board members try to cause trouble later on, it will be when her time is less valuable and she can afford to deal with minor inconveniences. 

“Now as much as I wish to get to know you all properly and debate the many issues that you all no doubt wish to bring up, I as of now do not have time due to recent tragic events. As it is, my schedule is completely packed, so it will be at least 3 weeks until I will have any free openings in my schedule. If anything of urgent importance does come up, please relay it to the current Executive Manager, Gareth Brewer, who will either be able to deal with it directly himself, or pass it on to myself to deal with.”

As Aurora looked around the room she could see the mix of expressions of the board members. Her grandmother and the elderly man who sat next to her appeared to be the most disgruntled of the Board and from a simple glance she could tell that they were bound to cause her trouble in the future

The two youngest on the board, Vanessa Daniels and Cappris Morgan, appeared more sympathetic towards her and willing to provide her support, while the remaining three stayed displeased but showed hints of commiseration with her.

With one final glance around the room, Aurora gave a nod in mild satisfaction that the Board of Directors had been informed of the continued direction of the Branford Group, as was required of her. With one glance to Harold who looked deep in thought, Aurora clasped her hands behind her back as she spoke with a stern expression.

“Now, I must apologise for the short duration of this meeting, but in order to meet the designated targets set by Chester, I have a lot of work to do and not enough time. I wish you all a good day and I hope that our next meeting will be filled with less conflict.”

Aurora gave a brief nod in parting as she walked out of the meeting room, soon followed by Harold. She had to admit, despite her grandmother's particularly nasty attitude, she was overjoyed at how little time she spent in the meeting, and quite enjoyed the chance to be a little more domineering than usual. 

In business, it was incredibly rare to be able to deal with issues like the board meeting just now in such a way, but thanks to the unique situation where she was given absolute authority by the company bylaws and the fact she was just reconfirming decisions made in the last few weeks, it was possible.