Stepping into Jarrett Group, Summer could immediately feel the tense atmosphere around the office. In the pantry, she bumped into Vicky, whose eyes were bloodshot. Vicky must have had a rough night.
She walked up to Summer in her high heels. “You’re trying to bring down Jarrett Group, aren’t you? There hasn’t been a day without trouble since you came.”
Summer kept quiet. By the same token, she had not enjoyed a day of an easy life in the Mu Family since she was born. She was even forced to marry into the Emerson family.
“I’ve never thought of bringing down Jarrett Group, and I don’t think I have the ability. It was Grandpa who founded the company, which has always been a brand with a conscience in the past decades. You should know better why Jarrett Group has become what it is today.”
Summer did not really know about doing business and managing a company. But, at least she knew what was happening in Jarrett Group.
Jarrett Sr., who founded Jarrett Group, was tactful and friendly. He was not the most brilliant businessman out there, but he was down to earth and a little stubborn. There was a saying that you needed to be sly to be successful in business.
It was probably due to that reason Jarrett Group had not been able to make much progress in the last few decades other than being known as a time-honored brand. After Lynn took over the helm from Jarrett Sr., he had followed in his father’s footsteps, running an honest business. However, during the past few years, Lynn had been up to more monkey business as the company grew until an investment venture went wrong, denting a hole in the company’s finance. The exposure of the toxic factory operation aggravated the situation, pushing Jarrett Group into the biggest crisis ever since its inception.
“Stop quibbling!” Vicky did not give a hoot about what Summer said. “Let’s see Dad and let him be the judge if you dare!”
“Let’s go, then!”
Summer did not want Jarrett Group to collapse. Many employees in the company had followed Jarrett Sr. through thick and thin. They had a deep feeling for the company. She was no saint because from a personal perspective, for all the grudges she held against the Jarretts, she could have gloated over Jarrett Group’s collapse. Yet, she knew that satisfaction would not last. If the company went under, many people would lose their jobs. She could not bring herself to see that happen or pretend not to see.
Since Leonardo was the real owner of Tip Top Entertainment, he had to be the one who came up with the Adams plot. As he secretly plotted to force Jarrett Sr. to come home, Jarrett Group could become collateral damage.
There was no way Lynn would be a match for the twenty-six-year-old young man, who removed a bullet with no anesthetic and the man behind the biggest entertainment company.
…
“Daddy, Summer’s here!” Vicky brought Summer into Lynn’s office.
“Summer, what did you say to Adams yesterday? What went wrong?” Lynn emerged from behind the desk.
Summer shook her head. “We discussed nothing.”
“If nothing happened, why are we under siege again?” Vicky looked at her with a sneer. “You must have said something and offended Adams. Those online criticisms are obviously the works of cyber troopers. Someone’s behind all of this.”
“How did you persuade Adams then? Did he say he would sign the agreement? Please use your noodle. Why would a superstar like him agree to become our brand ambassador?” It had something to do with Leonardo. No doubt, this was a set-up right from the beginning.
“Men like women, especially pretty ones. As much as Adams is a superstar, he’s also a man.” Vicky was trying to say that Adams had taken a liking to her. That was the reason he had agreed to become a brand ambassador for Jarrett Group.
Even Lynn did not believe it, let alone Summer. He raised his hand and asked, “Vicky, what did Adams tell you?”
“He… told me I was very attractive, and he said he would give it a shot.” Vicky blushed as she said that.
Summer snickered; so it was Vicky who had caught Adams’s fancy?
“Didn’t you say that Adams has agreed to sign the agreement with us?” Lynn knitted his brows, his voice turning low and grim.
“It appeared that way, more or less. Had I known this would happen, I would’ve gone to see him myself and had him sign the agreement the next day…” She was regretting it now. She had asked Summer to follow up on the agreement for a reason. She thought Adams was interested in her, so she figured that she should not be too aggressive, and it was time to let him make the first move.
Seeing Lynn’s sullen face, she dared not say a word again. By the looks of things, it had to be Adams’s fault now, she thought.
Lynn sat back on the sofa, burying his head in his hand and sighing. “Someone wants to see Jarrett Group fall.” He sounded weary.
“Indeed. It’s been a set-up since the day Adams didn’t decline the invitation from Jarrett Group.” Summer thought for a moment and continued, “Or maybe, even earlier than that.”
Lynn looked at Summer, measuring her as if he was meeting her for the first time.
Summer’s eyes met with his as she went on, “Since there’s no way Adams would want to accept this job, this is weird. Something fishy must be going on.”
Lynn stared at Summer for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “You have a point.”
When Leonardo first helped Jarrett Group, Lynn grew confident. He had seen what Leonardo could do and thought an actor like Adams would have no problem in becoming a brand ambassador for his company. Little did he expect that things would blow up in his face. To Jarrett Group, which had just recovered somewhat from a major storm, it was like adding fuel to the fire.
Vicky was not too happy when Lynn complimented Summer. “Dad, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Adams treats me differently; I’m sure he likes me. Let me handle this. I’ll make him confess in front of the media that he’s agreed to be our brand ambassador because he likes me!”
Her self-confidence knocked Summer’s socks off, not that being self-confident was a bad thing. Just that, she had never seen anyone as overly self-confident as Vicky. She may not have known what kind of woman Adams liked; it could have been someone from a wealthy family or an ordinary woman with an ordinary background and appearance. Nevertheless, there had to be something good in the woman that would attract his interest. It would not be a woman like Vicky. What did Vicky have? The ability to sleep with more men than she could count? Her bloated self-confidence?
Lynn angrily slammed his hand on the coffee table, snapping, “Stop that crap. Get out!”
“I’m serious!” Vicky raised her chin in arrogance, shooting Summer a glare before storming out of the door.
Lynn raised his hand, pointing at the door, too outraged to say anything.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Summer did not even bother to say a word of consolation. He spoiled his daughter in the past, and now the chickens had come home to roost.