Georgia’s approachable nature meant Lara felt comfortable speaking freely with her. More importantly, Lara had come to genuinely respect her boss. Everyone had witnessed the company’s recent growth under Georgia’s leadership. Whether she’d won over investors with her beauty or her strength of character, securing that much investment was an undeniable achievement!
The entire company had come to admire her. Even Lara, who’d once held prejudices, had changed her view.
“Enough!” Georgia’s expression turned serious. “What did you need?”
“Oh!” Lara handed over a stack of documents. “Ms. Adams, please sign these reports from recent operations.”
Georgia nodded. “Leave them here.”
After setting down the documents, Lara turned back with an exaggerated expression. “Ms. Adams, have you heard? The Saint Dragon Business Association was massacred.”
Georgia’s head snapped up in surprise. “What did you say?”
“The Braxton brothers and the Salvatore family-all killed. Apparently by someone powerful. Must have offended the wrong person. I just happened to see it in the news today.”
Georgia’s heart pounded. She had a strong suspicion who was behind this. Kayden! Without question. She’d thought his threats to Hiphia’s power players were just words, but clearly, he hadn’t been joking.
His motivation was obvious-they had dared to harass her.
Her emotions were mixed, caught between joy and worry. She was happy that she held such an exalted place in Kayden’s heart, but she was worried about his brutality-killing without hesitation or concern for consequences.
“Ms. Adams, hadn’t you heard about it?” Lara pressed.
Georgia shook her head. “No. You may go now.”
Lara hesitated briefly before responding with a “Yes” and quietly departing.
Taking a deep breath, Georgia suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for Kayden. To hold such power at his age-who knew what price he’d paid? Fighting in the war zones, surely years of killing had shaped him into who he was.
She sighed, turning her attention to the documents before her. Her mind returned to work matters. The company was now on track, partnering with countless enterprises, each day bringing new tasks requiring her attention.
Just then, her phone rang. Checking the display, she saw it was Old Mrs. Adams.
Old Mrs. Adams hadn’t contacted her in quite some time-not since the incident with Jamie. She’d seemed to withdraw in grief. Why was she calling now?
After a moment’s hesitation, she answered. Old Mrs. Adams’s voice came through immediately, “Georgia, how have you been lately?”
“Everything’s fine, Grandma. The company’s running smoothly. Is something wrong?”
Old Mrs. Adams chuckled. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a family dinner. Tonight, bring your parents to Moon Viewing Restaurant. I’ve reserved a private room. Let’s have a reunion dinner.”
“Ah!” Georgia was startled. A sudden family dinner invitation, at such an upscale venue as Moon Viewing Restaurant? It seemed unusual. After all, Old Mrs. Adams had never particularly favored Georgia’s branch of the family, especially after the hospital incident. She’d practically come to hate them.
Jamie had been raised under her direct care-watching him become disabled must have broken her heart!
“Come early after work,” Old Mrs. Adams said decisively.
Georgia hesitated. “Grandma, is something wrong?”
“Tch!” Old Mrs. Adams’s displeasure carried through the line. “Child, can’t I invite my family to dinner without an ulterior motive? Have you forgotten we’re family?”
With that, she hung up cheerfully.
Putting down her phone, Georgia wondered if Old Mrs. Adams had finally come around.
It wasn’t surprising-given the company’s success, she’d have to be incredibly stubborn not to.
That afternoon, after work, Georgia went home to pick up Scarlett and Harvey before heading to Moon Viewing Restaurant.
In the car, Scarlett couldn’t help asking, “By the way, Georgia, where’s Kayden? Why didn’t you invite him?”
“Oh,” Georgia responded, “he’s out on business.”
“Business?” Scarlett paused for a few seconds before asking mysteriously, “Could Kayden be secretly running some big enterprise? He usually seems so simple, but when he acts, he’s quite imposing. That kind of authority usually only comes with big business. He must be involved in something major, right?”
Georgia was speechless. Her mother had clearly spent considerable time speculating about Kayden’s identity, probably imagining all sorts of possibilities.
“Oh right!” Scarlett suddenly remembered something and pulled out two jade bracelets. “Look! Roland brought these as an apology today. He said they’re worth over six million in the market.”
“Ophelia and Melanie are quite wealthy, but even they’ve never worn anything this expensive!”
Georgia gave her mother an exasperated look. Her mother was truly something else.
Soon, they arrived at Moon Viewing Restaurant. It was Hiphia’s premier restaurant-while not quite matching Inassea’s revolving restaurant, it had its own distinctive charm. Twelve floors in total, with status increasing as you ascended.
After parking, they saw Old Mrs. Adams approaching with Dixon and his wife.
“Georgia, you’re here!” Old Mrs. Adams greeted with an unusually bright smile.
Georgia nodded and called out “Grandma,” to which Old Mrs. Adams quickly responded, “Hurry, let’s go up!”
Her enthusiasm seemed oddly out of character, surprising everyone.
Old Mrs. Adams pressed the elevator button for the twelfth floor.
“Mom, the twelfth floor?” Scarlett asked in amazement.
Old Mrs. Adams hummed in agreement. “Yes, the twelfth floor! Is something wrong?”
“I’ve heard the twelfth floor has the Imperial Suite! It’s the most expensive here!” Scarlett exclaimed. The Adams family had dined here before, but never above the third floor. This sudden jump to the twelfth floor marked quite a change.
Old Mrs. Adams gave a cold laugh. “Nothing strange about it. Our family can afford that!”