As soon as he finished speaking, someone slammed his fist on the table.
Rex’s heart clenched as he stood frozen in his spot with his hands stuck to his sides.
“If you knew, then why did you go against my order?” Jonathan glanced at the furious Alfred and demanded, “Rex, I trusted you enough to put you in charge of the medicinal herbs business. How could you do this? What is your explanation?”
Rex promptly owned up to his mistake. “It was all my fault, Mr. Queen. I shall apologize to Dr. Jarvis personally and arrange for the delivery of the medicinal herbs they need as soon as possible!”
Jonathan pinned him with a withering stare. “Are you trying to brush me off by saying it was all your fault?”
Rex was a trusted subordinate of his. After he learned that it was Rex who refused to help Roxanne, his first thought was that someone had used Rex. Hence, he summoned Rex to get to the bottom of things.
Never in his wildest dreams did he know Rex would try to brush him off!
He knew why I asked him to come but refused to reveal the culprit.
“Mr. Queen, I…” Rex was in a dilemma.
They were both his superiors, so he dared not offend any of them and planned to shoulder the responsibility himself. However, he had no idea Jonathan insisted on knowing who the culprit was.
“Who ordered you to do it? Spill the truth. I want to know who in Queen Group dared to defy my orders!” Alfred declared furiously.
Hearing that, Rex was close to tears.
If I reveal the person right now, Old Mr. Queen will definitely punish her! I don’t dare to do that.
As he didn’t utter a word, Alfred harrumphed unhappily. “Since you refuse to say anything, I’ll assume it was your idea.”
He whipped his head around and told Jonathan, “He works for you, so you can decide what to do with him!”
Rex didn’t want to be held accountable for such a huge mistake, so he immediately protested, “No, Old Mr. Queen. I dare not do that!”
“Who is it then?” Jonathan rose to his feet and glowered at him. The chilling aura surrounding his body was almost palpable.
Rex lowered his head and revealed cautiously, “It is Ms. Frieda.”
Frieda?
Hearing that, Jonathan and Alfred could barely hide their shock. They couldn’t understand why Frieda would do something detrimental to the Queen family when she was one of them.
Besides, Frieda was present when Roxanne cured Alfred’s condition. She should know that the Queen family owed Roxanne more than anyone else.
“Ms. Frieda told me it was your order, so I didn’t think much about it. I only realized it wasn’t your order when you called me earlier.” Rex was filled with remorse. “Mr. Queen, I didn’t mean to defy your order. I dare not do so!”
Jonathan gave him a dismissive wave in irritation. “Got it. Next time, ask for my instructions whenever it is anything that concerns Dr. Jarvis.”
Rex promptly reassured him that he would do that.
“Remember to arrange for the delivery of the medicinal herbs that Dr. Jarvis’ research institute need as soon as you get back. I’ll call Dr. Jarvis to check if she receives it,” Jonathan ordered. “You should also apologize to her.”
“Yes,” came Rex’s answer.
With that, Jonathan told Rex to leave.
Soon, only Alfred and Jonathan were left in the living room.
Their expressions were dark when they recalled Rex’s words.
When Roxanne first showed up, Jonathan realized Frieda didn’t like her, but he didn’t know Frieda would cause trouble for Roxanne in public.
Why is Frieda so insensible?
“Grandpa, what should I do next?” Jonathan sought Alfred’s advice as he was at a loss.
Alfred was boiling with anger.
He had no idea that it was one of their own who nearly destroyed Queen Group’s reputation! In fact, the culprit was his granddaughter!
“Ask her to come back now! That spoiled brat is bold enough to do anything now, huh?” Alfred huffed.
Jonathan nodded and gave Frieda a call.
Frieda had expected his call, so she answered the call calmly, “Jonathan, what is it?”
Furious, Jonathan declared, “How dare you ask me that? Come back home now!”
Frieda rolled her eyes in disdain and replied slowly, “Got it. I’ll go home now.”
Before Jonathan could say anything else, she hung up.
I didn’t do anything wrong. Jonathan got angry for nothing.
However, she felt guilty for doing that behind Jonathan’s back.
Back in the Queen residence, Jonathan shot his phone a death stare.
Around half an hour later, Frieda arrived and strode into the house cockily. She only put her arrogance aside when she realized Alfred was sitting on the couch.
“You are here, Grandpa,” Frieda greeted Alfred with a pang of guilt.
Alfred threw her a displeased look and scoffed.
Frieda rubbed her nose idly and made to join them on the couch.
“Stand right there!” Jonathan snapped.
Frieda halted in her tracks unwillingly. As Alfred was around, she returned to her spot and stood there silently.
“Do you know why I asked you to come home?” Jonathan demanded.
Frieda pursed her lips and feigned ignorance. “I don’t know. I was shopping when you asked me to come back. Why are you upset?”
Jonathan wore a wintry expression. “Did you order Rex not to provide medicinal herbs to Dr. Jarvis’ research institute?”
Frieda nodded indifferently.
Seeing her response, Alfred and Jonathan shared a look of confusion.
Ever since Frieda first met Roxanne, she had been at odds with the latter.
