Chapter 39 Thirty Nine
After ensuring that Richie had been taken away, I called a mini meeting with all of the employees and gave a stern warning to all of them. If they knew they weren’t ready to work then they had better turn in their resignation letters. Since I wasn’t stuck in a marriage anymore, the era where there was no strict and con- sistent supervision was now history. Then I instructed the HR team to start to carry out the recruitment process from within the company for the most suit- able person to occupy Richie’s position.
After the meeting, I rushed to the hospital. It was finally the day Grace would get discharged. Finally, she would get out of that uncomfortable hospital bed.
On my way out, I met with the head of security and instructed him to still keep the place tightly secure. Who knows how many of Bran’s type Richie had?
I drove to the hospital, getting some groceries and veggies on the way so that I would make some home cooked meals for Grace. She has had enough of those hospital meals. She needs something specially made for her. I also got some good wine to celebrate my divorce with Mark. It would have been way fun to go to a bar, probably visit Luigi’s bar but I couldn’t risk it with Grace’s health.
When I got to the hospital, I made sure to find a good parking spot close to the entrance of the hospital so that Grace wouldn’t have to walk too much before
she reached the car.
I made my way inside. I returned the smile the receptionist threw at me, “Hel- lo.” Then I walked to Grace’s ward. My steps slowed and my brows creased as I took in the people by her ward. There was an average sized man dressed in a suit, his face morphed in a sneer as his gaze fell from one part of the hospital in- terior to another in a condescending manner. Behind him were two hefty men in a spandex t–shirt that clung to their muscled shirts and their butts were clad in equally tight slacks. The expressions on their faces would scare anyone from approaching them but they were standing where they shouldn’t, someone
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had to stand up to them.
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“Excuse me, who are you and why are you huddled here? There are seats in the reception area where you can simply wait. Your presence here would be disturb- ing the patients.” I blurted out,my brows furrowing even more. And why would the doctor’s allow them to just stay before a ward like this? My gaze shifted from them to the door. I hoped Grace was fine.
The man in suit seemed to be the one in lead. He stepped forward and the two burly men behind him mirrored his movement. The man took his time to eye me from my head to my toes and back up again.
“We’re not just huddled here. We are here to visit Miss Grace.”
I looked them up and down just like the man did to me now. None of their faces looked familiar so what business do they have with Grace? Did Joel and Sandra send them to finish the job they started? Or perhaps, I lifted one of my brows, they were government officials? Had Sandra run to report to daddy?
“And you are?”
FE
He blatantly ignored my question, acting as though whatever I had to say was ir-
relevant. “We got information that this is the ward where she was admitted but they would not let us in without her guardian’s permission.” His gaze went up and down my b*dy again, “Perhaps, you are her guardian?”
“I am,” I answered in a cl*pped tone. He could ask me questions but he would-
n’t even answer mine.
“Okay that’s good then.” Then he smoothed his hands over his jacket and
smiled, forcibly, the corners of his eyes looked strained as she forced the smile
to remain. “Is Miss Grace in? We need to speak with her.“E
I felt a tightening in my heart. Why were they in search of her when she hadn’t
even done anything. I tried to remain calm though and my growing irritation.
with the man was helping a lot. “She’s not here. If you have any business with her, you can just tell me, I will relay it to her.”
The man’s smile faltered, “I really would prefer to directly speak with Miss
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Chapter 39 Thirty Nine
Grace. It’s pretty confidential and personal.”
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“I’ve told you, you can tell it to me. I have the authority to handle it on her be-
half.”
He managed to keep his smile that looked more like a scowl on. “Very well, then. We want to have a good talk with Miss Grace about the charges she had filed against Miss Sandra. Can you make a decision concerning that too?”
When I didn’t say anything, he added. “We are hoping she will come to have a healthy conversation with Miss Grace.”
These ones were definitely doing Sandra’s father’s bidding. I nodded. “I see,” then I took a threatening step forward. “I’d like to ask you though,, what meth- ods do you plan to use to drop charges against her will? Threats? Intimidation? Or perhaps you have a bag filled with money that you intend to use to bribe her.”
