With Lucian’s full attention on the upcoming wedding, company-related matters became Jonathan and Cayden’s responsibility. Jonathan- was mainly tasked with the strategy part, while Cayden controlled the execution of their plan. Their current goal was to compete with Crawford Heights Group for the Alendor market.
Alendor was known for its plentiful resources of minerals. It was the raw material base for various non-ferrous metals. If one could get their hands on this place, they would enjoy greater power in developing these areas.
Since their last failure in the foreign trade market in Epea, Crawford Heights Group placed heavy investment this time. Their bidding price. was higher than Farwell Group’s every time. In an instant, Crawford Heights Group had the upper hand.
However, Jonathan didn’t panic, for every time he reported these findings to Lucian, the latter would ask him to wait longer, and Jonathan believed in Lucian’s judgment.
As expected, Crawford Heights Group ran into. trouble one week later, Chaos broke out at the mineral production area that they bought at a high price, and a war ensued. What was troubling, though, was that the war ended peacefully within days. The newly-appointed leader overturned the original trade agreement, claiming it was invalid. In other words, Crawford Heights Group’s investment had all gone to waste.
Over at Crawford Heights Group, Shawn swept the decorations on his table to the floor with his right hand in the CEO’s office. These items dropped to the floor and shattered into pieces.
What followed soon after was Shawn’s screams. “Trash! Useless! Contact the project leaders now! I want their explanation. They’ve been living in Alendor for so long, so why didn’t they consider these possible risks?”
Biting the bullet, Danny said with difficulty, “Mr. Crawford, I’ve contacted them already, but they won’t pick up the phone, choosing to extend their resignation instead.”
“What?” Shawn clenched his jaw angrily. He connected the dots soon. “Did these people pocket the company’s money?”
Realization dawned on Shawn. No wonder the asking prices were sky-high. They were double the amount of those offered by Farwell Group. I fell into the trap because I wanted to get the resources. Now I know why Lucian competed with me for a period before suddenly giving up. Did he set me up?
Danny kept mum. Regardless, he knew the fault wasn’t his to bear, for Shawn was the one who put these people in charge. Shawn was so frustrated that he felt like he was on the verge of exploding. “It’s all over. I’m done this time. Two billion in funding, all gone!”
Even though Shawn had been in the business for a long time, he was still an amateur compared to Lucian. His family had only given him two billion to make something of himself. If he did not succeed, that would mean that Crawford Heights Group in Horington would be declared bankrupt. Besides that, Shawn had relatives from other branches of his family that he had to answer to. After all, the amount of money he got was no small sum.
Shawn had a dejected expression on his face, complaining, “D*mn you, Lucian. Why are you constantly setting me up? I was too foolish! Unexpected situations always impact overseas businesses.”
With that, he waved his hand, asking Danny to leave. Not long after, Coralie knocked on the door. She walked into the office directly when Shawn didn’t respond to her. Coralie gestured for the secretary to clean up the trash on the floor when she noticed Shawn’s dazed look.
After the secretary cleaned up the place and walked out, Coralie threw a report onto the table before Shawn. Her voice was calm as she announced, “You’ve spent every penny of the capital given to you. Following this, you will have trouble managing the staff and office costs. There are two choices left for you now. Either you continue with your current venture by getting financing from others, or you must take out a loan with the bank.”
Shawn lifted his head. He looked lost and puzzled. “Coralie, it’s highly impossible for me to beat Lucian!” “Is that so? Why are you so afraid of failure? Grandpa failed in his business, too, all these years ago.
But then, he managed to build our empire in the north side of the country, so why are you so worked up over this? It’s not like you’ve run out of time to make something of yourself.” Coraline’s voice was calm. She didn’t care whether Shawn was too unhappy to listen to her words as she continued, “I’ve looked into it.
The mineral land that Lucian bagged was not ample in size, and it could be developed relatively quickly. At the same time, he also has connections with the group that caused chaos this time, which means that he had ensured the resources would stay in his hands in advance. Hence, I can conclude that our background check was not thorough enough.”
