Our gazes met and Thora flashed me a slight smile. Just like during the party, she seemed friendly yet distant at the same time.
Then, I turned my gaze behind her and noticed that she did not bring anyone along with her. I thought that it was quite bold of her to come here all on her own.
“Let’s wrap it up here. We’ll discuss the remaining details next time.” After dismissing Brooklyn, I invited Thora in. “Sorry for making you wait, Ms. Ziegler. Come in and have a seat.”
Immediately after sitting down, Thora made her intention of coming clear. “I won’t beat around the bush. I’d like to buy all the Featherstone Corporation stocks you have. Just quote a price. I won’t negotiate at all.”
I heaved a sigh. Leaning against my chair, I scrutinized her with narrowed eyes. As expected of the most powerful woman in K City. She sounds like she’s certain of her success. It’s definitely a good experience to do business with her.
Unfortunately, I was not a businesswoman nor did I have the intention to collaborate with her.
After a moment of silence, I smiled and made an outrageous quote, “Thirty billion, then.”
Thora immediately lowered her head and chuckled. “You’re so funny, Ms. Stanhope. Featherstone Corporation’s assets don’t even exceed a billion. It doesn’t seem appropriate that you’d quote such a price.”
“Is that so…” I placed my arms on the table and propped my chin up. After pretending to rack my brains for a while, I raised my eyes and asked innocently, “Didn’t you say that I can quote any price that I want?”
When Thora heard that, a stunned expression crossed her face and a look of suspicion flashed across her eyes. It was as if she was doubting my intelligence.
Her offer to quote my own price was merely empty words. People who made such an offer were trying to seek a sense of superiority while expressing their sincerity to collaborate. Furthermore, the quoted price had to fall within fifty percent of the reasonable range. This was an unspoken rule in the industry. Although the person that made the offer would have to sacrifice more, both would be willing parties. After all, no one would go against money.
However, I took her words seriously that day.
George had transferred Featherstone Corporation’s stocks to me. Although I did not own as much as Anthony, the stocks probably amounted to around five hundred million, considering how much Featherstone Corporation had developed. Yet, I quoted a price of thirty billion, which was six times the market price. Thora was polite enough to merely remark that it “doesn’t seem appropriate,” but others who were more hot- headed would have accused me of scamming them.
Thora calmed herself down and asked impatiently, “What about eight billion?”
It was the highest price within the reasonable range. Plus, she even threw in an additional five hundred million. I had to admit that it was quite a tempting offer.
However, the fact that she wanted the stocks at all costs implied that there was an ulterior motive behind her actions.
After thinking about it, I leaned back and spread my hands. “I’m not selling them.”
I paused for a while and looked at Thora’s unreadable gaze. Smiling, I said smugly, “Although my marriage with Anthony ended in failure, I’m not a fool. With his capabilities, Featherstone Corporation will only become better and better. I can get far more than eight billion. Why should I pass such an opportune path of success to someone else?”
Thora probably did not expect a spoilt woman like me to be so difficult to deal with.
“Ten billion. And we’ll sign the contract today,” declared Thora, giving it her all. She narrowed her alluring eyes as a sharp look crept into them. “It’s true that Featherstone Corporation has great potential to expand, but it’ll need a powerful force to back them up. Anthony can’t do that alone, but I can. Ms. Stanhope, nothing in this world can be gain without putting in the effort. If you refuse to sell your stocks, Featherstone Corporation might lose its best investor. By then, you might even lose your current five hundred million, let alone the ten billion I’m offering you now. It’s better if you consider it wisely.”
To be honest, her words were quite persuasive. If George hadn’t been the one to entrust them to me, I would have been tempted.
Looking at her sincere expression, I feigned a look of revelation. My ignorant act was quite convincing.
When Thora’s expression relaxed slightly, I smirked and continued with my stubborn insistence. “I’ve thought it through, and I still won’t sell them.”
Afraid that she could not hear me clearly, I deliberately articulated every single word. “Ms. Ziegler, you know very well that with the support of the Stanhope and Moore family, I don’t lack money. I don’t need to sell my stocks to sustain myself. In fact, you just reminded me. Although Featherstone Corporation is only confined to the national market now, you’re already yearning to buy its stocks at all costs. When Featherstone Corporation catches the eye of investors and bankers at Wall Street in the future, I’m afraid that demand for its stocks will exceed its supply significantly. No amount of money can buy them. If that’s the case, why should I sell them?”
Thora’s face clouded over when she heard that. As she stared at me with her intelligent gaze, a look of fury flashed across her eyes. “You’re smarter than I imagined.”
I pursed my lips and gave no reply.
