" Huh?" Samuel turned back. Was the facade already crumbling?
" Nina! Back down!"
" I am sorry, Miss, but-"
" Get out! Cool your head outside!" Delphina yelled at her; she clicked her tongue, looking at Samuel. Nina had been her attendant since she was a child; seeing someone disrespect her in her presence was already making her blood boil, but she followed Delphina's orders and walked outside.
Samuel only smirked at her making her even more furious. She slammed the door on her way out, making her frustration known to everyone in the room.
" Mr Samuel, please sit down. You can at least make your demands that could appease your anger." Delphina took a more passive stance seeing Samuel was not joking around. She knew if it escalated; further, there would be a bloody war with the Rothschild, leading to her family's ruin.
Although they had money and a large enterprise, Rothschild's were someone one should never mess she clearly remembered her father telling her. If she understood why they came after her family, she would be sidelined in the succession war!
" Why should I? I feel no sincerity knowing that there is an outsider among us. Isn't that right?" Samuel looked at the other attendant sitting at the corner of the side sofa. She had been intently looking at him since he entered the room, and there was no change in her demeanour when Samuel insulted Delphina.
" What? You are clearly mistaken-"
" It's alright, Delph. Interesting, how did you find out?" The young lady chuckled. She was surprised, but more than that, she wanted to know how he found out.
" No maid would have those perfectly manicured fingers, and your hair seemed to be done professionally, but the biggest feature was that you were sitting while her other attendant, Nina, was standing behind her. There were other things, but I think this was enough, right?" Samuel said with a knowing smile.
He didn't know who she was, but she seemed to be on the same team as Delphina, and aside from a bit of change in her attitude, there was no malice in her voice.
" Good, I often heard about your accomplishment but seeing you in person is. I don't think they praised you enough. Hahaha," She laughed heartily while Joshua sighed. It looked like the cat was out of the bag, but it was a massive surprise for Delphina.
Seeing Samuel change his temperament twice a row opened her eyes; she was clearly older but still hadn't mastered the art of influencing everyone's mood.
" This is my friend, Viscountess Serena Linley; she owns this manor." Delphina introduced her.
" Oh, It's a pleasure to meet your excellency." He kissed her hand according to the noble courtesy, and she reciprocated, much to the amazement of Delphina and Joshua.
" Just call me Serena; it's my pleasure. Delphina is a little headstrong and doesn't know when to quit; she means no harm. You felt slightly disrespected, but she never met someone above her level." Serena seemed to notice Samuel's displeasure from the get-go.
Although she was not particularly beautiful, her eyes were beautiful, and she had a lovely temperament. Samuel could tell she was a special lady and someone whose wit was essential for Delphina to reach this far.
" Alright, you can also call me Sami, but I never could have guessed Miss Delphina had someone like you beside her. If I tell the truth, your beauty gave it away." It was different for Samuel to flatter someone, but he wanted to see how the other party would respond.
" Hahaha, very humble, but I dislike empty flattery, so you don't need to force yourself." Good, she was not conceited, which was a good sign. With a straightforward attitude filled with wise temperament, he knew the negotiations would be tough.
"You two! I think we should sit down and talk slowly." Delphina Arjo interjected in the middle; Samuel and Serena smiled and sat down separately. Seeing them get along abruptly made her conflicted.
" Alright, shall we hear your terms first?" Serena asked.
" I was thinking of acquiring a few shares of LVHM's parent company and a personal apology from the company chairman, Mr Joshua. I don't care what happens to Jake, just that he should not enter the entertainment industry to harass people." Samuel said bluntly, making them furrow their eyebrows against his outrageous demands.
" But it was before I found out about Delphina's connection. Maia and Paige made the request not to be too hard on you, so now I just wanted to meet you in person. I can't bear to hear their nagging if I did something to their personal luxury good supplier." Samuel laughed, which lightened some tension.
" You are saying things like we have no say in the matter. How do you hitting my son correlate to you acquiring our parent company shares?" Joshua asked, granted he was a little angry.
" It's simple; when I learned he was your son and saw how he treated his employee, I hatched a plan. Why not get some money out of it too?" Samuel said mockingly. He was still angry at Jake, and it showed in his eyes; Joshua immediately went silent.
" Please, I am curious too." Serena ignored their feud, wanting to know how he would accomplish it.
" As I said, it's simple, Delphina here obviously cares more about her reputation because of her family's internal conflict. If she showed any bad move, she would surely be suppressed by her older brother, who has more influence. If you think about it, she will have no option but to agree. Rather than fighting at two fronts, she will prefer internal conflict over someone like me."
" Two fronts?"
" Yes, after the new revelation in my assault case, the news circulated often had VITA corporation's names in it. It was intentional; it helped me acquire about eight per cent of companies shares as many people were dumping it. I looked at the shareholder percentage; Delphina didn't have a large majority, so if a new player enters the henhouse, how do you think others will perceive it?"
" Preposterous, I still have over thirty per cent shares! Besides, it has nothing to do with my shares in LVHM! Subsidiaries have no control over parent company shareholders!" Delphina obviously didn't like how straightforward he was; she pointed out apparent flaws in his plans.
" That may be true, but you are forgetting something. Which firm is buying the shares? Achilles! It's a name synonymous with enormous change! We have sunk plenty of ships before and resurrected companies from the brink of death!"
"..." Delphina and others were silent; if one was a businessman, he would definitely know about Achilles' investment. It was no telling how other shareholders would have responded to hearing they were eyeing VITA.
" Lastly, you must swap shares with me to save your face. Even if it was a few per cent of the parent LVHM, I would have gained tens of times on my return. Regarding my other demands, there is no reason for me to even ask about it." Samuel was elaborating as they were shocked to hear his plan. He was making it sound like he was buying a new car!
" What a terrifying young man! If Delphina had him in her corner, she would surely will the succession war!" Serena thought, observing Samuel. Her senses told her he was the right fit; he was openly telling them about his plan, which meant he held a certain amount of goodwill toward them!
" If it's parent shares that you want, why don't you help Delphina in the future?"
" Pardon?"
" Help her ascend to the head of the family; in the process, you can become a large shareholder. Isn't that a win-win situation?" Serena said excitedly.
" Will you?" Delphina also asked innocently. Samuel didn't know if she was intentionally doing it, but she was making herself look cute!
" I can, but I am busy most of the time, so-"
" That's enough for now; I am sure you will have more time in the future." Serena cut him off and took his hesitation as affirmation.
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