Chapter 366 Conspiracy (8) Gathering Momentum for an Outburst
Cecilia was chillin' in Augustus's car, telling him to take it easy on the gas pedal and drive home nice and slow.
She was glued to her phone, watching surveillance footage that showed all of Andrew's shady moves. She made sure to save the juicy bits as evidence.
After closing the footage, she called up Cassius, "Alright, now tail Andrew and see who handed him the keys. Don't spook 'em, just snap some pics for proof."
Cassius just gave a quick, "Got it."
Cecilia had already given Cassius the heads-up, so his crew was ready and waiting downstairs for Andrew.
Sure enough, Andrew popped up at the main entrance and took off from the Lockhart Group.
Cassius's crew tailed him in shifts, smooth as butter, and Andrew had no clue he was being followed.
He parked his ride in some sketchy dark corner.
Then he got out and walked over to another car that was clearly waiting for him.
He knocked on the window, which rolled down to reveal a woman leaning out.
They made out for a bit, and then Andrew handed over everything to her.
After a reluctant goodbye, Andrew got back in his car and drove off.
The other car took off in the opposite direction.
Cassius watched the car leave but didn't follow. He called Cecilia, "The person meeting with Andrew is Eloise. We got the evidence."
"Good," Cecilia nodded.
Dominic was definitely sharp.
To keep things simple, he didn't involve too many people.
Cecilia put down her phone and told Augustus, "You can speed up now."
The night's drama was pretty much over.
"Yes, ma'am," Augustus replied respectfully.
Just as they pulled up to Alaric's villa, Rose called, "Ms. Lockhart, I found my bag. The cops nabbed the robber and got my bag back. Nothing's missing."
"Where are you now?" Cecilia asked.
"Just left the police station. The cops are taking me back," Rose replied.
"Head back to the office first and check if anything's missing from your safe," Cecilia ordered.
"Now?" Rose was confused.
Why go back now when she didn't earlier?
"Just do it," Cecilia said.
"Okay." Rose had to ask the cops to take her to the office.
Rose didn't notice someone was tailing her.
Seeing Rose enter the office, the person in the shadows quickly reported, "Mr. Kingsley, the target's at the Lockhart Group."
"Good," Dominic responded. "You can wrap up."
"Yes."
Dominic hung up, a cold smile on his lips.
Cecilia was smart to have someone check at this time.
If it were anyone else, Cecilia might've won, but she was up against him!
Whatever Cecilia could think of, he could think of too, so he had already cleaned up the whole scene.
At this point, even if Cecilia had someone check, they wouldn't find anything off and might even brush off the "accidental robbery" as a coincidence.
He couldn't wait to see Cecilia's reaction on bid day!
Monday at 9 AM, Cecilia, along with Andrew and Rose, were in Augustus's car, heading to the bid.
The bid documents were printed that day to keep things tight. After stamping them, they went straight to the planning office for the bid.
"I didn't expect you to take me to the bid," Andrew suddenly said in the car.
Cecilia shot a glance at Andrew and said, "Hey, we're family. I want you to get more experience. The Lockhart Group's too big for me to handle solo."
Andrew asked, "I always thought you were still mad about Vincent."
"That's old news. I'm not gonna dwell on it," Cecilia said casually. "As long as you can move on, I promise both Theodore and I will accept you."
"Alright, I'll prove myself," Andrew promised.
"Cool," Cecilia responded, keeping it neutral.
Andrew didn't push it further, but he kept sneaking glances at Cecilia.
She had become more guarded, her thoughts and feelings now a puzzle to him.
Sometimes he couldn't tell if she was being real or just playing him.
So confusing!
The car pulled up at the planning office.
The bid was set for 10 AM.
They got there half an hour early and were shown to the waiting room.
There were five companies in the running.
Besides the Lockhart Group and the Kingsley Group, the other three were just there to make up the numbers.
The Kingsley Group's reps were Nathaniel, Penelope, and Eloise. Dominic was a no-show.
Penelope's face soured when she saw Cecilia.
Thinking about all the crap this woman had put them through, Penelope wished she could rip her apart.
Cecilia noticed Penelope's death stare but shrugged it off.
She wasn't gonna waste time on someone so irrelevant.
She glanced at Eloise.
Eloise met her gaze and looked flustered for a second, but quickly put on a polite, respectful smile.
Cecilia chuckled.
Eloise had definitely been trained well by Dominic.
She must've ignored Cecilia's earlier warnings.
Cecilia's eyes shifted, catching Andrew's intense stare at Eloise.
She thought, 'what a fool. Even if he helped Dominic take over the Lockhart family before she was reborn, he probably didn't end well.'
Her eyes shifted again.
Just then, a staff member came in, inviting them to the conference room for the bid.
Everyone followed the staff inside.
They handed over their bid documents, which the staff evaluated on the spot before announcing the results.
In the quiet conference room, only a few reviewers whispered among themselves.
After about half an hour, it seemed they had reached a conclusion.
It was quicker than expected.
Usually, these things took longer.
But sure enough, after half an hour, the staff stood up to announce.
He said, "Based on the scoring criteria: 30 points for creative design, 20 points for project timeline, and 50 points for bid price, the final scores are: the Lockhart Group 95 points, the Kingsley Group 100 points! So the winning bid goes to the Kingsley Group!"
The room erupted.
Everyone had expected the Lockhart Group to win.
After all, the Lockhart Group was the pro, and everyone knew Cecilia was a dark horse. For such a big project, the Lockhart Group would definitely go all out.
But shockingly, the Kingsley Group won, and with a perfect score.
Everyone thought there was gonna be some serious drama next!
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