"We spent quite a bit recently, so our cash flow is tight. The main issue was that we never anticipated Ascendancy Group would copse. Otherwise, we would have had sufficient funds on hand."
That was true.
Who could have predicted that Ascendancy Group would go bankrupt in the blink of an eye? A publicly tradedpany once valued at nearly two hundred billion had seen its market cap shrink to thirty billion in just six months, leading to its delisting. After liquidation, it was still left with over ten billion in debt...
Seth had nned to use funds from Aurelion Group to plug the hole, but he hadn''t realized it would empty their ounts.
The money he mentioned spending recently was likely at the overseas auctions. Mrs. Chase had said Seth had been spendingvishly there.
"Don''t worry. Once PerseTech goes public, our current difficulties will be resolved," Seth said, trying tofort her.
His reassurance made it impossible for Bianca to bring up the subject of money.
But Aethelred Capital was relentless. The very next day, they contacted Bianca again to demand payment.
"There are still two days until Friday, Mr. te. Can''t you wait a little longer?" Bianca forced a smile, lowering herself for a rare moment.
"It''s not impossible, but..." Mr. te''s eyes roamed up and down Bianca''s body, a lecherous smile on his face. "You''ve got to show me something, right? Otherwise, how can I trust you?"
Having been around enough men, she knew exactly what Mr. te was implying. "How about I drink three shots as an apology?"
Mr. te scoffed. "What good is drinking? We''re all adults here, Miss Lowell. Stop ying innocent."
He pulled a hotel key card from his pocket and slid it across the table to her. "Come on your own."
Bianca, ustomed to her pride, had never suffered such humiliation. Even in her wild days with William, she had always been the one in control, never coerced.
Besides, this was Rivercrest City. She couldn''t possibly do something that would so thoroughly degrade her status.
"What do you mean by this, Mr. te? I''m not that kind of person," she replied coldly, her haughty demeanor returning.
Mr. te''s face instantly hardened.
"So you have principles, do you? Fine, Flike people with principles You want to drink? Let''s drink Drink your
fill! You do that, and we can
forget this whole thing."
He had the waiter bring in arge quantity of liquor and sses. The first round was
thirty shots of the strongest vodka.
He was clearly trying to make an example of her.
"Drink up, Ms. Lowell."
When a man''s ego is bruised, he often resorts to tormenting others to feel powerful again.
Seeing Bianca hesitate, he offered a
pointed reminder. "You don''t have to
drink, of course. But then I can''t guarantee that news of PerseTech''s founder having a financial crisis wont leak out. I hear you''re waiting for the SEC''s final review. Are you sure you''ll pass?"
Bianca clenched her jaw, picked up a ss, and started drinking.
The harsh liquor burned her throat like fire, choking her and making her eyes water.
But she kept drinking, one ss after another.
In the private room next door, the waiter waste with the drinks.
Wilbur was annoyed. "The service here is terrible. What took so long?"
"My apologies, Mr. Wilbur. I was just delivering three rounds of drinks to the room next door, which caused a bit of a dy the waitress exined meekly t
"Really?"
"Yes, really. One of our regr customers is giving a woman a hard time, making
her drink all that liquor. She''s actually quite beautiful."
Wilbur loved gossip. "How beautiful?"
"Very beautiful!"
"Hey, Mr. Wilbur, where are you going?"
"To y the hero and save the damsel, of course," Wilbur called back without
turning around.