Callie suddenly collided with something sharp. Her vision turned red with blood, and her head throbbed with pain. She felt herself falling, but a voice inside her mind insisted that she couldn’t get hurt-there were still important things she needed to do. Gradually, she lost consciousness completely.
“Callie!”
Financial Center.
“Latest news, Scott Group has increased the amount significantly.” A subordinate stood up from his computer and walked over to Nelson, his face full of anxiety. “According to previous valuations, Scott Group couldn’t possibly come up with such a high amount unless someone is backing them, Mr. Oconnor…”
Nelson stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the distant buildings, already calculating in his mind.
Bridger squinted his eyes. “Could it really be the Ellison family?”
Anthony added, “Even if we pool all our prepared funds together, it would be very difficult to counter them. With the trust crisis unresolved, no bank is willing to lend us money, which means we have no fallback…”
All the funds came from the company and private sources. If they went all-in, it would be futile.
“Nelson, any decision you make now must be extremely cautious.” Even Bridger, under days of high pressure, seemed somewhat weary.
“Phone.” Nelson suddenly spoke, his expression tense.
Anthony immediately handed it over. Nelson unlocked the screen and was slightly surprised not to see any missed calls from Callie. He understood she was being considerate of him.
Scrolling quickly through the call history, he dialed a number. Everyone around held their breath.
The call connected, and a man’s weathered voice came through. “Nelson, it’s so late. What’s the matter?”
Nelson’s face was grim, but his voice carried a hint of a smile. “Mr. Ellison, I remember we just reached a cooperation agreement recently. Why stab me in the back now?”
Though he was smiling, there was a coldness to it that even Ahmad couldn’t help but feel a chill.
“Nelson, I don’t understand what you mean.”
Nelson replied quickly, “Mr. Ellison, do you really not understand?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, as if a secretary had said something to him. Ahmad then replied slowly, with the cunning only a businessperson could have, “We only reached an agreement in principle, not a confirmed cooperation. Nelson, you’re too hasty.”
“It seems Mr. Ellison wants to go down with me.” Nelson’s lips curled slightly. “But you’re wrong. If I were really that hasty, I wouldn’t have let the Ellison family rise again back then. Don’t you think?”
Nelson rarely mentioned the past. This was the first time Ahmad heard it and couldn’t help but be startled. He pondered for a moment. “Wait a moment.”
The call ended for three minutes. During this time, Bridger curiously asked, “What does that mean?”
Nelson didn’t answer and asked Anthony, “How are things on the engineering front?”
“We’ve reported it. Although the higher-ups are angry, they agreed to let us make amends given our good attitude.”
“In half a month, minimize the negative impact of this incident. Under no circumstances can we let the outside world think that Oconnor Group is finished.”
“Understood.”
Nelson lowered his eyes and stared at his phone. Soon, the screen lit up with Ahmad’s return call.
He didn’t rush to answer it. The ringtone rang for forty seconds before it stopped. Bridger grew impatient. “Aren’t you going to answer?”
“He’ll call again.”
Sure enough, ten seconds later, the phone rang again. This time Nelson answered.
“Mr. Ellison.”
“Nelson, Marilyn has a high fever tonight and it won’t go down. In this situation, I’m afraid I can’t give you an answer.” Ahmad’s words were simple and direct.
Nelson squinted upon hearing this.