Chapter 402: Hold a Shareholders' Meeting
Hayden and Chase quickly followed David into the elevator and went to William's office.
Looking at William sitting on the sofa, Hayden hurried over to shake hands with him, "Mr. Brown, hello! Excuse me for being so forward, but I really have an urgent matter and need your help."
William didn't look at his outstretched hand, but asked calmly, "What does Mr. Hayden Taylor want from me?"
Hayden awkwardly withdrew his hand, sighed, and said worriedly, "Mr. Brown, I'm really at my wits' end, which is why I came to you for help. This whole thing with Ascend Global Group being involved in smuggling and Clarence getting arrested really caught me off guard."
"I put all my money into the Crown District project, but now the Crown District project has been forced to stop. All the money I invested is wasted, down the drain, and I can't get it back. I still owe the bank a huge debt, and the Taylor Group can't even pay employee salaries right now."
"Mr. Brown, could you please help me figure something out..."
William looked up at him, "So, according to you, Mr. Taylor, what exactly do you want me to do?"
Hayden thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Brown, you have such a big business and are completely capable of taking over the Crown District project from Ascend Global Group. Clarence was arrested for suspected smuggling, but there's nothing wrong with the project itself. This project will definitely be profitable in the end. If you just take over this project and let it proceed normally, you'll definitely make money, and the Taylor Group can get through this crisis too."
Hearing this, William smiled, "Taking over the Crown District project isn't out of the question."
Hayden immediately got excited when he heard this, his eyes lighting up, "Really? You're really willing to do this?"
"How about this - tomorrow you gather all the Taylor Group shareholders for a meeting, and I'll be there. I'll discuss this matter in detail with you and all your shareholders. What do you think?"
Hayden didn't expect William to agree so readily and quickly said, "Great!"
"Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Brown!"
"I'll go back right now and notify all the shareholders. We'll be waiting for you at the Taylor Group!"
William said nothing more.
Hayden left with Chase and returned to the Taylor family.
Olivia was sitting listlessly on the sofa. When she saw Hayden and Chase come back, she quickly got up to greet them.
"How did it go? What did Mr. Brown say? Is he willing to help?"
"He agreed. He said he'll help the Taylor Group get through this crisis." Hayden let out a long breath.
His anxious mood was instantly relieved after meeting with William.
With William's capabilities, helping the Taylor Group come back from the dead would be no problem at all.
Hayden just didn't expect William to agree so readily.
This was all thanks to Isabella. He didn't expect William to be such a gracious man, still remembering that Isabella had saved Sophia.
Hayden had been unhappy about Isabella running away from home, but now that William was willing to help because of Isabella, his resentment toward her had lessened.
However, Isabella couldn't stay in the Northern Ice Empire forever - she should come back!
"Find a way to contact Isabella and get her to come back!" Hayden said coldly. "Tell her if she doesn't come back, I won't recognize her as my daughter!"
He didn't believe that even when he threatened their father-daughter relationship, Isabella still wouldn't come back.
Meanwhile, just after Hayden left, William's office door was pushed open again.
This time, it was Soren who came in.
Soren looked like he hadn't slept well, with a tired expression.
"What's wrong with you?" William looked at him in surprise.
"Same as before - I'm searching for my mother and sister," Soren said.
Last time he followed a lead to Stratford-upon-Avon, but even after searching there for half a year, he still hadn't found any trace of his mother and sister.
Soren's heart was breaking.
"William, do you think my mother and sister are still alive?"
William: "..."
William was thinking about whether to tell him that his mother and sister were not only still alive, but they were in the Northern Ice Empire.
But according to Isabella, Gwyneth didn't seem to remember her past with the Parker family, and she didn't seem to have any intention of acknowledging Soren and his brothers.
Since Gwyneth herself had no plans to deal with her husband and sons, it probably wasn't appropriate for him to rashly tell Soren her whereabouts.
William could only comfort Soren, "Your mother and sister are definitely still alive."
"Really?" Soren looked at William pitifully, "Then where are they?"
William thought for a moment and said, "They must be in some corner of this world, living a pretty decent life."
"A decent life?" Soren didn't quite believe it. "Even if they're still alive, they must have suffered terribly and been bullied. How could they possibly be living a decent life?"
Why had he never given up searching for Serenity and Ainsley? It was because every time he thought of them, he imagined a raggedly dressed mother holding an equally ragged child, begging on the streets, sleeping rough.
Such nightmare images often appeared in his dreams.
He really couldn't bear the thought of his mother and sister suffering out there, so he kept trying to find them as soon as possible and bring them back to the Parker family to live a good life.
"William, you don't understand how I feel," Soren said with a bitter face. "Sometimes when I see homeless people on the street, I think of them."
Soren's imagination was getting more extreme.
"They must be homeless too. Maybe right now they're digging through trash cans for food, sleeping on the streets - it's all possible."
The more Soren thought about it, the more horrifying it became.
William's mouth twitched, "It can't be that bad, can it?"
"Why not?"
Soren thought it was very possible, and could even be worse.
"Actually, maybe you're overthinking it," William said. "Your mother wasn't a simple woman to begin with. Maybe even without a man to protect her, she can still give her daughter a decent life."
"Maybe they're not homeless at all, but living in a castle as grand as a mountain, with servants taking care of them and bodyguards protecting them. The climate there is warm, spring all year round, and they have endless treasures..."
Soren was stunned when he heard this. "William, are you telling me a fairy tale?"
"I'm not telling you a fairy tale. I'm telling you the truth."
"Okay, stop trying to comfort me with these fairy tale-like lies."
Soren appreciated William's good intentions, but he wasn't comforted.
"I can't accept my mother and sister suffering out there."
Soren stood up again as if pumped full of energy.
"I'm going to set out again to find them."
William watched Soren leave, reached out his hand, then pulled it back.
——
"What? Chase, are you saying that tomorrow, William from the Brown Group will come to the company to participate in our shareholders' meeting and help our family get through this crisis?"
Bianca heard this news from Chase, and a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.
"That's right, he said it himself. It shouldn't be false."
Bianca pressed her lips together, her eyes rolling. "Chase, I want to go to the company tomorrow too."
Chase didn't understand. "What for?"
"After all, it's the family company's crisis. I'm really worried, so I want to listen and see what solution Mr. Brown has."
Chase naturally had no reason to refuse Bianca. He just said calmly, "Then come with us tomorrow."
Bianca returned to her room and immediately started picking out what to wear tomorrow.
She couldn't let this hard-won opportunity slip away.
——
The next day, Hayden gathered all the shareholders together early.
When the Ascend Global Group incident was exposed, the shareholders were all worked up, worried that the Taylor Group would go bankrupt and their interests would be damaged. They had even confronted Hayden several times.
But now, Hayden promised them, "Don't worry, we've already invited Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown won't ignore us. He'll take over the Crown District project from Ascend Global Group and still let the Taylor Group cooperate with him, so Clarence's arrest won't have any impact on the Taylor Group!"
With Hayden speaking so confidently, the shareholders finally quieted down a bit.
"Really, Mr. Taylor? Is Mr. Brown really coming today?"
"Will Mr. Brown really be willing to take over this mess?"
"..."
Everyone looked at Hayden with skepticism.
Hayden patted his chest, very proud and pleased with himself. "Have you forgotten? When I held a birthday party for our Isabella, Mr. Brown personally came to celebrate. Mr. Brown and I have a close relationship. How could he just sit by and do nothing during this crisis?"
Just then, Hayden's assistant hurried over. "Mr. Taylor, Mr. Brown is here!"