Chapter 861
The glaring headline read: *Owen Lance Reclaims the Lance Empire; Lawrence Lance Demoted to VP. Is a Corporate Earthquake Approaching p>
Below it was a brief interview with Owen. “You’ve been away from the Lance Group for three years. Returning now, does it feel like everything has changed p>
“I wouldn’t say everything has changed, but there’s an undeniable unfamiliarity,” Owen was quoted. “It’s a mix of strangeness and nostalgia p>
“You’ve made an incredibly aggressive comeback, stepping straight into the CEO role while your brother stepped aside. How do you feel about this transition p>
Owen’s response was ruthlessly dominant: “I took the CEO position because I am capable of holding it.
“I was the CEO at Solflare Entertainment, and I am the CEO at the Lance Group. If I were to leave and work for someone else tomorrow, I’d be the CEO there, too.
“This has nothing to do with anyone stepping aside for me. I don’t need anyone’s charity.
“As for Lawrence taking the Vice President role, that is simply what the company required. It has nothing to do with me p>
“Will Solflare Entertainment’s performance suffer due to your departure p>
“No.
“I helped build Solflare, but I was never its core. The true visionary has always been the Chairwoman, Ms. Mira Mercer.
“And as everyone knows, she is also my fiancée.
“Furthermore, the current CEO, Mr. Felix Grant, is just as capable as I am p>
It was a brilliant, seamless PR move to drive massive traffic toward Solflare Entertainment.
Mira read through the article, feeling a surge of relief that Owen had successfully taken control.
However, the fact that Lawrence was still Vice President meant Owen’s path forward was going to be a brutal uphill battle.
Despite moving heaven and earth to bring Owen back, Leonard clearly wasn’t fully on his side and was actively trying to keep him in check.
Mira finally understood why Owen had abandoned Aethelgard for Melvion City three years ago.
His grandfather had protected him as a child and raised him, but he had also shielded the very people who murdered Owen’s mother.
After all, Richard was Leonard’s biological son, Lilian was his daughter-in-law, and Lawrence and Luna were his flesh-and-blood grandchildren.
After reading for a moment, Mira pushed the thoughts aside. She trusted Owen to handle the fallout perfectly.
After lunch, Harvey Rivers wanted to
hand out the gifts right in the
l.ne
cafeteria, but Mira shook her head. “It’s
Sooo crowded in here. It
scene p>
cause a
The group relocated to a quiet bench tucked away in a grove of trees to distribute
the presents.
“Whoa, a PearPhone 3GS p>
At this point in time, only a select few from exceptionally wealthy backgrounds could afford such a
device. They were ingrenet
on
the Aethelgard university campus.
Simply holding a PearPhone was the ultimate status symbol among the student body.
Priced at hundreds of dollars, it was a massive luxury that only a tiny fraction of people could justify buying.
The laptops Harvey handed out were even more extravagant, easily worth well over a thousand dollars each.
However, he only gave them to his three roommates and his old classmate, Elara Finn.
Besides giving phones to Elara and her core group of four, Mira also handed one to Jillian Lowe. Jillian had been working tirelessly as her assistant; she was officially part of the inner circle.
Mira also gave one to their class president, as well as to Wesley Lane from the Drama Society, and Quentin Reed from the FinTech Society.
That was it for the giveaways.
Later, Quentin Reed practically dragged Harvey aside, demanding that Harvey buy him a laptop too.
“Boss Mercer just handed me a phone! Why aren’t you hooking me up with a laptop, Boss Rivers p>
He pestered Harvey so relentlessly that Harvey finally caved and bought him one just to shut him up.