Chapter 80
“To be honest, I’m having a hard time believing it myself, but this is what I stumbled upon this morning. Please, take a look,” Noelle said, highlighting several problems. “Orders from Collosus Group have dropped off suddenly, and our products in department stores are being sent back.”
Noelle paused, “It might not look like much right now, but at this rate, I’m worried there could be some serious issues brewing at Collosus Group.”
At the mention of Collosus Group, Joseph and the other directors‘ faces darkened.
Some in the room might not have been aware, but the chairman and directors knew all too well. Without Collosus Group’s support over the years, Frotconn would never have grown so large. Orders from Collosus Group were their lifeline.
When Noelle dropped that bombshell, truth
was like a public diss to Joseph and the crew “ot, it rang alarm bells in Joseph’s head. Noelle’s comment
in..
in the middle of the company’s morning meeting. “Ms. Shaw, what are you saying? We’ve had nothing but good times working with Collosus Group for years. Let’s move on to the next topic, shall we?”
Noelle squinted a bit, taken aback by Joseph’s brush–off. She was thrown for a loop. Xavier shot her a look that could curdle milk, silently telling her to shut up.
With a sly lift of her eyebrow and a playful smile, Noelle said, “I
must’ve been mistaken!”
Post–meeting, Mr. Lambert came up to Noelle. “Listen, kiddo, you can mess around with your food, but words are a different story.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Mr. Lambert?” Noelle grinned, playing innocent. “You’ve lost me.”
“Are you hinting at problems with Frotconn’s sales? What are you trying to do?”
Mr. Lambert was fuming, his eyes flashing a silent threat. Noelle was not blind to it, but she was all. business when it came to work. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Mr. Lambert. I’ll leave it at that.”
Noelle breezed past him, leaving Mr. Lambert to stew as he watched her go. “Pfft, that girl’s clueless about the real world,” he muttered under his breath.
Mr. Lambert was seriously irked by Noelle’s nosy antics. If it had not been for the Colossus Group fiasco grabbing everyone’s attention, they might have noticed something was off.
With that thought, Mr. Lambert wasted no time and dialed a number. “Keep those books squeaky clean!”
Back in her office, Noelle breathed a small sigh of relief. That day was the day she finally learned who was supporting Frotconn all these years.
To her surprise, it was the biggest name in Brookville the Hoffman family, Charles’s family. Charles was not just some hotshot at Colossus Group; he was the heir apparent to the Hoffman throne.
Reflecting on her chat with Charles, it clicked. No wonder he barely gave Xavier the time of day. Xavier’s branch of the Hoffman tree was just a twig compared to Charles’s mighty trunk. To put it nicely, Xavier’s folks hung on Charles’s coattails, and to say it less nicely, they were mooching off his leftovers.
Noelle had not been at Frotconn for a long time, but she had been there long enough to see the writing on the wall. The company was a rookie league player at best. Against the Collosus Group juggernaut, they did not stand a chance.
Why had Collosus Group yanked the rug out from under Frotconn’s feet all of a sudden, though?
oelle chewed on her lip, her mind a whirl of confusion.
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