Chapter 137
Seeing Oscar's face turn cold, Gregory seemed to finally realize he wasn't joking.
Oscar raised an eyebrow and asked Gregory, "Say that again. Who is she?"
Gregory's face flushed red. He opened his mouth, about to blurt something out, but in the end said nothing. His hands hidden under the coffee table had already clenched into tight fists. His Adam's apple bobbed as he kept his head down, lost in thought.
Oscar wouldn't let him off: "Speak up. Who is she?"
Gregory looked at me with reluctance and conflict in his eyes, but finally, he mumbled: "She's your fiancée, my future aunt."
The smile on Oscar's face widened: "I hope you remember this well—your reputation doesn't matter, but Emily can't have any stains on hers. Your feelings for her are the biggest stain she could have."
He glanced up at me quickly. I shrugged at him and spread my hands as if helpless.
Gregory's clenched fists loosened and tightened again. He shut his eyes hard, and when he opened them again, he had put on a smile: "So, Uncle Oscar, Ms. Wilson, about what I just mentioned—can you help me?"
Oscar and I exchanged glances, both seeing the contemptuous amusement in each other's eyes: "Emily, what do you think?"
I shook my head gently: "I probably can't work with The Novagen Group. Your company does have a lot of problems, and even setting everything else aside, I need to think about my SoftGlow Biotech."
Gregory's face gradually turned pale, but he still looked at Oscar with hope. My refusal to work with them would only make people guess at the reasons, but if Oscar provided financial support, all problems would be solved.
Oscar smiled brightly at him: "It's not that I won't help you. As you know, the Emerald City western project has all my funds tied up in it. Even if I wanted to help you now, I don't have any money to spare."
This time, Gregory's face turned completely pale.
"However—" Oscar glanced at Gregory and added another sentence.
Hearing this, Gregory's somewhat slumped body immediately straightened up as he looked at Oscar.
Oscar pretended to ponder: "Never mind, even if I told you, you probably wouldn't agree, and you'd think I had other motives."
Gregory said anxiously: "Uncle Oscar, just tell me. Don't worry, even if it doesn't work out, I absolutely won't doubt your intentions."
Only then did Oscar sigh and say: "The Novagen Group has definitely lost most of its credibility now, so whether it's banks or regular lending companies, you'll probably have a hard time borrowing money. I don't have money, but I do have some connections after all these years in Solstice. If you really need money urgently, I could introduce you to a couple of people, though the interest might be a bit higher than banks."
Gregory didn't suspect anything: "That's fine, even loan sharks are okay. As long as we get through this crisis and operations return to normal, The Novagen Group can afford any interest."
Oscar inquired with some concern: "Maybe you should go back and discuss this with your dad. After all, it's such a big matter, you can't make the decision alone."
Gregory quickly stated his position: "I can make decisions about the company. My dad has already handed over all company matters to me. Since you have these connections, why would I look for banks? Once the company's cash flow recovers, I'll definitely thank you properly."
Oscar waved his hand with a smile: "No need to thank me, just remember this favor in the future. The Novagen Group is, after all, the result of several generations of the Lopez family's efforts. I don't want to see it go bankrupt either."
He opened his phone: "One of these is Shadow Covenant, the other is from a casino. You'd better investigate them first, then negotiate carefully. At least make sure you maximize your own interests."
Gregory happily stepped forward and saved the contact information to his phone.
Having achieved his purpose, he prepared to stand up and leave.
As he turned around, he looked at me again: "Emily... no, Ms. Wilson, I actually took your advice and went to see Sophia yesterday. I made things clear to her about us. She probably won't bother me anymore."
I tilted my head and looked at her with interest: "She just agreed? That doesn't sound like her."
Gregory lowered his head and said: "Of course she wasn't willing. I promised her that as long as she behaves, The Brown Family won't have to repay the twenty million dollars they borrowed, so she... she agreed."
I looked at him calmly. This Gregory was really incredibly stupid. His company was having cash flow problems, yet he still wasn't making them repay their debt. He probably hadn't thought about whether The Brown Family even had the ability to repay that money.
This was basically him personally pushing The Novagen Group into crisis, which gave us our opportunity.
After Gregory left, Oscar saw me staring at his retreating figure in a daze, and his tone turned sour: "You're not having second thoughts, are you? Emily? You only love me."
I turned to look at him with a smile: "I'm not looking at him. I'm just amazed—how has he managed to keep The Novagen Group going these past few years? I need to find a chance to notify The Brown Family. Right now, Gregory is their only lifeline. Compared to that, two million dollars is pocket change."
Oscar's hand slowly wrapped around my slender waist, his burning breath spraying on the back of my ear, his warm lips pressed against the nape of my neck, kissing bit by bit: "If you could spend as much thought on me as you do on them, I'd be even happier."
My body heated up bit by bit with his lowered voice. Where he kissed, a tingling sensation spread throughout my body. These past few days, Oscar had been making love to me twice a day. Good thing it was winter and clothes had high collars, otherwise I'd have no way to hide those kiss marks.
"If I treated you the same way I treat them, then you should be the one worried." I laughed softly, twisting my body to avoid his kisses.
Oscar turned my body around in one motion and picked me up horizontally: "Then I'll show you who should be worried about whom."
I screamed, and as my feet left the ground, I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on tight for fear of falling: "Careful! Don't hurt yourself."
Oscar said, amused, "I know what I'm doing."
"Okay!" I could only try to plead for mercy. "I need to rest."
He whispered softly in my ear: "Then rest. Don't move. I'll do it."