Jane stood on the balcony, watching as a truckload of flowers was unloaded at their doorstep.
“Are you planning to open a flower shop in my house?” Jane shouted at her.
Several nannies and workers rushed out to help Finley move the flowers.
Six or seven people came out, which startled Finley.
“Is Patrick protecting you like a national treasure? Are you pregnant?” Finley exclaimed downstairs.
Jane overheard her words and replied vaguely, “No, why would I be?”
“What are you planning to do with all these flowers?” Jane pointed at the truckload of flowers and asked sternly.
Finley clapped her hands. “These are just a few. There’s another truckload coming.”
Jane was taken aback by this news. She pulled Finley aside and asked, “What are you doing? Did your business go bankrupt? Are you using flowers as collateral for debt repayment?”
“Don’t curse me!” Finely quickly covered Jane’s mouth in fear that she might say something bad later on.
“My shop is too small to hold all these flowers. I can’t keep them at home either. Your place is big enough, plus there’s a warehouse behind it where we can store them,” explained Finley while instructing workers to move the flowers into the warehouse behind their house.
It was more like a glass house than a warehouse. It was a house that Mike had specifically renovated, supposedly for planting flowers. However, since Jane moved in, she hadn’t found the time or interest to pursue that.
“Fine, go ahead and use it,” Jane sighed helplessly, spreading her hands.
Finley held her hand and led her to sit on the swing. “Madam, I have another matter to discuss. I was wondering if you could help me.”
As soon as Jane heard this, she knew it couldn’t be something good.
“Well, go ahead and tell me.”
“You know my flower shop is small, and I don’t want to live at home. I thought since my flowers are already here, maybe I could live here too. I can stay in the warehouse, and you won’t have to worry about me. It will be as it needs to be!” Finley had planned everything out.
Jane thought for a moment and looked at her. “How can I let you live in the warehouse? There’s a two-story building behind the house that we were planning to use for the child. You can stay there for now.”
Originally, they had planned to expand the house when the child was born, giving them their own space and independence.
“Really? That’s great! I knew you were the best.”
Jane couldn’t help but smile at the compliment.
Meanwhile, at another location.
“CEO, the general manager of the subsidiary has arrived,” the secretary said solemnly.
Patrick furrowed his brow. Subsidiaries were usually independent entities, and they only came for annual summaries. Why would they come at this time?
“Let them in!”
The general manager of the subsidiary was someone Patrick had personally promoted and trusted, named Harley Hall.
“CEO, something bad has happened. The stock market of the subsidiary has crashed,” Harley said with a sorrowful face as soon as he entered.
Patrick slammed the table. “How is that possible!”
“The subsidiary’s economy has been good all along, but recently, there have been signs of decline in the stock market. We thought it was a normal phenomenon, but in just a month, the stock market has plummeted significantly, directly affecting the company’s economy. Now the shareholders are demanding to sell their stocks, they don’t want to continue anymore.” Harley tearfully explained.
“Why are you reporting this a month after the news came out?” Patrick roared angrily.
This subsidiary was the one he cared about the most. Although its annual income was not as high as the main company’s, the stock market had always been performing well, which was his advantage.
“We wanted to wait and see for a while, hoping we could hold on, but now we have reached the point where we can’t. The news has been kept hidden internally,” Harley cried bitterly. He never expected the once-thriving company to end up in this situation.
Patrick glanced at him, his icy gaze piercing like a knife.
“Notify the top management of the company. Gather for a meeting in five minutes!” Patrick issued the order sternly. “Compile all the financial reports and stock market data of the subsidiary and send them to me!”
Five minutes later, the senior management gathered in the meeting room.
As soon as Patrick entered, a chilling atmosphere filled the room.
“The subsidiary’s stock market has crashed, and we need to transfer a small portion of our company’s shares to the subsidiary. Most importantly, we need to find out the exact cause of the crash.”
Patrick straightforwardly stated the problem.
Everyone quickly went to prepare. Nobody had any spare time.
The news couldn’t be concealed. With such major turbulence in the stock market, people naturally started paying attention. Suddenly, news about the subsidiary surged to the forefront.
“CEO, there are many journalists downstairs who want to see you!” the secretary hurriedly reported.
Patrick stood in front of the French window, looking down. The tall buildings towered above, and the people below looked like tiny ants, but their numbers were vast, crowding the company’s entrance.
Patrick knew he couldn’t avoid it, he could only face it head-on.
He took the elevator and walked downstairs, his brows furrowed as he looked at the bustling crowd.
The security guards cleared a path on both sides, creating a passage for Patrick.
“Mr. Pansy, with such a major mistake in the subsidiary, do you have anything to say? Or is there something you want to tell us?”
“Mr. Pansy, with the stock market crashing, the shareholders need an explanation”…
These journalists were everywhere, bombarding him with one question after another.
Patrick cleared his throat and waved his hand at them. “Everyone, we all know the questions you’re concerned about, and I believe Pansy Group will give you a satisfactory answer.”
Then he walked away directly through the back door.
“CEO, what do we do now?” the secretary was in a frantic state.
But Patrick remained calm and composed, showing no signs of anger or joy.
“What about Harley?”
“He hasn’t arrived yet.”
At home:
After spending the entire morning unloading flowers, Jane finally finished. Finley was exhausted, covered in sweat, and slumped on the sofa, shaking her hand. “I won’t do this kind of physical work again, I won’t even do it if you beg me.”
Hearing this, Jane waved her hand dismissively. “You brought it upon yourself.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already evening, and Patrick hadn’t come back yet.
Her phone was filled with notifications about Pansy Group’s news. Jane opened one and her eyebrows furrowed tightly. She stood up, about to leave.
“Where are you going?” Finley shouted from behind.
“I have something to do!”
Jane didn’t bother calling the driver and drove to the company herself.
Most of the journalists at the entrance were already gone, but a few were still waiting.
Jane parked her car in the garage and took the elevator from the basement. As soon as she got on the elevator, she saw a familiar figure and quickly found a place to hide.