Chapter 148 Oliver Begins to Put His Scheme into Action

Chapter 148 Oliver Begins to Put His Scheme into Action

News spread quickly among the Arkbridge Group employees. In no time, everyone's focus landed squarely on Tessa's impending departure.

A large portion of people believed it was true. After all, Tessa was a meticulous person—how could she possibly announce something she wasn't certain about?

The work chat stayed eerily quiet. No one could gauge upper management's stance, so no one dared comment under Tessa's announcement.

Everyone maintained a tacit silence.

Behind the scenes, though, speculation ran wild. Some conspiracy theorists claimed this was Tessa losing a power struggle against Oliver and being forced to resign with no other choice.

As for Chloe...

She'd been downgraded in this narrative to a pitiful stand-in, a vulnerable figure who could be replaced by Oliver at any moment.

The news spread just as quickly to the Arkbridge Group's Harmony City branch.

None of the branch employees had ever met Tessa, but hearing she was the favored party in this story, they all felt a surge of pride, as if they'd been promoted to headquarters staff themselves.

In Harmony City, at the Arkbridge Group branch president's office.

Oliver, who should have been sitting in the executive president's chair, stood before the desk with his head lowered. Meanwhile, Cecilia sat brazenly in his seat, legs crossed.

"What's your take?" Cecilia asked with a smile, the mole at the corner of her eye shifting with the curve of her lips.

Oliver thought for a moment, then cautiously reminded Cecilia.

"I don't think Tessa's telling the truth."

"She's not someone who'd sacrifice her interests for romance. If she was really going to give up the Arkbridge Group for Ryan, she would've done it when the Garcia family first returned to Majestic City and pressured them to get married."

Oliver gave an objective assessment of Tessa.

The Tessa he knew had returned and immediately overhauled Chloe's people with ruthless efficiency, fired his allies, and consolidated power at the Arkbridge Group.

How could someone like that get caught up in romantic entanglements and abandon everything within her grasp to go back and be Ryan's trophy wife?

"But this opportunity is rare. If we can seize it, you know what kind of benefits it could bring us. Not just all of Astoria—we might even expand our territory, do even bigger business."

Oliver took a deep breath. "Ms. Grey! You should be fully aware this is extremely dangerous behavior. One wrong move and we could be completely ruined!"

"You're running a business that's illegal in Majestic City. Every decision you make should be carefully considered."

Cecilia shot Oliver a sidelong glance. "Do you think if it weren't for this business, you'd have any right to stand before me spouting off?"

Oliver's body trembled. He lowered his head, simultaneously hiding the dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Some things didn't need to be said aloud—they showed through in looks and actions. Oliver had always known that Cecilia looked down on him.

She'd never been satisfied with his family background or status.

If there were any better option in front of her, Cecilia would never have partnered with him.

"Remember your place. Do what you're supposed to do. The rest isn't your concern."

Cecilia rose leisurely and left with elegant movements.

Leaving Oliver alone in the vast president's office, feeling as if the entire world had abandoned him.

Majestic City.

Tessa notified HR and the board of directors, appointing Chloe as interim executive president.

Chloe's office was moved directly to the top floor.

Following Tessa's instructions, the first thing Chloe did after moving up was check those recording devices.

The surveillance equipment, dormant for so long, was operational again, proving that the eyes watching them from the shadows were monitoring their every move.

The other party could even anticipate internal personnel changes at the Arkbridge Group.

Finally sitting in the president's office she'd dreamed of, Chloe felt no joy whatsoever. Her mind was full of Tessa's warnings.

Oliver and Cecilia were running a much bigger operation behind the scenes, and even she could be in danger at any moment.

Heavy-hearted, Chloe convened her first meeting as executive president.

In the conference room, all the executives turned to look at Chloe with curious gazes.

"Is my face really that interesting?" Chloe joked half-heartedly.

The executives immediately averted their eyes, each maintaining a tacit silence.

"All right, Ms. Garcia won't be back for the time being. Future personnel changes will depend on Ms. Garcia's arrangements, but you all know my methods. Anyone who dares cause trouble in front of me better weigh whether they can handle the consequences."

After saying this, Chloe prepared to get down to business.

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open with force. Cecilia strode in first, with Oliver following close behind her.

Like an arrogant heiress entering with her loyal lapdog in tow.

"What are you doing here? Weren't you both sent to Harmony City?"

Chloe's internal alarms went off instantly. She was on high alert.

Cecilia laughed lightly, not even deigning to look directly at Chloe.

"Ms. Garcia could take the executive president position because she had Mr. Garcia's letter of authorization. Ms. Saunders... you don't have an authorization letter; you don't hold a single share. How dare you make such a fuss here?"

After this seemingly casual remark, Cecilia reached out and pulled over the chair behind Chloe.

"As of now, Oliver holds the most shares in the company, right? If anyone should be serving as interim executive president, it should be Oliver replacing Tessa's position."

Cecilia pushed the chair toward Oliver. Her meaning was crystal clear.

"Even if Tessa leaves, the Arkbridge Group isn't yours to run!"

Chloe's face turned ashen. It was Calista who urged her to hold back for now.

Suppressing her anger, she sat in a lower seat, staring at Oliver's nauseating face, wishing she could tear it apart.

This meeting's main purpose was really just to make an announcement.

Chloe had been thoroughly humiliated, and all her things were moved back to their original place.

Back in her office, she received a message from Calista—nothing but a screenshot.

Chloe's eyes widened in shock. Her first move was to call Tessa.

The call connected quickly. Chloe first gave a brief summary of what had happened.

Then she informed Tessa with utmost seriousness.

"Calista just messaged me. HR sent her a termination notice."

Oliver had returned and immediately moved against Tessa's former subordinates.

This showed he'd not only come prepared, but his methods were much more ruthless than before.

Tessa was startled when she heard.

She'd expected Oliver to be anxious, but not this anxious.

He wasn't even sparing Calista—he was clearly executing a calculated plan.

"Can you still stop it? If not, we could transfer Calista out of the president's office." Tessa asked urgently.

For a moment, she even considered returning to Majestic City immediately.

Ryan, who'd been listening the whole time, saw Tessa's anxiety and spoke up. "If you're worried, you can send Calista to my company first."

She'd still get her salary, and Calista would be safer.

Chloe, listening on the phone, thought this made perfect sense.

"That works. At least you won't have to worry, and I won't have the bandwidth to protect her on my end."

It was a solution that killed two birds with one stone. Tessa quickly urged Chloe to protect herself during this period.

She hung up and immediately called Calista.