Chapter 319 I Would Be Worried
"Let's delay the meeting by half an hour," Katniss cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible.
Hazel quickly nodded and turned to leave.
She happened to run into Samuel, who was coming to meet Katniss. She pointed to the VIP room and said, "Mr. Bennett, Ms. Grey said the meeting is delayed by half an hour. She's still in there."
"Got it, you go ahead," Samuel took a document to the VIP room. When he pushed the door open, Katniss had already tidied up her disheveled appearance.
Samuel placed the document on the table and sat down where Adelaide had just been sitting.
"When I saw the news about us having dinner with Mr. Forbes, I knew Adelaide would make a move."
Katniss leaned back in her chair and looked at him, "She's just second-guesser."
"I didn't think it was appropriate to persuade you, considering it seems like you're entangled with Mr. Forbes. If I said something, it would seem like I was trying to separate you two," Samuel paused, then continued, "Synergy Global Corporation is still struggling. Travis is trying to attract investors everywhere, and Eudora is almost at the point of selling her body."
The topic shifted to something Katniss wasn't interested in. She casually analyzed, "Those with the capability won't get involved with the Forbes family, and those without the capability are powerless. If Eudora really sells her body, to what extent would she have to do it to gather enough money?"
It would undoubtedly mean finding many small investors. If each one wanted to sleep with her, how could Eudora have any good days left?
Samuel was amused by her sharp comment, "Not bad, you can still make jokes. It seems Adelaide's arrival hasn't affected you much."
"It won't affect my work. I'm someone who works harder when I'm upset. Let's go." She got up and walked out, first returning to her office to get some materials, then gathering the executives for a meeting.
Among the executives were people from Beau's side, and there were many opposing voices regarding the acquisition of The Astor Corporation.
"Investing in The Astor Corporation now is like putting all the money White Corporation just earned into it. What if we lose money? Who will take responsibility?"
"Yeah, everyone knows White Corporation's recent situation. It just stabilized after being affected. It's better to recuperate and not take risks."
Several people spoke up, causing many others to be reluctant to take risks.
Katniss slammed the document on the table, propping herself up with both hands and scanning the room, "You've been doing this for so many years, do I need to share stories of companies turning things around overnight? Have you seen any company rise step by step slowly? All successful people have faced moments of taking a big gamble. As long as all preparations are made, the chances of winning are high."
"Ms. Grey, are you so confident?" someone mocked, "Then you take responsibility if something goes wrong."
"Fine." Katniss stood up straight and smiled at the person, "You don't participate in this acquisition plan. If we win, you watch us make money. If we lose, I'll take full responsibility."
Her decisive words made the entire conference room fall silent.
Samuel was also taken aback. She wasn't just gambling with White Corporation; she was gambling with her own future.
And she repeated these words at the shareholders' meeting the next morning, facing those who strongly opposed the acquisition of The Astor Corporation.
The shareholders also challenged her, "Fine, if The Astor Corporation can't make a profit after the acquisition, you resign and compensate White Corporation for the losses!"
"Okay, but if The Astor Corporation makes back the principal after the acquisition, The Astor Corporation will be transferred to my name, and the future profits will have nothing to do with you." Katniss took the opportunity to make a demand.
The shareholders were stunned for a few seconds and then said without hesitation, "No way."
"No way?" Katniss sneered, "Who does business without risks? You want to make money without bearing any risks. If we lose, I take responsibility. If we win, you share the profits with me. You're simply naive!"
She threw the materials on the table, "Two options: If we agree to the acquisition, we share the profits if we win, and the losses if we lose. Or, I take full responsibility if we lose, and keep all the profits if we win."
After much hesitation, the shareholders finally decided to let Katniss proceed. They figured they could find a way to transfer The Astor Corporation to her name later.
After the meeting, Samuel followed Katniss out, disapprovingly saying, "It's one thing to say that in front of the executives, but isn't that too risky saying it in front of the shareholders too, and resigning if we lose?"
"How else can we do it?" Katniss replied as she walked, "If we don't do this, how will Benjamin give us The Astor Corporation?"
So, she did it on purpose.
By getting the shareholders to agree today, it would be logical to transfer The Astor Corporation to her and Samuel in the future.
"But I think you're a bit impatient, wanting to take over The Astor Corporation quickly and become its true owner. You're actually trying to help Tristan, aren't you?" Samuel saw through her intentions.
Katniss stopped in her tracks. She didn't think so. She only had one thought in her mind: to become stronger quickly.
But now she couldn't tell if she wanted to protect Evie or if she was afraid Tristan couldn't wait and would be forced to marry another woman by Adelaide.
She frowned, tightly pressing her lips together, standing there in silence.
