She was terrified of Elyette. Her two children were her weaknesses, and if she was left with no other option, she would give Elyette a child. She would never let him have Hayden and Layla.
“Mom, why did he ask if you want to get married?” Layla asked.
Tammy burst out laughing and explained, “Your mom tried on a wedding dress today, and she looked so alluring and beautiful! That dirtbag Elyette probably saw the photo and was attracted to your mom.”
Averie blushed. “Tammy, don’t post any photos of me on social media from now on.”
“He’s not my friend on social media, so it’s probably Chad or Jun who sent it to him! I just realized how nosy these men can be. They are even worse than us women!”
Averie deshelled the shrimp for the children when the screen of her phone lit up. Seeing Elyette’ s name on the screen, she took off the disposable gloves.
She unlocked the screen and saw the message from Elyette. It was the name of a hotel and a room number.
The message was simple. It was telling her to compensate him.
Averie scowled and replied, [Not tonight.)
Elyette replied swiftly once the message was sent, and she could picture the rage on his face when she read his reply.
(I’m not negotiating with you, I’m commanding you.)
That was his reply. She stared at each of the words in his message with composure and replied.
(Have you forgotten that women get menstruation? Or are you going to do it despite the blood?
(Still want to?]
[‘Are you challenging me?] Elyette replied.
Averie dared not answer his question. Naturally, she would not have the courage to actually challenge him. She feared that he might actually tell her to spend the night with him despite the blood.
On the second floor of the restaurant, Elyette set his phone down when Averie did not reply.
No one dared to whisper a word when he was texting. The conversation only picked up again when he set his phone down.
“Mr. Foster, that lady downstairs is the CEO of Tate Industries, am I right?”
“That’s her. There are photos of her on the internet. It came up right away when I searched for her.” The person next to him showed everyone the photo he had found online. “Do you all know Wanda Tate? She used to be Averie’s stepmother. After Jack Tate’s death, the two of them had a falling out because of the inheritance they were to receive. Now, Wanda has returned to the country and started investing in the drone industry. It appears that she wants to beat Averie.”
“Who do you think would win?”
“It’s hard to say. They both produce drones, but they have different target consumers. Averie aims for high-end users, whereas Wanda, targets low-end users. If Wanda succeeds, of course, she would be the one who earns more.”
“My vote is with Wanda as well. She’s rather successful overseas, and it’s not hard to tell that she has the mind for business. Mr. Foster, what do you think?”
Everyone focused on Elyette.
He pressed a button on his phone and the screen lit up, but there was still no reply from Averie.
“Are you all investing your money with Wanda Tate?” Elyette’s eyes gleamed sharply as he drawled, “I’m not a stakeholder to either one of them, so I don’t care how they are doing.”
“Oh… I haven’t started investing with Wanda yet, but I’m considering it. I was just wondering if you have any suggestions, Mr. Foster.”
The casual expression faded from Elyette’s face as he said sternly, “The trùly capable would never try to seek investments from those around them. Make up your own mind about what you want to do with your money.”
Elyette ended the dinner early, and when he came down to the first floor, he looked over to where Averie was seated, but there was no one there.
Was she in such a hurry to leave and avoid him?
Time flew by, and soon it was Monday. It was the day of Starry River Kindergarten’s physical examination.
A black Bonz was parked beneath the shade of the tree in the parking lot. Rosalie was waiting anxiously inside the car.
The blood examination was a ploy. It was staged so that she could get a blood sample from Hayden.
Rosalie was worried that he might not cooperate. If he did not, they could not forcefully take his blood, and things would get more complicated.
After an hour or so, a nurse was seen hurrying toward the parking lot.
Rosalie beamed and thought to herself, “Did it work?!”
The nurse walked over to the car and handed a blood sample to Rosalie.
“It went smoothly?” Rosalie accepted the vial of blood in joy.
The nurse nodded. “His sister was afraid of the pain, so he did the blood test to set an example for his sister. The siblings are really close.”
Rosalie was only interested in Hayden. Layla did not look like Elyette at all, and she had heard that Layla was the child Averie had had with another man.
Even if Hayden was Elyette’s son, Rosalie did not intend on accepting Averie. How would people view Elyette if they were to accept Averie, a woman who had given birth to another man’s child?
She placed the vial away carefully and shut the car door.
The car headed toward the medical center that performed the DNA test. Once they arrived, Rosalie handed the blood samples of Elyette and Hayden to the staff.
“How long until the results are out?”
“Usually three working days. We will inform you as soon as the results are out,” said a member of the staff.
Rosalie could barely contain her excitement but nodded regardless.
Meanwhile, in Tate Industries, it was time for the weekly meeting.
“President Tate, Wanda Tate is making quite some noise on her end!” said the vice-president. “She has acquired three companies in a single swoop. She also has started the restructuring process, but the scariest thing is that she has already gained fifteen hundred million dollars. The investors seem rather confident in her ability.”
“A friend of mine started working there, and according to him, Wanda Tate is wildly ambitious. She intends to become the leading drone manufacturer in the field. She plans on opening up the market by selling her drones at lower prices, and then she will move into luxury items once she established a client base. Finally, she will push our company out of the industry,” said another manager.
Mike smirked in contempt. “Let her try, then! Let’s see if she really can bring us down!”
“President Tate, what do you think? Should we do something?” The vice-president looked at Averie and said, “I’m confident with our products, but we also need to plan ahead and take precautions.”
Averie nodded. “Let’s wait for their next move for now… If they really do lower their prices, then we know that they will throw more money into marketing. This might help her quickly secure her clientele, but how will she profit from it. One wrong move and it’s game over.”
Mike nodded. “One could say that if they were to take too large a step, they would rip their pants.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Averie took a sip of coffee and asked, “Did she really manage to gather fifteen hundred million?
“That is what she said at the meeting. Even if that’s not entirely true, I think that she has to at least have one hundred million to say that.”
Averie nodded and asked, “Are our drones too expensive?”
“Not really. With reference to our drones’ quality, it is a reasonable price. However, despite the growing population in Aryadelle, most people only earn a few thousand each month, so naturally, it would be considered expensive for them to buy a drone that costs them thousands.
Averie set her coffee down and looked at the others. “Let us stick to our plan. They can’t bring us down unless they manage to develop a better Al system than ours. Let’s not fret for now and focus on our products.”
“We feel so assured that you say that!”
It was still shocking that Wanda managed to gather fifteen hundred million in such a short period of time.
After the meeting had ended, the vice-president walked over to Averie and whispered,” President Tate, I heard that Elyette Foster has also invested in Wanda’s company. I assume it’s quite a lot of money, otherwise, Wanda wouldn’t have managed to gather fifteen hundred million so quickly.”
Averie desperately wanted to pretend that she did not care, but she could not help the frown on her face.
“If Elyette Foster is truly the one supporting Wanda, then it’s certain that her company would succeed. The only question remaining is to what extent would it succeed.” The vice-president was slightly pessimistic. “President Tate, weren’t you in a relationship with Elyette Foster? How could he do that?”
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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