Rewind With A Superstar System

Chapter 227: Board Meeting

<🎧 Song Recommendation: august by Taylor Swift>

...

The lobby remained quiet. Arthur stared at the teenager standing in front of him, still struggling to process the words that had just left Von’s mouth. It was just as absurd as it could possibly get.

The same young kid he had helped to create his first music video just two years ago, the kid who was supposed to just wear their clothes and smile for the cameras, now had enough money to buy a part of his company.

Even Arthur didn’t have that much liquid money to himself.

"It’s impossible," Arthur whispered, feeling very disappointed at the sudden revelation.

If Von was a major shareholder, it meant they wouldn’t be able to control him as much as before. He wasn’t just an employee anymore; he was a boss.

Von noticed the sheer panic in the older man’s eyes and offered a calm, reassuring smile.

"Don’t be scared, man. I won’t stop being your brand ambassador. I’m just taking up an extra role, nothing much."

Arthur still had his mouth wide open in disbelief. He wasn’t able to say anything else. His mind was still blank. But Von quickly caught his attention, bringing him back to reality.

"Where’s the meeting being held?" Von asked.

"Follow me," Arthur said. It was at that exact moment Arthur gathered himself, speaking with a slight commanding tone to regain some sense of authority.

***

They walked toward the private elevator and went up in complete silence. The doors closed, sealing them inside the metal box, and thoughts immediately began to run through the head of Arthur.

’I didn’t know he earned that much... No, it’s impossible. He shouldn’t be able to afford that purchase. He can’t earn all that from just music, it’s too early.’

Arthur slowly looked over at the singer standing next to him. Von was standing with a nonchalant expression, adjusting the silver chain around his neck as if he hadn’t just flipped Arthur’s world upside down.

’Wait,’ Arthur thought, a new realization hitting him.

’It’s actually a good thing the new investor isn’t a corporate big shot. A Wall Street veteran would know how to tear my company apart. But this is a nineteen-year-old kid. I doubt he’ll be involved in anything serious. He doesn’t know the first thing about running a fashion empire. So his investment is useless to the board. It’s even better that way so we retain control over him.’

Arthur came to that comforting conclusion just as the elevator pinged at the top floor. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, but he didn’t know he was about to be deeply disappointed very soon.

They walked down a short, carpeted hallway and pushed open a set of doors.

The boardroom was a large room featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows that overlooked the busy New York skyline.

Inside, twenty older, wealthy men in expensive tailored suits sat around a long table.

Aside from the large leather seat reserved for the CEO at the head of the table, there was a single missing chair at the side of the table meant for the missing investor.

The moment Von and Arthur walked in, the entire room fell dead silent. The executives stopped talking and stared. Then, the frustration in the room finally boiled over.

"Arthur!" a gray-haired executive sitting near the front snapped, slamming his palm loudly on the table.

"Where have you been? We are thirty minutes past schedule. And why in the world did you bring the brand ambassador up here? This is a closed meeting!"

Arthur stepped forward with authority, holding his hands raised defensively. "Gentlemen, I apologize for the delay. Mr. Varley was—"

Before Arthur could even finish his sentence, Von found the empty seat. After getting a quick nod from Arthur, Von walked straight past the angry executives and casually sat right there.

The executives gasped loudly. Several of them stood up from their chairs in pure outrage.

"Excuse me!" the gray-haired executive yelled, his face turning bright red with anger. "You cannot sit there, young man. That seat is reserved. Get out of this room right now."

Von simply unzipped the small cross-body bag he had brought with him and pulled out a folder. Without a word, he slid it over the table so the men could see it.

The gray-haired executive was the first one to angrily snatch the papers. He read the first page. Then he flipped it and read the second.

His angry red face slowly turned pale. He looked up at Von, then slowly looked back down at the bold signature at the bottom of the Vanguard equity transfer document.

"Is this... is this real?" the executive asked in surprise.

Of course, he knew exactly who Von was. He was the former eighteen-year-old singer they had given a chance to what felt like just yesterday. And now, the same kid was sitting at their table with ownership papers.

The gray-haired man passed the folder down the table with a trembling hand. As the other board members read the paperwork, the loud outrage in the room was instantly replaced by shock.

The teenager sitting across from them wasn’t just a model wearing their clothes on billboards. He was the owner of three percent of their entire company.

Arthur quietly took his seat at the far end of the table, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the sweat from his forehead. He cleared his throat loudly to break the heavy tension.

"Welcome, Von Varley, to the Vanguard board of directors," Arthur said, trying to sound as professional as possible. "It will be a pleasure to have you as an investor in this prestigious brand."

Von simply smiled at Arthur’s comment, leaning back in his leather chair. "No biggie."

Arthur coughed again before addressing the rest of the board members, who still had their wide eyes glued to Von. It was an odd sight. Von was wearing relaxed streetwear in a room completely filled with corporate suits.

"So, ahem. Now we’re complete. May we commence the meeting?" Arthur asked the room.

Arthur didn’t waste time trying to inquire why Von was late, or introducing him to the deep intricacies of the company and his new role as a board member.

He had already realized in the elevator that the kid wasn’t worth their time. He just wanted to get this over with, so he began the meeting.

At first, it was a bit awkward. The executives kept stealing glances at Von every few minutes.

The financial reports were brought out, and men in suits started talking about supply chain issues in Asia, retail overhead costs, and factory outputs.

It was a language they assumed Von wouldn’t understand. It quickly took some time, but eventually, the older men managed to forget about his presence and focus on the numbers.

The meeting went smoothly for the first thirty minutes. But then, the real elephant in the room dropped onto the table.

The gray-haired executive, whose name was ironically Gary, stood up from his chair to say something.

During the brief introductions, Von had learned that Gary was one of the major individual investors. He solely owned four percent of the entire company, making him someone who had a very great influence over the board’s decisions.

Arthur and his parent corporation owned seventy-one percent, making them the major stakeholders, but keeping wealthy individual investors like Gary happy was key for the project’s survival.

Gary looked Arthur dead in the eye with a serious expression.

"So, are you going to discuss the massive losses we’ve been making? Our valuation fell by fifty percent in just a few months. Is that normal to you, Arthur?"

Arthur laughed awkwardly, shifting in his seat. Seeing the one discussion he wanted to avoid most being brought up in front of everyone made him nervous, but he was quick to defend his record.

"Stop with your stupid critics, Gary," Arthur fired back. "This company was valued at five hundred million dollars when I came here. I was the one who doubled our valuation to a billion in just three years. This fall is only temporary because of the lockdown. The stores were closed. We will rise up again."

"Haha, you’re a funny old man," Gary laughed at Arthur’s comments, not backing down at all.

"It’s been over a month since the lockdown ended, and we are still not getting any better. A fifty percent fall is too ridiculous, even for a lockdown. And if you’re so confident that we’ll be back up soon, why were your cooperation ready to let go of three percent of your stake?"