Chapter 27 – His Second Chance Love: The Freezing Silence

When I thought about my plans for this period of time, I began to feel conflicted. It would have been so much easier if Anthony remained cold and impassive to me like he always did. However, his attitude toward me had taken a drastic turn recently, causing me to have second thoughts.

If I leave now, would my child and I be missing out on something good?

“Anthony, when Parker died, you promised you’d take care of Rylee. Don’t you think you’re breaking your promise to him by treating Rylee like that? Have you ever considered Rylee’s feelings? Besides, that woman Sienna isn’t even compatible with you, no?” The voice that spoke was anxious and rushed. I could instantly tell that it belonged to Joe.

I wasn’t eavesdropping, but they just happened to walk in. Not to mention, Joe spoke so loudly, so it was inevitable.

Anthony and Joe entered the office just then. Upon seeing me, Anthony raised his brows. “When did you arrive?”

“Just now.” I gave Joe a sidelong glance and spied the indifferent look on his face.

“Two companies under HiTech will be launching new products this month. Follow up with them and keep tabs on OrbitTech as well,” Anthony said to me. He took a file from his table and handed it to me before continuing, “Also, the company’s annual review is approaching. Our contract with AC Credit is ending, so go check with finance. If we need to continue the collaboration, follow up with them. If not, go to Harrison Credit and discuss it with their boss, Nick Harrison.”

“Hasn’t everything with AC Credit been going well? Why switch to another audit firm?” Joe interjected and asked in confusion, “Besides, Harrison Credit is only a recently established small company. Letting them handle Featherstone Corporation’s complicated financial structure is risky. If something goes wrong, things will get messy.”

Without answering Joe, Anthony said to me, “Look over these documents. Find Joseph if you have any questions.”

I wordlessly took the documents from him, but I shared the same worries as Joe. Hesitating for a moment, I finally decided to voice it out. “Mr. Featherstone, I was previously in charge of constructions. HiTech is an electronic technology company, and I’ve never once handled the company’s audit. Joseph has always been the one who handled these things, so I think it’s better if he continues doing it.”

Anthony’s eyes pierced through me as he frowned. “Ms. Stanhope, are you clear about your responsibilities as a director?”

Slightly stunned, I nodded at him. “I am, but…”

“No buts. Since you’re a director as well as a shareholder of the company, you are entitled to familiarize yourself with any part of the company.”

With that, he looked at Joe and began giving him his orders.

I held the documents, aware that there was no way for me to back out of this. I also realized that the workload this time was unusually heavy.

Back in my office, I called for Stacey and got her to make the arrangements for me to her best capabilities. During this period of time, we had to observe HiTech’s market, so we would probably be very busy for the upcoming days.

Since I was now in charge of the company’s audit, I went to the Finance Department to check things out. I was shocked to find that the internal audit had already begun.

Isabelle Leek, the person in charge of the Finance Department, handed me all the company accounts. “These are all the accounts up until now, Ms. Stanhope. Take a look at them. This year’s audit will include Mr. Quinn’s side of things as well, so the workload will be heavier. Mr. Featherstone intends to let Harrison Credit handle the external audit this year.”

Flipping through the ledgers, I nodded and felt a headache brewing behind my eyes. “Alright, I understand. I’ll look through these first. Also, can you sort out a copy of AC Credit’s audited data from the previous years for me?”

“Sure!”

After that, I went back to my office with the documents. Stacey settled some things before coming in only to see me with my head buried in a stack of documents. “Ms. Stanhope, the president of AC Credit, Mr. Thomas Lowe, just called. He wants to meet with you.”

If AC Credit and Featherstone Corporation stopped collaborating, there would probably be a loss of millions. Hence, I wasn’t surprised that he was anxious to meet me. However, Anthony wanted to end their collaboration. Perhaps something happened in between which I wasn’t aware of, but I had no time to spare for Thomas Lowe.

Directing my gaze at Stacey, I ordered, “Just tell him I’m busy. One other thing, contact the president of Harrison Credit for me. I need to meet him. Look up the companies which were recently audited by Harrison Credit as well.”

“Okay!” After Stacey left, I buried myself in my work once again.

In the blink of an eye, it was already evening. My back was sore and my whole body felt stiff from sitting for so long. I stood and walked out of my office, finding that there was no one in the office area.

I made a cup of coffee and went back to my office, planning to order takeout. It looked like I had to stay here and work overtime today.

“Shouldn’t you be packing up already?” A voice disrupted the silence, startling me slightly. I looked up and saw that it was Jared.

An involuntary smile appeared on my lips. “Well, you haven’t left yet either.”

He smiled vaguely and handed me the lunch box in his hand. “This soup was just prepared by Devon. It’s good for your health.”

Surprise filled me as I peered at him. “Thank you.”

We weren’t all that familiar with each other, so I thought that he’d leave right after this. To my surprise, he remained standing there. Unable to find anything to talk about, I simply kept silent.

“Did Anthony put you in charge of the company’s audit?” He searched for a place to sit down and asked me.

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t have much experience with this, so it’s a bit of a headache for me.”

He seemed to fully agree, nodding his head quite a few times. “It has only one year since the company went public. There is a huge difference between this year’s audit and those from previous years. A slight mistake will cause the company stocks to plummet. In fact, many companies go bankrupt every year due to errors in their annual audits.”

He spoke earnestly, so I put down my work and glanced at him with a similar expression, to which he continued, “Furthermore, the audit company has been switched this year, so you have to be extra careful.”

This was his reminder to me.

“Anthony knows that auditing isn’t my strength. Why did he still put me in charge of this?” A single mistake would cost the entire Featherstone Corporation. The risk was too great, so I just couldn’t figure out Anthony’s intentions behind this decision.

Jared straightened up and looked at me. “If you do this right, the shares Old Mr. Featherstone left for you will be legally transferred to your name. You’d possess all the rights to those shares, and you wouldn’t just be a director. You’d become a partner of the company.”

After a brief pause, he adjusted his clothes and continued, “But if you mess this up, Featherstone Corporation will be in trouble, and you might also face the risk of leaving the company once and for all.”

My brows drew together, and I didn’t know what to say to that.

Is Anthony betting the entire Featherstone Corporation on me, or…

I didn’t allow myself to entertain the other possibility and closed the ledger in my hand. As I opened the soup he had brought, I glanced at him and asked, “I’ve taken over the matters regarding HiTech, but why does Anthony want me to keep tabs on OrbitTech?”

Jared frowned slightly as if in contemplation, and said after a few beats, “HiTech was acquired by Featherstone Corporation because of its cash flow issues. So far, Joe has been the one managing it. Now that it has been handed to you, perhaps Anthony wants you to get more exposure to new technologies. After all, there are policies in place. Soon, the country will support the development of internet and tech companies. In the future, Featherstone Corporation might mostly deal with new technologies, so maybe he wants you to familiarize yourself with these things in advance.”

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