Mr. Ziegler's forehead became increasingly sweaty, so Harrison instructed the staff to turn on the air conditioning in the meeting room.It was already summer, and it was indeed getting hot."Mr. Ziegler, I'll have someone bring you a glass of iced tea," Harrison offered.Mr. Ziegler forced a smile. He dared not drink anything offered by these people, fearing Mr. Fergerson might view it as a betrayal.Though Mr. Ziegler was 20 years older than Caleb, his respect toward him exceeded everyone else's.However, when facing Harrison, he was full of confidence. He waved off the offer and sat quietly on the side.Harrison had adopted a somewhat flattering attitude toward him. After all, he still needed the 20% of shares in Mr. Ziegler's hands.With just half an hour left, all the Fergersons in the meeting room started discussing."I heard Caleb hasn't come out from there. Once the betting agreement ends, who among you is willing to bail him out?""Who would go to him? Who can stand h
Throughout the entire thing, only Mr. Ziegler from Automobile Maestros appeared as an outsider. He occasionally glanced around, but his eyes held a deep disdain.With three minutes left until the agreement's deadline, the Fergersons were preparing to announce Harrison as the new CEO of Fergerson Corporation.Everyone wanted to perform well in front of Harrison, and some eagerly opened the meeting room door and called in the senior executives waiting outside.The attendees were nearly the same as the last meeting.However, the executives who had supported Caleb before now showed signs of weariness after being continuously undermined by Harrison's faction for four days.Joel stood up, his face beaming with joy."Now that everyone is here, I have an announcement to make. From now on, the CEO of Fergerson Corporation will be my father!"Instant applause thundered in the room. Those on Harrison's side stood up, almost clapping their hands raw in excitement.Harrison's face flushed w
Caleb sat down, tapping his fingers slowly on the table, just like he used to during meetings.Everyone from the Fergersons looked toward Harrison.Harrison's hands that were hanging at his sides clenched slowly, and his face turned ashen. He took a deep breath."The betting agreement has ended, and the 20% of the shares in your hands have already been transferred to me. Your presence here at the meeting is simply a humiliation to yourself."Caleb looked up at the clock on the wall.Without needing to say anything, Mr. Ziegler spoke up."Where it has ended or not, there's no difference. Mr. Fergerson surely has other means. Besides, the 5% share of Automobile Maestros was initially intended for him, but he refused. I had no choice but to hold onto it until now."Mr. Ziegler took the opportunity to flatter Caleb, which was quite a contrast to his indifferent attitude toward the other members of the Fergerson family.What did Mr. Ziegler's words imply here?Well, since he had in
Caleb sat calmly in the main seat, his fingertips carelessly tapping on the table.After a minute, he finally spoke."Uncle Harri, in order to buy 20% of Mr. Ziegler's shares, you mortgaged all your properties, invested all your cash, and even borrowed 200 million from the bank. How do you plan to repay it now?"His eyes were filled with amusement as he scanned the faces of the other Fergersons.The group that was previously clamoring had now retreated, not daring to meet his gaze.Even though his gaze seemed calm, to them, it was like sharp, cold blades. The coldness within almost froze them solid.Their faces were all unsightly. They looked at each other, not even daring to counter Caleb's words."It's impossible! Absolutely impossible! Caleb, you must've used dirty means!"Harrison could not believe it. After years of meticulous planning and being so close to success, he was abruptly dragged into a hellish abyss.Caleb, however, did not indulge him or anyone for that matter
Caleb found it amusing and leaned back, saying, "Really? Then all of you act it out."The senior executive eagerly gathered his other colleagues who had similarly been wronged by him in the past few days. They all became drama queens, enacting the triumphant attitudes of the others earlier.Some clapped until their hands were red.Some boldly declared they would send Penny to Sky Lounge.Others said Caleb deserved to be in jail!Caleb’s face remained nonchalant throughout the performance, making the others at the scene feel too ashamed to lift their heads. They started to tremble all over.The applause sounded like a death knell to them.The last trace of color drained from their faces, and some even knelt on the cold floor."Caleb, we didn't mean it. We were just misled by Harrison. Frankly, we all support you as the CEO of Fergerson Corporation. And since the special task force is looking into the old man's case and it's unrelated to you, it must have been Harrison who framed
Sebastian watched the dejected individuals left to process their resignations and then turned his attention to those still in the meeting room. They were exchanging flattery. A slight smile played on his lips.Mr. Ziegler, too, rose to his feet at that moment and shook Sebastian's hand."Mr. Quinn, I’ll be heading back to Americana now. I hope Mr. Fergerson’s business continues to grow."Sebastian was quite fond of Mr. Ziegler's character, and he nodded. "I hope to see you again if fate allows it."Mr. Ziegler leaned in closer, his face displaying obsequiousness. "I hope you can put in a good word for me with Mr. Fergerson. Automobile Maestros owes our survival to his support back in the day. We'll remember this favor for a lifetime."Sebastian felt strangely moved by this gesture.Such pure-hearted individuals were rare in the business world.Perhaps this was why Caleb had chosen to help Automobile Maestros survive their crisis years ago.Being a top global automobile enterpri
Winston also chimed in."Yeah, she's pretty smart. After calling a few of us, she left. If she had been any slower, Harrison and Joel would have targeted her, right? And before leaving, she even managed to arrange for everything to be done at her company. She truly deserves to be the CEO."Both men's words were laced with mockery. They were subtly ridiculing Caleb's poor taste in women.As for Quentin, who knew the whole truth, was not there that night. Hence, no one spoke up for Penny.In the past, Caleb would have definitely retorted against these two.Yet now, he remained silent and just quietly held his glass of wine.It felt as if all the bitterness in the world was churning in his stomach. He wanted to drink some wine to suppress this bitter taste, but each sip only made it more bitter. It was accompanied by a sense of melancholy.It seemed that when it came to Penny, she was truly clear when it came to her feelings, regardless of what he did.So what if they had been int
Caleb was in a deadlock, yet Khloe still came to see him while enduring her illness. It seemed profoundly affectionate.The crowd began to tease them, but Caleb, who was being held onto, just hung his head. He remained silent.At that moment, everyone seemed to forget about Penny. They treated her as if she was just a passerby in Caleb's life.Khloe's words allowed her to quickly blend into the circle, and with her status, she rightfully sat next to Caleb.Caleb did not say anything. He merely leaned back, his Adam's apple moving slightly.He was somewhat drunk.He even took out his phone and could not resist calling Penny again.This time, the call was answered, but it was a man."Hello, I'm Casby. This is Penpen's phone. Do you need something?"Caleb's pupils constricted sharply. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He sobered up slightly, feeling cold from his heart to his toes."Who are you?"He almost reflexively asked again, feeling like the name sounded fam