With work wrapped up for the day, Paige had the afternoon to herself.
Raymond was on a business trip for three days, sparing her the usual rush to prepare his dinner.
It was the perfect opportunity to put together a surprise for the Sackler family.
Earlier, using the hotel computer, Paige had managed to get a head start on the groundwork.
After getting off from grocery shopping Mercedes that afternoon, Paige popped into an internet cafe, logged onto her account, and got to work.
The timing was great.
Following her strategic moves, the home furnishing company under the Sackler Group saw its stock prices soar in no time.
Now online, Paige's goal was to increase her shareholding; she intended to become the majority shareholder by tomorrow. Because tomorrow, the day she planned to visit the care facility, the Sackler family would undoubtedly try to stop her from seeing her mother.
If all went well and she saw her mom, great. If not, she wouldn't let the Sackler family walk away without paying a price.
Four hours later, as the market closed, Paige emerged as the company's largest shareholder.
Leaving the internet cafe and intending to head home, Paige was suddenly confronted by a Maybach parked right in front of her.
The car door opened, and a tall, stunning woman stepped out.
Paige's gaze effortlessly landed on her, the sleek figure accentuated by luxurious fashion and a muse-like elegance.
"Pearl South?" Paige raised an eyebrow, recognizing the woman from pictures, though she appeared more approachable in the flesh.
Pearl maintained her composure, cracking only a faint smile, "Miss Ellison, since your release, I've called you 101 times and sent 98 emails."
Glancing around, feeling the street was no place for conversation, and not to mention, with her husband away, it wouldn't matter if she didn't come home tonight; Paige opened the car door and slid inside.
Pearl, still standing there, seemed caught off guard by Paige's bold move.
Paige called out to her, "Well, are you driving or not? You said you’ve bombarded me with calls and emails. Now that you've got me in person, aren't you planning to take me back with you?"
Taking a deep breath, Pearl South pondered. So, this was the working style of their new boss, Miss Xanthe Ellison. Impressive... decisiveness indeed!
She got into her car and, as she drove away, made a call on speakerphone, "I need the tech team to scrub the surveillance footage near the internet cafe at the business center... What? Everyone's out for a team-building event and not one person is on duty?"
Before she could finish, Pearl's patience waned. Paige, nonchalantly pulling out her not-so-ordinary smartphone, said flatly, "Well, leave this minor issue to me."
With a few swift taps on her phone's expansive screen, Paige hacked into the surveillance system and erased the recent footage.
Pearl glanced at Paige, impressed yet pretending otherwise, "Miss Ellison, you're a hacker too?"
"Just dabbled, a beginner's luck," Paige responded modestly.
Skeptical, Pearl's lips twitched slightly; 'beginner's luck' indeed.
Driving towards Universe Group's Northwind division, they reached the basement. Leaving the car, Pearl escorted Paige via the private elevator straight to the top-floor offices of the Universe building.
As the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by three tall men standing before Paige. Stepping off, the trio nodded in unison, "Welcome back, Xanthe!"
Paige acknowledged each of them. To the genteel, handsome man wearing glasses, she said, "You must be Kim."
With a warm smile, he nodded in acknowledgment.
Then turning to the middle man with a sanguine charm, she said: "You're Cecil West."
The boyish Cecil greeted her with a timid smile.
Finally, the somewhat wild-looking man didn't wait for Paige's gaze to fall upon him; he had been watching her intently. He extended his hand, introducing himself with a voice as smooth as gravel: "I'm Julian."
With an awkward smile, Paige replied, "I know."
After a brief pause, Pearl turned to Paige. "Xanthe, everyone's here. We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival. From today on, we're officially at your command for any needs."
Pearl knew that for Paige to have grown into the role of Xanthe Ellison, she must possess exceptional talents.
Whether or not they acknowledged her abilities didn’t matter anymore. Now Xanthe Ellison was the CEO of Universe Group, the boss of the company!
Among the group, formalities and surface-level respect were meticulously observed.
Paige gave a slight nod. Her gaze swept over the others, settling on the executive desk behind them. Without hesitation, she strode towards the desk. Here, there was no need for pretense, and moreover, her time was incredibly precious.
Leaning casually against the desk, she spoke with succinct clarity, “Before my official inauguration, I’m still Paige, not Xanthe Ellison. I've got some personal matters to attend to. As you're all aware, I am under contract. Until the ceremony, I can't make use of the company’s resources at will.
But since Pearl has already cornered me, and I've met with everyone, from today onwards, I’ll be taking up the CEO's responsibilities. Work will proceed as usual. However, please try not to contact me too much. It's inconvenient!"
If Paige were still single, it might have been fine. But now that she was married, casual contacts really were inconvenient.
Pearl South gave a nod of understanding, "Rest assured, Xanthe, we'll be discreet."
Kim swung around with an armful of documents, "Xanthe, these need your signature. They've been waiting for you so long."
Paige eyed the large stack of paperwork. Before her release, her mentor had informed her that Universe Group would be transferred into her name, and she'd need to sign these items in person.
Yet having been ambushed by Pearl South, it seemed she had no choice but to follow the procedures right away.
"Leave them here. I'll get to it. I'll be working late here tonight," Paige said firmly.
No sooner had Paige finished speaking than Julian, with his wild grin, chimed in, "Although Xanthe's identity can't be made public just yet, and you can't fully enjoy the CEO privileges of Universe Group, I'll personally ensure your safety while you're burning the midnight oil."
Pearl rolled her eyes at Julian and warned Paige, "With him around, Xanthe, you'll be anything but safe."
Paige's eyelids lifted slightly as she threw a nonchalant glance at Julian, the seeming heartbreaker, and said, "No worries, I’m married now. Perfectly safe!"
This revelation brought the quartet to a stunned standstill.
Kim, in charge of legal matters, snapped out of a three-second freeze and quickly added, "Xanthe, you got married? How come we didn't catch even a whisper of it?"
As Paige casually grabbed the documents to sign her name, she mused, "A secret marriage! Just like hiding my identity as a billionaire CEO!"