Holden smirked as he retrieved a dictaphone from his vest pocket. He pressed play and placed it on the table. “Marcus, get in touch with me as soon as you can. We need to discuss something.” It was my own voice.
Dear God, even I don’t remember saying these words! ”The Taylor family has a lot of connections in the underworld,” Ashton explained with uncharacteristic patience. “Once they got a hold of your phone and analyzed the data, it wasn’t difficult to imitate your voice.”
“This was imitated by AI?” I asked in amazement, my eyes as wide as saucers. I had heard a lot regarding the advancement of AI within the industry recently, so it occurred to me that this may be one of its applications.
Holden smiled smugly as he placed the dictaphone back in his pocket. “Those machines work, no doubt. But the end result is too stiff and inorganic. My new girlfriend is the queen of mimicry. She can literally imitate any style of anybody you can think of. Especially those in bed… hehe. It’s a new experience every night.”
“Mr. Taylor, your tastes are… rather exotic,” I said uncomfortably. The extent of his lust has left me speechless.
But if this was what it took to gain Marcus’s trust, albeit falsely, it would still be a big help. At this comforting thought, I breathed a reluctant sigh of relief.
Though Holden was Ashton’s man, he wouldn’t use the imitated voice to harm Marcus as the interests of the Taylor family were at stake. Like it or not, he was the best candidate for this mission.
Ashton did not fail to notice the change in my expression. I looked up and met his weary eyes. “Now would you believe me?” he asked before I could say anything.
I turned towards Holden. He was a wily fox who only cared about the interests of his family. He must want something in return for his help.
Ashton must have dealt with him beforehand. Probably even agreed to his unreasonable demands. I turned away and looked at Ashton in earnest. “If you are willing to help Marcus, why did you mention having to compete with GW Group and drive the share price down?”
White Corporation was in shambles. Foreign investment took the opportunity to encourage the shareholders to sell their shares for scraps.
When Fuller Corporation joined the fray, nobody felt secure.
Otherwise, Emery wouldn’t have promised me so heartily to look into it.
Ashton took a deep breath and sat up straight. His dark eyes suddenly flashed with a glint of danger. “So according to you, the way for me to repay Marcus was to pay for his company which is currently in a mess at a high price, at a loss to Fuller Corporation. Is that it?”
His gaze was so fierce it looked as though it would pierce right through me.
I frowned with discomfort at being stared at like that.
Even a company larger than White Corporation had things that they want hidden. The fact that Leonard Yondel had embezzled was not even considered out of the ordinary for someone like Ashton.
It felt like he had already decided that I did not know my boundaries in handling Marcus’s case. He had intentionally exposed these to see the limits of which I would disregard him, my husband, by helping Marcus.
After Rebecca, I was more familiar than anybody with Ashton’s possessive nature. I sighed heavily. “I have never thought that there was anything wrong with the situation. Marcus had already thought of a solution. If he hadn’t disappeared, it wouldn’t have turned into the mess it is today.”
After a brief pause, I reached out and touched Ashton’s hand. “Think of how you take pains to protect and advance the interests of Fuller Corporation. The only thing that Marcus’s parents left for him is White Corporation. I hope that we can help him salvage his family business. It’s not about compelling you to buy his entire company to save it, or to have any foreign company acquire it. Do you think we can do that?”
