Chapter 38


    “What I meant was, how are you supposed to buy me designer dresses and shoes if you do not work


    harder and earn more money?”


    Avery had changed into her house slippers, walked over to Elliot, and added, “This is my first time


    wearing such expensive things.”


    “Poor you,” Elliot hissed, then walked into the elevator.


    Avery held her tongue as she watched the elevator doors close.


    She wanted to insult his excessively extravagant and wasteful lifestyle.


    When she entered her room, she took off her gown and walked into the shower.


    The warm water enveloped her entire body, numbing her senses.


    Avery arrived at Tate Industries first thing the next morning.


    At 10 a.m., there was not a seat left empty in the meeting room.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    “Good morning, everyone. My name is Avery Tate. The reason I called for this meeting today is


    because I was abductedst night,” Avery said, then nced around at the faces in the room.


    “Seriously?! Are you okay, Avery?” someone eximed in shock.


    “I’m fine. I wanted to have an open discussion with all of you today,” Avery said calmly. “Things aren’t


    looking great with thepany right now. Investors aren’t interested in us, and those that are looking at


    u s, are only interested in acquiring us for a low price. With our current debt, what they are offering will


    hardly cover what we owe.”


    “We can bring out our Super Brain program! Once we arrange a press conference and introduce it to


    the public, people would be lining up to invest!” someone suggested, setting off a frenzy of consensus


    in the room.


    “My father would never agree to sell thepany. This is something that I’m sure all of you are aware


    of. Also, the new system isn’t ready yet, so I’m afraid it is not worth as much as you think it does,”


    Avery exined.


    “What do we do, then? Are we really just going to let thepany go bust?”


    “If we continue to not have stable funding, I’m afraid that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” Avery


    answered.


    Shaun mmed his palm on the table and roared, “You just want to keep Super Brain to yourself! Your


    father wasn’t the only one who worked on it!”


    Avery looked coldly at Shaun and said, “Mr. Shaun, since you are iming that the program isn’t the


    work of my father alone, then you should be able to form a new team to produce a new Super Brain.


    When you d o reach that point, I would not object to you selling it to rebuild thepany.”


    Shaun’s face flushed with anger at Avery’s words.


    Avery’s father, Jack, was the lead engineer on the project. Without him, there was no way for them to


    recreate the program.


    “You say that you’re doing all of this for your father, but you secretly gave his life’s work to an


    outsider…”


    “So, you were the one who abducted mest night, Mr. Shaun?” Avery asked.


    Shaun’s eyes widened in horror.


    “If you’re staying at thepany in hopes of getting some giant profit, I suggest you give up. How


    would you get any kind of profit with all the debt we’re still buried in?” Avery said, then shifted her gaze


    to the rest of the room and added, “Anyone who’s on the same page as Mr. Locklyn is wee to


    settle your final wages today.”


    Shaun and two core members of the research and development team stormed out of the meeting


    room.


    “Avery Tate looks gentle and quiet, but she turned out to be brutal!”


    “She said she gave the stuff to Cole Foster… but I don’t trust her! She might still have it!”


    “Let’s look into Cole Foster first!”


    Avery left Tate Industries at noon to meet with Tammy at a restaurant for lunch.


    “It’s so hard to meet you now, Avery! We barely see each other anymore!” Tammy whined. “Are you still


    having trouble looking for investors for your dad’spany?”