Chapter 176 Ethan and Jasmine's Tacit Understanding
"Jasmine, I want to bring two people over when I take the position of vice president. It's tough to get work done without capable assistants," Branson said with a smile.
"That's an easy fix. Just tell me who they are, and I'll discuss it with Mr. Ethan," Jasmine responded.
Branson spoke with a cunning smile, his hand playfully tousling Jasmine's hair as he mentioned the two individuals, "Chen Xiaorou from the hotel division and Zheng Yuan from project management. They both show promise and are deserving of promotions," he explained. "And of course, once I secure my position as vice president, if you ever wish to work directly with me, I can discuss it with Mr. Ethan."
Jasmine nodded, smiling. "These are trivial matters; wait for my good news."
Clasping her hands tightly, Jasmine turned away, her smile freezing on her face.
She had anticipated the old fox bringing up those names: Chen Xiaorou from the hotel division and Zheng Yuan from project management. One was Branson's current mistress, and the other was a trusted confidant of Clara and Daniel.
Branson's loyalty to Clara and Daniel was, indeed, "unwavering." It looked like Clara held something over Branson’s head.
No wonder Ethan had suggested that Branson needed to go. His situation was completely different from that of the HR Manager, Daria.
Distractedly walking to the office, Jasmine didn’t notice someone was standing in her path. He purposefully positioned himself in front of Jasmine, waiting for her to accidentally bump into him.
"What's on your mind?" Ethan whispered.
Jasmine’s ears perked up at the sound of his voice, surprised, she looked up at Ethan. “Mr. Ethan.”
He was back.
"Yeah, got this for you." On his way back, Ethan had picked up a coconut fruit salad for Jasmine.
Jasmine stuttered, taking it with a trembling hand. “For... for me?”
Ethan glanced around. “Is there someone else here?”
Liam, who had come to find Ethan, was confused and slightly hurt by Ethan's words, as if he was disregarded as a person. He had been with Ethan for years and never received a fruit salad; this felt like blatant favoritism.
"Mr. Ethan, Mr. Howard has been looking for you," Liam said helplessly. "With all the trouble from Clara, he hadn’t found time to hassle you..."
Liam was genuinely concerned as he continued, “Clara will be out on bail soon, and there’s not much time left for the VP selection. It’s urgent, and regarding Jasmine...”
He glanced at Jasmine, hesitating. “You can’t put all your eggs in one basket.” It wasn’t that Liam doubted Jasmine, but there hadn't been any progress.
"Liam, can you check on two people for me? One from the hotel department, Chen Xiaorou, and another from project management, Zheng Yuan. I need dirt on them, something that can definitely get them fired," Jasmine spoke quietly.
"I’ve looked into them; they're both Clara and Branson's people, but they're just small fry. Jasmine, we need to focus on getting rid of Branson. If he doesn’t leave, we’re all going to be in trouble," Liam responded in a frantic. "Hoping to trace back to Branson and fire him solely based on these minor players’ misdeeds is impossible."
"Who said anything about firing him," Jasmine said cautiously, glancing at Ethan. “We'll wait for him to resign on his own.”
As soon as Branson submitted his resignation, Mr. Ethan could catch him off guard.
Ethan simply smiled, clearly understanding Jasmine's intention.
"Believing that these minor resources could force an old fox-like Branson to resign? Jasmine, have you come to your senses?" Liam's tone edged toward panic, questioning Jasmine's seriousness. Her strategy of not getting Branson fired but waiting for his resignation seemed nonsensical to Liam.
Jasmine glanced at Ethan and explained in a low voice, "Lately Branson's head has gotten so big, he thinks the company can't function without him, that you, Ethan, can't live without him. Everyone's scared he'll take the entire project team with him if he leaves, which is why he's bold enough to bring his mistress and Clara's right-hand into his circle."
As soon as Jasmine heard about Branson's growing audacity, she knew their opportunity was ripening.
Liam still didn't get it. This didn't seem to have anything to do with Branson quitting voluntarily.
"By tomorrow at the latest, Mr. Ethan will receive his resignation threat, so we need to be prepared in advance. We have to safeguard against the possibility of the project team actually leaving with him by exposing Branson's 'evidence' and catching the necessary scapegoats," Jasmine said with seriousness.
Ethan listened intently as he entered the office, volunteering to prepare the fruit salad for Jasmine and even pouring her a cup of warm water.
Liam, shocked, pointed at that cup, a detail not lost on even the most oblivious. "Mr. Ethan, why does Jasmine have the same cup as you?"
That was when Jasmine realized Ethan had bought her a water cup, identical to his, looking like a matching set...
"Got a problem with that? Want me to get you one too?" Ethan asked with a chilling tone.
Liam shook his head vigorously. "No, no need." The idea of him and Ethan using the same cup was terrifying, heaven forbid he accidentally used the wrong one someday–Mr. Ethan would go ballistic.
"Continue," Ethan prompted Jasmine to go on.
"Mr. Ethan, I have to remind you..." Jasmine paused for a moment before speaking again, "Taking action against the Brown family will definitely make Mr. Howard angry. Giving Clara such a 'welcome back' present is like slapping her in the face. I'm concerned she might resort to underhanded tactics if she can't win openly."
Jasmine worried that Clara could convince Howard to go after Ethan's shares. Even if Ethan successfully ousted Branson, his own position would become unstable... and the danger would be even greater.
Jasmine looked at Ethan, not understanding why a man like him would willingly put himself in such peril.
Clearly, he could temporarily leave the Brown's Family alone, not provoke Howard until he had consolidated his position.
"There's no need for you to worry about this; I'll handle it," Ethan reassured Jasmine.
"Yeah, you're getting ahead of yourself there. Branson's not even out of the picture yet," Liam said with a look of disbelief, thinking Jasmine was being incredibly naive.
He didn't really believe Branson would be that easy to handle.
Knowing Liam didn't trust her, Jasmine didn't bother to explain further.
As she handed a few documents to Ethan for his signature, Jasmine simultaneously organized Ethan's schedule for the week while enjoying some fruit salad. "Mr. Ethan, tomorrow afternoon is the wedding banquet of the heiress of Huihai Corporation. They've invited you to attend. Should I send a gift on your behalf, or would you like to make an appearance?"
"Mr. Ethan usually doesn't attend wedding banquets," Liam whispered to Jasmine.
But Jasmine had asked because she was hoping Ethan would go.
Ethan lifted the corners of his mouth reluctantly and said, "You decide."
Jasmine nodded with a smile. "All right, Mr. Ethan."
The heiress of Huihai Corporation was part of the elite social circle of Silverlight City. Her wedding would be attended by the cream of the crop. Although Ethan typically disdained mingling with such people, these were exceptional times, and he needed to build his reputation and network to counterbalance Howard.
In simple terms, Jasmine wanted Ethan to attend this business-related wedding as a statement to Howard and Clara.
The chairman of Huihai Corporation had invited only Howard and Ethan, excluding anyone else from Stellar Enterprises. Neither Clara nor Daniel had the standing to be there.
By attending, Ethan would be making a statement, putting Clara and Daniel in their place. His years of cultivating contacts and recognition in the business world weren't something Clara and Daniel could usurp with their scheming.
At the end of the day, little players just couldn't make it to the big stage.
Liam glanced around, feeling somewhat superfluous as Ethan's aide. "Mr. Ethan... about Branson—do we need another plan? Should I look into it?"
Liam was anxious, genuinely concerned about Jasmine's reliability.
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