Chapter 329 The Highest Bidder Wins
By the time Justin returned home, it was already late at night. The servant took Charlotte to the bedroom to rest. When she came out of the bedroom, she saw that the lights of the study were on and the door was open.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Justin looked up to see the servant. “Sir, have you eaten dinner? Should I make something for you?”
“Is Gloria not back yet?”
“She said that she’ll be back soon as she has dinner with the troupe tonight. Sir, do you have anything you want to eat?”
He pondered for a moment. “Please make me some noodles.”
“Alright. Please wait for a moment. It’ll be ready soon.”
“Okay.”
After the servant left, he sat in front of his computer for a long time but could hardly comprehend any of the words on the screen.
The house had been lively before he left on his business trip. It used to be filled with the sounds of Jolly and Gloria bickering whenever they met, Samuel and Charlotte running up and down the stairs, and Rachel chasing after the two children while shouting for them to slow down. However, the house suddenly seemed empty and dreary when he came back from this business trip.
Justin looked at his phone on the table. There were several times when he reached out to pick the phone up, but he held himself back. A long while later, he decided to get up and leave his phone behind to head downstairs.
“Sir, why did you come down? I was just about to call you.” The servant had finished making the noodles. It was just a simple bowl of egg noodles with tomatoes and an additional sunny-side up egg that was served with a side dish.
He had only just taken his seat when the electronic lock made a beep to indicate the door opening.
“When did you come back?” Gloria looked at Justin while changing to her indoor shoes.
“I just arrived.”
“Are you having dinner?” She walked into the dining room, opened the fridge to grab a bottle of coke, and gulped half a bottle in one go. “Then, take your time eating. I’m going upstairs to sleep.”
“Don’t you have anything that you want to ask me?”
Justin’s words made her pause mid-step.
“Ask you about what?” Gloria turned around to look at him. “Ask you why you have chased Miss Rachel out again? Or, why did you take Charlotte away?”
“She left on her own.”
“In my opinion, there is no difference between the two.” Her gaze was gloomy. “She also chose to leave five years ago, but did she really leave because she wanted to?”
He scowled. “Do you all take me for a heinous villain? Does it not matter what I do now? Is it impossible for me to make up for all the damage I caused back then? If that’s the case, then why does every one of you act like you’re so magnanimous? Why do you act like the past is behind you? Even prison sentences have a time limit and life sentences can be replaced with shorter sentences. Did I murder somebody or caused an arson? Can’t I get a chance to be forgiven?”
The more he talked, the more agitated Justin became. The veins in his hand that gripped the corner of the table throbbed.
The past three days had been incredibly depressing for him. He had to maintain a good mood every day to take care of Charlotte, so only he knew just how torturous it had been. The woman he loved the most had been scheming against him all this time, but he didn’t even have the right to blame her!
Gloria looked at Justin quietly. “An apology does not mean saying the words ‘I’m sorry’. Those who made a mistake have to suffer the consequences of their evil actions. This includes the other party’s refusal to forgive you. It is the victim’s right to do so. Why should you be forgiven just because you have apologized and repented for your actions?”
“Then, tell me! What should I do?! She can retaliate against me a hundred times or a thousand times over for what I did to her. Will that be enough!?”
She suddenly sighed heavily. “Forget it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m saying you should return Charlotte to Miss Rachel and stop disturbing her.”
Upon hearing those words, the pupils in his eyes contracted abruptly in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Gloria went upstairs without another word. The dining room fell into a dead silence again following the sound of a door closing upstairs.
Justin gripped his fork and stared blankly at the noodles that had gone mushy in front of him. When he thought back to the past few months, those days felt like a dream.
The woman cooking noodles for him just a few days ago had betrayed him without any warning. Moreover, the reason for her betrayal was something that did not exist in his memories. Everything that he knew, he heard from the people around him. He supposedly deserved to be spurned and abandoned. However, the most outrageous part was that he could not recall anything.
The more he stewed in his thoughts, the more aggrieved he felt. He angrily took a few bites of his noodles, but it felt like he was chewing on wax.
Clatter. He threw his utensils onto the table in a rage.
The next day, Justin instructed Frankie to give Rachel a call as soon as he arrived at the company. “Ask her to visit the Burton Group. As long as she signs the agreement and allows the Burton Group to become one of the company shareholders, the warehouses located in the vicinity of Hudson Pharmaceuticals can be used at will.”
Frankie was holding some documents in his hands. “I was just about to report this matter to you.”
“What is it?”
“Mr. Foster called to cancel the leasing agreement. He is willing to pay us three times the fee to terminate the contract. He has already signed a contract with Hudson Pharmaceuticals.”
Justin paused mid-step as his expression darkened. “When was that?”
“Just last night.” Frankie looked at Justin’s expression fearfully. “President Burton, I’ve already handed this matter over to the Legal Department.”
However, Justin didn’t seem to have heard Frankie as he gnashed his teeth and spat out a name. “Rachel Hudson!”
Afterward, he strode toward his office.
At this moment, Rachel was in a meeting. The sound of her vibrating phone came from her pocket before she had a look at the caller ID and said, “Continue with the discussion. I’m going to take this call. Hello?”
“Aren’t you a capable woman? You managed to terminate a contract that the Burton Group has already finalized.” As soon as the call connected, Justin’s voice rang out from the other side. He was blunt and straight to the point.
She answered lightly. “It has not been finalized. The contract for the transfer of rights for use has not been signed. All you did was pay a deposit. I can still afford to pay the contract-breaking fee.”
“Mr. Foster has a grudge against Hudson Pharmaceuticals. What did you do?”
“Don’t you understand the principle of ‘the highest bidder wins’? I offered an extravagant price to buy those lands. It doesn’t matter how stubborn one is; there’s no way a businessman will turn his nose up at money. Besides, I’m not Jefferey Hudson. I explained some of the past grievances and we decided to leave well enough alone.”
There was nothing in the vicinity of Hudson Pharmaceuticals’ pharmaceutical factory. It was given that some pollution would occur due to factory production. In addition, it was located in a remote area, which was why Mr. Foster’s logistics and warehousing business had been very bleak and it was more so since he broke off relations with Hudson Pharmaceuticals. It was practically a money-losing business. Not to mention, he had to pay high land taxes for those properties every year.
Rachel’s actions of holding out an olive branch represented a solution to one of his major concerns. These warehouses were very important to her, but they were a thorn in his sides. It was better to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Justin’s voice was mixed with a hint of rage. “Rachel, Riverdale is not like abroad. An acquisition does not rescind the lease. So what if you bought the land? My two-year lease still stands, but your transaction is illegal. You can’t use the warehouse as long as I don’t agree to it.”
“Go ahead. Why don’t you send more men to block the warehouses?”
“Do you think I won’t dare to do so?”
“I’ll be waiting.” Three cold words sounded through the phone, sounding extremely contemptuous.
“You…” Before he could finish his sentence, the other party ended the call.
A ball of rage brewed in his chest while he gripped his phone tightly for a moment. Crash. Everything on his desk was swept to the ground with a resounding crash before he gripped the corners of the table, looking extremely furious.
