Andrew paused for a moment before responding, “Anna, | accept your apologies. But | believe you are right. | was the one who insisted on keeping those clothes in the warehouse. And | was to be blamed for it. We could have cut our losses in half.”
Anna said seriously, “Stop blaming yourself, Andrew. Someone is attempting to harm us! Even if you are extremely cautious and avoid making mistakes, they will find other ways to make us suffer.”
Andrew frowned as he realized what she was referring to.
He said, “Oh, the fire department called me this morning. They claimed the fire was caused by deteriorating warehouse appliances and that some workers had been drinking there at night.”
Anna said, “We don’t have time to figure out why the fire started. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to take it seriously. All we have to do now is reach out to as many factories as possible and try to make all of the clothes we’ve lost in half a month.”
The contract stipulated a one-month delivery period. The factory had previously worked hard to finish a week ahead of schedule. However, Anna discovered that it was difficult to redo the clothes they lost in a week after taking stock of all the goods.
Even if they had all of the factories in the city working overtime, it would take them two weeks to finish the products.
“But our delivery is in a week,” Andrew expressed his concern.
“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Mr. Gilbert about it. We will undoubtedly have to pay compensation.”
Andrew paused for a moment before saying solemnly, “Don’t do it yet, Anna. Let me think of another way. Don’t worry, I’ll finish it on time.”
Anna responded to his words by saying, “But that’s nearly impossible! We wouldn’t be able to turn them in within a week even if all the clothing factories in Birmingham help us.” Andrew replied, “It’s still possible. Well, just leave it to me. I’ll take care of it.”
Andrew left after that.
Looking at his cup, Anna noticed that he hadn’t taken a sip of tea.
She realized he was anxious about it. However, even if he was in a hurry, it would be impossible for him to make it.
Thinking of that, Anna couldn’t help frowning.
Anna and Mona went to the Joan Group to see Mr. Gilbert the afternoon before the deadline. They were about to open the door when a blue Porsche sped past them like lightning. Then it stopped in between Anna and the gate.
If Mona hadn’t acted quickly enough and yanked Anna away, Anna might have been hit by the car.
Mona patted Anna’s back worriedly and asked, “Anna, are you all right?”
“Thank you, I’m fine,” Anna replied.
Anna recognized the driver without even looking at the license plate number of the car. She had seen her adversary again, as she had expected.
Richard got out of the car, put on a fake smile, and said, “Hey, Miss Gabriel, it’s been a long time.”
Anna gently squeezed Mona’s hand to keep her from arguing with Richard.
She said with a smile, “Well, it seems that you know my routine very well, ‘detective.”
“Hey, instead of mocking me, why don’t you think about how you’re going to negotiate the extension with Mr. Gilbert?” Richard sneered.
“It’s none of your business,” Anna said this before marching straight to the door.
Richard yelled at Anna, “Anna Gabriel, the best thing you can do now is ask for my help. Because John and | are very close, | might put in a good word for you and help you.”
Anna pretended not to hear him and followed Mona into the elevator.
Mona said after the elevator doors closed, “I know we should just ignore Richard. But, maybe we should be nice to him right now. I’m worried he’ll stab us behind our backs.”
Anna sneered and exclaimed, “Even if I’m nice to him, he’ll still do it. Either way, the fire would have happened anyways.”
Lemon didn’t even have its own warehouse because it was a newly established company. Anna didn’t want this company to have anything more to do with the Gabriel Group, so she rented a spot inside a warehouse in the suburbs.
After the fire, the person in charge of the warehouse needed to pay a lot of money because the goods of other companies in the warehouse were also burned.
So, he escaped.
Mona had just returned from visiting various factories with Andrew to place orders, so she was unaware of this news.
She was taken aback and asked, “How could this be? Oh my goodness! So, what are we going to do?”
“The person in charge has run away, and the boss refused to take responsibility for it. | kind of admire Richard because he had actually thought of every possible way to make us suffer.”
Mona froze and sighed. Of course, she knew that Anna was implying that Richard had something to do with the fire. And the reason why Richard came here might be that he wanted to enjoy a “good” show.
No wonder they seemed more hostile to each other, she thought.
As they walked near to John’s office, John’s secretary spoke to him before allowing them to enter his office.
Anna sat across from John’s desk, staring at him.
John placed his pen and the papers in his hand and said, “Isn’t tomorrow the day of delivery? You don’t have to come here in person, Anna.” Anna heard John’s secretary say just before she tried to speak, “Mr. Wright, my boss is speaking with Miss Gabriel. You can’t get in the office now!”
When Anna heard those words, she frowned. She knew that Richard was there for a reason.
Richard added, “Miss Gabriel and | both want to talk about the same thing, so | believe we can do so together. John, I’d be wasting your time otherwise, wouldn’t |?”
John made a thought-provoking expression.
The Carousel Group and the Joan Group had no business dealings, and John knew Richard because they shared a common hobby. However, since John was many years older than Richard, he deserved to be treated with respect.
Richard, on the other hand, sounded as if he didn’t take John seriously at all.
Richard then asked Anna, “You want to talk to John about that order, right?*’
She gave him a cold stare and said, “Oh, | believe it is between myself and Mr. Gilbert. More precisely, it is between Lemon and the Joan Group. This has absolutely nothing to do with you.”
Richard walked over to Anna, and then looked at John and said, “You look like you want me to get the hell out of the office, don’t you?
However, you appear to be missing the point.”
“What do you mean?” John asked after a brief pause.
“Hal It appears that my prediction was correct! Why don’t you just say it, Anna? John and | are good friends, so he’ll forgive you for my sake.”
Anna remained silent while frowning. Richard told John, “A week ago, there was a large fire in a warehouse in the suburbs. This incident even made the news.”
John asked suspiciously, “Yes, | am aware of it. But, Richard, what exactly are you trying to say?”
Richard smiled at him and said, “Ah, what I’m saying has something to do with Anna.”
What was going on was completely unknown to John. He wasn’t happy with Richard’s attitude, but he couldn’t get mad at him.
“Well, what is it?” John asked again.
Richard smiled as if he had won a battle and said, “The clothes you ordered from Lemon were stored in the warehouse where the fire broke out. Plus, | heard that over half of them were burned. So, Anna probably wants to talk to you about applying for a delay,”
John asked, “Anna, is it true?”
Anna locked her gaze on John, nodded, and said, “Yes, Richard is correct. The fire destroyed half of our clothes. Besides, it left us with a significant financial loss. It appears that Richard knows literally everything, doesn’t it?”
John didn’t know what to say.
And Richard said first, “Oh, | heard that you had your staff go to almost every factory in Birmingham to place orders and offer high prices for them to work urgently. How’s that going?”
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.
Leave a Reply