Chapter 50 Pirates

Chapter 50 Pirates

Emily's POV

Back at the company, I gathered all the management and staff together, planning to hold a brief meeting to reassure everyone.

Before long, Nicholas and Samuel arrived with their respective teams, followed by the engineers led by Benjamin, plus the management who had stayed behind. In total, there were over sixty people present.

I held up the megaphone, cleared my throat, and addressed everyone:

"I've already sorted things out with Alexander, the director of the power bureau. The factory's electricity has been restored. Also, I've connected with a potential partner who will come for an on-site inspection tomorrow. As long as we close this deal, everyone's salaries will be secured."

The moment I finished, the room filled with cheers. People began calling my name, so different from the tense mood when I first walked in.

I raised my hand to signal for quiet and continued: "The reason I'm telling you all this is because I hope everyone can work together to thoroughly clean up the factory, inside and out, to make a good impression on tomorrow's visitor."

After a pause, I looked at Benjamin: "Benjamin, I need you to take the engineering team to do a complete inspection of the underground third production line. Fix any problems you find. If equipment needs replacing, report directly to me. I'll figure out the funding and parts."

Benjamin was clearly excited. "Yes, Ms. Johnson."

Voices drifted up from below, praising me without restraint.

"This new female boss is clearly someone who gets things done. Look, she just got here and not only solved the power outage but also lined up a partner—all in one afternoon."

"Tell me about it. I heard the company's overdue electricity bills had been piling up for half a year, and with late fees, it's over thirty thousand dollars."

"What? That much? Doesn't that mean this woman has already paid it off? Looks like she's serious about running this company. That's great."

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but smile—wait, paid it off? I don't have that kind of money. These people are reading too much into it. But... I'll just let them misunderstand. Keeping the employees stable is what matters most.

With my orders given, everyone was fired up and ready to work.

Joshua and I, on the other hand, didn't get too involved in the details.

"Emily, you're amazing."

Hearing Joshua's compliment, I tilted my head up proudly. "Since you're saying that, you're buying dinner tonight."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Damn it, damn Christopher—I've unconsciously picked up his habits.

I would never have said something so shameless before.

Clearly, I've been around Christopher too long and absorbed his ways.

That evening, lying in bed and about to sleep, my phone buzzed with a message.

I opened it to see a photo of me crying with snot bubbles.

No one but Christopher would send such an embarrassing photo.

My drowsiness vanished instantly, replaced by shame and anger.

I furiously replied: [Asshole, delete it! Didn't you say you didn't have a backup?]

Christopher: [What? Did I say that?]

Damn!

Christopher: [Even if I did say it, you know I don't keep my word, right?]

I was so angry I could barely see straight. This damn bastard—not only is he unreliable, but he also dumped this terrible mess on me.

[If I hadn't already signed the contract, I would've left ages ago, you damn bastard.]

Christopher: [Alright, Emily, I'm done joking around. I have something very important to tell you. You need to mentally prepare yourself first.]

I rolled my eyes. What trick is he planning to pull on me now?

Just as I was wondering what it could be, Christopher's next message shocked me.

Christopher: [My dad died. All the family assets have gone to my older brother. He and I have had a terrible relationship over the years, and now that my father's dead, he'll definitely come after us. I can't leave my mother and younger siblings here. I'm planning to take them to Zephyria in a couple of days. Then our whole family can be together. What do you think?]

Reading this message, I could hardly believe my eyes.

Thinking of Elizabeth's death, I could deeply empathize with the pain Christopher must be feeling.

I replied: [My condolences.]

Christopher: [Condolences? Why?]

The question confused me.

Christopher: [I'm too happy to need condolences. My father treated my mother terribly, and my younger siblings too. If I hadn't been mediating all these years, my mom, my siblings, and I would probably already be dead at the hands of my brothers.]

Christopher: [Those two have been teaming up against me for ages. I was content just being a carefree rich kid, though they seemed convinced I had bigger ambitions.]

I had always thought people born into wealthy families were naturally happy. It now appears their lives are far less effortless than outsiders assume.

Since he wasn't sad about it, I didn't need to worry. Instead, I thought of another more concerning matter.

[So does that mean you're broke?]

Christopher replied quickly: [Yeah. Joshua told me you've already negotiated a deal to rent out the third production line. Let me tell you, our workshop has military-grade sealed environment—extremely rare. So don't undersell it.]

Christopher: [Regular clean rooms cost over a hundred thousand dollars a month. Ours should be at least 500,000 dollars a month.]

Christopher: [Also, don't sign a long-term contract at first. It's better to try a quarterly arrangement first. We can use the funds from this partnership to pay the workers. Emily, you're amazing. I've already told my mom about you, and she's really looking forward to meeting you.]

Reading his message, I involuntarily felt nervous, worried about what would happen if I didn't make a good impression on Christopher's mother.

But then I caught myself—wait, why am I nervous?

[Christopher, you’re reading too much into this. I never said I liked you, and I certainly didn’t say I wanted anything more.]

Christopher: [I know. But I want to be with you.]

What a shameless bastard.

[Anything else? If not, I'm going to sleep.]

Christopher: [Actually, there is one more thing. Bruce has disappeared.]

I was about to put down my phone and ignore Christopher, but this message jolted me awake again.

[What do you mean, disappeared?]

Christopher replied: [Literally. My people didn't see Bruce at Celestria airport. But I found records of him checking in at the airport, and the surveillance footage shows him there too.]

[So you're saying someone kidnapped him?]

My first thought was those pirates.

[Yes, very likely. What are you planning to do?]