Chapter 912 - A bandit (1)

~ Chicago, K Industries ~

Monday, 10:01 AM

Jasper is in his office, checking the time nervously.

Miss Y who said that she is the new board member requested a meeting at 10 AM. Why is she late? Maybe she is not coming.

Jasper's mind was running in circles while he tried to focus on anything other than the time and the fact that Miss Y is not here, and it's already 2 minutes after 10! How rude to be late! Even if she show up now, he will give her a cold treatment!

"CEO Kiani, Miss Y is here to see you.", Faith's voice from the speaker startled him.

Jasper cleared his throat and said in a deep voice (to sound more mature): "Send her in."

His eyebrows shoot up when he saw Ellie entering his office. She is looking sharp in a knee-length black pencil skirt and a matching jacket over a light blue shirt. Her hair is lifted in a neat bun, and she totally looks business-ready in black peep-toe pumps.

He watched speechlessly as Faith offered drinks and Ellie said 'no, thank you' .

"Ellie, how come you are here?", he was unable to hide his surprise.

"Are you not happy to see me?" Ellie smiled to hide her anxiousness. Her heart is beating like crazy and she hopes that Jasper takes well the fact that she is Miss Y. Originally she had a different idea how to make her entrance, but after previous weekend, she concluded that Jasper is not handling surprises well, and she decided on a straightforward approach.

"Of course, I am happy to see you.", Jasper said as he walked toward her. "It's just that… a new shareholder is about to come any minute now.", he explained with guilt in his voice because he has to take care of the shareholder instead of spending time with Ellie.

"I know." Ellie observed his expression and realized that he didn't connect the dots. Sometimes you don't see what is in front of you. "But, it seems you don't know that… your shareholder is already here."

Jasper paused and blinked few times. "You are Miss Y?"

"Miss Y, Miss Young, it's not much of a difference, is it?"

"I need a minute." Jasper took a seat on the sofa while staring at the carpet.

Ellie sat next to him and took a deep breath so that she can say as much as possible in one go: "Please, don't be angry. You told me about the situation in the company, and how you can't get your proposals to go through unless your father agrees, and I really wanted to help you out, and at the same time I think that your ideas are brilliant, and investing seemed like a good idea…"

"How much do you own?", Jasper asked when Ellie ran out of breath.

"16.7%"

Jasper looked at her in disbelief for few seconds and then he went back to staring at the carpet.

Ellie watched Jasper rub his chin and she was relieved that he does not look angry. Confused, shocked, yes. Angry, no. Well, it seems that what he does to her in the bedroom, she just did to him in his office (the shocking part).

"If you are this surprised, I look forward to see Norman's face when he finds out."

Hearing Ellie mention Norman, Jasper realized: "You got Dickinson's stocks?"

"And Bally's.", Ellie said in a soft voice.

Jasper took few seconds to absorb this information. He has to acknowledge that Ellie is much more complex than what he thought. She targeted Norman's supporters. And she said that she did it in order to help him?

"I admit that I didn't expect this. How did you get them to sell you their stocks? You paid for them, right? Or are you a bandit who tortured them into signing them off to you?"

Ellie stifled a laugh. Where does he get those ideas? Well, Ethan suggested something like that, but she said 'no' , alright? "Do you really want to know?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course, I want to know."

"I heard that you like to play by the rules, and I maybe bent the rules a bit to make this happen."

"Now I really need to know."

Ellie told him that she hired someone to find out dirty secrets about them. "I paid fair market value for those stocks. The information I found was used only to motivate them into selling the shares."

Jasper looked at Ellie and nodded solemnly. "A bandit."

Ellie pursed her lips in protest. "I didn't make them do any of those illegal things. I just pointed out that I have evidence of their previous wrongdoings."

"I assume this was one of the secrets you waited to tell me."

"Yes." Ellie was happy to confirm this.

"Do you have more of those?"

"Yes." Ellie wondered what he would say if he knew that every next secret is bigger than the previous one. But one step at a time. She needs to confirm that he is OK with this before she reveals next one. "You still didn't say that you are not angry."

"Not angry about what?"

"About me buying K Industries stocks without telling you."

"I am not angry. But I wish that you told me earlier."

Ellie can understand this. "At that time I didn't know if I will be successful in getting enough stocks to make a difference, so I didn't say anything."

Jasper looked at Ellie and spoke reluctantly: "I don't mean to pry into your personal affairs, but 16.7%? That is a lot of money."

"That is a fair concern. I have a diverse investment portfolio. And you know that EY is doing well. Also, I was an inactive board member at KMY. I sold those stocks."

Jasper was unable to hide his surprise. "KMY? It's not wise to sell them over K Industries."

Ellie was touched by his honesty. He would tell her the truth even if it goes against his interests. She took a mental note to give him a lesson how he always needs to praise his company, no matter what.

"But you are forgetting that K Industries has a very bright future. I am confident that the handsome CEO Kiani is leading his company in the right direction and my investment will pay off multiple folds."

Smile bloomed on his face. Jasper was elated to hear Ellie talk so highly of him. "Thank you."

Ellie smiled brightly. She was happy to see that Jasper was not angry. And she more than approved that he leaned closer and ended this topic with a mind-spinning kiss.

After a round of making out, Jasper watched Ellie fix her makeup.

"Will you attend the meeting at eleven?"

Ellie confirmed. "I want to meet other shareholders and directors. Also… I will give you my voting rights."

Again, Jasper was surprised. "Are you sure?"

"I am not from Chicago and even if I am in the area, I don't have an intention to attend board meetings. In my absence, you will vote in my place. With that, you have at your disposal 41.7% as yours… make that 46.7% when you include your mother's 5% which kick in if Norman opposes you."

Jasper was impressed that Ellie remembers how much stocks he owns and in what case he gets 5% from his mother. "You did your math."

"That is your math, CEO Kiani. And just for your information: I was always good with numbers."

Jasper's phone beeped signaling a reminder. He didn't need to check to know what it is. "It's almost time for the meeting. Are you ready?"

"Yes. But… I want to give you a heads up that I will not be just listening passively. I am here to settle some scores. I hope that you will trust me with this and play along. I will be happy to answer any of your questions in private, after the meeting."

Jasper can tell that she planned something.

"I look forward to the show." Jasper gestured toward the door and led Ellie to the meeting room.

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