Chapter: 760
It was none other than Darian’s trusted accountant within the company.
As soon as Darian spotted him, he promptly rose from his seat and inquired, his voice weighted with
seriousness, “How’s it going? How much funding have we managed to secure now?”
The accountant paused, just a beat, before he gave the dreaded document to Darian. “We’ve hit the
brakes on any projects we could, and pulled our investments out of everything we could. But…” His
voice wavered.
“We’re still falling short of what we need.”
Darian’s eyes squeezed together as he sifted through the numbers scribbled on the page. The sums
they presented were dwarfed by the astronomical figures of BRD Group. Going head-to-head with BRD
Group?
His odds were Looking worse than a snowball’s chance in hell.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAnxiety, dark and thick, sank into Darian‘s gut. He felt like a mouse in a maze with no exit. The thought
of BRD Group’s bottomless pockets wrung an expletive from his lips.
“Why are they so fixated on this? It’s not Like BRD Group needs it.”
His complaint was cut short by a knock on the door, and his secretary strolled in. “Mr. Anderson, Mr.
Perkins is here.”
What? Adrian was Here?
Surprise danced across Darian’s face, and he shot up from his chair to meet the unexpected guest.
Just a minute ago, he was badmouthing BRD Group, and now he had to flip the switch and play a
gracious host to Adrian. Darian’s quick change in demeanor left his secretary’s jaw scraping the floor.
Adrian didn’t even glance at Darian, sauntered right past him, and plopped himself down in the
president’s chair.
His pride smarting, Darian clenched his jaw and held back his ire.
Standing before Adrian with a smile that was more grimace than grin, he said, “So, Mr. Perkins. What
brings you here without so much as a heads up?”
Adrian skimmed the room, and then waved an absent hand. “Everyone out. I need to bend Darian’s ear
for a bit.”
Once the office was empty of all but them, Adrian skewered Darian with his stare and got right down to
brass tacks. “You must know that SJ Entertainment’s stock took a nosedive recently, evaporating
billions trom its market value in a blink?”
Wearing a sheepish grin, Darian bobbed his head in a nod and began to reply in a sycophantic tone,
“Well, about that-“
“I’m not interested in any cover stories,” Adrian cut him off mid-sentence. Speaking without any sugar
coating, he said, “I bought into SJ Entertainment because of Theodore’s charm offensive. It wasn’t
really SJ Entertainment I was investing in, but Theodore. And now, with him gone and SJ
Entertainment in freefall, I’m left holding the bag.”
Adrian’s candid lauding of Theodore in front of Darian was as good as a slap in the face. Shame
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwashed over Darian, leaving him soaked in humiliation. Inwardly, he let loose a string of curses at
Adrian, painting him as an meddler, and blamed him for the present mess.
But outwardly, all Darian could do was muster up a grin and placate, “Mr. Perkins, this was a curveball,
no question. It’s not what anyone wanted. But you don’t need to lose sleep over it. My second in line,
Jasper, he’s got the chops too. Put your money on him, and it won’t go to waste. Jasper will take the
helm and steer the company back on course, making up for the lost market value.”
As Adrian stayed mum, Darian couldn’t quite read him. Trying to alleviate any concerns, he pounded
his chest, making another pledge.
“What’s more, I’ll be returning to the fray myself, taking the reins. You have my word on it.”
No sooner had Darian stopped talking than Adrian let out a scornful chuckle. Darian didn’t need a
decoder to understand the disdain behind that laugh. It was a dismissive gesture not only towards
Jasper, but also towards him, Darian himself.
The room plunged into a silence so thick it was almost stifling. Caught in the headlight of Adrian’s
contempt, Darian fumbled for a response and came up empty.