When Michael called Marcus, he was reporting to William regarding work affairs.
When he picked up the phone, he glanced at the inner room. Valeria and Deborah were playing with the kids and weren’t paying attention to what Marcus and William were doing. Marcus lowered his voice and said, “Michael wants to see you right now. He doesn’t sound very good.”
“I’ve got it. I’ll go see him right now.” William frowned.
“What about Madam?” Marcus glanced at the inner room worriedly and lowered his voice. “Will she ask you where you’re going? It’ll be terrible if Madam finds out.”
“Look at you! Wouldn’t it be fine as long as we don’t tell her? Don’t tell me you’re going to inform her of my whereabouts?”
“Of course, I won’t. I was afraid other people would tell her accidentally. I realized you have been pretty cowardly lately.” Marcus rambled on until William glared at him. He then immediately twisted his words and said with a smile, “People are saying that only good men will be afraid of their wives. This proves that Mr. Howard, you are a perfectly good man.”
“Is this me being afraid of her? This is me loving her and doting on her!” William corrected Marcus.
“Anyway, as long as a man gives in to his wife, to me, it means he is afraid of his wife,” Marcus muttered.
William slammed the document shut. “Are you done yet, you brat?”
“Pretend that I didn’t say anything. I’m only rambling. How about I slap myself as an apology?” Marcus then pretended to slap himself on the face. But he still couldn’t stop talking. “Mr. Howard, how are you going to escape later on? Is this a good time for you to leave?”
“I’ll get Valeria’s mom to come over. I’ll tell her that I have company matters to attend to.” William then called Natalie, “Mom, I have something to attend to, and I need to leave. Come and help me keep an eye on Valeria.”
“I’m already on the way. Go ahead and leave.” Natalie agreed readily.
William then got up and went to the inner room. He looked at Valeria, who was talking to Deborah, and said with a smile, “Valeria, I’m going out to attend to some company matters.”
“Go ahead if you have things to attend to. Why are you informing me so pleasantly? Are you guilty of something?”
“Of course not. Am I that kind of person?”
“Then go ahead and attend to it. I have grandma and the nanny with me. I’ll be fine.” Valeria waved her hand graciously and then continued saying, “It’s fine if you’re going to work. But I’ve told you before. Don’t you dare get in touch with Davis. You’ll be so dead if I find out.”
“Got it!” William replied calmly as he walked out.
Marcus followed him out of the postnatal care center to the car outside. After getting in the car, Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. “Mr. Howard, Michael knows that seeing you at this time will make Madam unhappy. Why does he still want to see you?”
“How would I know? It must be something important.”
“Why do I feel like Madam knows something based on the tone she spoke to you just now? Why not meet with Michael at a place no one else knows about? I think there’s a risk meeting at his law firm.”
“That’s enough. What are you babbling about? Just make sure you don’t spill it. If my meeting with Michael is revealed even a little, I’ll hold you solely responsible!”
More than forty minutes later, William arrived at Michael’s firm. He asked Marcus to wait in the car and went to Michael’s office alone.
Pushing the door open, he saw Michael leaning on the chair as if he was asleep.
William cleared his throat and Michael opened his eyes. “You’re here!”
“Why did you call me here?” William sat down on the sofa in Michael’s office.
“I’m here to make a deal with you.” Michael got up and sat down beside William. “It’s a sure deal.”
“Isn’t this rare that you’re talking deals with me?” William picked up the lighter on the coffee table and lit it up. “Do you know? There is no such thing as a sure deal in this world.”
“That’s for the other ninety-nine percent of people in the world. But there has never been a losing deal for you, not to mention I’m the one negotiating with you this time. I won’t deceive you, will I?”
William continued to play with the lighter. “Tell me about it.”
“I’ll give you all my shares of my law firm and the Davis Family, and I’ll persuade other shareholders to support you so that you can take charge of the Davis Family and become the chairman of the company. What do you think of this deal?”
William threw away the lighter. “Are you out of your mind? What do you want by doing this?”
“I want you to give me five billion dollars. William! I’m not out of my mind. I’m thinking very clearly.” Michael sneered. “My grandfather and my mom desperately want to take over other people’s fortune, and they want to profit from other people’s toils. It’s this thinking of theirs that killed Abbie. I cannot tolerate the Davis family to continue existing anymore. I want to bring the Davis family to ruins! I want you to take down the name plague of the company and become the biggest shareholder of the family!”
“That’s impossible! You’re out of your mind and I won’t fool around with you!” William refused it straight up.
“If you don’t want to do it, I’ll go find someone else. I know many people who covet the Davis family, including the Gurney family, the Anthony family, and the Caison family. If I bring this up to them, they won’t refuse my offer. Even if it’s not you, there will be others who will take over the company. William, will you still refuse my offer if I say this?”
“Michael, it’s not worth it! Your grandfather will be the first to die of anger if you ruin the Davis family. Although what your grandfather did is improper, if he dies of anger, are you sure you won’t regret it?”
“Evil always perseveres. Someone as cruel and vicious as my grandfather won’t die because of anger.”
“Don’t act on impulse. What if something happens? Your grandfather is not young anymore. People are always selfish. Although it’s immoral for him to do what he did, Michael, I’m sure ninety percent of the people in this world would choose the same thing he did. The Davis family is at its bottleneck. It would be impossible for your grandfather to acquire the Floyd family and bring your family to the next level in his life anymore. Of course, he would take a chance on a shortcut.”
“Even so, he shouldn’t have lost his conscience and harmed others. He was so cruel to Abbie even though he knew that Abbie was the love of my life. Why should they be happy when I’m so miserable?”
“Your grandfather probably didn’t expect Azalea to do such a thing. There’s no turning back now. He could only continue down that path.”
“But Abbie will never return to me anymore!” Michael’s voice was hoarse, and his eyes were red. “William, enough of the nonsense. I’m only asking you, are you willing to take over the company? Are you willing to give me five billion dollars? I’m not threatening you. I have thought through this. If you don’t agree with my offer, I’ll look for another party. There will be someone who would help me fulfill my wishes.”
Looking at Michael’s insane behavior, William shook his head. “Michael, when you ask me to take up your offer and take control of the Davis family, aren’t you asking me to stoop to the same level as your grandfather and mother? I don’t have a perfect conscience. I, too, want to dominate the world. But with my current mentality, I can’t bring myself to do this. After all, If I were to interfere with the Davis family and take the position as head of the company, it will surely be a tough blow on your grandfather when he sees that the empire he poured his blood and sweat were to fall into the hands of others. Even if he doesn’t die, he will become lifeless! I don’t want to see this happen.”