Rise Of The Invincible Son-in-law

009

The hall filled with directors and investors smelled exotic. It reeked of wealth and power, enough to choke the poor.

There were no ordinary men in the gathering. The men and women seated here were titans of the industry. They could turn the city into a blood bath as their words can cause other companies years of head work to be buried in dust.

Everyone loved the old CEO of Tenant business group. And now, they waited in high anticipation for the new leader.

Eva walked in first. Elegance rooted into each of her steps. Then Ethan followed closely but his ordinary appearance caused ripples of disdain.

Eyes farrowed and disgust wove deeply into faces as chatters ran through the crowd like a wide fire. Then someone finally spoke 

"Eva, is this some kind of joke?" An older director sneered. "You promised to bring us the new leader of Tenants. We had waited long enough already.

"Yes... And instead of a leader, you brought us!" Another man gestured dismissively at Ethan.

"A who looks like he got lost and wandered in here. He looks barely old enough to feed himself properly or even fill a checkbook and you speak of placing the Tenents business group in his care?"

Laughter crackled through the hall and soon, others joined in, feeding on each other's scorn.

"He definitely has no experience and worse, none of us know him here.

We are happy that you're getting married but we never asked to see your spouse. Plus his... Did he just finish fighting a war in the Sahara!" They shot at Eva, barely giving her breathing space to speak.

"We don't know him!"

"He has no experience!"

"Isn't it a breach of law that he isn't even in school?"

They were always like this. Even the past leader had it difficult taming this gang of arrogant, rich and pride stuffed bullies.

He was the only one that had been able to tame them in the past and earn their respect and she has also handled the wolves before.

When she finally spoke, her voice crackled like a whip.

"If you respected Master Lawrence even for the slightest bit, you would listen to his intentions."

"And no, I'm not doing a grand reveal of my... Spouse!" She paused letting her echoing voice sink into their heads.

"Right here with me is that man that Mr. Lawrence chose to lead Tenents after he is gone!"

Even the air seemed to stand still as everyone paused. Their gaze was intense, almost unreadable.

Then a voice broke through the chaos, strong resonant and commanding.

"Him? Are you out of your mind?"

Everyone turned to the voice. A young man stepped forward. He was Ethan's age, sharp jaw, broad shoulders, dressed in a black tailored suit that screamed dominance. 

His gaze was strong enough to slice glass and his posture unyielding as he radiated with confidence.

"It's Harry!"

"Of course Harry would speak up!"

"The prodigy himself!"

Unlike everyone here, he was one of the first starters of Tenents. Despite having one of the most powerful men in the city as his father, he carved his own path as a business man, building collaborations, his name spread on the lips of even old men.

Harry, the young man who had the brains and knowledge even older generations wouldn't dare to contest.

Tenents had been one of his earlier projects. He had thought Mr. Lawrence would make him the next leader, they were close almost like a son to him and yet for some reasons. 

He chose wizzle brained?

Harry's stared bored holes into Ethan's chest

"Do you think after all our years of hard work and sacrifice into this business, we are going to hand it over to anyone to make use of it as a school project?" His eyes remained arched and his voice was fierce.

"To a man who looks like he came here to beg for scraps?"

"Yes!" The crowd erupted.

"Yes. That's right, we won't allow it!"

Eva stepped forward, fury trembling in her throat.

"Mr. Harry, there's still the place of order!" She noted with elegance flooding through her tone.

Harry's lips curled. "Order you say! Then perhaps you should have counseled the last leader before he made the worst mistake of a career and chose a nursery school rhyme as his successor."

"We can't let him fool around with our years of hardwork!"

Silence collapsed in the hall. The insult on the dead man hung heavy. But no one dared to scold Harry, it was what they all thought.

Eva's fingers dug into her palms until they hurt.

She had to make sure each and every one of Mr. Lawrence wishes were seen through to the end, she has promised even for the seemingly ridiculous ones.

Yet, these packs of grey haired and an over over pampered Gen Z would stop at nothing but make her work more difficult for her.

"This is Mr. Lawrence's decision,  Harry. If you have issues with it you will have to plead your case in court!" 

The words struck Harry's pride and he glared heavily at Eva's promised war, ready to rip her apart.

None of them broke away from the stare. Intensity burning in their gazes.

"Is that so!" 

The guards from both sides were always taking their stance for any eventualities.

Ethan finally stepped forward. Calm, steady but calculated like a lion ready to launch at its prey.

Eva's heart skipped. Every instinct told her this was a terrible idea.

"There's no need for hostilities!" Ethan notioned, his voice calm and calculated. 

    "Rest assured, I have everything it takes to lead Tenents to a greater height.

I once spearheaded a business in the past until the trade unrest put us out of business!"

Harry's laugh was sharp and cruel. "How does your little school project compares to the almighty Tenents?" He inquired with farrowed brows.

However, Ethan's expression didn't shift. Rather he continued. "Then tell me, how do I prove my competence?"

Harry blinked, the smug smile slowly spreading all across his face. "Finally, a sensible question!"

 He paused and thought for a while before he continued, his voice carried through the crowd.

"Why don't we run a little test? A business trivia and let's see how our 'new' leader is going to fare."

Gasp rippled through the halls and Eva's face suddenly turned pale. "Don't..." She tried to stop Ethan.

But Ethan had already nodded before she could even get to finish. "Agreed!"

Eva's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. A business trivia with Harry, nobody has been heard of in the whole of the country to win him on one.

His knowledge spreads across libraries and webs.

The rest of the crowd rolled off with laughter. 

"Such a fool to have accepted. He doesn't realize who Harry truly is!"

"Harry has crushed seasoned professors. This kid doesn't know what he just walked into!"

"Definitely he lost already. We can only wait and see how terribly he is going to fair!" Another of them added.