After getting yet another rejection over the phone, Trent angrily mmed his phone down.
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Chapter 25 Financial Troubles
Chapter 25 Financial Troubles
Thepany had flourished for three years since it was founded. But the moment Quinn left, problems began surfacing with both the projects and the finances.
Even the other projects were thrown intoplete disarray.
“Why can’t you handle even such small issues properly? There have never been problems like this before, have there?”
During a heated meeting, when he finally lost his temper, a few of the executives responded, “Ms. Bridger used to handle all these things.”
Quinn was already gone from thepany, yet her presence seemed to linger like a shadow.
Trent thought back to what the project manager had said to him, “You clearly have no idea how valuable Ms. Bridger really
<b>was</b><b>!</b><b>” </b>
<i>Quinn’s </i><i>value</i><i>? </i>What’s so <i>special </i><i>about </i><i>her </i><i>anyway</i>? As <i>far </i><i>as </i><i>I’m </i><i>concerned</i>, <i>she’s </i><i>just </i><i>another </i><i>retired </i><i>soldier</i>. <i>Her </i><i>academic </i><i>background </i><i>isn’t </i><i>anything </i><i>special</i><i>, </i><i>which </i><i>is </i>why I simply <i>assigned </i><i>her </i><i>a </i><i>role </i><i>in </i><i>the </i><ipany </i><i>without </i><i>much </i><i>thought</i>.
<i>Sure</i><i>, </i><i>she </i><i>graduated </i><i>from </i><i>the </i><i>National </i><i>Defense </i><i>University</i><i>, </i><i>and </i><i>was </i><i>once </i><i>the </i>top <i>science </i>student in <i>Jexburgh</i><i>, </i><i>and </i><i>knew </i>how to <i>ride </i><i>a </i><i>horse </i><i>and </i><i>fly </i><i>a </i><i>ne</i><i>–</i><i>but beyond </i><i>that</i><i>, </i>what <i>else </i>is <i>there </i><i>that </i>I <i>don’t </i><i>already </i>know?
“What’s the matter? Something bothering you?” Sidonie’s voice snapped Trent out of his thoughts.
He returned to the moment, focusing on the woman sitting across from him. Once upon a time, she had been the center of his youthful admiration. She was the dignified daughter of the Stonehurst family, while he had been nothing more than a penniless guy.
Back then, he couldn’t have imagined that one <i>day</i>, they’d be able to sit together and share a meal like this, as friends.
“It’s nothing, just a small issue,” Trent replied casually.
Sidonieughed lightly. “Oh, by the way, I went to see that mansion you mentioned. I really liked it. The realtor said if I paid the full amount upfront, they’d knock five million off the price.”
Trent’s expression shifted the moment he heard that.
The mansion had originally been intended as a gift for Sidonie. If thepany’s affairs had gone smoothly, he wouldn’t have hesitated to pay the thirty million. But right now, he simply couldn’t afford it.
“Maybe we should hold off on buying it,” Trent suggested. “There might be a better one that pops upter.”
Sidonie raised her chin slightly, a touch of pride in her voice. “<b>If </b>you don’t want to give it to me, you can just say so. I’m not forcing you.”
Trent hurried to exin. “No, it’s not that I don’t want to. Compared to what you did for me back then, a mansion’s nothing. <b>It’s </b>just that thepany’s running into some cash flow issues, so<b>… </bing up with the whole amount right now is a bit tough.”
He would’ve preferred if she didn’t find out about his financial situation.
Sidonie’s gaze flickered. “When I saved you, I didn’t expect anything in return. If money’s tight, we can talk about the mansionter. <b>It’s </b>just a shame the Stonehurst family’s businesses are all handled by the main branch on my oldest uncle’s side. Our branch doesn’t have any <b>real </b>authority. If we did, I could’ve helped you sort things out financially.”
Her considerate attitude took the weight off Trent’s shoulders. “I really appreciate that,” he said. “I’ll take care <b>of </b>thepany’s problems. And in the future, I’ll repay you even more than I already have.”
Back then, he had been attacked by a thug. In an attempt to protect his tuition money, he’d been stabbed eight times and ended up in the river.
In that moment between life and death, what he remembered most was someone holding onto him tightly, dragging him up from the water with everything they had.
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Chapter 25 Financial Troubles
A voice had kept repeating in his ear, “Hang in there, just hang in there! I will save you!”
That voice had felt like it gave him the strength to survive.
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So, when he woke up in the hospital and saw that his rescuer was Sidonie, he made a vow deep in his heart. One day, he would repay her.
Watching his serious expression, Sidonie smiled faintly. “I don’t need repayment. I just wanted you to live. That was all.”
In truth, saving him hadn’t taken much effort. She’d only happened upon him, badly injured, by the riverside. By coincidence, the paramedics had shown up just then, assumed she was the one who’d called, and brought her along to the hospital.
At first, she’d seen it as a hassle. But now, it seemed the rewards had far outweighed what she ever imagined.
Who would’ve <i>guessed </i><i>that </i><i>the </i><i>penniless </i><i>guy </i>I <i>saved </i><i>would </i><i>grow </i><i>up </i><i>to </i><i>be </i><i>the </i><i>boss </i><i>of </i><i>a public </i><ipany</i>? <i>The </i><i>only </i><i>catch </i><i>is</i><i>… </i><i>he’s </i><i>still </i>married.
JAfter parting ways with Trent, Sidonie chose to apany Penelope and Jacinda on a shopping trip. If she were serious about marrying Trent in the future, it made sense to build a good rtionship with her potential mother–inw and sister- inw.
She deliberately brought them to a beauty chain store owned by the Stonehurst family. “If you see anything you like, ahead and take it. I’ll cover it.”
Compared to what she had gained from Trent, a few beauty products didn’t cost her anything.