She barely touched her food, wondering if the person in the garden was still there.
After leaving the Richardson Manor, Leanne got into the car, leaned back in her seat, and zoned out, not speaking a word.
Jake started the car and pulled out of the driveway, asking, "Mrs. Richardson, heading back to Leanne's Castle?"
Leanne hummed in response, and after a long pause, as if she had just snapped back to reality or had a change of heart, she turned her gaze from the window back to Jake and instructed, "Let's go to ElitePinnacle instead."
The June sun blazed as a modern woman in business attire strode past the car, her confident steps making her curls bounce. The skyscrapers towered above, their silver-gray glass façades reflecting a dazzling yet cold light.
Leanne took the elevator up, and the receptionist had already informed the CEO's secretary of her arrival.
As Leanne stepped out of the elevator, the secretary, dressed in a sharp suit, greeted her respectfully and led her into Curtis' office.
"Mr. Richardson is in a meeting, and you can wait a moment. I'll get you some coffee!"
Leanne placed her purse down and settled into the leather sofa in the waiting area.
Curtis' office was in a minimalist business style, dominated by black, white, and gray. She hadn't paid much attention to it last time, too caught up in their argument. Her eyes roamed around, finally resting on a photo frame on his desk.
It was a picture taken by Devin at Echo Summit, still set as his phone's wallpaper till the time.
Wondering how much longer his meeting would last, Leanne felt drowsy, and not even a cup of coffee could help.
She felt an emptiness inside, like a dark, bottomless pit. She didn't want to go home to sleep.
SolidAxis Engineering was to receive institutional investor subscriptions mid-month, with plans to go public the following month. However, troubles occurred in the past few days.
Numerous media outlets had reported on SolidAxis Engineering's plans for massive layoffs, with hundreds of employees protesting and negative publicity swirling, raising questions about mismanagement and billion-dollar losses.
The crisis had erupted too suddenly, and SolidAxis Engineering's inexperienced PR department was too slow to react, failing to contain the situation. If mishandled, it could jeopardize the upcoming IPO. The mood in the boardroom was gloomy as if they had stumbled at the final hurdle, frustrating and exasperating to everyone involved.
"Overnight, every media outlet is covering this. It seems someone's targeting us on purpose."
"If they're targeting anyone, it's SolidAxis Engineering, not us."
"How can you say that? Since we returned from Bullion Boulevard, countless local brokers have been eyeing us hungrily. If this project with SolidAxis Engineering falls through, guess how they'll spin it against us?"
At the head of the table, Curtis leaned back in his chair, his handsome features set in an expression of indifferent coolness.
He fiddled with a pen in his right hand, tapping it absentmindedly on the table.
After much debate among his team, he tapped his pen against the table to signal silence and said, "Get in touch with SolidAxis Engineering. We're at a critical moment and must respond to these criticisms quickly. By tomorrow morning at the latest, we should release their group's financial report from the last fiscal year to stabilize public opinion."
Someone asked, "And if that doesn't work?"
Curtis responded with a cold smirk, "Managing public sentiment is a prerequisite for going public. They might as well stay home if they can't handle this."
It was clear that the mood was sour, and everyone wisely chose to keep quiet, acting as quiet as a mouse.
Caleb entered the room and whispered something in Curtis' ear.
Instantly, the icy demeanor on their CEO's handsome face thawed into a warm spring bloom.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
He dropped the pen and rose, exuding an effortless charm. Remembering his subordinates, he threw out lazily, "Meeting's over. My wife is here."
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