Chapter 96 Are you here just to ruin my appetite?
Alex had just gotten back to the office when a few shareholders barged in, fuming.
"Mr. Smith, what's up with Silvercrest Group? Their manager just told me they're pulling out of the deal with us. You set this up, so it's on you!"
If the Smith Group lost the Silvercrest contract, they'd be out hundreds of millions.
And with Sharon already causing BioTech Innovations and the Young Group to bail, the shareholders were even more pissed at Alex.
Alex looked up at their angry faces and said calmly, "Everyone, calm down. I'll figure out what's going on and get back to you. For now, just get back to work."
"No way, you gotta call Seb right now, or I can't trust you!"
Alex's eyes turned cold. The speaker was Craig, a shareholder with a 3% stake.
Craig's stake wasn't huge, but he'd been around since Tyler started the company, so he always acted like he ran the place.
Normally, Alex might've let it slide. But today, he wasn't in the mood, and Craig was pushing his buttons.
Alex sneered. "Mr. Morris, if you're in such a rush, why don't you make the call yourself? Or maybe you want to be the general manager?"
Craig's face went dark, eyes full of anger.
"Mr. Smith, I can't be the general manager, but if you don't fix this, does Tyler have to come back and do your job for you?"
Alex's expression hardened, eyes narrowing dangerously.
Craig didn't notice and kept mocking, "You're in your late twenties.At your age, I was building this company with Tyler, and you still need him to clean up your messes. It's embarrassing!"
Craig got more worked up, ignoring the other shareholders' warning looks.
When he finally stopped, the room was dead silent.
Facing Alex's icy stare, Craig shivered and stepped back.
Feeling guilty, he raised his voice. "Mr. Smith, why are you looking at me like that? Am I not right?"
Alex's lips curled into a cold smile. "No, Mr. Morris, you're absolutely right."
"If you know I'm right, then call Seb now."
The other shareholders just wanted to disappear, afraid of getting caught in Alex's wrath.
"Uh, Mr. Smith, I have some documents to review, so I'll head back."
"Yeah, I have a meeting soon. If I don't leave now, I'll be late."
After they left, Craig frowned, disdain flashing in his eyes. Bunch of opportunists.
Alex looked at Craig and said slowly, "Mr. Morris, if I remember right, your grandson works here too?"
Craig's expression changed. "Yeah, so what?"
Alex smiled. "Just remembering he messed up at work recently."
His tone was calm, like discussing the weather, but the implication made Craig's face twitch with guilt.
"Newcomers make mistakes. Mr. Smith, you were a newcomer once too."
"Mr. Morris, I've never made the mistake of embezzling company funds. If the other shareholders find out, your grandson might not just lose his job—he could end up in jail. Don't you think so?"
Alex was smiling, but Craig felt a chill run down his spine, filling him with fear.
After a few seconds of silence, he reluctantly said, "Mr. Smith, my grandson didn't do it on purpose. If you let him off this time, I promise he won't do such foolish things again."
Seeing the fear in Craig's eyes, Alex felt no sympathy.
"It seems Mr. Morris's grandson isn't much either. He's in his twenties and still needs you to plead with me."
Hearing Alex throw his own words back at him, Craig's face turned red with anger.
Suppressing his rage, Craig gritted his teeth. "Mr. Smith, it's my fault for not disciplining my grandson."
"If you can't even discipline your own grandson, don't point fingers at me."
Craig felt utterly humiliated but had to force a smile. "You are right. So, can you show some leniency for my grandson?"
"As long as Mr. Morris knows what to say and what not to say later, your grandson will be fine."
Craig quickly said, "I understand, Mr. Smith."
After leaving the office, Craig's face twisted with rage. Alex was so arrogant; he had to teach Alex a lesson!
In the office, Alex dialed Seb's number.
"Uncle Seb, what do you mean by this? Are you targeting me because of the hospital incident?"
Seb's cold voice came through. "Terminating the cooperation with the Smith Group was a collective decision by the shareholders."
Alex sneered. "Nonsense. Do you think I don't know you're the one who makes the decisions at Silvercrest Group?"
If Seb didn't agree, who would dare terminate the contract with the Smith Group?
"I've helped the Smith Group a lot over the years. Continuing the cooperation would only result in losses for Silvercrest Group, so terminating the contract is normal."
Alex gritted his teeth in anger. "The storm from BioTech Innovations Group and the Young Group terminating their contracts just passed, and now you're terminating the contract with the Smith Group. You're clearly targeting me."
"You're overthinking. I don't target anyone intentionally in business matters. I have a meeting now, so that's it, bye."
With that, Seb hung up the phone.
Alex was furious and was about to call back when Ava suddenly called.
Annoyance flashed in his eyes, and he hung up, but Ava persistently called several more times, leaving Alex no chance to call Seb.
He angrily answered, "Are you crazy? I'm at work!"
Ava seemed startled by Alex's shouting and took a while before cautiously saying, "Alex, I didn't want to bother you at work, but I think someone was following me when I was coming back from grocery shopping. I'm scared."
By the end, Ava's voice was already breaking with sobs.
Alex took a deep breath, rubbed his temples, and was about to speak when he realized something was off.
He was always careful when visiting Ava, so it was unlikely someone would follow her.
The most likely people to have someone follow Ava would be Sharon and Seb.
Thinking of this, his face darkened.
"Don't worry about it. I'll send two people to protect you, and if someone is following you, I'll find out who it is!"
After hanging up, Alex called Joseph into the office and said coldly, "Find two people to protect Ava, and also check if someone is following her."
"Yes, Mr. Smith."
In the evening, Sharon was sitting on the hospital bed drinking soup when the door suddenly opened, and Alex walked in with a cold expression.
She frowned. "Alex, do you have to ruin my appetite during dinner?"
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