Chapter 787 A Commercial Conspiracy?
Nora was a little surprised.
Mrs. Hunt gave her money only because she had never believed in her “friends”, but wasn’t Joel in the Imperial League? Didn’t he see what King said in the group?
King had already said in the group that gold prices would rise in the future. He should have become aware of it after seeing the message, so why was he still giving her money?
Suddenly, Nora thought of something and she looked straight at Tanya. She asked, “I see. What about Dad?”
Tanya replied, “Dad has been paying a lot of attention recently to what is happening to you but he didn’t offer to give you any money this time. When I bumped into him while I was on my way here today, he didn’t mention anything about it, either. I reckon it probably didn’t occur to him? Is the money not enough? I still have some, and so does Joel. How much more do you need?”
Now that Joel was Ian’s son, Tanya had also become his daughter-in-law.
Therefore, she also addressed Ian as Dad now.
Upon hearing what Tanya said, Nora suddenly understood.
As it turned out, Ian was still using that
count? Didn’t he already give it to Joel? Why did he take it back? Honestly…
With that in mind, Nora cast her eyes down and slowly asked, “How is Joel doing lately?”
At her question, Tanya glanced at Nora. A moment later, she finally sighed and said, “Actually, there’s something I don’t know whether I should say or not.”
Nora replied, “Is there still anything the two of us shouldn’t be saying to each other?”
The two were already close friends when they were still in Switzerland.
Now that Tanya was with Joel, she was leading a blissful and happy life. Coupled with how much of a cutie Mia was, even her firecracker-like temper had significantly changed for the better.
She had always been a straightforward woman, though, so she simply decided to come straight out and say it. She said, “To be honest, Joel’s relationship with Dad did become a little delicate after your return. Dad had given all of his shares of the company to Joel, but now that you’re back, Joel often says that everything that the Smiths own should have been yours.”
Just as Nora was about to speak, Tanya sighed and went on. “But Dad said that you are lazy and don’t like taking care of such things, so he wants Joel to continue taking care of the company. You should also know that the management of a family business requires absolute control in company shares, so this led to Dad having to give him 51% of the shares. Dad only had 70% of the shares, so he can only give you 19% now. Because of this, Joel keeps saying that you’re at too much of a disadvantage, so he has decided that for as long as he’s alive, he will give you half of all the dividends he receives.”
Nora: “!”
He really didn’t have to.
She was fine as long as she had enough to spend. What would she need that much money for?
She refused her right away. “No, it’s fine. I will set up my bank account to reject the funds.”
Nora’s way of doing things had always been direct and decisive.
Tanya covered her mouth and laughed. Compared to before, she had really become much gentler. At the sight, Nora couldn’t help but remark, “Just laugh if you want to. What are you covering your mouth for?”
Tanya rolled her eyes. Then, she said emotionally, “Nora, do you know? I have always thought that people’s relationships with one another are predestined and everyone we meet will surely impart to us a little knowledge. In Mia’s case, she taught me how to be gentle. How would I possibly dare to be loud when I speak to her? Before I knew it, even the way I laugh became a lot gentler!”
Nora agreed with her, though.
Since she was a child, she had always been lazy and had never thought about having children at all. Who would have known that she would become pregnant all of a sudden and even give birth to three at one go…
No matter how lazy and unwilling to communicate with others she was, with Cherry the little chatterbox sucking up to her all day long, before she knew it, even she had started to talk more.
She felt that she had talked more to Cherry than she ever did during the first twenty years of her life.
While she was thinking, Tanya got back to business. She said, “I knew you wouldn’t want it, so Joel said that he has thought of a way to make it up to you!”
A way to make it up to her?
“What is it?” Nora asked.
Tanya pursed her lips and replied, “That’s something top-secret among the Smiths, so how would I know? In any case, he told me not to worry.”
“…Oh.”
She handed the check back to Tanya. “When you’re back, tell Joel that gold prices will rise in two days. If he’s interested, he can also buy
some.”
Tanya didn’t really understand, but she was a messenger between the two, so she took back the check and said, “Okay, I’ll tell him.”
Then, she got up and left.
It wasn’t until she stepped out of the Hunts’ manor that Tanya suddenly realized something.
Because of what had happened to Justin, her heart had been very heavy when she came. She wanted to keep Nora company as much as she could, yet she also had to restrain herself and make sure that she didn’t bring up Justin, lest it saddened Nora.
But as she chatted with Nora, upon seeing that she was in such a good state of mind and completely didn’t look like she had just lost her beloved, she forgot all about the matter.
It wasn’t until she left that she finally remembered.
However…
Wasn’t Nora in a little too good of a condition?
As she thought so, she shook her head slightly, suppressed her doubts, and went back to the Smiths.
–
After seeing Tanya off, without having any time to wonder what Joel was referring to that was more important than company shares, Nora went straight to the Hunt Corporation.