Indeed, a woman who took the words “quote your own price” at face value seriously should not be smart enough to hoard Featherstone Corporation’s stocks. However, I needed to thank Thora for indirectly giving me an excuse. Otherwise, I would not be able to find a reason to reject the extra two billion she offered for no reason.
Our gazes locked for a while before Thora suddenly looked like she remembered something. She stood up abruptly, grabbed her bag, and turned around. After she took a few steps, she froze in her tracks and glanced back at me coldly. “I’ll change your mind.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” I pretended to look listless and leaned against my chair, looking like an ignorant hooligan.
Not staying for long, Thora exited the room.
Immediately afterward, I dialed Anthony’s personal number.
When he picked up the call, he spoke before me. “Did Thora look for you?”
I smiled and nodded. “You’ve already guessed it?”
“Pitcoin is so profitable now, but the Ziegler family can’t dabble in it. Considering how strong-headed Thora is, she’ll definitely not let this opportunity go. But since this is such a risky investment, she can’t possibly involve her company in it. Naturally, she’d want to use me. Since you’re the second-largest shareholder in the company, there’s no one else who she’ll look for,” explained Anthony calmly.
However, I was still puzzled. “Didn’t the Ziegler family collaborated with the Trivett family previously? Why didn’t the Trivett family rope them into partaking in such a profitable opportunity?”
It was only after listening to Anthony’s explanation that I understood the reason why the Trivett family fell out with the Ziegler family. It was all because of Mitchell.
Carolyn, the youngest daughter in the Trivett family, was a lively, smart, and beautiful girl. Everyone in the family adored and doted on her. It was also precisely because of that that her personality was quite wild and proud—she could not stand any injustices at all. Back then, Mitchell’s horrible reputation was already known to all. To protect her, the Trivetts carefully prevented her from meeting him. They even chose the second-best elite school in the city so that they could avoid the unfortunate incident of Mitchell taking a liking to Carolyn.
However, K City was not exactly a large place. The children in the upper-class society usually frequented the same few places. At the birthday party of the son of a listed company’s president, Mitchell met Carolyn and a conflict broke out. Yearning for revenge, Mitchell stopped the Trivetts’ car the next day, kidnapped Carolyn, and forced himself upon her.
After the incident, the Trivetts sent Carolyn overseas and cut off all ties with the Ziegler family.
“Mitchell really sabotaged his family a lot, huh?” I could not help but lament.
“He’s irrelevant. Mentioning him will only ruin our mood.” Anthony sounded like he was short on time and immediately changed the topic. “Thora won’t give up so easily. She might have some other tricks up her sleeve, so be on your guard.”
“Okay.” I knew that he was worried, but I did not want him to tire himself out excessively. Hence, I said jokingly, “You’ve personally tested Millie’s capabilities. The Stanhope family has also sent a bunch of bodyguards to protect me. I doubt anyone can harm me. On the other hand, are you sure that you want to be involved in Pitcoin?”
Pitcoin was quite a shady transaction. Naturally, I did not support it. If Anthony had other plans in mind, I needed to know them well so that I could react accordingly when I was up against Thora.
“What do you think? With both our capabilities combined, is there a need for us to seek such quick profits?” Anthony’s light-hearted tone made me feel much more relieved.
It was rare to see Anthony so proud. Laughing, I said, “I know what to do now.”
After a slight pause, an ingenious idea surfaced in my mind. “Since Thora wants to be involved in Pitcoin at all costs, why don’t we play along with her and sabotage her plan?”
When Anthony heard that, he suddenly chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?” I was a bit puzzled. After all, in my point of view, it was always better to make the first move.
“I’m thinking that after you gave birth to Audrey and Gregory, you can read my mind so well. We share the same idea of sabotaging the Trivetts,” replied Anthony with a smile.
It was a great honor to get Anthony’s approval. Feigning smugness, I said, “Yeah, I’m very smart now, so you best be careful. If I discover that you’re being unfaithful… Well, let’s just say you’ll be in a world of hurt!”
“Okay, that’s enough. I have a meeting later. With regards to dealing with the Ziegler and Trivett families, I haven’t thought of the exact plan yet. So, you should just observe the situation for the time being.”
Immediately after he spoke, I could hear Joseph urging him over the phone. The call ended then.
I placed the phone down and glanced at the WhatsApp chat on the screen, feeling glum. That man even timed his calls precisely, not wanting to waste a single second.
Forget it, I’ll let him off the hook this time. After we finish settling this mess, we’ll have nice days to look forward to in the future.
Barely three hours after Thora left, loud arguments could be heard from outside the law firm.
As the law firm was registered under Stanhope Corporation, no one in their right mind would dare to seek trouble there. However, the argument persisted for a while, even prompting Brooklyn to intervene. Despite so, he did not manage to resolve it and the conflict simply continued.
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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