Chapter 554: Give Me Three Billion Dollars Immediately
"Um, it’s very good," Wendy said and nodded her head. Wendy had not said that to humor Winnie. It was indeed rather tasty. She had not expected Winnie to be much of a cook.
"This soup was my husband’s favorite. I often made this for him. I even hired professional chefs to teach me how to prepare this soup," Winnie declared proudly.
"I can make so many different types of soups. I can make soup for a whole month and I won’t use the same recipe twice. As long as you like it, Yonina, I can make soup for you every day."
All of a sudden, Winnie frowned as if she had suddenly thought of something.
"Speaking of which, where is my husband?" Winnie asked. "I’ll go get him to drink some of this soup. He likes it too."
Winnie handed the bowl in her hands to Michael, and told him clearly, "You, feed Yonina. This is good for her, and it will help her baby grow faster. I’ll look for your father and get him to drink some soup. That’s right, I don’t think he knows that Yonina is pregnant. I’m going to tell him. He’ll be so happy."
And then Winnie left them at the table after her rambling.
Mrs. Lucas could not help but sigh. "I wonder when Winnie will ever get better. She’s always so out of it," she said. "The doctor had suggested that we let her go out more instead of having her cooped up at home all the time.
"But a few days ago, that woman Lily called and Winnie happened to take the call.
Lily bragged to Winnie about the handbag that Anthony had bought for her.
"Your father is terrible. How could I have had a son like him?"
Michael started to clench his fists. Their family was torn apart by his father. His father was never at home, he spent his days with Lily.
And Christian was his arch enemy. The fight between Michael and Christian was no longer merely between the two of them. It was a battle between their families.
Anthony and Lily were the ones who drove Winnie crazy.
Michael actually felt quite sorry for his mother. Because she had always loved his father. She had married Anthony and used her family’s influence to help build MC Enterprise into a successful organization.
In the end, while Anthony’s company grew bigger and stronger, Winnie’s status in the family fell day by day. And now, Anthony did not even bother coming home anymore.
As for MC Enterprise, Anthony had brought Christian in as the vice-CEO. If Michael had not been capable enough, Christian would have taken over the company long ago.
But Michael had not expected that during the years Christian had left Lake City for Rheinsville City, he had been dabbling in illegal businesses. Now, Christian was planning to open a drug market in Zeilheim City. Michael was not going to let him have his way.
After lunch, Michael went to his office. Wendy stayed behind to spend time with his grandmother in the mansion’s garden. They were chatting away.
Mrs. Lucas was very happy. She asked Wendy to stay for dinner and Wendy agreed.
Mrs. Lucas sent the chauffeur to fetch the two children from school. After Michael had finished his work for the day, he went back to the mansion.
With Leah and Jake at dinner, the mood was much lighter and livelier.
"Mrs. Lucas hasn’t been this happy in a long time," said a helper who saw how happy Mrs. Lucas was.
"We will come and visit with the children more often," said Wendy.
"Good, good, good," Mrs. Lucas was so happy that she said "good" three times.
She had the smart and cute Jake and Leah as her great-grandchildren, and Wendy was going to give birth to another one.
Mrs. Lucas could not be any happier. She did not ask them to stay for the night because she knew that they preferred their own home.
Once dinner was over, she sent them off.
...
After Christian had held that press conference, there were many people who criticized him online. He no longer dared to read any online comments.
As for Clement, he was sent to the airplane immediately after Christian rescued him.
To save time, Christian had arranged for a doctor to tend to Clement’s injuries on the airplane.
Christian was running out of time. They had to make full use of every single second.
Christian sat in his office with his head lowered as he carefully did his work.
The sound of the cellphone ringing broke the silence in the office. Christian glanced at the cellphone and closed his eyes, trying to rein in his frustration.
Christian took a deep breath before taking the call. "Hello, Mr. Zavier," Christian said pleasantly with a smile.
"Christian Lucas, what’s going on?" Mr. Zavier sounded extremely angry. "Instead of taking care of the matter properly, you held a press conference. Why? Don’t you want this project anymore? If you don’t, tell me. There are plenty of takers!"
"That’s not true, Mr. Zavier. I had run into some problems and so I didn’t have a choice," Christian explained calmly. "Please believe me, I want this project more badly than anyone else. Please give me a bit more time."
"I’ve told you, this project is supported by the government. Whether the employee is from my company or from yours, everyone must show only their positive side.
"I don’t care what you are like in private. I can’t care and I don’t want to care. But now you’ve held a press conference and confessed that you framed Wendy Stewart.
