Her Return, His Regret
Chapter 128~ Ryan vs Jason

When Ryan arrived at work, his assistant, Lawrence Scott, came to him and reported, "Sir, there's an emergency meeting. The shareholders were summoned and they are waiting for you."

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows as he asked, "What's the meeting about?"

"I'm not sure... no one is saying anything," Lawrence replied.

Ryan wondered why the shareholders were suddenly creating trouble after being quiet for many years. It had been a while since they called for an emergency meeting. Usually, this occurs when some of the members are unhappy about something. Unease crept into Ryan and settled in his stomach. He had a bad feeling about this but he walked confidently to the conference room.

However, he stilled when he saw someone he wasn't expecting to see there.

Jason. His half-brother.

Jason Anderson Kingsley was seated at the far end of the long mahogany table, looking smug. He was dressed in a tailored navy suit, leaning back in his chair with a smirk playing on his lips.

The man looked like he had come to create trouble and he was enjoying it.

Ryan narrowed his eyes at the young man. Now that he knew who he was, he could finally recall why he felt Jason looked familiar. Unlike Ryan who took after Charles and Miles, Jason took after his mother, Celeste Anderson.

In Ryan's mind, Jason had been planning this with his mother for some time. Perhaps dating Lora was part of the plan too, luckily that never went far.

After taking a seat at the head of the table, Ryan's jaw tightened as he glanced at Jason.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned coldly, his voice calm but firm.

The board members shared looks, their faces marred with uneasy expressions at the rising tension in the room.

Jason got to his feet, straightening his tie with a casual air.

"What am I doing here? Am I not a Kingsley too?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Stop playing around and answer the question," Ryan hissed.

Jason smirked again before answering, "I'm here because I belong here, dear brother. In fact, I'm challenging you for the CEO position."

Silence fell over the place, the tension becoming so thick that one could cut through it with a knife. The board members exchanged glances, unable to bring themselves to interrupt the two siblings who were suddenly in a power play. After some time, Ryan scoffed and said, "The first thing you do after revealing your identity is wage war on me... what makes you think you're worth my time?"

Jason chuckled darkly before

replying, "I knew you would look

down on me. You probably underestimate me because you think I have nothing. I'm more than qualified to sit on that seat just like you and I should be given a chance to showcase my skills. Who knows, I can run the company better than you."

Anger flared through Ryan. Jason was clearly targeting him purposefully and he had no idea what the latter had planned.

One of the shareholders, Franklin Hall, cleared his throat and said, "Mr Kingsley, I don't think it's a bad idea for your young brother to challenge you for the CEO position. He's the second heir after all-"

"Who said he's the second heir? Diane Kingsley is the second born and the only second heir, the others are third and fourth in line," Ryan responded curtly.

"Miss Kingsley is a woman, Mr Kingsley-"

"And so?" Ryan questioned, glaring at the old man. "Are you saying my sister can't be the second heir because she's a woman? Franklin, are you sure you want to be going against me right now?"

Franklin hesitated, wondering if he

should be offending Ryan Kingsley. The truth was, he didn't really have an issue with Ryan. The man had made the company thrive. However, Celeste had secretly met Franklin and asked for his assistance to make Jason the CEO. She promised to give him some benefits that he couldn't resist.

what

Clearing his throat, he replied, "Mr Kingsley, what do you mean? I'm just trying to be fair... since we have another, Keir for the Kingsley group, I feel he should be given a chance to run the company so that we can compare who's the best man for the job."

"You can test his skills by using another way... does he have to take over as CEO? That's an insult to the current CEO," one of Charles' loyal friends, Rick Campbell, asked.

The shareholders began to argue among themselves and Ryan watched them silently. He took this time to see who was loyal to him and who was ready to jump camp at the slightest opportunity of promised benefits.

"We can test Mr Jason Kingsley's skills by hiring him as the Vice CEO. He doesn't need to become the CEO," someone said.

"Well, I think it's time for new blood. Mr Ryan Kingsley is busy with his new family and I hear he will be going on leave soon. His young brother can act as a temporal CEO," Franklin suggested and Ryan narrowed his eyes at the old man. He had to check who was monitoring his movements. Only those close to him knew he was going on leave.

"But on what basis should Mr Jason Kingsley be the acting CEO? He didn't undergo any interviews... he would only take the position if he were a shareholder-" Rick remarked.

"Who said I'm not a shareholder?" Jason asked, his words catching Ryan's attention.

Ryan arched an eyebrow. "Since when are you a shareholder? We haven't discussed that yet as a family-"

"Since today," a voice said from the doors before Miles Kinsgley walked into the conference room with a file in his hand.

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Dad, what do you mean?"

Miles walked to the table and gave Ryan the file before saying, "Jason is now a major shareholder. I've transferred my shares to him."