"Garrett, since Mr. Mercer and that girl Deanna have such a relationship, he could definitely help our company," Mia suggested to Garrett.
However, Garrett hesitated, "Would Mr. Mercer really help us?"
"You are Deanna's father, even if your relationship isn't good, that's an undeniable fact. Besides, we have no other options now. You've tried reaching out to others just now, and they were all indifferent. You saw it yourself."
Mia persuaded him emotionally, and it truly swayed Garrett's heart.
Indeed, other than Lance, he couldn't think of anyone else who could help the Jones family.
He had sneaked into the banquet tonight hoping to find a financial partner.
Previously, the Jones family company had invested in an overseas project. Due to his lack of foresight, the company's funds got tied up, making it difficult for the company to manage its cash flow. They were robbing Peter to pay Paul and could barely keep up. Without new funds, the company was likely to collapse due to a lack of capital.
Garrett couldn't bear to watch the company he had worked so hard to build fail.
After much thought, Garrett felt Mia was right.
Even though his relationship with Deanna was very strained, the fact that he was her biological father couldn't be changed.
"I'll find an opportunity to talk to Deanna about this later."
"Just see how it goes," Mia said with a nod and a quick glance towards where Deanna was.
Unbeknownst to them, their conversation went unheard by Emily.
After entering the banquet hall, Emily and Raphael had separated from Mr. and Mrs. Jones.
She asked Raphael to introduce her to business partners to help lighten the load for her family.
Logically, as Jones family's son-in-law, Raphael shouldn't just stand by when the Jones family company was in trouble.
However, the Howard family had long seen through the Jones family as a bottomless pit and strictly forbade Raphael from lending them money.
Naturally, this caused quite a stir within the Jones family, and after much hassle, the Howards were annoyed and laid down an ultimatum: they could lend the money if Emily and Raphael divorced.
Considering Emily's lifelong happiness and not wanting to lose the Howards as in-laws, Garrett eventually gave up on the idea.
Emily was initially conversing with a CEO from the Howard family circle, hoping to gather funds for her family when she overheard someone mention Lance and his wife and children. Surprised, she thought, "Lance is married with children? Does that mean that wretched Deanna has been abandoned?"
Suppressing her excitement, Emily patiently finished her conversation with the CEO before excusing herself.
"Raphael, I'm a bit hungry. You continue talking with Mr. Everett; I'll grab something to eat."
"Go ahead," Raphael replied indifferently, paying no further attention to Emily.
Pretending to pick up some snacks, Emily approached the ladies who had been discussing Lance. She smiled and said, "Hello, I heard you mention Mr. Mercer got married and has two kids around four or five years old. Is that true?"
"Of course, it's true. Mr. Mercer even brought Mrs. Mercer to the banquet," one lady responded cheerfully.
Perhaps because Emily hadn't been on the big screen for a while, none of the ladies recognized her as last year's popular actress. They only found her familiar and assumed she was a newly rich lady or heiress due to her expensive dress. They were quite enthusiastic in their response.
Hearing that Mrs. Mercer was also at the banquet piqued Emily's curiosity immensely. She quickly started looking for her at the venue.
Mainly, she wanted to take a picture to taunt Deanna later on.
As she fantasized about dealing with Deanna without any reservations in the future, reality slapped her in the face.
Stunned, she stared at a man and woman not far away, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"Deanna? How could it be her?!"
The surrounding ladies heard her exclamation and looked over curiously, asking, "Do you know that Mrs. Mercer?"
Regaining some composure, Emily turned to the gossip-hungry ladies with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Know her? How could I possibly not know her."
Hearing this, the ladies were perhaps too excited and failed to notice the odd tone in Emily's voice.
"Since you know Mrs. Mercer, could you introduce us?"
"Don't worry; we won't let you introduce us for nothing."
"Yes, just let us speak with Mrs. Mercer; we definitely won't let you down."
Watching these people eagerly trying to ingratiate themselves with Deanna made Emily almost insanely jealous.
She had never received such treatment even though she was married to Raphael. Why should Deanna deserve it?
What baffled her most was how a noble man like Lance could ever fall for someone like Deanna!