Never Judge

Chapter 296 - 296

Ian held Nicole's hand as they sat in the boardroom with the rest of the Chan family, it was the first time that Ian was appearing as the father of Nicole's child in such a formal setting. By this time Nicole was already showing as she placed a hand on her belly.

"What are we waiting for?" One of the board members demanded. "Everyone of relevance is here."

"Very well." Miguel said as he stood at the head of the table. Since taking over the VP role as a male heir he was given more voice and more power by the board, something he despised. He didn't like the fact that his more capable sister was repressed by these people, while he who clearly spent the company money on charities was given more leeway, all because he was born a man.

Miguel stood tall and looked at everyone, today he had asked every board member to come over, including her elder brother and their relatives. He was going to make this as public as possible. 

"I'm stepping down as Vice President of Saints Hospital." Miguel said.

"What? Who will take over now?" A board member asked. Naturally their eyes went towards either Eric or Ian. It was a rarity that either would be there. Both had already refused the position in the past.

"My sister will take back her place." Miguel said. "And when she gives birth Ian will temporarily step in." He said confidently.

"Doctor Chan, this board had already voted against placing a pregnant woman as Vice President, why must you insist?" Another board member asked. Miguel knew they were quite confident since the vote had already been cast and they had come up on top.

"Cousin, you shouldn't be so rash. You're a well renowned doctor. A lot of rich and powerful people from all over the world seek you out. Your name attached as our VP has been bringing good things to Saints." One of the Chan cousins insisted. Miguel knew him as one of the most sexist members of the family, he had been strongly opposed to Nicole's first appointment. 

Miguel sighed. "Are you really going to make me take this to a vote?" He asked looking at the board members present.

"Don't be silly Miguel. We already placed this to a vote." An uncle scolded him.

"The shareholders have changed." Eric, who had remained silent the whole time said. He was starting to get annoyed with his brother's dramatics. 

"Since when? Who sold? All the major shareholders are here!" A board member asked as he looked around.

"Let Miss Sebastian in." Eric said as he nodded at an assistant.

The assistant quickly poked his head out and he was followed by Katerina and the four other princes inside.

"What is the meaning of this? None of them are shareholders in Saints, they should not be allowed in this meeting." A board member furiously said.

"As of 10AM of Friday last week, Prince Group became the 2nd largest shareholder of Saints Hospital." Katerina said.

"We know that, but Prince Group has not sent any representative to today's meeting." The board member said. 

Ray suddenly laughed. "We own Prince Group." Ray said as he stared at the board member. 

From his seat Eric could see the shock in everyone's face, none of them had thought that the boys would ironically name a company they founded after what their fans called them.

"As one of the largest shareholders we have the right to vote on who runs the company." Alexi crossed his arms as he glared at the shareholder. "And honestly, Miguel will only drive Saints to bankruptcy." He said with a grin.

"It's true." Miguel said agreeing with what his friend had just said. 

"According to tradition, only the male members can be appointed seats of office with Saints!" A cousin desperately said. "Nicole's pregnancy will also be bad for the company. What will people say when we announce that we are placing an unmarried pregnant woman as our Vice President and making her next in line to run the hospital? People will be outraged, they will avoid coming here because our morals are not in line with theirs."

Eric knew they were running out of solutions, that tradition had long been considered obsolete since times had long changed. He was about to stand and speak when Cedric confronted the board.

"It's not in the company's bylaws." Cedric said in a cold tone. His voice made people listen. "Am I right Katerina?" Cedric said as he turned to look at her.

"Yes. The bylaws are not bound by tradition and thus do not need to be followed." Katerina said with a nod.

Eric smiled from his seat. No one would be able to speak up now, it would be better to beg for death than to offend the Reyes Heir. The members of the board would never risk their own interests for a company that they did not wholly own. 

"Does anyone dare challenge what Attorney Sebastian just said?" Miguel asked, placing emphasis on the fact that the woman in front of them was one of the top lawyers in the world.

Eric beamed with pride when he saw the board members shaking their heads, the combination had been too powerful for them to resist.

"Good, let's start the vote." Miguel said. He called over the assistant to hand the shareholders form where they would choose if they agreed to name Nicole as the Vice President once more, they would also have to place their names so that the weight of their votes could be properly calculated. 

When the boys had entered Eric was already sure they won, with his father's 30%, the 20% owned by the four princes, plus his 5% that his grandfather gifted him on his 18th birthday they already had a majority of shares. If it weren't for transparency reasons the vote would not have been needed. 

The results were as they all expected, 70% of shares voted for Nicole to be reinstated as the Vice President of Saints Hospital.