“Mrs. Fuller, I have heard that you are currently the acting chairman of White Corporation. What is your opinion regarding the acquisition bid raised by GW?”
I was honest with Ashton, and I treated Sean exactly the same. I placed my cutlery down, wiped my lips, and looked him full in the face. “Our prior encounters had not ended well,” I said slowly. “Mr. Blondell, you may still harbor a grievance and possibly wariness toward me, but let me assure you that I personally have no malice toward GW group.”
I spoke from the heart and believed that I portrayed a sincerity upon my face to match what I felt. Sean appeared satisfied and nodded eagerly for me to carry on.
“However, it pains me to have to apologize to you.” I watched as Sean’s smile faded a little, but he did not interrupt. “In my capacity to represent White Corporation, I officially decline GW’s offer to acquire us.” He was the third person I’ve rejected on the same day. It would seem to an observer that I was being particularly difficult and prickly.
Sean’s expression turned an even uglier shade of green than before. He flung down the cutlery in his hands onto the porcelain plate with a crash. “Mrs. Fuller, from the way you chose to take over White Corporation at this particular time, I had thought that you are different from Mr. Fuller.”
It was true to a certain extent. Ashton and I were preventing White Corporation from falling into the hands of foreign investors. As Marcus was traveling between M Country and K City, his company was left without a leader. Despite the best efforts by the government, the shareholders ultimately chose to protect their own interests by voicing their desire to be acquired by GW Group. If I had been in favor of Ashton’s move, all I had to do was to be a spokesperson for Fuller Corporation to placate the shareholders. Instead, I replaced Marcus as chairman and unknowingly became the face of corporate greed at the prospect of GW’s two billion.
It was not in my nature to beat around the bush. “Mr. Blondell, you know better than me as to why White Corporation had been subjected to so many changes within a short period of time. As Marcus had rejected your acquisition bid once before, I am merely doing him the courtesy of respecting his wishes. I don’t think you would go out of your way to be difficult, would you?”
Sean’s expression shifted but turned back to normal abruptly. “Mrs. Fuller, I’m not quite sure what you mean,” he said as he leaned languidly back in his chair.
He’s still pretending? It was pretty convincing, too bad that the truth was more obvious than that. The disappearance of Camelia and Toby coupled with Marcus losing his bearing were no coincidences. GW Group was the most to gain from all those events.
This was one of my reasons for distrusting foreign businessmen. Once they tasted the hint of victory, they would relentlessly buy time by avoiding the problem at hand. To people like Sean, time was their best asset. The longer it dragged on, the higher were their odds for winning.
Too bad they miscalculated this time. White Corporation had diversified in AI technology while severing ties with industries destined to be extinct with technological advancement. With proper management, White Corporation would be right back on track in no time.
“Sean, listen to me.” I addressed him by his first name now; it was a gesture of respect from me. “I’m very clear on your motives. Mr. Fuller had rejected your acquisition bid so you felt like you had no choice but to involve Marcus in dirty dealings. Consider this my final warning—you are not in M Country anymore. You are not as influential here as you are over there. The positions of Fuller Corporation and White Corporation will only solidify within K City. If GW Group still intends on doing honest business in our country, you had best advise your superiors to abandon their intentions of blackmailing Marcus.”
