“I see… OK.” Elise couldn’t retort to Melody, who insisted it was a bonus for her excellent performance. If Elise refused it, other employees would be like her in the future, which would embarrass Mr. X.
Elise didn’t want it to happen. However, she didn’t want to drive the Porsche but put it in her garage. She would give it to a subordinate as a bonus or use it for another purpose. She couldn’t be used to the sudden affection from Mr. X.
After all, Elise was still Robin’s wife and in love with him. Thinking about him, she furrowed her eyebrows in worry. Robin still hadn’t returned home, and she missed him greatly.
Elise wished Robin could work harder and earn 400, 000 dollars in six months without relying on her or breaking the law. Then she wouldn’t have to pretend to be cold to him. She felt too exhausted. Inwardly, Elise encouraged Robin.
Most of the time, she looked aloof at work. After going home, she wanted to nestle in Robin’s arms to feel his love.
Elise suddenly was curious, wondering why Mr. X knew she liked Porsche the most. She guessed it must be a coincidence.
Heaving a sigh, Elise glanced at her employees and returned to be the aloof CEO again. “Go back to your work.”
“OK, Ms. Houry.” The employees were dismissed.
Melody also left Landview. Instead of driving away, she sat in a Hummer parked across the road. Robin was sitting in the passenger’s seat. He had taken off his mask while peering out the window tenderly.
Melody was still envious. Limited ones knew Mr. X’s true identity. Melody was one of them. She envied Elise like crazy. As a young woman, she had never experienced such a dramatic thing in real life, which was supposed to happen in romance novels.
She could tell Robin loved Elise deeply, wishing she could have such an affectionate husband in the future.
‘Melody, you are professional. Calm down,’ she reminded herself inwardly. On the surface, she said seriously, “Mr. Bailey, I’ve sent the car to Ms. Houry. She didn’t seem to be willing to drive it.”
“It makes sense. My wife cannot be deceived by such a gift. I’m glad she’s accepted it. A few days later, after things are settled, I’ll give my wife a joy ride.”
Robin didn’t panic, patiently waiting for another few days. By then, Elise would know he had given her the Porsche and would accept him. Robin knew that was her favorite car brand.
Robin didn’t withdraw his gaze until Elise entered Landview Inc.
He was about to leave a few minutes later but received a call. After answering it, he ordered with a murderous look, “Go to the Robin-Sophia Group.”
“OK.” Melody started the engine, pulled the car away, and headed for the Robin-Sophia Group. She knew Robin would do something unique again.
In the past few days, she was constantly shocked and almost used to it.
Elise was the last time returning to her office. Before sitting down, she saw Priya trotting into her office in a panic. “Ms. Houry, bad news! Ten minutes ago, the Brighton Group and Conwyn Corp united to ban our company crazily. Unlike the last time, they tried to suppress us in every possible way. They used several billion dollars and banned our channels from terminating our cooperation with all the distributors and clients.”
“So far, more than 20 companies working with Landview have called. They all want to terminate our contracts and stop the projects.”
“I estimate that we’ll compensate them for 80 million dollars if the projects end. Let alone, we’ve lost all the distributors now. In Stillwater, the Brighton and the Conwyn families are way too powerful. No one dares to disobey them and continue cooperating with us,” said Priya.
It was different from the last time. Constance seemed to play a game the last time, so the Brighton Group didn’t seriously suppress Landview. However, she leisurely invested several hundred million dollars, almost bankrupting Landview. It showed how capable the Brighton Group was.
However, Constance was serious this time. She directly invested two billion dollars and used her company’s influence. After a simple announcement, all of Landview’s clients dared not to continue with their cooperation.
“Is the Brighton Group going nuts?” Elise frowned. She could tell how terrible the situation was. However, the worse it was, the more clinical Elise should be. After all, she had just received a monthly bonus, although she didn’t intend to drive the Porsche.
“Priya, inform the shareholders and the senior executives of an urgent meeting. We’re in jeopardy now,” Elise ordered.
“Got it, Ms. Houry.” Priya left the office.
Shortly after, all the shareholders and senior executives were gathered except Mr. X, the major shareholder. Sitting in her chair, Elise glanced at them and announced, “Guys, this is the real jeopardy now.”
Others couldn’t agree more as they all knew the Brighton Group hadn’t been serious the last time, but now, it was different.
“We have 460 million dollars in our account and can struggle a bit. However, the most critical problem is our clients. We used to have over 30 of them, but only a few remained. They have been bound by our cooperation agreements, but I’m sure they’re secretly obedient to the Brighton Group.”
“Therefore, we’re at a disadvantage now. Without the distributors, the houses we built can’t be sold. Our capital chain will be broken if the inventory exceeds our limit.”
Elise knocked on the desk while her gaze swept around the room.
“Stop the projects.” A young manager stood up. He held a master’s degree in economics, so he sensed the core of the problem quickly. “We can only stop the projects now. Or our capital chain won’t last long. Our projects are too big.”
“I disagree. Once the projects are stopped, our employees will panic. Besides, if they’re stopped, we’ll lose income and rely on the current funds. It won’t last time, either,” Elise replied. She added, “You have degrees but lack experience. In the future, please consider things from all aspects.”
Inexperienced ones thought Landview would survive and pay the employees after stopping the projects. However, it only worked for small firms.
Landview had become a massive group with almost a billion-dollar market value. Its senior executive team consists of young or mid-aged ambitious ones. They were positive but wanted to become successful through shortcuts. When they lost hope in their employer, they would quit and work for another company. Once they did it, the negative impact on Landview was unimaginable. Also, it would panic their subordinates.
Moreover, for a considerable company, time meant competence. Once it became incompetent, it would be defeated by other companies. Therefore, Elise and her team must grasp each second to figure out how to fight back.