Have you seen what’s being said online? Have you seen how they are trashing you?"
"I’m sorry, Mr. Zavier, I will take care of things. Don’t worry. Please give me a bit more time," Michael apologized profusely.
"It’s not a matter of me not wanting to give you more time, but there really isn’t much time left," said Mr. Zavier. "You should know that while you consult with me directly on this project, I can’t make the final decision on my own.
"The last time you screwed things up, I had stood by you. I helped you suppress the negative comments. I did that to buy you more time. Did you think you would have been able to make it this far otherwise?"
"I know. Thank you, Mr. Zavier. I will always remember how you have helped me so much," Christian said. He then quickly added, "Why don’t you let me treat you to a meal as an apology, and also to show you my gratitude. What do you think?"
"I don’t need a treat from you," Mr. Zavier dismissed the offer. "I’m afraid that others will start criticizing me as well if we’re seen together at this time."
His rejection showed that he was not intending to give Christian any more chances.
That made Christian a little anxious.
"Mr. Zavier, I think some things are better explained in person," Christian smiled and said. "If you aren’t available tonight, how about tomorrow night? Or let me know when you’re available."
"There really isn’t a need," Mr. Zavier rejected him again. "Because of you, my team is now suspicious of me. They think I’ve picked the wrong person for the job. I hope that you will take care of these problems and not implicate me."
"I won’t, I definitely won’t. You don’t have to worry," said Christian. Although Christian said that to Mr. Zavier with confidence, the truth was that Christian himself had no idea what to do. He could only take one step at a time.
...
"Is the money for the second installment ready?" Mr. Zavier cut to the chase. He did not want to waste any more time. "While reputation is important, you can’t survive on that alone, so money is now the most important thing. You promised that you’ll raise the money in two weeks. Your two weeks are almost up."
"I’ll get the money ready real soon. Don’t worry, the project won’t be affected, it can progress as usual," Christian answered quickly.
"That was what you said the last time." Mr. Zavier was starting to get impatient. His irritation and agitated pacing could be heard over the cellphone. His voice sounded graver, "Christian Lucas, I have given you many, many chances.
"According to our contract, the deadline for the second installment was three days ago. I have been most kind to you. Give me your assurance that you will have the money ready in a few days. If you fail to do so, I can’t continue working with you."
"Ten days..." Christian said after some deliberation. "I promise to get the money in ten days without causing any delays to the project."
"No. Five days." Mr. Zavier’s tone indicated that there was no room for negotiation.
"Get the money ready in five days. Or else."
"Five days is a little..."
Mr. Zavier did not allow Christian to finish and repeated, "Five days. I want that money by then, and all the negative online comments to be squelched.
"Let me repeat myself. I am merely the person in charge of handling our partnership. This project doesn’t belong to me. It’s a national project. If you do not accede to our requests within the next five days, I won’t be able to help you anymore."
"Mr. Zavier, I..."
"That’s all I have to say." Mr. Zavier did not want to hear what else Christian had to say and ended the call.
Mr. Zavier had admired Christian, that was why he decided to sign the deal with Christian. Christian had presented a rather good proposal. On top of that, Christian had fought his way to almost the top of Lake City and was only second to Michael in a short span of time.
Mr. Zavier had admired Christian’s abilities and boldness, and he believed that Christian would do a good job. But based on the latest developments, Mr. Zavier felt that he might have misjudged Christian.
But since they had already come so far in their collaboration, Mr. Zavier was willing to give Christian one final chance. Furthermore, it would be too much of a hassle to get a new partner at this point.
Getting a new partner would also mean that Mr. Zavier was admitting he had failed to ensure quality, and that he had given the project to an irresponsible man.
Mr. Zavier also wished for Christian to handle this current crisis well so that they could all continue with their partnership. Otherwise, he would be affected in some ways too. If Christian did not make the best use of his final chance, nobody would be able to save him.
When Christian realized that Mr. Zavier had hung up on him, his entire body shook.
He held his cellphone tightly in his hand and wanted to smash it to the floor. But his rationality stopped him.
Christian closed his eyes to regain control over his emotions before calling Clement.
The call got through almost instantly. "Are you in Rheinsville City already?" Christian asked.
"I just got off the plane and was about to call you," Clement replied from the other end of the line.
"I don’t have any more time. Someone from the project’s team just called to press me for money. After you get back, give me three billion dollars immediately," Christian said coldly.
"Three billion?" Clement was taken aback. "Didn’t we agree on a billion?"
