Chapter 412 Let's Admit Defeat
"Who are you?" Poppy's eyes widened in surprise when she saw James, then her expression hardened. "Who let you in here?"
James looked pretty ordinary in his plain clothes, so Poppy assumed he was just some random guy. Maybe even a janitor.
"Poppy, this is James, my... relative and a well-known doctor," Mary quickly interjected. "You can leave now; I need to talk to James."
She wanted to say ex-husband but felt it would hurt James. Calling him her man was also too much.
Relative? Poppy was stunned. A renowned doctor?
She gave James another once-over, still not seeing anything special about him. She figured he must be some distant relative of the Smith family, living off the Smith Corporation's charity.
She thought Mary didn't want to call James a country bumpkin in front of her, so she gave a more respectable explanation.
It felt like calling a cashier at Walmart an employee of a Fortune 500 company.
Understanding this, Poppy's face showed a hint of disdain. She nodded to Mary and left.
Mary walked up to James. "James, what are you doing here?"
"I made you some chicken soup to help you relax," James said, pouring her a bowl. "Last time I touched your skin, it felt a bit dry."
"Get lost," Mary playfully pinched James. "You never say anything nice."
James dodged with a smile. "Besides bringing soup, I wanted to check if Micah was causing trouble. If he tries any dirty tricks, I'll take care of it for you."
Outside, Poppy heard this and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, filled with disdain and mockery.
Take care of Micah? Who did he think he was?
Even she couldn't help with that, and James thought he could handle it? Ridiculous.
She shook her head and walked away, her face showing clear contempt.
The large office was now just the two of them.
Mary had been under immense pressure lately, both physically and mentally exhausted. Hearing James offer to help moved her deeply.
She hugged James tightly, wanting to express her feelings but not knowing how. Tears welled up in her eyes.
James felt a softness in his heart and gently hugged her back. "Don't worry, this will all be over soon. Micah can't hurt you."
"I'm not scared, I'm touched!" Mary looked up at James with her beautiful eyes. "I treated you so poorly before, yet you always stood by me and protected me."
"And you always show up when I need you the most."
Mary wanted to confess her love to James, but her pride held her back. She just hugged him tightly, rubbing her face against him like a cute kitten.
Mary felt like her icy exterior was melting in front of James.
James didn't resist. Besides wanting to comfort Mary, their relationship had already improved significantly since that night by the river.
Thinking about that night, James's hands unconsciously moved over Mary's body.
But a phone call broke the moment.
Mary awkwardly let go of James and walked to her desk, pressing the speaker button.
Poppy's panicked voice came through, "Ms. Smith, bad news. The thirteenth branch family has found out about your plan to gather twenty billion dollars!"
"They oppose using that money to bid on Cloud Top Mountain."
"The board and shareholders are exercising temporary power to freeze funds from all subsidiaries for twenty-four hours."
Mary's eyes widened in shock. "What?"
Poppy's voice was frantic. "Also, clients who were supposed to pay us are now claiming issues with our collateral and are withholding final payments."
In less than half an hour, Mary received a barrage of bad news.
First, funds from various subsidiaries were frozen, preventing them from being transferred to the main company. Then, many major clients used various excuses to delay final payments.
To make matters worse, suppliers, citing Phoenix Corporation's financial troubles, demanded immediate payment or threatened to stop supplying materials.
This severely impacted Phoenix Corporation's operations.
Then, ten senior executives resigned, publicly claiming that Phoenix Corporation's cash flow was broken and the company was doomed.
This caused panic among employees, who were already anxious about their paychecks due that week, demanding early payment.
This drained a lot of Mary's energy.
Soon after, the team preparing for the auction faced issues.
Some were hit by cars, others had to care for sick children, and the legal team disappeared with important documents.
"Micah, you despicable, underhanded scoundrel!" Mary was furious.
James narrowed his eyes slightly.
Causing so much trouble in half a day, Micah was indeed formidable.
James's gaze then fell on a box in the trash can, recognizing a dead rabbit inside—clearly a threat.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Before Mary could finish dealing with things, Poppy burst through the door again, her face filled with panic.
"Ms. Smith, bad news. The auction committee called."
"They said after discussion, to better serve and ensure the auction goes smoothly," she said urgently, "the deposit for participating in the Cloud Top Mountain auction has been raised from one billion to ten billion dollars."
"What?" Mary stood up abruptly. "Ten billion dollars? What kind of rule is that?"
"The committee's decision," Poppy replied quickly. "If we don't have ten billion dollars by 6 PM today, we can't participate in the Cloud Top Mountain auction."
Mary asked, "How much can we gather now?"
Poppy quickly responded, "We have three billion dollars in the account, transferred in a few days ago. Otherwise, the board would have frozen it too."
Three billion? Mary's head ached. "We're short seven billion dollars."
"More than seven billion," Poppy said with a bitter smile. "That's just the auction deposit gap. We also owe suppliers, employee salaries. We need at least twenty billion dollars to settle everything."
"But the subsidiaries have frozen funds, and the banks won't lend us money."
She was helpless. "We have to admit defeat this time. Micah really has immense power."
James spoke calmly, "Micah will stop at nothing. Doesn't he fear karma?"
"Are you serious? Do you think saying that makes any difference?" Poppy snapped at James, then looked at Mary dejectedly.
"Ms. Smith, call Micah. We can't participate in tomorrow's auction."
"We have to admit defeat." She sighed.
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