Chapter 8 The Leader of The New Government

• Hitting the jackpot?
• Everyone in the conference room, except Austin, was surprised at Old Mrs. Brigham's words.
• "Old Mrs. Brigham, what do you mean? Tell us!" asked one of the managers eagerly.
• "I got a confirmed insider's news that Fairville and Cloudsdell are merging," said Old Mrs. Brigham in a more serious tone after she gained her poise.
• Bam!
• Everyone in the conference room, both the Brigham family members and the company executives, went into chaos.
• They might be more skeptical if they learned the news from someone else. However, if Old Mrs. Brigham, the leader of the Brigham family, said so, it must be true because she would not announce it otherwise.
• "Damn! That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
• "I know, right? The Brigham Corporation will make a boatload of money if we grab the chance!"
• "Merging the two cities would attract many new businesses and need plenty of buildings. This would be our golden opportunity as a real estate company."
• Everyone's eyes were gleaming with hope and cheering with joy.
• Finally, the Brigham family members and the company executives saw eye to eye for the first time.
• They were excited about the company's bright prospects like they already saw pots of gold in front of them.
• "Indeed, there will be many opportunities when the cities merge, but it will not be as easy as you think. So, if you have any suggestions, please speak up," said Old Mrs. Brigham. She was more chill than everyone else in the room.
• "Mitchel, as the company's future leader, why don't you start first?"
• As the company's future leader, Mitchel could not help but hold his head high, ready to impress everyone in the conference room with his superb leadership skill.
• "Of course, Brigham Corporation would take part in the process of merging the two cities. Even though the competition would be fierce, I think we would still earn a lot even if we get some of the small projects."
• Mitchel thought everyone would agree with him or even applaud his remarkable insights. Instead, however, everyone stayed silent.
• "What? Did I say something wrong?" asked Mitchel in confusion.
• All the Brigham family members lowered their heads and avoided Mitchel's eyes while the executives gaped at Mitchel like he was a fool.
• Meanwhile, Old Mrs. Brigham's eyes were blazed with fury and disappointment.
• "There will be business opportunities worth billions of dollars when the cities merge. Yet, you are only aiming for small projects. That's very short-sighted of you," said Deborah.
• She merely stated her opinion on Mitchel's statement, even though she did not always get along with him.
• "Mitchel, I'm very disappointed with you," said Old Mrs. Brigham sternly.
• "You'd rather settle for tiny projects and scrape for leftovers from other companies instead of aiming for major projects?"
• Even though Old Mrs. Brigham was old in age, she was still very ambitious to bring the Brigham Corporation to the next level.
• She wanted to give Mitchel a boost in the company, but Mitchel had ruined his chance with his ridiculous remark.
• "Deborah, what do you think?" asked Old Mrs. Brigham.
• She had known Deborah's ability for the past four years. She was impressed with Deborah's calm and diligent work ethic.
• Otherwise, she would not be trying hard to play matchmaking for Deborah and Mitchel because that was the only way to keep someone as excellent as Deborah in the family.
• Deborah thought for a while. Then, she stood up from her chair.
• "When the cities merge, a new government will be formed and a new leader will be elected. If we want to get hold of the latest information, we should find out who would be the leader of the new government and get closer to him. Then, we would know the insider's information faster than other corporations. That would put us in a better position in planning," said Deborah.
• "Deborah, that is an excellent idea." Old Mrs. Brigham was very pleased with Deborah's opinion.
• Hearing Old Mrs. Brigham's compliments for Deborah, the rest of the Brigham family members looked at Deborah disapprovingly.
• It bugged them very much when Old Mrs. Brigham liked Deborah.
• In their eyes, Deborah Wright was not blood-related.
• The only reason she could be part of the management team of the Brigham Corporation was that she was married to the useless Austin and Richard placed her in the company before he passed away.
• There was no way Deborah should be equal to them and steal their power.
• Leah was incredibly jealous when Old Mrs. Brigham praised Deborah, but she could not refute Deborah's words because she was unfamiliar with the business.
• However, that did not stop her from bullying Deborah's useless husband.
• So, Leah looked at Austin with an evil spark in her eyes.
• "Austin, do you have anything to share with us?" said Leah with a fake smile.
• She even raised her voice so everyone would turn their attention to Austin.
• In her eyes, Austin was just a cook in a military camp, and he would be completely ignorant of a business as big as theirs.
• Leah was hoping to humiliate Austin by asking for his opinion.
• "Yes. You should share your thoughts if you are in the meeting."
• "Mind you. This is nothing like cooking in a kitchen."
• "Remember, you are Richard's son. Don't embarrass him."
• The rest of the Brigham family members mocked.
• Deborah looked at Austin helplessly, hoping he would not embarrass himself.
• Austin knew they were trying to give him a hard time, as he anticipated. So, he remained calm amid the humiliations.
• It was nothing compared to what Austin had faced on the battlefields.
• "If the Brigham Corporation wants to keep ahead of the competition, we should improve ourselves and build a good reputation. As long as we are competent in our services and products, we will stand out from competitors. Shenanigans would not help us to earn business."
• The rest of the Brigham family members did not approve of Austin's words, even though he was right. They thought Austin just agreed with Deborah to butter her up.
• "You two are so good at empty words. Do you really think you could get insider information? Do you even know the leader of the new government? How would you get the upper hand if you don't know the new leader?" said Leah snarkily, with a smirk on her face.
• Looking at Leah's expression, Old Mrs. Brigham had lived long enough to know what was playing in her mind.
• Leah's father worked with the city council.
• Leah must have learned some news from her father.
• "Leah, tell me. Who is the leader of the new government?" asked Old Mrs. Brigham.
• Everyone immediately listened attentively, waiting for Leah to reveal the new leader's name.
• Leah did not answer immediately. Instead, she tried to keep the suspense, looking at everyone in the conference room. Then, she announced proudly.
• "Alright, I'll tell you all, for Granny and Mitchel's sake. My dad told me, and of course he is telling the truth, that the new leader is also a Brigham!"