Her Return, His Regret

"I'm resigning as the CEO from now onwards and Jason will be the new CEO of the Kingsley Group," Ryan announced. Ryan Kingsley had been planning on how to step down from his position as the CEO of the Kingsley Group.

Jason had not confirmed if he would take over as CEO, however, Ryan still announced it, hoping Jason was for the idea.

A murmur swept over the room after Ryan announced that he would be stepping down. He looked at the shareholders' stunned faces and asked, "Why the shocked faces? Isn't this what you were all expecting?"

Lora glanced at Ryan, confusion creeping into her. She didn't know Ryan was going to hand over his position to Jason just like that.

Why did he do that and when did he plan all this?

Ryan sensed her gaze. He looked at her and gave her a small smile before he mouthed that he would explain later.

Lora nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. Deep down, she knew why he did that but she didn't want to accept it. For her, there was still hope for Ryan to recover and she would continue to look for a solution until she found one. "Son, you don't have to do what the shareholders are asking you to do. When you get better, you can fix the company's predicament," Miles remarked, sadness filling him as he looked at his son.

"I may not get better though," Ryan remarked and the place fell into dead silence. "Life needs to go on. We can't put everything on hold just because I'm sick. Jason has the most shares after me. I think he deserves to take over my position." Ryan's eyes met Jason's again. He asked, "What do you say? Do you accept?"

"Of course, he does! He was born to do this!" Celeste excitedly answered on Jason's behalf.

She wore a triumphant smile on her face as she said to Jason, "Jason, why are you not saying anything? This is a golden opportunity! He's giving you the company on a silver platter... this is our only chance to take control!"

David frowned as he looked at Celeste. He narrowed his eyes at her and asked in a low voice, "Are you changing your mind now? This wasn't the plan... the plan was for me to take control and appoint your son as CEO!" "You will still be in control. Aren't you going to buy shares in the group?" Celeste whispered back, her eyes gleaming with joy.

Finally, she had won! If she had known Ryan would throw in the towel on his own, she wouldn't have collaborated with David. Now she had to share the company with David otherwise he would expose her crimes to the Kingsleys. Celeste silently thought of a plan to get rid of David. In the end, the Kingsley group should be hers alone.

Franklin smiled and remarked, "Ryan, what you just did shows that you're a true leader. I can't believe you gave up your position that easily. But I'm glad... the company will recover soon once news gets out that we changed CEOs." The other shareholders who had been worried were visibly relieved. They nodded amongst themselves and discussed how their investments would be safe now that Ryan had willingly stepped down from his position. Charles looked at Ryan, his heart clenching in pain. He asked, "Are you sure? You don't need to step down. We believe you will be ok."

Ryan smiled at his grandfather and

replied, "Grandpa, don't worry. Even

if Jason takes over the company, he's family. He can't harm the company."

At the same time, guilt crept into Miles Kingsley. He couldn't believe he had been jealous of his son for becoming the CEO instead of him Ryan was a real leader... it's not easy to step down from such a high position. Others would rather die than hand over the position to someone else.

He looked at Ryan and began, "Ryan-"

"Dad, Jason and I had already talked about this. I already gave him my shares," Ryan interrupted and stunned silence fell upon the room again. Lora's eyes widened too because she didn't expect Ryan to give Jason his shares. Didn't he hate him?

"Shouldn't you have left those shares for your children?" One of the shareholders asked.

Ryan looked at him and replied coldly, "Mind your own business."

He didn't want people to know the share transfer was temporal or else they would try to sabotage Jason.

The CEO position was a dangerous position to be in. Ryan managed to maintain the position because of his ruthlessness and dominance.

However, a new CEO would be an easy target for those with evil intentions to make their move and try to take the company for themselves. "Did you two make up or something?" Charles asked, looking between his two grandsons.

He hadn't yet warmed up to Jason since he didn't know his stance, so he was shocked that Ryan had transferred his shares to him. Wasn't that handing over the company to Celeste on a silver platter?

Ryan smirked and replied, "We didn't need to make up or anything... it's not like we fought."

Charles sighed. He knew his grandson wouldn't make an impulsive decision. If he handed his position to Jason, it meant that he trusted him. Looking at Jason, Charles decided to give him a chance. He asked, "You haven't said anything, Jason. Do you accept to take over as CEO?"

Jason looked around, scanning

everyone's expressions. He glanced at his mother and saw the greedy look in her eyes. It was like she was already in heaven from the mere thought of Jason taking overthe company.

"No," Jason answered, his answer causing the place to fall into dead silence. Glancing at Ryan, he remarked, "I'm not interested."