Marcus told me to take a seat, then got up to turn on the projector. “Let me introduce the person who just came in with me. This is Sienna Stanhope. I have appointed her as White Corporation’s project director, and she will be in charge of the company’s AI project from now on.”
A commotion broke out in the meeting room in an instant. Someone questioned, “Mr. White, even though the project director’s position is currently empty, White Corporation isn’t like other small companies. Not anyone can take on this role. Besides, we’re all here today to discuss if we should continue with the research on AI. We haven’t even finished our discussion and yet you have already made a decision. Don’t you think you’re being a little hasty, Mr. White?”
Marcus nodded his head slowly and raised his brows. “Am I?” He smirked, showing his unruly side. “It seems like all of you are used to being overambitious. That’s why you think the people you recommended are more competent, isn’t it? This isn’t a problem for me. If you feel that you have someone who is much more capable than Sienna to take on this responsibility, you can make your recommendations anytime. My only goal is for AI to be introduced to our country’s market within a year.”
Someone replied, “Does that mean we won’t be discussing whether we’re continuing with the AI project?”
He nodded. “Yes. Within a year, if all of you decide that Sienna isn’t suitable to manage this project, you can recommend someone else. But I expect to see results in a year. Otherwise, don’t waste my time.”
“Alright!” Sally said. The soft demeanor she had at the White residence was nowhere to be seen, and she resembled a lady boss as she spoke. “We’ve already invested billions in this AI project after all. Not only that, but we’ve also spent so much time and energy on it, so of course it would be great news if Ms. Stanhope is capable of producing the results we want. And if she isn’t, we can just cancel this project.”
For a second, the people in the meeting room exchanged glances with each other before they started to discuss among themselves. After a moment, someone finally said, “Since Ms. Featherstone has said so, let’s just give it a try. It would great if we manage to achieve our goal. However, if we fail, half of White Corporation’s assets will go to waste, and Ms. Stanhope will have to compensate for that.”
I got up and assured them, “If I can’t make any progress with the AI project after a year, I will bear the losses that White Corporation suffered due to the project.”
“Hah!” someone snorted. “Which prominent family are you from, Ms. Stanhope? Did you come to White Corporation to experience life? White Corporation invests at least a billion per year in AI research. It’s easy for you to say that you’ll bear the losses for it. But the corporation will still be the one paying if you leave by then.”
Unperturbed by his harsh words, I put on a faint smile. “I’m willing to hand over HiTech to you as collateral. If none of you believe me, we can sign a contract. In the case that our AI research doesn’t make any progress after a year, then HiTech will be placed under the ownership of White Corporation through acquisition. How about it?”
Even though HiTech wasn’t considered a big company, the new products they developed were hot sellers, and the source of Featherstone Corporation’s profit came mostly from HiTech.
Back when George put HiTech under my name, he wanted to make sure that Anthony and I would be entangled for the rest of our lives. If I wanted to get a divorce, I had to make sure that I wasn’t the legal owner of the company anymore. But this process was extremely troublesome.
Everyone in the room began murmuring among themselves except for Sally. She glanced at me as she said, “From what I know, Ms. Stanhope, even though you’re the wife of Featherstone Corporation’s president, you don’t have the rights over HiTech. Don’t you think you’re being a little too ambitious here?”
“You might not know this, Ms. Featherstone, but while HiTech is indeed under the Featherstone Corporation, George already arranged a lawyer to transfer the company to me before he passed on two years ago. To be precise, I’m the legal owner of HiTech. Although it is under the Featherstone Corporation, it doesn’t legally belong to the Featherstone family.”
Her face darkened, but she said nothing else.
All of them could not find anything to pick on after they heard what I said. If HiTech was under the White Corporation, there would be more technical resources available. At the same time, the company would rise to a whole new level.
No one would reject such a great advantage.
After leaving the meeting room, Sally blocked my path and said, “Let’s have a chat, Sienna.”
She probably wants to talk about HiTech. I nodded and took a glance at Marcus. “Let’s get lunch together later.”
He nodded. “I’ll wait for you.”
The woman frowned unhappily when she saw our exchange. After Marcus left, she asked, “Shall we talk in my office?”
I nodded. “Alright.”
Her office was nicely decorated with lots of flowers. Once we were in there, she gestured for me to sit down and poured me a cup of coffee.
Then, she sat down in her chair. Instead of talking about HiTech, she asked, “How are you and Anthony doing recently?”
Since she was an elder to me, it didn’t seem inappropriate for her to ask that question. I answered indifferently, “We don’t meet, nor do we poke our noses into each other’s business.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything in response. After pausing for a moment, Sally asked, “What are your plans now?”
“I’m not sure yet.” I had been giving her somewhat lukewarm reactions so far, and she seemed unsatisfied with them. However, she didn’t say much about it. “Both you and Anthony are husband and wife. No matter what mistake the other party made, you should solve the problem and stay by each other’s side. You shouldn’t hold grudges and force the other party to leave!”
She harped on earnestly, “I know that you’ve gone through a lot, Sienna. But you have to talk it out. We’re a family, not enemies. You shouldn’t carry all these burdens alone. You can hate Anthony all you want, but you’re still his wife. And when you’re living under the same roof, you have to solve the problems you’re facing. You can’t just run from them, Sienna.”
I lowered my gaze as I started feeling annoyed. She was right, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to stand living in the same house as Anthony.
Seeing that Sally was about to say something else, I quickly said, “Aunt Sally, we’re at work right now. Let’s talk about private stuff at home, alright? You called me here to talk about the company’s matters, right?”
There wasn’t any problem with what she said. In fact, I could understand her reasoning and even agreed that she was right. But things were always easier said than done.
Sally stopped talking about this matter when she saw that I was getting impatient. After sighing slightly, she said, “Alright, then. We’ll talk about the company’s matters. Do you know what the consequences would be if you use HiTech as collateral and there is no progress after a year?”
I raised my brows. “Are you thinking for the Featherstone family or the White family? If you’re concerned about the former, don’t worry, Aunt Sally. I obviously already have a plan in mind if I had the guts to make that suggestion. Besides, George already handed over the company to me before he passed on, so I have full discretion over it. It’s my own business, to put it bluntly.”
A displeased look appeared on her face once I was done talking. “Dad handed over HiTech to you only because he trusted you and hoped that you could make it a better company. He also wanted you and Anthony to be together for the rest of your lives. He didn’t give you the company just to let you put it at stake so hastily,” she said in a low voice.
Seeing that she was getting worked up, I got to my feet and retorted, “You said it yourself that George trusts me. Since it’s my decision to make, it’s not something that other people or even George can control. After all, never doubt the person you hire.”
“You—”
“Sorry, I still have an appointment in the afternoon, so I’ll take my leave now.” I wasn’t a good person, and I had no right to judge whether someone was good or bad. After all, everyone’s experience in life was different. Therefore, I could only endure the hardships I experienced. As for everyone else, I would never be able to fathom their suffering, nor did I want to.
I headed straight to Marcus’ office after leaving Sally’s.
The man was in his seat, looking really bored.
Upon seeing me, he raised a brow as he asked, “What did you talk about?”
“Relationships!” I sat down on the couch and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water to suppress the irritation I was feeling.
His lips twitched. “Did she manage to convince you?”
I looked up at him and replied, “Do you think I would be convinced so easily?”
He pursed his lips. “That’s hard to say.”
Marcus paused for a while before adding, “I know you really love Anthony. Wouldn’t you regret it if you just gave him up like that?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “How were you able to tell that I love him?”
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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