Chapter 123
Lavern took a deep breath, suppressing his panic.
“Marina, you know I can’t hand over that many shares right now Do you really expect me to…”
Marina cut him off, her voice cold and unyielding.
“I don’t know.” Marina replied, flatly.
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“All I know is, Ross Group ended up like this because of you. And Daron is targeting Ross Group now, also because of you.”
“I’m already doing you a huge favor by offering 1% of the shares. What else do you want?”
Lavern sprang to his feet, hands pressed hard against the desk, glowering with anger.
“Nothing. If that’s how you want it, then let’s just keep playing this waiting game until Ross Group isn’t worth a dime.”
Marina nodded. “Sure.”
She agreed without a second thought, her face as calm as ever. She didn’t even blink at his threats.
Lavern gritted his teeth, gripping the desk tightly.
“Marina, do we really have to make things this tense between us? Are we just going to destroy each other? Did you forget how we fought side by side, how we got Ross Group to where it is today?”
Marina smiled lightly. “Every party has to end sometime. I’m not someone who dwells on the past. People change, don’t they?”
Lavern frowned, his eyes stormy with agitation.
After a long moment, he swallowed his anger, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m sorry.”
With Xavier standing right there, that was as much as Lavern could manage.
Marina didn’t respond. She shot,him a cold, indifferent glance, feling that even being in the same room with him was just
toxic.
Seeing Marina stay silent, Lavern softened his tone, letting go of his pride and trying to negotiate.
“Ross Group is really in a tough spot right now. Clients are leaving, partners are backing out. If we keep dragging this out, it’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart.
“Marina, can we put the bigger picture first? As long as Ross Group survives this crisis, whatever you want to do to me after- punish me, kick me out–I’ll accept it.”
He looked at Marina with hope in his eyes, a trace of desperation showing through.
Marina just sat there, completely unfazed by his pleading, not even batting an eye.
Lavern clenched his jaw, doing his best not to snap. He turned away from Marina, taking a few deep breaths, trying to keep his cool.
“Marina, just think it over. I’ll be waiting for your call.” With that he strode out of her office without looking back.
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Chapter 123
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Lavern walked slowly, silently wishing Marina would stop him before he reached the door.
But he kept his expression stiff all the way to the elevator, and no one inside called out to him.
His usual moves, the ones that always worked, had finally failed Him.
His hopes fell flat, and panic flickered in his eyes.
Lavern stood at the elevator, not pressing the button right away.
He closed his eyes, just as he was about to swallow his pride and head back into Marina’s office, a hand reached out and hit the down button for him.
Lavern gave Xavier a frosty look as the man stepped up beside him.
Xavier remained calm, a professional smile on his face.
“Ms. Finley asked me to pass on a message to you, Mr. Ross.”
The tension in Lavern’s face eased slightly at that.
Xavier continued, “Ms. Finley said that back then, you gave away a bunch of shares to the senior execs at Ross Group just to push her out. If you can get those shares back now, that’ll be enough to get Ross Group out of this hole.
“She said you’ve got three days to sort this out, or you should prepare to dissolve Ross Group.”
Lavern’s face twisted in shock. He spun around, ready to storm back into Marina’s office, but Xavier yanked him back.
Just then, the elevator doors slid open. Without a hint of hesitation, Xavier shoved Lavern inside.
Lavern was no match for Xavier’s size and strength. His struggles were completely pointless.
Hearing the commotion, Marina stepped out of her office.
Lavern shot her a furious glare, jaw clenched tight.
“Marina! Ross Group isn’t beyond saving. It’s just a bump in the road, and you want to shut it down? Is it really that unimportant to you?”
Marina met Lavern’s furious gaze, her voice cool and unhurried
“Ross Group’s success is just icing on the cake for me. I can keep it, or I can walk away.”
Lavern’s expression grew complicated, his chest tightening painfully.
Back before he learned Marina’s true background, Lavern was sure she’d never walk away from Ross Group.
But now, it was obvious, he needed Ross Group way more than she ever would.
He just couldn’t walk away from it the way Marina could, like it was nothing.
All his success was wrapped up in Ross Group.
If he lost his spot as CEO, trying to start over on his own would be next to impossible.
Right now, he needed Ross Group more than anyone else ever could.
Lavern clenched his fist tight, just about to punch the elevator wall when the doors slid open by themselves.
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Chapter 123
The employees waiting outside stared in shock at his messy hair and the wide rip in his shirt.
Is this really the always confident, sharp–looking boss?‘ they wondered.
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With everyone watching, Lavern finally let his fist drop and smoothed out his clothes a bit. Only when he looked down did he realize his shirt was completely ruined.
He clenched his jaw, his face cold as he strode out of the elevato He said in a low, cold voice to an employee nearby, “Get Javis to my office.”
The employee blinked, then quickly replied, “Yes, Mr. Ross.”
Lavern walked toward his office, unbuttoning his shirt as he went Just before stepping inside, he angrily tossed the torn shirt into the trash can.
He threw it with so much force that he knocked the trash can right over.
Everyone in the office went dead silent, too scared to even breathe.
Marina heard immediately that Lavern was blowing up downstairs.
Word was, he’d called Javis into his office, and the two of them were in there for over an hour.
When Javis finally came out, he looked pretty rough.
Then Lavern called in the rest of the execs. They all came out looking just as miserable as Javis, like they’d just been forced to eat shit.
Marina didn’t even have to guess what they were talking about.
Back when Lavern was trying to win people over, he handed out shares to some of the execs as a reward. And some of them, seeing Ross Group’s potential, bought up shares from Lavern at a bargain price.
Out of all of them, Javis got the biggest piece of the pie. He ended up with a full 5% of the shares.
With Javis’s personality, it wouldn’t take long before he’d be quiely hunting for buyers to unload his shares.
And the others would follow his lead, one after another.
Marina already had her next play lined up. Now she was just waiting for them to walk right into her trap.
Once all the shares landed in Daron’s hands, showing Lavern the door would be child’s play.
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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.
