To Marina’s surprise, the investor Lavern brought in turned out be Carter.
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“Ms. Finley, this way please.” Lavern’s assistant noticed Marina hd paused and politely motioned her toward the conference
room.
With an unreadable look, Marina stepped into the conference room. While everyone else, following Lavern’s lead, greeted Carter, she simply made her way to the far end of the table and took a seat.
The scrape of her chair was loud enough to draw everyone’s attention, including Carter’s.
Lavern’s expression shifted, and he quickly stepped in to introduce her to Carter.
“Mr. Finley, this is my fiancée…” Lavern began.
Marina frowned and cut him off coldly. “Mr. Ross, did you suddenly get amnesia? Was I not loud enough when I dumped you? Or was your big wedding with Shawna not dramatic enough for you?”
Lavern’s face turned ashen. The person closest to Marina even gave a nervous cough, trying to subtly remind her, “Ms. Finley, this is the client Mr. Ross brought in to invest in Ross Group. Just bear with it for today, okay?”
Marina gave a cold, mocking laugh, shooting Carter a sarcastic look.
Lavern took a deep breath and leaned in to explain to Carter in low voice, “Mr. Finley, sorry you had to see that. We’ve been having a bit of a disagreement lately. Please, have a seat. I’ll get started on the presentation right away.”
Only then did Carter finally look away from Marina and take the seat Lavern had set aside for him.
The meeting kicked off right on time.
Carter had been genuinely interested in Ross Group, but after seeing Marina’s attitude, he started to have second thoughts.
For a startup, nothing was more dangerous than internal strife.
“I need to step out to the restroom,” Carter said.
“Oh, let me take you,” Lavern jumped in, eager to help.
But Carter just waved him off, got up, and headed out of the conference room on his own.
Lavern could see Carter’s mind was clearly elsewhere.
It was obvious Marina’s words had struck a nerve and made him eel a bit of sympathy.
Seizing the moment while Carter was in the restroom, Lavern go up and walked over to Marina, speaking in a low, serious
tone.
“Marina, I get that you’re angry, but now’s really not the time for drama,” Lavern said.
“Mr. Finley is genuinely interested in Ross Group, and he’s from rufield. His family’s got serious clout. You know Vrufield Century City? That’s part of the Finley family’s business empire
“If he invests in Ross Group, we won’t have any funding issues,” vern said.
Marina shot Lavern a mocking look. “Did you even run a background check on him?”
Lavern nodded. “Of course.”
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Chapter 118
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Vrufield Century Land was the Finley family’s most successful project back when they were at the height of their power.
But over the past decade or so, the Finley family’s standing in Vfield had plummeted.
Anyone who bothered to look a little closer would know Carter got booted from the Finley family.
But Lavern had clearly only scratched the surface.
Seeing his smug confidence, Marina gave a slight smirk and said coolly, “Just so we’re clear. I’m not giving up 20% of my shares. You guys can figure out how to come up with that 20% for him yourselves.”
Lavern frowned, his expression stiffening.
“Marina, don’t you want Ross Group to get through this rough patch?” Lavern pressed.
“We took Ross Group from just a few people to a company with over a thousand employees. If it goes down, that’s thousands out of work–thousands of families affected.”
“Marina, you used to say people like us have a duty to society. Dil you forget all that?” Lavern added.
Marina just stared at Lavern, totally unmoved by his passionate speech.
She caught a glimpse of Carter’s jacket at the conference room door, and a calculating look flickered in her eyes. She glanced up at Lavern and spoke softly.
‘I haven’t forgotten, Marina replied coolly. ‘Isn’t that why I’m doing exactly what you want right now?
“I get that handing over 20% at once is tough, and you’re worried about your own position. So here’s my suggestion: you put up 10%, the execs split 5% among themselves, and I’ll cover the last 5%. How about it?” Marina offered.
Her proposal made the room go quiet as everyone exchanged glances. Those with fewer shares were clearly unwilling to give up any of theirs.
Lavern wasn’t about to give up 10% either. He frowned, looking serious as he turned down Marina’s suggestion.
“No, that’s way too risky. I can only offer 5%,” Lavern said.
If he gave up 10%, he’d be left with just 22%-only 2% more than the new investor. That would seriously threaten his standing in the company.
“Mr. Ross, don’t forget, you’re the one at fault here. It was your personal misconduct that drove our clients away,” Marina slipped back into her usual nonchalant attitude and said casually
“I’m just making a suggestion. If you don’t agree, then I won’t get involved. I’m willing to sell 20% of my shares, but I have no intention of putting that money back into the company. If everyone puts in their share and invests the money back into the company, I won’t object,” Marina said.
As she spoke, she leaned back in her chair, giving Lavern a faint inconcerned smile, clearly not bothered at all.
Lavern returned to his seat with a stony face.
Just then, Carter walked back into the conference room.
The room, which had been tense just moments ago, instantly brightened as everyone put on their best smiles for Carter.
Marina smirked, gently rocking in her chair, her eyes dancing with mirth.
To Carter, she looked just like a sly little fox, clearly up to something.
19:26 Thu, Dec 25 WO
Chapter 118
“Think she can set me up?‘ Carter mused, ‘She’s still too green fo this.
Lavern was rattled by Marina’s proposal, totally thrown off his gne.
“Mr. Finley, shall we continue?” Lavern asked.
Carter waved him off.
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“Forget it. After watching how things went, it’s pretty clear your management team isn’t exactly on the same page. If I invest, my money’s probably just going to end up wasted,” Carter said.
“Let’s talk about working together some other time,” he added.
The room went dead silent at Carter’s words, and everyone shot Marina a look.
A glint of triumph flashed in Marina’s eyes.
Just as she’d expected, Carter wasn’t interested in buying any shares of Ross Group anymore.
But just because Carter wasn’t interested didn’t mean Lavern would let it go so easily.
So…
She had to crush Lavern’s hopes for good.
Marina stared at Carter’s retreating figure, then called out, her voice steady and clear.
“Dad.”
Carter froze just as he was about to step out of the conference room.
Everyone in the room stopped dead, faces full of shock.
Lavern’s eyes went wide in disbelief at Marina, but he quickly composed himself, forcing a stiff smile.
“Wait, Marina, did you just call him Dad?” Lavern blurted out, his voice tight.
Carter turned back to look at Marina, his eyes wary, already working out how to handle whatever trick she was playing.
Marina ignored Lavern completely. With a smile on her face, she stood up and headed right for Carter.
Carter instinctively stepped back–yep, no doubt about it now, Marina was.definitely out to mess with him.
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
