I nodded and explained, “Macy and Jackson had departed to M Country a few days ago.”
He responded with a nod and stated, “Alright, if that’s the case, I’ll head out because I have something to deal with. I’ll be back and pick you up for dinner tonight.”
“That’s alright. I can drive!”
“Sienna Stanhope, have you gotten used to turning me down?”
Staring at Anthony’s downcast face, I murmured to myself, “N-No… I-It’s because…”
“Make sure you’re keeping your eyes on the road while you’re driving!” After he finished his so-called heads-up, he walked out of the house with a darkened expression.
He seemed to be angry, but I wasn’t sure of the reason behind it.
Anyway, I felt lightheaded after the series of confusing incidents I had to deal with within a day.
At seven o’clock in the evening, after I reached Imperial Hotel and parked my car, I headed over to the private dining room and made my way in before the designated time.
Apart from Anthony and Jared, there were two other figures in the spacious dining room. One was Felix, whom I had encountered a few days ago, and Thomas, the president of AC Credit.
“It has been a while, Mrs. Featherstone!” Thomas could be considered a close acquaintance of mine because we used to encounter one another back in the day on several occasions for our work.
After I nodded and greeted Thomas in return, I took a peek at Felix. I was clueless about the reason he was there when he was taken into custody by the cops a few days ago. Thus, it didn’t make any sense for him to be released within a few days.
Perhaps Stacey was right – the police officers were no match for the backings that were behind Felix.
With that being said, it would be close to impossible for a certain party to exert influence to such an extent in J City because it would take more than a fortune to get one’s way around the law with ease.
“Mrs. Featherstone, what a coincidence! I can’t believe we get to meet again so soon!” Felix greeted me with a bright grin, concealing the despicable side of his which he had shown in the restaurant back then.
He seemed like a completely different person altogether. In fact, he appeared to be a well-educated gentleman who could carry himself politely in front of others.
I returned the favor and responded with a nod and a smile.
Since everyone had arrived, Thomas got himself engaged in a conversation with Anthony after he instructed the waiter to serve us our meal.
Most of their topics were regarding their work, including the operations of Featherstone Corporation in J City. Thomas expressed AC Credit’s intention to be Featherstone Corporation’s external audit for the upcoming quarter.
Anthony looked elsewhere and replied nonchalantly, “Mr. Lowe, my wife is the one in charge of most of the operation of Featherstone Corporation in J City. Feel free to get in touch with her instead of me.”
I couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind Anthony’s words because I wasn’t given the task to oversee the operation of Featherstone Corporation in J City.
Although the headquarter of Featherstone Corporation had been relocated to K City, J City was one of the corporation’s bases of operations. In short, I would never be given such an important role.
On one hand, Jared, who was about to finish his glass of wine, paused and looked at me when he heard Anthony’s words. After he cast a skeptical glance at me, he regained his composure.
On the other hand, Thomas smiled and denoted, “I wouldn’t have any idea of the change if you hadn’t brought it up in front of me, Mr. Featherstone! It turns out Ms. Stanhope is the person in charge of Featherstone Corporation nowadays!”
I peered at Anthony in the eyes in an attempt to figure out his motives, but my effort was to no avail.
However, since Anthony indicated he wanted me to engage in a conversation with Thomas, I was pretty sure the topic would revolve around the audit of the corporation.
The things that should be discussed had been brought to light since the last quarter, though. I looked at Thomas and initiated the conversation, stating, “Mr. Lowe, I’m not trying to boycott your company, but the incident that has occurred during the last quarter has brought about a huge loss for Featherstone Corporation. As a result, I was no longer affiliated with the company. I will never allow myself to repeat the silly mistake twice.”
“Mrs. Featherstone, don’t worry! I won’t allow the same thing to happen twice either! In order to prove our sincerity, I have brought along Mr. Ludwick with me. He has always been in charge of Featherstone Corporation’s audits. Featherstone Corporation is in good hands with him around.” Thomas assured me everything would be fine as though he had been anticipating the occurrence of the conversation.
Judging by the tone of Thomas’ words, I couldn’t help but think Felix had a higher position in AC Credit.
When I turned around and looked at Felix, he responded with a bright grin and asserted determinedly, “Ms. Stanhope, what happened was nothing but an accident. I assure you everything will be fine this time.”
After much consideration, I turned and looked at Anthony while inquiring, “Can I turn down the audit request from Featherstone Corporation?”
“Why? What’s the reason behind it?” Anthony asked with his brows furrowed.
“I have no intention to get myself involved in such a nasty situation. Apart from that, I don’t want to commit the same mistake twice.” Most importantly, I was a member of White Corporation. If I were in charge of the said audit, things would end up miserably due to my ambiguous identity.
Anthony gave it a thought. A few seconds later, he told Thomas, “Mr. Lowe, I’m afraid the incident and the misunderstanding may have traumatized my wife. Allow me to make myself clear – AC Credit and Harrison Credit were given the task of auditing Featherstone Corporation’s financial statement. Although Harrison Credit was a relatively small firm, they did a great job while I was on the verge of bankruptcy due to AC Credit. Thankfully, things ended up well at the end of the day. Nevertheless, AC Credit was the reason my wife had to leave Featherstone Corporation. Considering the factors that were mentioned above, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I won’t allow AC Credit to be in charge of Featherstone Corporation’s audit anymore.”
Thomas and Felix were dumbfounded by Anthony’s decision. “Mr. Featherstone, I believe you’re aware of the actual reason behind the incident that has occurred during the last quarter – our company might be one of the reasons the incident spiraled out of control, but we shouldn’t forget about the underlying issues of Featherstone Corporation.”
“Mr. Lowe, does that mean you think AC Credit’s neglection during the incident has nothing to do with it?” Anthony replied with a faint smirk.
When Thomas heard Anthony’s question, his face turned pale and haggard.
I wouldn’t lie, though; it was one of the most embarrassing meals I had ever had throughout my entire life.
After we finished our meal and returned to the car, Anthony stared at me with his abysmal pair of eyes and asked, “What do you have in your mind?”
I stopped looking out the window and had my eyes on Anthony instead. “Since you have no intention to acquire AC Credit’s service, why would you invite them over?”
“Why don’t you try to figuring it out?”
“Anthony, why do you always do that!” I responded with my lips pouted. It was very immature of him to ask them out just so he could get them back for the things they had done and humiliate them in front of me.
I was completely worn out and wasn’t in the mood to carry on with the conversation we had after the feud. It wasn’t necessary to get worked up over such a trivial incident either.
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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