He''d asked Simone to steal trade secrets from Leonard, hoping to get revenge-a purely personal vendetta he''d kept from everyone else at thepany.


    Now that trouble hade knocking, his assistants and secretaries all assumed the problem was a cash flow issue.


    In truth, he''d walked straight into Leonard''s trap.


    Ray, however, thought The Richards Group had been dragged down because of Ste.<fn92f8> Discover more novels at FindN()vel</fn92f8>


    Foreman wanted to set the record straight, but when the words reached his lips, he found himself unable to speak.


    What if..... Ste believed The Richards Group''s problems were all because of her? Would she feel even more guilty, and as a result, trust him more? Maybe even grow fonder of him?


    And if... Ste thought he''d raised that fifty billion by selling off his shares, she''d be far less likely to refuse any requests he made in the future.


    But Foreman knew that admitting it would be risky-one wrong move and the whole charade could copse if Mr. J ever showed up.


    His thoughts raced, but outwardly, Foreman just offered a faint smile.


    He neither confirmed nor denied anything; instead, he deftly changed the subject.


    "Don''t worry, Star. The Richards Group will pull through this rough patch."


    ...


    Ste left Foreman''s office, still weighed down by worry.


    She had barely stepped outside when she spotted Abigail, carrying a boxed lunch.


    Abigail''s expression soured the moment she saw Ste.


    With a frosty tone, she said, "You don''t have the means to take over the Pearce Group, but you expect others to clean up your mess. If it weren''t for you, Leonard wouldn''t have targeted The Richards Group. We wouldn''t be in this crisis if it wasn''t for the money tied up because of you."


    "Ste, it''s bad enough you got yourself tangled up with Leonard, but why drag The Richards Group into it, too?"


    "Seriously, how unlucky does Mr. Richards have to be to have met someone like you?"


    Ste met her gaze calmly. "I''ll find a way to pay back what I owe The Richards Group."


    Abigail''s voice sharpened. "Money''s one thing, but what about the chain reaction you''ve set off? Mr. Richards spent over three years building his businesswork, and you nearly wrecked it with one rash decision. Ste, what makes you think that just paying back the money means you don''t owe Mr. Richards anything anymore?"  s


    When


    Oshua returned from his


    phone call, he found Ste standing


    by the hallway window.set


    at the city  s


    He walked over. "You finished that quickly?"


    Ste nodded. “Yeah. He''s got a lot on his te right now. I didn''t want to take up more of his time."


    They headed downstairs together, talking quietly as they went.


    Once in the car, Joshua asked, "Did he tell you why Leonard''sing after him?"


    Ste replied, "Foreman isn''t sure


    himself Butt think, honestly


    P


    after mm because of me. I


    can''t think of any other reason."  s


    Joshua pressed, “Did he admit anything about Mr. J?”


    Ste had already told Joshua her suspicions about Mr. J on the way to Foreman''s office.


    Back then, Joshua had said, "If you have doubts, just ask him directly."


    Now Ste said, "He didn''t admit it, but he didn''t deny it either. He just changed the subject."


    Joshua smirked. "If he admitted to everything, he''d probably trip over his own tongue."


    He''d always been blunt about people like Haynes and Foreman, so Ste didn''t take his sarcasm to heart.


    She added, "As I was leaving, I ran into Foreman''s secretary, Abigail."


    She recounted the confrontation, word for word.