Chapter 106 Complete Strangers
Selena was zoning out when Raymond's phone buzzed. It was John on the line.
Raymond had jetted off for an urgent overseas meeting, but now he was stuck in an elevator with nothing to do. He just told John to get ready to cover for him.
John, Raymond's go-to guy, had filled in for him before, so he quickly got prepped.
Raymond looked totally unfazed. Standing in that cramped space, he was as chill as if he were lounging at home, not a hint of worry on his face.
"Mr. Montague, I already talked to James. I told him to make sure Ms. Fair doesn't pull any stunts," John said over the phone.
Raymond nodded, feeling a surge of annoyance thinking about Selena's promise to William about wanting a kid.
"Did the Department of Commerce block the Fair Family's project?" Raymond asked.
Selena tensed up, thinking she must've heard wrong.
In the elevator mirror, she caught the clear disdain in Raymond's eyes and his tightly pressed lips.
She finally pieced together why James had acted so rashly. It was probably something John had said, mixed with the Fair Family's project getting blocked, that landed him in the emergency room.
As a daughter, Selena was worried about James.
But the Fair Family's business had been tanking for years, leaning too heavily on the Montague Group's connections.
Selena had long told James not to expand recklessly or seek more financing at such a critical time.
Once a company got too cozy with a bank, its debt piled up, and bankruptcy could hit out of nowhere.
The business world was a battlefield; the bigger the company, the more it had to watch its cash flow.
Once cash flow dried up, the company was toast.
The Fair Family had been bleeding cash for years. If they had just tackled their projects head-on, cut the dead weight, and fired who needed firing, they wouldn't be in such a mess.
But James had built the company from scratch and couldn't bear to let go of the long-time employees who had been with him from the start.
So now, most of the Fair Family's upper management were just collecting paychecks without doing any real work, and their subordinates were just as unmotivated. How could a company like that succeed?
Catherine's harsh words had a point: James just didn't have what it took to manage the company.
If it were just a few small shops, James could handle it no problem.
But once a company goes public, you need to be more cutthroat, and James just didn't have it in him.
James was in denial, unable to accept that his life's work was slipping away, so he was dead set on getting another round of financing.
Plus, they were leaning so hard on the Montague Group that if things went south with them, the Fair Family would be toast.
Raymond had only pulled a small project from the Fair Family, and James was already falling apart. What would happen if they faced a real crisis?
Selena felt a wave of anxiety wash over her.
To James, the company was everything, even more important than Selena's marriage.
Selena kept quiet, listening as Raymond switched back to business. Mentioning the Fair Family seemed like just a throwaway comment.
After hanging up, Raymond glanced at Selena, noticing she seemed even colder and more distant than before.
The dim light in the elevator was enough to see their expressions.
Raymond felt a bit puzzled, sensing she didn't seem to like him much, a realization that made his chest tighten.
So he got even colder, and they both just ignored each other.
Then they heard noises outside; the rescue team had arrived, and among them was Alex's voice.
The elevator doors were pried open a crack, and light from outside streamed in.
For some reason, a rescue worker felt a chill from inside the elevator that almost froze his hands and feet.
It was still summer, so why did it feel so cold inside? He didn't dare ask and quickly continued directing the other rescue workers.
Standing outside with Alex was Caterlington.
When the elevator malfunctioned, the people on that floor were the first to get the news. Checking the surveillance, they saw that Selena and Raymond were in the elevator.
Caterlington looked a bit anxious. "Penny, you okay? Hang tight, we'll get you outta there soon."
Caterlington wasn't trying to win Selena's favor; even as a gentleman, he should care about his dinner companion.
But when Caterlington looked at Raymond inside, his expression turned complicated.
Raymond and Selena, even standing together, looked like complete strangers.
Caterlington was genuinely puzzled. Given how bad their relationship was, what were they like in bed?
Did Raymond also wear that scowl while making love to Penny?
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