Chapter 43

Chapter 43

When Chloe got home that evening, she found the place completely empty.

As she walked into her room, she was startled to see a man standing by the window.

"Who are you? Get out now, or I’ll call the police!"

Brian turned around. "Ms. Stone, it's me."

"Brian?" Seeing it was someone she knew, Chloe relaxed. "What are you doing here? Did you have people move all my things? Is this Gabriel’s idea? Is he arranging a better place for me? Or maybe..."

Chloe's eyes lit up. "Did Gabriel ask me to move in with him?"

Brian watched her coldly as she spun her fantasies, waiting until she calmed down before saying, "Mr. Stone said you shouldn't push it too far. Since you wouldn't listen to his warning, consider this your wake-up call."

"What do you mean?"

"This place no longer belongs to you as of today. Find somewhere else to live."

Brian turned and left without planning to stay any longer.

Before leaving, he made sure someone escort Chloe out before locking the dor behind her.

"That's impossible. Gabriel wouldn't! He must be trying to scare me!"

Chloe didn't believe it. She stepped forward and tried to unlock the door with her fingerprint, but no matter how many times she tried, the cold "unlock failed" message kept reminding her this was reality.

Gabriel had really taken back everything the Stone family had given her.

Chloe went back to her grandfather's house in tears.

Even though Juniper had arrived, Christina really couldn't stand staying at home.

She wasn't in the mood for fun.

So she just told Joseph and went straight to the office instead.

"Did you hear? Ms. White is coming in today."

"She's been gone for three years, and now that she's back, the engagement is back on the agenda right away. Does she even have time for the company?"

"I heard the company might be he handed over to her. though I don’t know if it's true."

"It's probably true. Mr. White only has one child. If not her, who else would he give it to? Remember Fiona? She was after the White family's assets, wasn't she? I heard she's still in prison."

"She hasn't been in there for that long anyway."

"I'm more curious about Ms. White's abilities."

"I was at the company three years ago. Ms. White was already quite capable back then. After three years, she must have improved a lot."

No one in the White family was qualified to compete with Christina for the inheritance.

Plus, Christina's reputation from when she worked at the company three years ago still held.

Many people were optimistic about Christina.

But of course, not everyone felt that way.

Someone sneered, "Haven't there been enough trending topics taken down immediately these past few days? I think once Ms. White becomes CEO,, the White Group won't have any peace."

"The alliance between the Stone family and the White family isn't stable at all. Her three-year disappearance was suspicious to begin with, and Mr. Stone is involved with another woman. I think their mess will cause gossip, and if people find out she's at the company and going straight into management, the stock price will be unstable."

Maybe thinking Christina wasn't worth fearing, they weren't keeping their voices down.

Christina stopped in her tracks.

Before coming to the company, she had of course learned about the situation in advance.

"You're Jeffrey Martin, right?"

Jeffrey's face changed dramatically.

He had deliberately talked badly about her where she could hear, but he didn't expect Christina to actually know who he was.

He forced himself to calm down, put on a smile, and turned to face Christina. "Ms. White, how can I help you?"

"No special instructions—just that there's a dinner tonight to discuss matters related to your department. Come with me tonight."

"Okay."

After Christina finished speaking, she followed Marc to her office.

Only after she was gone did Jeffrey breathe a sigh of relief.

God, he was attending a dinner with Christina tonight. Wouldn't that mean he'd be the only one drinking?

Jeffrey's stomach already hurt thinking about it.

And Christina hadn't even said who the client was.

He didn't know anything. Was he just supposed to drink from start to finish?

Didn't he need to find topics to chat about?

Jeffrey didn't dare ask. Neither Christina nor her secretary Marc came to explain the details to him.

He spent the whole day worried.

But he wouldn't go into battle unprepared.

Since he didn't know the specifics, he'd boost his fighting power.

He took hangover medicine in advance.

At the dinner table.

Jeffrey realized that none of the people there were ones he'd normally get to meet.

People from the Holden family, the Riddick family, the Armstrong family, and the Stewart family.

Jeffrey forced himself to smile.

"Everyone, let me toast you all first." Not knowing what to say, or even what they were there to discuss—so he figured a toast couldn’t go wrong.

Christina raised an eyebrow. "You can't toast like that. These gentlemen are all our important partners. Toast them one by one!"

The representatives from each family exchanged glances.

Didn't they say this was just a casual dinner to maintain relationships? The projects were already set, contracts signed. No need to be so formal, right?

Had the young people in their families tricked them?

But they were just peripheral members of their families. Being able to dine with Christina was already great.

They wouldn't dare question things just because the situation was different from what the young people had told them.

They were just about to raise their glasses.

Then they heard Christina say, "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. You gentlemen are getting on in years, and your health isn't what it used to be. I shouldn't have you drinking. How about this—Jeffrey, you drink, and let our guests use water instead. Here's to a successful partnership!"

If they still couldn't understand the situation by now, it would be a waste of all their years of experience.

The gentlemen immediately switched their alcohol for water, all eyes on Jeffrey.

Jeffrey's face turned red with anger.

But he said nothing and toasted each person one by one.

It wasn't until Jeffrey couldn't take it anymore and went to the restroom to throw up that Christina started discussing business with everyone present.

Actually, just as they'd thought, the contracts were already signed. There wasn't much to discuss.

What they were talking about now were more the details of future cooperation.

Marc, following Christina's earlier instructions, followed Jeffrey to the restroom.

Watching Jeffrey finish vomiting and rinse his mouth, Marc finally spoke. "Jeffrey, do you remember what you did?"

Jeffrey's breathing became shallow.

"Marc, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"It's okay if you don't understand, but Ms. White said the White Group can have people from the Stone family, but only Gabriel's people."

With that, Marc waved a hand in front of his face and left.

"You're not needed for the rest. If you're not feeling well, go home and rest."

After Marc left, Jeffrey still couldn't process what had happened.

After a long while, he stumbled out and called Chloe.

"Ms. Stone, I've got a problem here."