She used to be a CFO herself, and she was hired to work in Lewis & Co. by Duncan himself. Everyone claimed that she came in through the back door. Her superiors were on guard against her, afraid that she would rob them of their position.
That was why everyone in the office was secretly targeting her, rejecting her, and always in cohorts to land her in trouble.
Furthermore, Duncan was a single noble. If he paid too much attention to a woman, that woman will become the thorn in the side of many people.
Liberty did not want to fight with them, so she wanted to resign and go with her plan to start her own business.
Duncan paused before saying, “Who said that?
“Liberty, you just do your job. I’ll deal with them. If anyone spreads rumors behind your back about you trying to covet me, I’ll fire them all. Don’t think I’ll let them go just because they have numbers on their side. If they irritate me, I can fire all of them!”
He gave Liberty this job because of Zack anyway, so technically, it was not completely false to say that Liberty entered through the back door.
However, it was outrageous to say that Liberty was coveting him. She had just divorced. How could she covet him?
Duncan was a busy man and did not want to care about the petty in–fighting among his employees.
However, he still had to take care of it if it went too far.
“Thank you, Mr. Lewis, but I still want to resign. I got a sum of money from Hank, so I want to invest in opening a small shop and starting a restaurant.”
Liberty insisted on resigning.
Since Duncan said what he said, she dared believe that as soon as she walked out of this office, his order would be conveyed to every corner of the company and the rumors might not reach her ears anymore.
However, the others‘ opinion of her would still be skewed.
She did not want to drag Duncan’s reputation down with her.
“In that case, have you found a store?”
Duncan thought about it and said, “There’s a street called Westring Avenue 2 that’s near our office. We have to pass by that street to get to our building. Half of the stores on that street are mine. There’s a lot of traffic there, and apart from Lewis & Co., many small companies and factories are in the vicinity. It’ll be quite suitable for you to open up a restaurant there.
“There’s an old couple who are too old to work anymore. They’ve retired and are going to move out in a few days. If you really plan to go through with it, I can rent that storefront to you.”
Liberty was stunned. “Half of the shops on that street belong to you?”
Duncan asked rhetorically, “Why not? I have nowhere to spend the money I earn, so I bought a few more stores to rent them out. The monthly rent is pretty substantial, so I’m using money to make more money.”
Liberty was speechless.
The world of the rich is something unfathomable to Liberty.
“I usually don’t bother with the stores and hire someone to collect the rent for me, but I
have to pass by there every day when I commute, so I’m aware if there are any empty lots.”
Aunt Audrey said that Duncan was excellent at making money.
She was not wrong about him.
“What do you think? Do you want to rent it? If you do, I’ll give you a discount since you’re Zack’s sister-in-law. Your rent will be a little cheaper than others, but don’t tell anyone else. If they find out, they’ll come to me asking for a discount as well. That would be a huge loss.”
Liberty was immensely touched. She had to cross that street every day to and from work, so she knew very well how much traffic that street held.
Snackbars, restaurants, and even dessert stores over there had a remarkable business.
She had been incredibly envious of those who could rent a shop lot and open a business on that street. Unexpectedly, those shopfronts belonged to Duncan.
“How much is the monthly rent?”
“All stores in downtown Wiltspoon are much more expensive than other places. Among the stores I have there, the smallest is about forty square feet, and the larger ones are more than a hundred square feet. What kind of eatery are you planning to open?”
“A breakfast store.”
“Then you don’t need that big of a space. The price of breakfast isn’t extravagant, so you can just rent one with a size of forty to fifty square feet. I’ll ask the old couple who are retiring how big their store is.
“You can just pay me eight thousand for the monthly rent, but you have to keep it a secret and don’t tell anyone. I charge others over ten thousand a month.”
Liberty nodded repeatedly. “I won’t tell anyone, Mr. Duncan, but will it be a great loss for you if you charge me so little?”
“I’ve earned back the capital I spent to buy those stores long ago. Now, I turn a profit no matter how much rent I charge, so you don’t have to worry about it. Just do a good job. If you don’t mind, you can take the initiative to increase your rental payment to me after you’ve earned back your capital.”
He was also a businessman.
about interests.
Liberty smiled. “Okay. When I get my capital back, I’ll pay you as much go back and notify my superior about my resignation now.”
“All right. I’ll have someone contact you to sign the contract later.”
Duncan acted decisively. “If you want to stop working before your probation period tell your manager. She’ll calculate your work attendance and prorate your salary accordingly.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lewis.”
Liberty thanked him from the bottom of her heart.
“You’re welcome. I’m only giving you a discount because of your brother-in-law. I’ll patronize your breakfast store to support you when you’re open for business.”
He heard from Zack that the Hunt sisters were great cooks.
“I’ll go back and resign now, Mr. Lewis.”
Liberty came in with a cold face but went out with a smile.
When she left, Duncan picked up his phone and sent a voice message to Zack.
“Zack, your sister-in-law quit. She wants to open a breakfast place. I happen to have a store on Westring Avenue 2 that can be vacated, so I rented it to her for a lower price.”
Again, it took Zack a long time to reply.
Only one word came from Zack.
Duncan breathed a sigh of relief. “He didn’t say much, but at least he’s willing to reply to me. I thought that the iceberg was ignoring me because I messed up.”
He rented out a store in exchange for one word from Zack, but it enabled him to finally work at ease.
Meanwhile, something was happening in the managing director’s office at Waltham Electronics.
“Hank, what the hell is going on? All the clients you’re responsible for have either canceled their orders or suspended our
partnerships. Many of them have also complained about receiving goods that had a lot of defects mixed in. Are you even doing your job?”
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.