Chapter 597: Henry was Actually Kicked Out of SHC Group?
Jasmine was chillin' in the LY office, shootin' the breeze with Samuel about this new energy gig.
"Yo, Daniel's outta the picture this time, so we're in the clear," Samuel said, eyeballing the competition.
As long as Annabelle and Daniel were out, LY had this in the bag.
"Yeah, we got this," Jasmine said, all confident-like.
When it came to work, Jasmine was always on point.
"Nice. If we nail this, Everhart Group's gonna be all over us," Samuel said, handing Jasmine a cup of joe and clinking his cup with hers.
This project was a big deal for LY. If they could snag Everhart Group's investment, LY would blow up in a year, take the lead, and maybe even go public.
Just as Jasmine was about to say something, her phone buzzed.
It was Henry.
Jasmine froze for a sec, hesitated, but finally picked up.
Henry hadn't hit her up in ages, so she was curious.
"Jasmine," Henry's voice was kinda rough. "Long time no chat."
Jasmine stayed quiet.
"Don't trip," Henry said. "This is about work. Mr. Patrick's been on my case, so I'm getting shipped to Muskow. SHC Group's shuffling things around, and Ian's back."
Henry made it clear that he was out as SHC Group's prez and heading to Muskow. Ian was taking over in Karaki.
Henry used to think Ian was a joke 'cause of his health and lack of ambition. It turned out now Ian was a shark.
Henry admitted he lost.
Jasmine took a deep breath, surprised. "You?"
With Henry's skills, he shouldn't have lost to Ian so fast.
Even if he did, he wouldn't just bounce outta the country like that.
This wasn't Henry's style.
"What's up?" Jasmine asked.
"Nothing," Henry said, but then added, "Just a heads-up. Ian's not as simple as he looks. He's sharp and sneaky. Ethan's dealt with him before, so he might know more. Watch your back."
Henry didn't want Jasmine getting burned. "Also, Ian's set up a new department in SHC to go head-to-head with LY's new energy project. You'll be seeing him soon, so stay sharp."
Jasmine sat up, fingers clenching. The Douglas Group was out, but now SHC was in. They were way tougher than Daniel.
"SHC never cared about new energy before. What's the deal?" Jasmine was puzzled about SHC's sudden interest in new energy.
"When Ian was in Muskow, he was all about this stuff. Plus, he sees the future in new energy. So he's in," Henry explained. He knew Jasmine was gunning for this project. He wouldn't compete with her, but Ian would.
Ian didn't know Jasmine, and even if he did, he wouldn't back off for personal reasons.
"Also, Howard met with my grandpa and Ian in Bostan today. Looks like they're cooking up something," Henry said. He couldn't do much for Jasmine, but he could give her and Ethan a heads-up.
"Thanks," Jasmine said, keeping it short.
Henry was quiet for a long time, then let out a bitter laugh. "Jasmine, I gotta ask you again. If Ethan wasn't in the picture, and if I had been all in from the start, would you have stayed with me?"
Jasmine didn't say anything.
'Cause there was no "what if."
But Henry wasn't letting it go.
People always started regretting stuff when they were backed into a corner.
Jasmine knew she could say something to make him regret even more, considering Henry had been part of her messed-up past.
But she couldn't bring herself to hate him; she just thought he was kinda sad. So she answered, "Yeah."
Henry had way more chances than Ethan. Even after prison, he had the upper hand with Jasmine, whose heart was already in pieces. In prison, any real care would have won her over.
But Henry blew it.
It was Ethan who won Jasmine's heart by being real.
Henry laughed again, finally at peace.
That was why he decided to leave the country.
He had wrecked his own shot with Jasmine, and now it was gone for good.
"Jasmine, good luck. Maybe we'll cross paths again someday." Henry chuckled.
"Good luck to you too," Jasmine replied.
After hanging up, Jasmine looked nervously at Samuel. "We celebrated too soon."
Samuel frowned. "What?"
"SHC Group's got a new prez," Jasmine sighed. "Well, not exactly new. SHC mainly focuses on the domestic market, but Muskow's important too. Mr. Patrick sent Henry there, and now Ian's running the Bostan branch."
"And that matters to us how?" Samuel thought for a moment. LY had no ties with SHC Group.
"Howard met with Mr. Patrick and Ian. We don't know what they cooked up, but Ian's gunning for the new energy project, competing with us for Everhart Group's investment."
Jasmine rubbed her temples. She didn't know Ian.
She wasn't worried about Daniel 'cause she knew him and had a 50/50 shot. But now it was Ian, the guy who even beat Henry. What kind of dude was he?
"Ian's supposed to be this sickly, overlooked guy. Even Henry lost to him?" Samuel was shocked. There had been no buzz about Ian being such a big deal.
"That might be what makes him the most dangerous," Jasmine said.
Ian was too good at flying under the radar. He was definitely a tough nut to crack.
"I'll get someone to dig into SHC Group's internal stuff. Henry was the only one who could go toe-to-toe with Ethan, and he lost to Ian?" Samuel found it hard to believe. There had to be more to the story.
"Does Ian have something on Henry? This doesn't add up. Mr. Patrick favors Henry way more than Ian. Henry was raised by his side. Even if Henry ticked off Mr. Patrick, and Ian took over, unless Henry gave up willingly, it would be super hard for Ian to take control of SHC Group." Samuel smelled something fishy.
Jasmine nodded. "I agree. There's gotta be more to it. And today, Henry called specifically to warn us about Ian. It felt like he was hinting at something."
"I'll look into it." Samuel grabbed his phone and stepped aside to call Raymond. "Raymond, I need you to dig up info on Ian from the Patrick family in Bostan."
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