"It's too late," Samuel said, "No matter how capable you are, it will take at least two to three years for The Astor Corporation to become profitable."
Indeed, it would be too late to help Tristan.
"I just want to acquire The Astor Corporation, I haven't thought that far," Katniss avoided the topic, handing the documents to Samuel, "Here, take these. I'm going home."
It was the weekend, and she had come in early to work for the shareholders' meeting.
Emory's flight was early this morning, and he should be home by now. She was worried that Emory might scare Evie, as they hadn't seen each other for over a month.
She was also concerned that Matilda and Aaron might fight over Evie and accidentally drop her.
On the way home, she thought of countless possibilities, but she didn't expect to see Tristan at her doorstep.
Emory had just gotten out of his car, carrying his luggage and warmly inviting Tristan inside.
"Wait!" She quickly got out of her car and rushed over, blocking Tristan's path.
Tristan's eyes darkened.
"Katniss," Emory, who was already a few steps up, saw Katniss blocking Tristan and hurried back, "What are you doing? Tristan picked me up from the airport early this morning. I invited him in for a cup of tea."
"Have tea at your place. Why come to my house?" Katniss turned to Emory, staring at him.
Emory had never seen Katniss like this before. He knew Katniss and Tristan knew each other, but this was the first time they had met in front of him.
Could there be some deep-seated grudge?
He didn't dare invite Tristan inside anymore.
Tristan, on the other hand, asked, "Isn't this your house?"
He only knew that Katniss and Emory lived in the same neighborhood, but he didn't know they were this close.
Emory came straight to Katniss's house? His frown deepened.
All three of them were confused.
Katniss belatedly realized that Tristan and Emory knew each other.
But there was no time to ask about that now. She told Emory, "You go inside first. I have something to say to him."
Emory quickly ran inside.
Katniss grabbed Tristan's hand and walked back to the car. Just as she was about to ask, he spoke first.
"Why didn't you answer my calls or reply to my messages?"
"Busy," Katniss replied curtly, then asked him, "You know Emory?"
"How else do you think Horizon Venture Capital invested in White Corporation's subsidiary?" Tristan, with one hand in his pocket, leaned against the car and asked her, "Did my grandmother talk to you?"
Katniss didn't have time to answer that question!
Her mind was racing. So, one of the owners of Horizon Venture Capital was Emory, and the other was Tristan?
They must be very close. In this case, Emory recognized Evie as his goddaughter, and Emory didn't tell Tristan that Evie was her daughter?
Her mind was buzzing, and she felt both confused and scared.
She couldn't believe it and asked, "Emory never told you anything about me?"
"Told me what?" Tristan's tone was bad, "He knows you're my woman. What could he dare to say?"
He really didn't know. She was sure of it. She then shifted the topic to Horizon Venture Capital, "So, Horizon Venture Capital is your backup plan? If I'm not mistaken, you're using Horizon Venture Capital to invest in The Astor Corporation? And now you're the one selling The Astor Corporation's shares, and the person planning to establish Zenith Group is you?"
Tristan, still with one hand in his pocket, looked relaxed, but his expression was anything but calm.
"You've figured out so much, but you've only answered one of my questions, and it was a perfunctory answer!"
Busy? That couldn't explain why she didn't reply to his messages or answer his calls all day!
"I figured out all these things on my own. If you have the ability, you can guess why I didn't reply to your messages," Katniss spoke with a bad tone, still scared that he almost knew about Evie.
Tristan, with a dark expression, looked at her, "Grandmother told you to stay away from me and not cause me trouble, so you didn't answer my calls or messages."
"So you know quite a lot?" Katniss retorted angrily, feeling a pang of sadness. After a moment of silence, she said, "Forget it, you should go. We'll talk another day."
"Another day?" Tristan sneered, "You don't just want to talk another day—you want to avoid it altogether, like in the next life."
Even though they were arguing, there was still a deep emotional bond between them that couldn't be ignored.
"I told you before, we can't go on like this. I'll bring you trouble," Katniss accused, feeling that he had come to her, and now Adelaide was blaming her.
Tristan could hear the grievance in her words, but he felt aggrieved too. Almost shouting, he said, "I can't let go! How can I not be entangled? When have I ever been afraid of the White family? Even if I were afraid, I wouldn't leave you to face the White family alone."
"I'm not alone," Katniss retorted quickly, "Samuel and Benjamin..."
But before she could finish, Tristan interrupted, "Say that again?"
She was his, what did they count for?
Furious, he grabbed Katniss's waist, pulling her into his arms, gritting his teeth, "Katniss, you have no conscience. I understand you have reservations, but I've never drawn a line with you in my heart. If the White family targets you, I would be worried!"
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