Chapter 125: Giving You a Month's Deadline to Repay
On the first floor of the Pemberton Group office building, we were stopped by the receptionist.
"May I ask who you're looking for?"
"Knox."
Hearing me call Knox by his first name, the receptionist looked shocked and looked me up and down several times before asking again, "Do you have an appointment?"
I shook my head. "No, but you can call him and tell him it's Helena."
As soon as I said that, curious glances came from all around.
The Pemberton Group employees must all know about what happened between Knox and me.
The statement was released just this morning, yet here I was at the Pemberton Group, openly looking for Knox. It would be strange if they didn't find it odd.
"Ms. Lockwood, please wait a moment. I'll check right away."
The receptionist said this while fumbling to make the call.
Before long, she hung up and looked at me with a complicated expression, gesturing inside. "Ms. Lockwood, please go ahead. Mr. Pemberton is waiting for you in his office."
Mira and I smoothly got on the elevator and headed all the way to the top floor.
Soon, the elevator stopped, and a secretary was already waiting outside.
"Ms. Lockwood, this way please."
The secretary spoke while opening Knox's office door. Inside the spacious office, Knox was alone.
He stood by the window with his hands in his pockets, staring at me with a strange gleam in his eyes.
Seeing me enter, he opened his arms and walked over. "Helena, I'm so happy to see you."
As he spoke, he tried to give me a hug.
At that moment, Mira suddenly blocked his way, her voice cold and emotionless. "Mr. Pemberton, hello. We're here today to discuss the money your company owes the Lockwood Group."
Mira's words successfully stopped Knox.
He froze in place, looking at me with disbelief. "Helena, can't we talk about anything besides business between us?"
I let out a cold laugh, walked past him, and sat down on the sofa behind him before looking up at him.
"I'd love to talk about other things, but unfortunately, I can't work up any interest in you or your affairs, so we can only talk about money."
"Pay back the money, and we can talk about anything. If you don't pay it back, next time we won't be able to sit and chat so nicely."
As my words fell, his expression became very ugly.
"Helena, we had so many years of feelings between us. I don't believe all your feelings for me were fake."
"They were real."
I looked at him with complete focus. "When I was dating you, I was completely sincere and put my heart into the relationship."
"What I hoped for most was to walk into a wedding hall with you, to spend my whole life with you, but you destroyed all of that. The past is over, and bringing it up again is meaningless."
"I'm here today on behalf of the Lockwood Group to discuss the debt the Pemberton Group owes. I hope you can keep it professional and not mix in personal feelings."
"How can I not mix in personal feelings? Helena, the only person I want to marry in this life is you. The person I want to marry is also you."
Even at this point, Knox was still playing the devoted lover.
His act only disgusted me.
"It's over between us. By the way, I wonder if Natasha came to see you. She was quite angry after seeing those reports."
I deliberately mentioned Natasha in front of him. Sure enough, after I brought her up, his expression became very ugly.
He looked somewhat dejected, knowing that saying anything would be pointless.
He could only snort coldly. "Helena, do we really have to take this to the point of complete breakdown?"
"That depends on your choice, Mr. Pemberton."
As I spoke, I slowly pushed the organized evidence in front of him. "Can we talk about money now?"
Knox didn't even glance at the things on the table. "I know all the details of this matter inside and out. I don't need to look at these things."
Not looking actually saved time.
I nodded and put the things away.
"Since you're clear on it, when will you pay back the money?"
"Helena, you know the Pemberton Group's current situation isn't good. The last incident had a huge impact on the company. The stock price has plummeted, and we're about to be delisted."
"There are so many workers in the company who need to be paid. The account only has a few million dollars in liquid funds left. Even if you want me to pay back the money, you have to give me some time, right?"
"Sure, why not?"
I knew he would make excuses, so I immediately brought out my prepared response.
"I know your company is in difficulty right now. Even if I pressure you, you can't come up with much money."
Hearing this, Knox rarely showed some joy.
"I knew you would understand me."
Before he could finish being happy, I changed the subject. "In that case, let's settle with equity transfer. That should work, right?"
"So that's your plan. Helena, you actually want the Pemberton Group's equity. Aren't you being too greedy?"
Seeing Knox furious, I snorted coldly. "Why didn't you say this when you were borrowing the money?"
"We agreed back then that if you couldn't pay it back, you'd transfer equity. Both you and Xavier agreed to this. Wanting to back out now—isn't it too late?"
Seeing my firm attitude, Knox softened again. "Helena, the Lockwood family's business is quite large, enough for you to play with. Why do you have to target the Pemberton family's little bit of assets?"
"Besides, given the Pemberton Group's current difficulties, even if you get the shares, it'll just be trouble for you. Don't take the equity. But don't worry, I'll definitely find a way to handle the money issue."
"How long?"
Seeing me press him, he thought for a moment. "Six months. Give me six months, and I'll definitely figure something out."
Figure something out, not raise the money—Knox's intentions were clearly impure.
"I can't wait six months. One month—I'll give you one month at most. If the time comes and I don't see the money, we'll see each other in court."
Seeing how firm I was, Knox was full of anger but couldn't let it out.
"One month is too short. Can you extend it a bit more? How about three months?"
I shook my head. "We're both business people. You know what time represents. One month is already the longest grace period I'm giving you, Knox. You'd better think twice."
With that, I stood up and walked out.
"Helena, are you really this heartless?"
Knox's unwilling voice came from behind me.
I said coldly, "Yes. You should have thought of this when you cheated on me with Natasha."
"Fine. I'll pay you back the money as soon as possible."
How could I possibly trust his words? Only when I see the money will I truly feel at ease.
Getting down to the first floor, just as I got in the car, I saw Natasha's figure in the distance.
I let out a cold laugh. Natasha had learned to be smart this time, knowing to come to the company to block people.
I knew that pressuring them like this would only make Knox and Natasha join forces against me.
But if I didn't do this, because of Henry, I would never be able to get revenge on Natasha's family.
Only by tying these two together and implicating John could I make Henry see their family's true colors.
I knew it would be very dangerous when they joined forces, but this was also my only way to get revenge.