Now that she was the CEO of the Hunt Corporation, she couldn’t stay at home and sleep in every day anymore.
In addition, she had to take care of all the company matters and get everything on the right track as soon as possible. Only then would she be able to leave and look for the V16!
When Nora arrived at the company in the car, the surrounding employees all looked at her and started pointing and gesturing at her.
The moment she arrived at her office, Roger invited himself in. At the sight of Nora, he sighed silently and said, “Nora, didn’t I already tell you to sell the gold futures? Yet you simply refuse to listen! Well, look at how we’ve made even more losses now!”
Nora lowered her head. “Mmhmm.”
Roger hadn’t closed the door when he entered, deliberately letting the people in the secretarial department outside hear what he was about to say.
“Nora, I know you are rich, and I also know that Grandma gave you 50 million dollars. But it’s the company that’s losing money here! You have enough money to support your willfulness, but what about the company’s shareholders? And these employees in the company too. What are they supposed to do?”
Nora frowned and replied, “I will bear all the losses. I will also give the shareholders and employees an explanation, you don’t have to worry about it.”
Before he came, Roger had already guessed as much that she would say that, so he immediately acted like he was painstakingly trying to persuade and talk sense into her.
“Nora, I know you are rich. Even if you use up all of Grandma’s 50 million dollars as compensation, you still can get money from the Smiths. At the worst, you can even compensate for the losses with Justin’s money, but don’t you know that you are just eating into your savings by doing that? You will empty your savings one day! Besides, with the way you’re behaving, how are you going to give the people in the Hunt Corporation any hope? Do you know that everyone in the company has been feeling jittery and uneasy since Justin’s accident? In fact, there are even rumors going about outside that the Hunt Corporation is about to lose its position as the number one company in America!”
Nora: “?”
Roger continued. “Over the years, the Hunts and the Smiths have been vying for the top spot in America. From the start, the two companies’ profits have been more or less the same. If you make losses in a few projects, it may lead to a change in our position. Do you really want to see that happen?!”
Everyone said that the Smiths and the Hunts were competing and fighting with each other, but from Nora’s perspective, the two companies had always been doing business in a mutually beneficial manner. It was fine as long as both made money, why bother caring about who earned more?
Whether it was Joel, Justin, or even Ian, they had never thought about competing for top spot and whatnot. On the contrary, these empty accolades were all given by outsiders.
As a Hunt, it went without saying that Roger understood that.
Yet he’d still voiced such a ludicrous question
—especially when his question caught the attention of those outside.
Through the door, Nora could see that everyone in the secretarial department had pricked up their ears to hear how she was going to answer!
In addition, before she could answer, Roger was already starting to set up a trap for her. He said, “No, wait. Nora, you’re a Smith, so you must favor the Smiths instead! I see, so that’s how it is! … Even though you’ve borne Justin three children, you’re still a Smith! And your daughter is also a Smith! Even after she and Justin acknowledged each other as father and daughter, she didn’t change her last name all this time!”
Roger suddenly thought of something and he even said, “I get it now, I’ve finally figured it out! I have been perplexed about why you refuse to cut our losses despite gold prices clearly plummeting day by day. As it turns out, you were lying in wait for that!”
Nosy and gossipy secretaries would send news of their dispute to the group chats. Thus, Roger’s words were like a thunderbolt that bombarded the hearts of all the employees of the Hunt Corporation.
Everyone launched into a discussion in the group chat.
“Is Ms. Smith’s heart really not in here?”
“Surely it’s not that bad? After all, the two families have already allied with each other through a political marriage. They even have children!”
“Friend, Ms. Smith and Mr. Hunt are just engaged, they are not married yet! Legally, Ms. Smith is not Mr. Hunt’s wife yet!”
“Oh my god! Now that you’ve put it that way, I’m suddenly starting to form a conspiracy theory here… No, no, surely not? Is Ms. Smith actually here to harm us? Will a company as big as the Hunt Corporation really go out of business?”
“I feel so anxious! Will they lay off staff? Will I be laid off? I’m already middle-aged! If I lose this job, I won’t be able to find a better job at all!”
Everyone was speculating. For a while, all the employees in the company panicked.
The local media also reported the incident and it made headlines in business news. For a while, everyone was discussing it on the Internet as well as in real life.
The focus of their discussion was:
In order to take the top spot in the country, the Smiths were stooping too low!
Nora also came under fire on the Internet:
“I’ve suddenly understood the Smiths’ ploys. The way wealthy families manipulate people is really so sinister! Oh gosh, how scary!” “Nora? She’s the top socialite, right? So, the way to rout the enemy is to bear him a child, then inherit his business and bring down his company?”
Some reporters also cornered Nora and asked her for her opinion on the matter.
Nora merely looked at the camera and said a few words.
“In two days, I will tell you the answer.”
