Chapter 248 The Acquisition
Anastasia got Alex to make the phone call. When he was done, he walked over to her and said, “Mrs. Tillman and Miss Erica are on their way to the hospital.”
Anastasia nodded tiredly as a worried look etched upon her face. She wasn’t sure what would happen to Francis’ company. Elliot had told her before that the acquiring party had their eyes set on the profitable construction industry, and Francis’ company had been their target for a while now. It followed that they would have done plenty of homework and made arrangements well in advance. They were determined to go through with the acquisition no matter what.
Just then, Alex sighed. “Anastasia, the whole acquisition thing has come up out of the blue, and President Tillman likely collapsed from the shock of it all.” Frankly speaking, he didn’t want to leave the company either. He had toiled hard to get promoted to financial manager, which was a position that came with a handsome paycheck.
Out of everyone, Anastasia was perhaps the first to know about the possibility of Tillman Constructions’ acquisition. If such was the fate of the company, it would have been too late regardless of whether she told Francis about it or not.
With a sigh of resignation, she hummed in response and said, “Let’s go and see how my dad’s doing right now.” She could only pray that her father would pull through.
Ten minutes later, the doctor came out of the emergency room and told them that Francis’ heart problem was acting up again. Additionally, he would be transferred to the ICU for further observation.
Anastasia let out a breath when she heard this. Age was catching up with Francis, and his body was no longer as tough as it used to be.
Half an hour had passed before Naomi and Erica showed up at the hospital. The former’s eyes were red and puffy as she barreled down the hallway. The latter, however, was seething with rage when she saw Anastasia.
“How’s my husband? How is he?” Naomi demanded urgently as she marched up to Alex.
“Calm down, Mrs. Tillman,” Alex said in a soothing tone. “President Tillman has only just come out of the emergency room. For now, it seems that his old heart problem is acting up again, and he’s been transferred to the ICU for further observation.”
Just then, Naomi noticed Anastasia standing there and realized that she must have arrived before them. A skeptical look flashed in her eyes as she asked, “How did you get here before us?”
“Miss Tillman was at the company when President Tillman collapsed. She came with me to the hospital,” Alex explained.
Naomi sneered icily, “Eyeing your father’s company, huh? What, are you here so you can hasten the handover proceedings? That must be the case, or you wouldn’t have beaten us to the hospital.”
To the side, Erica scoffed. “Dad said nothing about leaving the company to you, so what are you still badgering him for?” she snapped.
Upon hearing this, Alex was stunned. He never thought that there was so much going on in the Tillman Family.
Anastasia couldn’t care less about the mother-and-daughter duo, not while she was occupied with her own thoughts. Even if Francis woke up, it wouldn’t change the fact that the company was being acquired. Will the ongoing acquisition worsen his condition? Will he be able to pull through this and hand the company over to the other party?
If he couldn’t go through with the acquisition, Anastasia could very well be forced to turn to Elliot for help. No, I mustn’t. Not in this life. She had only just drawn the line between them and told him not to cross it. As things were, she couldn’t bring herself to swallow her pride and ask him for yet another favor.
After a while, Francis woke up and was transferred to the regular ward. Without another word, Naomi rushed over to his bedside and began to sob dramatically, and she was nagging away at him as well. This irritated him to no end.
“Enough,” he snapped. “I’m still alive, aren’t I? What are you crying for?”
“Dad, you can’t just fall sick like this! What will Mom and I do if anything happens to you? How will we live?” Erica wailed as if blaming him for suddenly having a heart attack.
Anastasia wanted nothing more than to chase the crying pair of stooges out of the room. She glared at them and pulled up a seat next to her father’s bed as she asked, “Dad, how are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere?”
When Francis heard her words of concern, his heart felt warm as he answered reassuringly, “I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Alex, on the other hand, could no longer keep his curiosity and anxiousness at bay as he piped up and asked, “President Tillman, is it true that the company is being acquired?”
“What? The company is being acquired?” Naomi shrieked, and even Erica jumped in shock.
Since she knew that her father was having a hard time reconciling with this, Anastasia consoled, “Take it easy, Dad. Nothing else matters as much as your health right now.”
At once, Francis’ chest rose and fell rapidly as if the mention of the acquisition was like a rock crushing the air out of his lungs. In a labored voice, he said through gritted teeth, “I built that company up from scratch, and I put all my best years into it. I will not stand to let someone else take it away from me, and I won’t have those b*stards buy it out either!”
