Chapter 35 Kneeling
Eugene found out that his clients had all gone to Emerald Isle Golf Course. Unfortunately, his rival Kellan was there too, and the person who organized this gathering was actually Francis.
When did Kellan get close to Francis? Or were all his recent troubles caused by Francis? Kellan was probably just a pawn Francis was using against him.
The second theory gave him an even bigger headache. He'd been trying not to offend Francis precisely because he feared his status and influence. One word from Francis could ruin a project he'd worked on for months.
Eugene didn't want to hand over his business to others, so he tried hard to meet with Jerald and Elton, but their secretaries kept making excuses to avoid meetings and even deliberately ignored his calls.
While looking for new opportunities, Eugene tracked their whereabouts to corner them. Finally, he caught Jerald downstairs at his mistress's place. Eugene ran over somewhat desperately. "Mr. Bautista, please give me another chance. I guarantee I can get your annual return above 30%!"
Jerald sighed. "Eugene, I believe if you can quote that number, you won't disappoint me. But your colleague can give me the same returns. More importantly, Francis's friendship isn't something a few percentage points of profit can replace. If you have some misunderstanding with him, I suggest you find someone to mediate quickly." He waved his hand for his driver to bring the car over.
Eugene knew he'd made up his mind and pestering wouldn't help. He loosened his tie dejectedly. His work had been going terribly this week, hitting walls everywhere—even more embarrassing than when he first started working.
After several years on the job, he thought his networking skills had improved significantly, especially after becoming Aria's boyfriend, when he often received praise from clients and bosses. He never expected Francis's interference to ruin everything. He really hated that he didn't have such a privileged background and could only rely on his own efforts.
But why was Francis targeting him like this? Could it be because of Jennifer? Though he couldn't believe Francis would go to such lengths over a woman, Jennifer was his only connection to Francis.
Eugene would been so worried about work troubles these past few days that he hadn't looked for Jennifer. It was time to ask her about it. He staked out Jennifer's new apartment complex but didn't see her come home. When he called her, he was naturally blocked. Then he got a message from Audrey asking him to come home for dinner and discuss the engagement party.
Seeing Eugene looking exhausted, Audrey felt sorry for him. "Are you that busy with work? You're about to get engaged—can't the company stuff wait for someone else to handle? An engagement is a major life event."
Having a high-status future daughter-in-law like Aria had earned her so much respect in her social circle. If Eugene made a splash at the engagement party, she'd ride his coattails all year.
Eugene said unhappily, "Mom, a man's career is most important. Don't mention. If I were just an average employee with mediocre abilities, Aria wouldn't have chosen me. And if I can't satisfy her father, he won't let Aria marry me."
"You're right. Then Eugene, you need to work hard, but also take care of your health." Audrey said while putting steak on his plate to help him recover.
Eugene complained. "It's not that simple! Besides, Francis is blocking me at every turn now. I have no way to compete with him." Audrey quickly asked who Francis was and why he was targeting him. But Eugene just shook his head. "You wouldn't understand work matters, so don't ask."
Even though Eugene wouldn't say, Audrey had other ways to find out. She soon learned about Francis's background and realized he was someone she couldn't afford to offend. But her niece Lucy provided some information—she'd overheard Eugene and Jennifer arguing at the hospital and caught that Francis seemed to be Jennifer's new man.
Now it made sense. Audrey and Lucy cursed Jennifer together. "Jennifer is too much, actually taking revenge on Eugene because love turns to hate. She does have some skills, finding such a powerful man and making Eugene's life miserable."
Cursing aside, Audrey knew the simplest solution was to find Jennifer—with her weak personality, she would definitely agree.
Jennifer was visiting David and had just walked out of the hospital when Audrey stopped her. Jennifer looked at her with some confusion. Last time they met, Audrey had told her to stay away from Eugene. Why was she approaching her now?
Audrey smiled kindly. "Jennifer, I have something to discuss with you. How about we go to that dessert shop?" Lucy beside her linked arms with Audrey, looking at Jennifer with undisguised contempt.
Jennifer wanted to know their purpose, so she agreed. The three sat by the window in the dessert shop. Audrey proactively asked Jennifer what she wanted to eat.
Jennifer spoke coldly, "No need. Just say what you want to say."
Audrey didn't care about her attitude and still ordered several popular cakes and placed them in front of her. Then she said gently, "Jennifer, it looks like you're doing well lately. You probably don't know—Eugene's work has been going badly everywhere recently. I heard it's related to you." She observed Jennifer's expression as she spoke.
Jennifer smiled. "Mrs. Bailey, what do you mean? How would I have that kind of power?"
Lucy couldn't help interrupting. "Jennifer, stop pretending! Eugene's work problems are because your man Francis is interfering! Are you saying it's not for you?"
Jennifer looked somewhat surprised. Francis was targeting Eugene for her sake? She'd only asked him to help her and her family escape their current difficulties. She hadn't expected Francis to directly attack Eugene through his work.
Audrey pressed Lucy's hand to calm her down, then said with a worried expression. "Jennifer, even though you and Eugene broke up, I know you're a sentimental person. Why don't you talk to Francis and ask him to stop making things difficult for Eugene? He's worked hard to get to his current position."
Now Jennifer understood—they wanted her to plead for Eugene. She said coldly, "Impossible."
She stood up to leave. But Audrey suddenly grabbed her wrist, knelt on the ground, and begged tearfully. "Jennifer, please let Eugene go! You have a new relationship now, so why can't you let him go? Why do you have to ruin his career?"
Audrey's performance was genuinely emotional. She truly believed Jennifer still loved Eugene and had gotten close to Francis just for revenge.
The dessert shop customers' attention was drawn to her. Seeing a well-dressed older woman kneeling before a young beautiful woman, they felt sorry for Audrey. Combined with what she said, they instantly looked at Jennifer with reproach. It was normal for young couples to break up, but ruining someone's career was too vicious, and forcing Audrey to kneel—that was too much bullying!
Jennifer didn't know how to explain and awkwardly asked her to get up first. But Audrey stayed on the ground, saying she'd only get up if Jennifer agreed first.