The Puppet CEO's Revenge Chapter 2

For a moment, the entire room went silent, everyone staring at me in disbelief.

The Winthrop Group executives began whispering amongst themselves, assuming I must be spouting nonsense out of desperation.

After all, everyone in the company knew that I had dedicated myself tirelessly for the past decade, with no expectation of reward, to achieve our current success.

"Mr. Langley, you're the company's second-in-command! It's just one project. Don't throw away your future over a momentary impulse!"

Hearing this, Camila seemed to think I was threatening her, and her face flushed with anger.

"Rylan, have you lost your mind?" she spat.

"How dare you lose your temper after just a few words of criticism? You've really crossed the line! Let me remind you, you're only the nominal CEO. I'm the one who truly controls this group!"

I laughed inwardly.

She should be overjoyed that I was handing over the CEO position. Wouldn't it be a dream come true for Camila to see her beloved first love rise to the top?

Oliver clutched the CEO position transfer document tightly, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

Yet, he feigned a selfless and righteous posture, saying, "Mr. Langley, are you offering me the CEO position in a moment of anger? Please don't misunderstand. Camila was just trying to help me catch up on the schedule by lending a hand. It's all for the sake of Winthrop Group.

"Besides, how dare I replace you? You're a veteran of the group. The CEO position is not something a newcomer like me can aspire to. Everyone knows how dedicated you've been to the company all these years. The CEO position rightfully belongs to you."

As he spoke, Oliver made a gesture to return the transfer document to me.

But his hand remained firmly pressed against the document as if afraid I would actually take it back.

Seeing his two-faced act, I smiled faintly, "Why would I be angry? You're a highly educated overseas returnee. I'm overjoyed to have fresh blood in the group. I have complete confidence in you as CEO."

Camila gave me a suspicious look, then snorted coldly, "Oliver, since he's offering to step down, just accept it. With your capabilities, the CEO position would be yours sooner or later anyway. There's no question of whether you're worthy or not. Everyone's here, so they can all be witnesses."

As soon as she finished speaking, Oliver immediately stopped refusing and hugged the transfer document tightly, his eyes almost overflowing with greed.

Watching him, I sneered inwardly.

Camila, spending all her time flirting with Oliver, had no idea how technically challenging the Oldom project indeed was.

I had spent an entire year tackling it, finally achieving a breakthrough in the formation control algorithm for desert environments.

But they didn't know that the core program was still on my encrypted hard drive, not yet handed over. Even if they stole it, without the basic annotations, it would take them half a year just to crack the code.

Without me, how could they possibly pull off an aerial performance with tens of thousands of drones? The drone swarm they saw as a gold mine would turn into a man-eating locust swarm!

Besides, Oliver probably didn't realize that the CEO position wasn't all sunshine and roses. Mastering the core technology also meant shouldering all the responsibility.

For this Oldom project, the down payment alone was five million dollars. If the performance failed, not only would they have to pay back the full amount, but they would also face the wrath of the royal family.

Not to mention the fierce competition in this industry, rivals could completely crush the company because of one wrong move.

Since they considered me useless, there was no need for me to remind them kindly. The day the project failed would be the day the Winthrop family faced utter ruin.

Camila seemed a bit sheepish seeing me so readily step down.

With a simulated cough and a haughty tone, she said, "Alright, Rylan, you can stop standing there. You'll need to hand over your work anyway. We're celebrating Oliver's success tonight. Since you're being so understanding, you can come along."

Her condescending tone almost made me laugh. If the Oldom project succeeded, the bonus would be at least tens of millions of dollars. They cut me out of the profit-sharing, and now they think a meal will make it all okay? What a joke!

The thought of dining with a weasel-like Oliver made me sick. I was about to decline when Oliver chimed in, feigning sincerity.

"Oh dear, Mr. Langley wasn't around when I booked the private room, so I forgot to reserve you a seat. It's my fault for not being thorough. I may have sprained my ankle today, but I should still take responsibility. Please have a seat. I'll go get a chair from outside and buy some drinks."

I knew he was deliberately playing the victim, trying to score points with the Winthrop family.

As expected, Camila immediately fussed over him, her voice full of concern as she guided him to a chair.

"Oliver, you've done more than enough for the company. Such a huge project relies entirely on you. How can we let you do these errands?"

She then shot me a disgusted look. "What are you waiting for? Don't you have any common sense after all these years at the company? Either go buy the drinks, or don't bother coming!"

Her blatant double standards made me scoff inwardly. It was Camila, always taking me for granted. Back in the company, I worked day and night but was never included in any team dinners. Now they act like they're doing me a favor.

Oliver, pushing his luck, said with a smug grin, "Mr. Langley, I'm so sorry to trouble you. I'll make sure to toast you properly later..."

Before he could finish, I let out a cold laugh and kicked the leather executive chair right out from under him.