Her grudge nearly caused Queen Group’s reputation to take a fall, but she didn’t think she was wrong.
“Why did you do that?” Jonathan furrowed his brows.
Frieda pretended to be surprised. “Jonathan, don’t you know that all the medicinal herb suppliers have been warned by Farwell Group not to supply any medicinal herbs to Roxanne? If we continue supplying medicinal herbs to her, we’re announcing that we’re going against Farwell Group!”
A flash of surprise appeared in Jonathan’s gaze.
No wonder Roxanne said all the other medicinal herb suppliers stopped supplying the research institute with medicinal herbs when she came here in the morning. However, she didn’t explain why. It turns out that Farwell Group was behind it.
Jonathan recalled that Lucian and Roxanne seemed to be on good terms previously. In fact, Lucian defended Roxanne more than once. Thus, he couldn’t understand why Roxanne was targeted.
As he frowned in puzzlement, Frieda added, “Mrs. Farwell didn’t say anything to us as we’re close to them. But since we’re working closely with Farwell Group, shouldn’t we side with them? We will be going against Mrs. Farwell if we insist on providing medicinal herbs to Roxanne’s research institute as per our promise. If Mrs. Farwell gets upset, she might cause trouble for us!”
Jonathan’s frown deepened. “Are you saying that Mrs. Farwell gave the order? Why did she do that?”
Frieda shot him a smug grin. “You don’t know about this, huh? Roxanne is Lucian’s ex-wife, and Mrs. Farwell didn’t like her at all. It so happened that—”
It so happened that I hated her, too. Thus, I took the chance to teach her a lesson.
Before Frieda could finish her sentence, Jonathan had guessed her intention. He leaped up from the couch abruptly.
Frieda’s voice trailed off in shock.
“Shut up! You’re part of the Queen family. How could you say that? If word gets out, people will definitely laugh at us. Queen Group has built its reputation painstakingly over the years, so there is no need to take sides to show our stance!” Jonathan stormed over to her and threw her a glare.
Frieda took two steps back subconsciously as she defended herself, “Did I say anything wrong? If Queen Group lands into trouble because we go against Farwell Group, that will be a huge crisis!”
Jonathan felt his temples throbbing. Clenching his jaw, he admonished, “Do you know why Queen Group can stand tall for over a century?”
Frieda hung her head low and said nothing.
“That’s because we deliver what we promise!” Jonathan shot her a disappointed look. “If we give up on our principle easily because of personal matters, Queen Group will lose the credibility to do business in the medical industry!”
Frieda cowered back and glanced at Alfred cautiously. She said humbly, “Jonathan, I’m doing this for Queen Group’s sake. No company in Horington dares to go against Farwell Group! Mrs. Farwell warned every medicinal herb supplier in Horington to stay away from Roxanne. If we don’t do the same, how will she think of us? Our relationship with Farwell Group might take a toll. It isn’t worth the risk.”
She then glanced at Jonathan to gauge his reaction.
Jonathan stared at her icily and waited for her to devise more excuses to justify her foolish actions.
“Don’t you know what Roxanne did to the Farwell family six years ago? She deserves to get punished for her irresponsible actions.” Frieda tried to add fuel to the fire.
Right after she said that, Jonathan let out an icy snort.
Frieda’s heart leaped to her throat as she shot him a perplexed look.
“You remember what Dr. Jarvis did to the Farwell family six years ago, so I believe you still remember how Dr. Jarvis cured Grandpa a while ago.” The more Frieda spoke, the more ridiculous Jonathan felt. He promptly exposed Frieda’s lousy excuse.
Taken aback, Frieda turned to look at Alfred instinctively.
Based on what Jonathan said, it was clear that Alfred had made up his mind.
“Grandpa…” Frieda’s voice softened when she belatedly realized that she should act coy to Alfred.
After hearing her excuses, Alfred was puzzled and exhausted.
He had treated his grandchildren equally over the years and taught them personally.
However, Frieda grew up as an ungrateful young lady with extreme behavior.
Does she not respect me at all?
Disappointment flooded Alfred’s heart as he gave Frieda a crestfallen look. “Don’t turn to me. Dr. Jarvis saved my life, and I made that clear during the banquet that we should treat Dr. Jarvis as our family. How could you do that to her?”
Frieda hurriedly explained, “Grandpa, you’ve gotten it wrong. I—”
Alfred interjected, “Will you admit to your mistake?” His voice was stern as he stared at her intently.
Frieda fell silent, but the fear on her face turned to indignance.
Indeed, she had her reason for doing that, but she also did it for the sake of Queen Group. How dare they question me now? They will realize they are wrong when Farwell Group causes trouble for them in the future!
As she didn’t seem to regret her actions, Alfred shook his head in disappointment. “From today onward, you aren’t allowed to interfere in Queen Group’s business anymore. Jonathan will be in charge of Queen Group solely.”
Frieda’s head whipped up in shock at her grandfather’s words.
Before she could protest, Alfred gestured for Jonathan to take him upstairs. He didn’t want to stay back and listen to her nonsense.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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