Vincent sat on his boss's chair and looked straight at Maria, who entered his office and walked to his side.
She was holding a file in her hand, which he already guessed the document's content.
Maria put the file on the desk and said, "Sir, this is all the information that you want about Mr. Gregory Maxwell, including private information about his life and also all the projects— ongoing and completed that he had with our company so far."
"Hm," Vincent picked up the file and opened it. He checked the document consisting of all the information for this man called Gregory Maxwell, an old friend of his late father that was still running his business to this day.
"Gregory Maxwell, 61 years old, an old friend of the late Mr. Vaughn Gray. He is running a food and beverage company that has been doing projects with us for the past twenty five years," Maria explained the content of all the research she could find regarding this man, including hiring a private investigator to delve further into the life of Gregory Maxwell.
"He has a disharmonious marriage with his wife, and both of them have cheated on each other since ten years ago, based on the private investigator, Sir," Maria added. "He has two kids, and both of them are living far from their parents, so there is no familial connection between them."
"So, both of them can cheat freely without consequence?" Vincent asked while reading the document.
"Yes, Sir."
"Hmm, as expected," Vincent smiled mysteriously as he noticed one sentence in the document. "Apparently, he has plenty of mistresses that he kept in a few apartments."
"Yes, he has plenty and keeps each of them in different apartments. It's a known secret actually," Maria reported.
Vincent chuckled once he heard that, "See? Aren't I better than him? I never keep a mistress in my mansion, I just fuck them and ditched them away, except for a few condoms. Chloe is just being so dramatic when I'm literally the best man she could ever have in her life."
"That is correct, Sir," Maria agreed. She might understand Chloe's problem if she married a regular man.
But she married Vincent Gray. Of course, she will have to deal with so many women flocking over him. After all, it was a fair price knowing that she got Mrs. Gray's title and all the money and connection as a billionaire's wife.
"Well—" Vincent put the file back on the desk and instructed his secretary, "I want to cut a few projects between my company and his, at least the newest one."
Maria's eyes widened hearing the statement. She thought Mr. Vincent Gray wanted this man's information as a blackmail method in order to get what he wanted.
But he wanted to simply cut the newest project between them?!
"Sir, may I know the reason for your decision?" Maria asked out of curiosity and anxiety. She didn't know what Vincent was planning and was scared this guy might do something rash.
"He is one of the main suspects from the list that Vernon made for me a few days ago," Vincent replied nonchalantly.
"A list?" Maria frowned.
"Yes, it's a list of millionaires that he suspected to be hiding my wife and daughter. They are all billionaires residing— or have a stable business in New York, and also have connections with the Gray family, because I've never shown Chloe and Mackie's face to the public."
"So, only those who have seen them in a few formal parties hosted by the Gray family know about their appearance, making it easy to find the culprit who dared to hide my wife and daughter," Vincent said.
"Sir, that's—" Maria was speechless. She didn't expect Vincent to be very extreme in his method. "Sir, Gregory Maxwell has years of history with the company. His company can be said to be one of our branches, and cutting the newest project with him can be devastating."
"Devastating for whom?" Vincent asked lightly. "Is it devastating for us or for him?"
"… For him, Sir…." Maria replied.
"And why do I need to give a fuck about a small shrimp? He is nothing compared to me, and if this small project gets cut, we can replace his company with another one, it's not that hard."
True, Maria wouldn't lie that Vincent was sitting on top of the world right now. She couldn't deny that Vincent was untouchable, knowing the amount of wealth he evenly spread to almost every sector in not only New York— but also the whole country.
So, a small shrimp-like Gregory Maxwell was nothing but a hindrance. Vincent could do anything to destroy that man's company if he wanted to.
But Maria was still unable to accept the reason that Vincent gave for suddenly breaking the ties between the two companies, no matter how small it was.
"Sir, are you really sure this man is the one who has been hiding your wife and daughter?"
"No," Vincent replied lightly.
"But how—"
"I've read the report that Vernon gave me, and then selected a few main suspects, we will start with this guy— Gregory Maxwell. I will make him go into shock and interrogate him, making sure he will spill everything if he doesn't want his company to go completely bankrupt."
Maria wondered what kind of report Vernon gave Vincent, "Sir, may I see the report that your little brother made? I can help to sort it out."
Vincent raised his brow, "Why do you want to see it? Didn't I tell you to start investigating a few names? Just do what I told you."
"But Sir, blindly selecting a few main suspects and suppressing their businesses is not good for our reputation in the long term. They will see you as unreasonable and ruthless!" Maria protested.
Honestly, she had no emotional bond with Vincent Gray because, to her— he was just a little boy who resumed Mr. Vaughn Gray's work after his death.
But she had a sentimental feeling about this company because she had worked here for decades.
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