The Mysterious Chairman Keith

Chapter 16

RISKY MOTIVE 

Laura stepped in front of Manuel as an act of defense. The men burst into laughter seeing this but Laura was unfazed. Manuel was her top priority.

“Moving without security is very risky for a well known figure like you.” Danny sneered.

He lifted up his weapon– a signal for his men to proceed forwards. Laura stood her ground ready to attack whoever attacked first.

“Resisting would only make this worse!” Danny said, grinning.

The first man sped towards them urging the others to do the same. He swung his club towards Laura's face but she moved back slightly leaving him wide open for a karate chop.

The move instantly sent him to the ground, knocked out cold. The others didn't relent, they shifted their attack towards Manuel but Laura was quick to stand in front.

She sent a punch to one of the men, sending him flying into the incoming ones.

“Get back into the car, Mr Keith!” Laura said, still trying to deflect incoming attacks. 

It was already too late, two of them had already broken through and were running towards Manuel. Laura left the people she was handling, sprinting towards the two people running towards Manuel.

Pow! Pow!!

The attacks were lightening fast. Laura screeched to a stop as the sight before her was bizarre. The two men that had tried to attack her were lying on the ground, unconscious.

“What are you all looking at, take them both down!” Danny roared, grabbing one of the men by the collar and tossing him towards Laura. 

With the back of her palm, Laura slapped him aside.

“Mr keith–” Laura couldn't believe her eyes.

“I hate it when people make me ask questions twice.” Now Manuel was advancing towards Danny. 

The men saw this as an opportunity to size him but as soon as they approached, Laura was quick to dive in. She cleared the way for Manuel as he slowly walked towards Danny.

“Don't get ahead of yourself. You're nothing but a pretty boy with dumb luck.” Feeling insulted, Danny charged towards Manuel, leaping into the air with his bat ready to strike.

Clank!!

Danny gasped, with his eyes wide open. His jaw dropped open as his hands strained on the weapon. Manuel had caught it with his hands just before it hit him.

Still holding the bat, Manuel pulled Danny close to him and headbutted him so hard, blood oozed from his nostrils. Just before Danny could fall to the floor, Manuel caught him by the shirt and pulled him up.

“Who paid you to make me go late to my own ceremony?” 

This time, Manuel's tone of approach wasn't neutral, it was glacial.

“Like hell would I tell you!!” Danny swung his hand towards Manuel's head to retaliate.

Thwack!!

This was followed by a guttural scream. Manuel had snapped his hands and it was evidently bent backwards. If Laura wasn't a trained fighter, she would have sworn she didn't see Manuel move.

Meanwhile at the company, the first announcement of Manuel's arrival had been made but Manuel still hadn't shown up. 

One could clearly see the disappointment written all over their faces yet the party continued. The members of the board who were available were already gnawing at Manuel's incompetence.

The sound of the microphone feedback got everyone's attention.

“What's with this dull atmosphere?” It was Lucas Darwin. 

The whole crowd was shocked by his appearance seeing that Manuel had already restricted the Darwins from entering the Nightingale premises.

“It seems the young chairman won't be making it to his own party.” Lucas teased and this caused murmuring within the crowd.

Lucas quickly tried to quell the spreading murmurs, “If our own chairman cannot keep to his promises, doesn't that mean we have a lot to worry about in the future?” 

Everyone was in agreement with Lucas' words. 

“If Mr Keith fails to attend tonight's meeting, we might have to come to a unanimous agreement to remove him as chairman.” Lucas proposed.

This one seemed hard and everyone could already tell where this was driving at. They all knew that getting on the bad side of the Darwins would imminently be the downfall of Manuel.

“I am in agreement!” Owen Wilson said, raising an arm to grab their attention.

“We all know Dave Keith. When he was chairman, everything ran smoothly and every organized gathering was honored with his presence.” Owen added.

Everyone was starting to see reasons with what they said– not that they were happy with Manuel succession in the first place.

This was exactly what Lucas wanted. He wanted everyone to turn against Manuel. Once he's unanimously voted out as chairman, taking him down becomes an easy task.

“Let's not be too carried away by the moment. Who knows, Mr Keith might just be experiencing traffic. I'm sure he will be here anytime soon.” Lucas said finally before exiting the stage to watch everything unfold.

Meanwhile outside the company, a car pulled up just in front of the red carpet. One of the valets ran to open the passenger door. 

It was Lisa.

She stepped out of the vehicle absorbing the adoring praises from the reporters and other people who didn't get the chance to get into the main building.

Manuel only banned the Darwins, not the Stones. 

Lisa walked briskly into the building as her gown swayed along the red carpet. Her beauty was worth beholding but she didn't pay any attention to the clicking cameras. 

She wasn't just here to show the world how beautiful she was, she was on a mission. 

As soon as Lisa stepped in, she could already see the questioning faces. Even without them saying it, she knew every question they had in their heart.

Why was she here? What becomes of Jamie? Was she here to make peace with Manuel to get her name back on top?

She walked briskly, avoiding as much eye contact as she could towards one person,

Lucas Darwin.