“Coralie, this is not the time to analyze this: information. My plan has gone down the drain. I don’t know how I should face the pressure of those people when I get home.” Shawn grabbed a handful of his hair, frustration written all over his face.
In response to Shawn’s words, Coralie sneered. coldly. Disappointment slowly showed up in her eyes. “If you don’t analyze the reason for your failure, the same thing will happen to you next time.. Both of these mistakes you made resulted from you seeking instant benefits.
If you had taken the time to observe Lucian’s behavior, you would have understood why he was not as hasty as you thought. You would have concluded that he had set a trap, waiting for you to stumble in,” Coralie retorted curtly. Then, she told Shawn that she had made a summary report and that he should have a look.
He should let our family know why he failed, admit his mistakes, and accept his punishment accordingly to exhibit his true manliness.
Coralie walked out of the office with a smile, knowing that all of these were part of Lucian’s plan and Jonathan was probably just the executioner. A gleeful feeling appeared within her as thoughts flashed across her mind. Jonathan may seem like an easygoing and honest person on the surface. But in actuality, his capabilities and determination are more substantial than anyone expected!
With that, her fondness for Jonathan grew. “Oh, he’s dreamy and irresistible! I wonder when will he fall in love with me?” Coralie wondered out loud.
Two days later, Crawford Heights Group declared bankruptcy. The placement of thousands of employees was carried out in an orderly manner. Coralie let Frieda handle the compensation plan for the employees and returned to the north with her brother.
She believed she could put in a good word or two for him if she went back with him so that he would not lose all his opportunities in the future.
Frieda and the finance department staff provided the employees with severance compensation with each person receiving an additional two months’ salary.
The severance package invoked a sense of regret among the departing employees. They were all sorry to part ways with such a great company.
Despite having only worked for a month, they were given three months’ salary. Crawford Heights Group had also explicitly stated in the employees’ resignation report that they were let go due to the company’s poor management and that it wouldn’t affect their employment record.
That day, Frieda finally completed her task after working overtime. She wanted to call Shawn to see how he was doing because she was worried about him but eventually gave up, as she knew she could not be of any help.
After taking a sidelong glance at the empty office with a complicated expression, she walked out of the building. Before stepping out of the premises, she could not help turning around to take one last look.
Finally, she came to the realization that she was far less capable than Coralie, not to mention Roxanne. After all, Roxanne’s Flora Verba Group was thriving with a remarkable growth trajectory.
The company began with a start-up capital of around one or two billion but quickly surged to a market value of two hundred billion. The market value continued to climb even after the launch of their second phase of products.
On the other hand, Shawn’s twenty-billion investment had yielded nothing in return. After contemplating her failure for a brief moment, she turned around and was ready to hail a cab to take her back to her mansion. Suddenly, she saw a familiar face from a distance. It was her brother, Jonathan.
“Jonathan…” Frieda subconsciously called out. Only then did she come to understand the meaning behind her brother’s words.. Lucian was indeed a formidable opponent to be reckoned with, and the Queens were lucky to have Lucian as their ally.
Jonathan asked, “You want to come home with me? Shawn probably won’t be coming back to Horington anytime soon.”
Frieda shook her head, declining his offer. She was grateful that her brother neither held any grudges against her nor ridiculed her.
Nonetheless, there was no turning back for her now. She no longer had the right to return to the Queen family after the previous incident involving the medicinal herbs’ price hike. It would only put the Queens in an awkward position if she were to return. Furthermore, Lucian might take it out on the Queens if she were to return to the family.
“Jonathan, everything seems clear to me now, and I’ve learned my lessons. You don’t have to worry about me. I might go abroad to pursue my studies or start a small company from scratch. As for Shawn, I don’t know if he really cares about me or if he was just using me. But I know what I did was wrong. Thank you, Jonathan!” Frieda took the opportunity to open up to her brother.
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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