Chapter 991
Lysander’s gaze, deep and inscrutable, seemed to casually drift over to the mug of coffee on the table.
Thalassa returned to Crawley Group headquarters and immediately briefed Ethan on Lysander’s intentions.
Ethan was thrilled. “Great, I’ll have finance prepare the penalty fee right away. Ms. Everhart, you’ve scored another win for us. You can expect a hefty bonus this month,” he said with a smile to Thalassa.
The project with the Sinclair Group had not yielded profits; instead, it had led to a major incident. Many businesses had gone under due to such disasters. This time, if it hadn’t been for the Sinclair Group stepping in to handle the incident, the Crawley Group would have been on the hook for a staggering two billion dollars – enough to sink Crawley Electronics entirely.
Faced with the prospect of billions, the few million in contract penalties were mere pocket change.
By spending just a fraction of that to extricate his company from the disaster, Ethan’s business could continue as usual, and naturally, he was over the moon about it.
“Thanks for the generous bonus, Mr. Ethan. Considering today’s success, would it be possible for me to take a half-day off in the afternoon?” Thalassa tried to sound as casual as possible.
“You want some time off?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, it’s been a tiring morning, and I’d like to take some time off this afternoon,” Thalassa replied without hesitation.
Ethan’s smile took on a knowing quality. “Oh, I get it… Hard work at Lysander’s can certainly be draining. You’ve done well, Ms. Everhart. Go ahead and take the afternoon off. Sleep as long as you want; I won’t call you. Off you go.”
Thalassa, feeling her cheeks warm at Ethan’s insinuating tone, realized he had gotten the wrong idea.
“No, Mr. Ethan, I didn’t mean…”
“I understand, no need to explain. Get going and make the most of your time,” Ethan cut her off, dismissing her for the day.
Thalassa fell silent. Such matters only got murkier the more you tried to clarify them. She decided not to explain further; let Ethan think what he would. Leaving Crawley Group, her first stop was Royal Estates, straight to Lysander’s study.
Her phone was on the desk.
Thalassa quickly picked it up, only to find it unresponsive; it wouldn’t turn on.
It was powered off.
–
She pressed the power button and saw it still had 70% battery life – clearly, her phone had been deliberately switched off.
Not by Lysander, but by the chubby kidnapper from the previous day.
He had taken her phone and turned it off right before her eyes; she remembered it clearly.
The fact that her phone was still off meant that Lysander hadn’t bothered to turn it on and snoop through its contents. Otherwise, why would he power it on only to turn it off again?
A man of his stature, with influence that towered over others, had no need to be secretive.
Relieved to find nothing amiss, Thalassa then left Royal Estates.
As she drove down the hill, her phone rang.
Seeing that strange yet familiar number, her nerves tightened.
It was Bruce’s number! Bruce was calling her!
A mixture of disgust, loathing, and anger surged within her as her breathing quickened.
༤ ༢ ༠ ཡཆ
She steadied herself and answered, “Bruce, what do you want?”
“Easy there, don’t be so tense. My wife mentioned she’s cooking up a feast today and we’d love to have you over for lunch,” Bruce said with feigned sincerity.