The man’s smile fell and his face seemed to harden if you looked closer. She hadn’t expected him to look so close or to be so direct in letting him know her suspicions.
He laughed awkwardly, trying to ease the tension in the air but it was now too late. “Come on, ma’am. We only meant to talk to Grace and see if we can find a solution that benefits both parties.”
I sneered as his eyes looked like they softened for a while. These people would stop at nothing. I coldly said, “Sorry, I can tell you now that Miss Grace will not drop the lawsuit. You can save your time and just leave.”
I took a step back as the door to the ward suddenly creaked open and Grace stepped out. The Man in suit threw me a dirty look before he turned to the hospi- tal…
She faced the man too, “I’m Grace. Please come in for a cup of coffee as you tell me about the terms you are willing to offer.”
My m*uth dropped open as the man’s eyes lit up. He flashed me a triumphant grin and faced Grace. “There will be no need for that, Miss Grace as we don’t have a lot of time on our hands right now.”
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Grace nodded,not even looking my way for once! I would have stayed mad at her but I got distracted as my eyes took in her appearance. She was already dressed in one of the dresses I brought the last time I visited and her skin had regained its color and her l*ps weren’t so dry anymore.
“Very well then, do hint me on your terms.”
And the man did with a full blown smile. “As long as you’re willing to drop the charges against Miss Sandra, we are willing to fight the maximum government subsidies for your company and the lowest tax rate.”
I coldly interrupted him. What nonsense! “Humph, what bullshit subsidies? Like she hasn’t been paying the tax rate.” The man turned to me, his l*ps set in a grim line as he glared at me. “Sorry, Mr. Lower tax rate but we don’t need it. I
just want to take Sandra to court!”
Grace slapped me on my arm and smiled at the man. “Please, don’t mind her, lis-
ten to me. I agree, as long as the preferential policy is implemented, I will drop
the lawsuit.”
The man clearly didn’t expect Grace to agree so quickly. He blinked a couple of times, clearly stunned, then he immediately laughed and said, “That’s great, I’ll handle it as soon as possible.” He took her hands and shook it, “Thank you so much for your cooperation.”
“It was my pleasure,” Grace smiled sweetly at them.
And just like that, the man turned, threw me a dirty look and waltzed out of the hospital.
I turned to Grace and erupted, “What the actual hell, Grace?!”
She smiled at me and took my hand. “Relax, Sydney.”
I snatched my hand from her, “Relax! Did you just tell me to relax? How could you agree with them?”
“Sydney-”
“Sandra hurt you!” I cut her short, “And she should pay for it! How could you
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agree with them and let her go like that?” I was fuming. Did her short time in the hospital affect her brain or something?
Grace sighed and looked at me. “Will you let me speak?”
I regarded her for a while then I looked away, “Go on.”
“Sydney, business is business. They brought a good deal to us. And I don’t want that jerk, Joel, anymore so why not also get something off him and then we’d throw his trash to Sandra since she seems to want him so badly. Right now, they’re desperate. Sandra ‘s father is running for state senator, if Sandra is tak- en to court amidst his campaigns and all, his political opponents will attack him, they will seize the opportunity and bring him down so he is desperate. This is his weakness, so they came to negotiate with us. Once this period is over, there won’t be such good opportunities anymore, so why wouldn’t I agree?! Be- sides,” she added in a smug smile, “This way, we don’t get to spend even a dime on anything. If we insist on taking them to court, you do know how much we’d spend, don’t you?”
I remained silent as I pondered her words. She was right. This will actually go really well for the company concerning the mini crisis Luxe
e was current- ly in.
I pursed my l*ps, holding in my grin as I turned to her. The moment our gaze met, I couldn’t hide my grin anymore. I looked at Grace and admired her. It was- n’t a surprise that she kept our company standing for three years all by herself. I pulled her into a hug, “That’s my girl.”
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