Chapter 209


    Chapter 209


    Sometimes, I felt like Neil and Russel had some sort of telepathy going on,


    They know each other so well that it was like they could predict each other’s moves and thoughts.


    I just basically rolled with it.


    “Don’t trust a word he said. Just trust me.” Russel paused, then continued, “He’s tried to drive a wedge


    between us.”


    He was pretty straightforward about it.


    Given how things stand, I’m inclined to believe Russel. I trust him not just because we’re currently an


    item but because he has always been a stand-up


    guy.


    “Alright, I got it,” I gently exined, ‘Dont worry, I didn’t see Neil alone. We just bumped into each other


    at a party. He was the one who approached me.”


    1 trust you, Russel replied with certainty.


    We chatted a little more before I had to hang up for work.


    No sooner had I hung up than I received a notification for an emergency meeting. It was from my mom.


    Considering the message was directly from my mom, I had a bad feeling about it, and my mood


    instantly took a nosedive. I hurried towards the meeting


    room.


    The meeting wasn’t for all the top management, but just the procurement team.


    The meeting was simple, a couple of suppliers suddenly informed us that they could not continue


    supplying raw materials. It was a sucker punch.


    My mom solemnly informed everyone that StarGlow Enterprises had poached these suppliers by


    offering them a higher price.


    Even though we had contracts with them, they were willing to pay the penalties


    So now we needed to find a solution as soon as possible. We have to try to convince these suppliers to


    change their minds and continue working with us while also reached out to other potential suppliers.


    StarGlow Enterprises made their move so quickly?


    And, these suppliers were even willing to pay penalties to sever ties with us.


    “Rena, you’reing to dinner with me tonight. I’ve arranged a meeting with Dominic Evans,” my mom


    called out to me, sounding a bit worn out


    “Alright,” I nodded.


    Dominic is one of our most important raw material suppliers. His father ran their family business and


    was good friends with my mom. Dominic took over thepany two years ago. Although he hasn’t


    stopped working with us, he did propose increasing prices, which my mom didn’t agree to.


    By nightfall, I headed out to thinner with my mom. It was less of a dinner and more of a work meeting.


    Dominic, around forty, looked quite shaip: Qyer dinner, it was mostly him and my mom talking while I


    just sipped my drink at the right moments.


    “Mrs. Finch, we’re all in this for the profit. I now have a better partner. I can’t just let the money slip


    through my fingers, can I?” After a few rounds of drinks, Dominic stated his position clearly


    My mom went straight to the point, “What price did Star Glow Enterprises offer you?”


    When Dominic quoted the price, my mom and I exchanged nces. We knew we couldn’t afford it


    After some negotiation, I had quite a few drinks and felt a bit queasy


    I excused myself from the room and threw up quite a bit in the bathroom.


    On my way back to the room, I ran into Gloria and Bonnie.


    “Ms. Finch” Gloria greeted me. The man with her excused himself.


    Bonnie looked vibrant and wore a sweet smile. There was indeed a resemnce between her and


    Gloria.


    Every time I have seen Gloria and Bonnie, they always managed to make me feel ufortable.


    I managed a small smile in response and walked past them.


    ‘Aren’t you going to talk to me?” Gloria spoke again. “I’m nning to buy out yourpany. You can


    think about it.”


    So that was it!


    Glona had ambitions


    I stopped and looked at the middle aged wornan, “Ms. Gloria, yourpany is still in its infancy, and


    you’re already eager to acquire others. Aren’t you afraid you’ll bite off more than you can chew and


    choke?”


    “No, I just think, why wait for an inevitable oue in apetition when you can skip the process and


    jump right to the end? It’s a time-saver for everyone” Gloria replied.


    Bonnie chimed in, “Trene, we don’t want to be your enemy, so you can go back and talk to your parents


    I heard your father is about to retire, and your mother’s heart isn’t so well. Wouldn’t it be better for them


    to enjoy their golden years with a big payday?”


    No matter how Bonnie used to mock me or provoke me, I didn’t care. But when she brought up my


    parents,


    Youre dreaming! Wake up! I retorted coldly


    Bonnie feigned surprise, Hasn’t Dominic proposed to 1 minate the contract with yourpany yet?


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    pater


    Was she admitting that they were the ones who caused the termination of our suppliers’ contracts?


    These neers were messing with the business that my mother had been running her entire life!


    The thought alone made me sick to my stomach.


    “Dominic is not important. You can keep trying, I didn’t want to talk to them anymore to avoid ruining my


    mood.


    Even if they could topple my family’spany, could they also topple both my parents families?


    Unless it was a dire situation, my parents would hardly ask for help from their families.


    I turned to leave, but Bonnie followed me


    In my previous life, shepletely defeated me, in this life, I didn’t lose, but Bonnie was like a parasite,


    tenaciously clinging to me.


    “Bonnie, what do you want?” I was really fed up


    “Irene, I just hope you could attend my engagement party with Neil. I mean no harm, Bonnie insisted


    that I attend her and Neil’s engagement party


    She was half out for revenge and half for showing off. I knew what she was up to.


    I took the invitation she handed me. “I got it”


    Bonnie finally wore a satisfied smile on her face.


    When I got back to the private room, the atmosphere was pretty frosty. My mom looked a bit upset, and


    Dominic looked even worse Clearly, their negotiation hadn’t gone so well


    ‘Dominic, I gotta ask, besides the price, whats got you so hell-bent on choosing StarGlow Enterprises?


    They’re just a startup my mom stood up to


    question.


    Mr. Dominic chuckled, “Mrs. Finch, you know, Bonnic, the VP of StarGlow Enterprises, is about to


    marry Mr. Whitmore I am not changing my mind. Maybe we can do business together in the future.”


    After saying that, he took off. My mom and I were left in the room, feeling pretty down in the dumps.


    Now that StarGlow Enterprises has the backing of a powerhouse like Whitmore Co., they re set for


    smooth sailing, my mom sighed, “Neil might have


    had a hand in this.”


    “Mom, let’s head home. It’s gettingte, I walked over to her, helping her up and murmuring


    My mom nodded, but she still looked pretty worried. I didn’t tell her about running into Bonnie and


    Gloria earlier. I didn’t want to add to her worries.


    Was Dominic genuinely convinced that StarGlow Enterprises had a bright future, or had he been


    strong-armed into siding with them because of Neil’s interference?


    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    I had a bad feeling about this. If Neil really was pulling the strings behind the scenes, my family’s


    company might be in for a heap of trouble, and it could only get worse