380 Reynolds-Harper collaboration 3

She wanted to curse at Brianna and scratch her face or do something else that will cause Brianna a lot of shame and pain. The fact that Brianna is smugly looking at her only added oil to the already raging fire and Mrs. Reynolds lost it.

Mrs. Reynolds didn't know what she was about to do, but she knew that she wants to wipe off that smirk from Brianna's face. She moved to reach Brianna, but before she could finish her step, an excruciating pain shoot through her body and she screamed.

"AHHH!"

"Sit, ma'am…", Mia said icily while pressing a pressure point on Mrs. Reynolds's shoulder. "If you continue resisting, it will only hurt more."

Mr. Reynolds moved toward Mia on a reflex and he froze when he met her murderous glare.

"I suggest you don't move from your spot, mister…", Mia warned him menacingly.

Mr. Reynolds stared at Mia like he is looking at a ghost. Her frame is small, how can she be so intimidating? Why is his wife so pale? Is the bodyguard (aka Mia) using some sort of a weapon? And she was behind Brianna only a second ago, how did she reach them so fast?

Mia tightened her grip on Mrs. Reynolds's shoulder and the latter's mouth was opened in a silent scream for a second before she plopped back into her chair.

Mrs. Reynolds wanted to rub her aching shoulder, but she feared that it might fall off.

After a few seconds of absolute silence, everyone panicked, but Brianna got their attention by waving her arms before it escalated. "Don't worry, my bodyguard will not act unless someone tries to harm me."

The people in the room quieted down and Brianna continued talking calmly.

"Don't tell me that you never saw security taking care of troublemakers?"

Most of the people relaxed, but they were confused by having Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds being labeled as 'troublemakers', no matter what they think about the couple.

By the way Quentin calmly observed what is going on, and he even smiled a little, everyone understood that major changes are ahead of them and it made them anxious while wondering how they will be impacted. After all, no one is here for charity. People present are directors and shareholders, and they are here because this company provides them with a lavish lifestyle.

Brianna cleared her throat and spoke as nothing happened. "Now… I will appreciate it if you focus on the document in front of you and see the conditions under which Harper Investments will provide funds for Reynolds Publishing. Everything is broken down per project, so it should be easy to follow. Just add to that a clause that Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds need to be banned from the company. Since they don't have any role other than being parents of the current CEO, that should not be a difficult decision, right?"

Brianna nodded in agreement, and Mia's eyes sparkled when she heard that there will be refreshments. It seems that she will have her morning snack after all.

Quentin was always generous when it came to food, and that makes him Mia's favorite (other than Hunter, of course).

"What is the meaning of this?", Mr. Reynolds spoke finally and everyone who was on their way out of the conference room, returned back to their seat. No one wanted to miss this.

Mr. Reynolds recuperated from this sudden shock and now that his wife is quiet, he can think. He founded this company, and he has stocks. How can Brianna ask that they get banned from the company? He didn't care that so many outsiders are present because he was already insulted, his wife was physically attacked, and how he sees it, it can't get worse than this.

"You are ready to kick us out?", Mr. Reynolds hissed at Quentin and glared at Brianna.

Quentin stood in front of Brianna protectively, preventing his father from reaching to her… just in case. "As Miss Harper said, you have no role in this company, so it's not like you are getting fired."

Mr. Reynolds bolted to his feet and shouted: "We are shareholders!"

"Partially correct. You are a shareholder, not mother. The only thing that will change is that you will not attend board meetings. Think of it as a retirement. I will make sure that stocks keep a steady growth with the help of people present in this room, and you will not be lacking any money."

"This is not about the money!"

Quentin shrugged at his father. "If you don't care about the money, you are always welcome to sell off your stocks. I will be happy to buy them from you and it will stay within the family."

Mr. Reynolds's mouth opened and closed, and he was not sure what to say other than… "You don't have enough money to buy my shares."

Brianna moved to stand next to Quentin. "Harper Investments is willing to give extended loans to our good customers."

Mrs. Reynolds's expression turned ugly. She was not willing to accept this outcome no matter how much her shoulder ached.

Mrs. Reynolds trembled from anger and she glared at Quentin. "You are doing this because you picked this wench over Vanessa!"

Brianna shook her head in disapproval. "More family drama. I don't even want to ask who Vanessa is. You are only proving my point, Mrs. Reynolds."

Brianna looked at other people in the room. "You need to decide between keeping two people who are treating this company as their family's playground, and growing the company. I hope the choice is clear. I will see you in half an hour to answer your questions. Keep in mind that I am here to enter a deal that will make me money, and not waste my time on insults and empty threats."

Brianna glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. "You will hear from my lawyer."

Brianna walked out and Mia was two steps behind her.

"This meeting is over.", Quentin announced. "We will meet here in thirty minutes. Make sure you go over the documents because after we are done with questions, I will ask for a vote if you are in favor or not of proceeding with this collaboration. We will not finalize details today, but Miss Harper wants to know if we are committed to this partnership. In case we reject these plans she will distribute her resources to other clients. While making your decision, consider your careers and this company overall. Thank you."

Quentin left the conference room in hurried steps. He needed to catch up with his fiery Goddess before she reaches the elevator.

Other directors and shareholders also vacated the conference room, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds alone in silence.

When it was only Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds in the conference room, Mrs. Reynolds looked at her husband.

"Do something, Tim."

"What do you want me to do, Tina?"

"Stop them!"

"Stop whom? Our son, his girlfriend, or everyone else?"

"They will take away everything from us! They will not stop until we are out on the street, homeless! How can you just sit and do nothing?"

Mr. Reynolds narrowed his eyes. "Maybe if you sat and did nothing over Christmas dinner, you would know how that girl is not just a clerk, but a director of a financial company that is so closely tied up to Reynolds Publishing that if they pull out their money, our company will be in danger."

Mrs. Reynolds's eyes flashed in outrage. "So, it's my fault!"

"If you didn't allow your temper to flare in the middle of a board meeting, they would not have a reason to wrestle us out of this company."

"She set me up!"

"And you fell into her trap wonderfully."

"Why are you making it sound like all this is my fault?", Mrs. Reynolds squeezed through her teeth.

"Yes. I admit, for Christmas, it was me as well, but this today… it was only you."

Mrs. Reynolds frowned. She didn't want to argue with her husband over this. They need to find a solution to their current predicament. "Now what? Are we leaving, just like that?"

"You heard them… if this deal does not go through, Reynolds Publishing will suffer, and I know that is true. There is no way that those shareholders and directors will vote to keep us in and jeopardize their jobs as the company falls apart. The only thing that can save us, is if you apologize to the girl and she removes that clause from the list of her demands."

"Apologize? Over my dead body!", Mrs. Reynolds said in a shrieky voice.

"Well… I suggest we go and pack our things then.", Mr. Reynolds said in defeat.

"You can't be serious, Tim. This is it? We are out and Quentin gets to enjoy the fruits of our labor with that woman?"

Mr. Reynolds looked at his wife without a word for some time and she could see that he disapproves of her words. She knows that there is no point in talking smack about Brianna and Quentin, but at this point, she can't think of anything else.

Mr. Reynolds stood up and Mrs. Reynolds held onto his hand.

"Do you think that an apology will help?", she asked.

"No. But I can't think of another way."

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