Chapter 42
Elizabeth's POV
Lisa left the room at some point. By the time I noticed, only Alexander was left in front of me.
He moved closer first, then sat down on the chair beside me.
He didn't say a word, but his presence was too strong to ignore.
I looked into his eyes, a bit uneasy, and spoke up as if trying to prove something, "I've eaten properly now. You shouldn't be angry anymore, right?"
Alexander frowned, his eyes examining me, "You think I was angry at you just now?"
"Wasn't it?" I lowered my head, my gaze evasive. "After all, I'm living in your house now, under your protection."
To put it nicely, Alexander let me stay here because he cared about the baby in my belly.
But to put it bluntly, I was like a prisoner who'd lost her freedom, with every move under his watch.
For a man of Alexander's status, giving me this kind of special treatment was already unusual enough, and it put enormous pressure on me.
Especially since he showed no sign of leaving, and those eyes seemed ready to see right through me.
With food in my stomach, the pain had eased considerably, and I'd recovered some energy.
"I overreacted before. I got too worked up."
When I heard about my parents' tombstone being destroyed, I couldn't stay calm at all. I nearly lost control and put my body through hell because of it. Now that Alexander had given me a few harsh words, I'd actually sobered up.
"Mr. Windsor, could I borrow your study?" I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. What I needed to think about now was how to fight back.
Just drowning in grief and anger wouldn't solve anything. Only by seeing reality clearly could I seize the chance to strike back.
Alexander's stare still made me uncomfortable, but I was much calmer than before.
"Sure."
Alexander led the way, and I followed directly behind. I sat down at the computer, logged into the Smith Group's internal system, quickly changed the password and login permissions, then downloaded backups of all the important business contacts.
It was early summer now, and the Smith Group's clothing brand was busy launching their summer collection.
This had been in the works since the beginning of the year, and I'd watched over every single step day and night. Now Aiden just had to sit back and enjoy the results without doing anything.
How easy for him!
I dialed one of the fabric suppliers directly. Since we'd communicated well during our previous negotiations, I'd given them my personal number.
The other party clearly recognized my number and picked up right away.
"Mr. Roberts, sorry to bother you."
Kieran Roberts, on the other end, was polite, "Ms. Spencer, what can I do for you?"
"How far along are you with the Smith Group's order?"
There was a pause on the other end. I understood—after all, everyone knew about what happened between Aiden and me. Me contacting him separately at this time would naturally make him think twice.
The silence went on a bit too long. Alexander pulled over another chair and sat down beside me without ceremony.
The pressure he gave off made me a little nervous.
Alexander gestured toward my phone. I understood what he meant and pressed the speaker button so he could hear the conversation too.
On the other end, Kieran finally sighed, "Ms. Spencer, I know things are complicated between you and Mr. Smith right now, but this is business between our two companies. I can't just... because of your personal situation..."
"You're right, the partnership is between companies. But have you forgotten who negotiated this project with you, and who fought to get you the best profit margin?"
My tone was steady, without a hint of panic. I already had a plan in mind.
"The Smith Group's clothing brand has been declining in sales for years. Aiden originally planned to replace you and find a cheaper supplier to cut costs. I was the one who valued the quality of your fabrics and fought to get you this contract. Mr. Roberts, you should know that without me, your partnership with the Smith Group would have ended long ago."
With declining sales, Kieran naturally made less money too. He'd also been considering ending the partnership back then. I was the one who stabilized both the Smith Group's side and his side. Only I knew how hard that had been.
Kieran sighed again, "Ms. Spencer, you've been my contact person all these years. Personally speaking, of course, I want to support you. But the Spencer Family has gone bankrupt. Even if I want to help you, you don't have a platform for me to work with anymore."
"The Spencer Family did go bankrupt, but I never said I wouldn't start another company. As it happens, I'm planning to get into the clothing business too. If you're willing to work with me, I can get designer S to do the designs."
"What did you say?" Kieran was shocked by my words, his voice changing pitch. "You can get S? Design what? Ready-to-wear collections?" He sounded so excited that he might pass out.
I confirmed it and continued, "If you keep working with the Smith Group, this quarter might still launch on schedule. But next quarter, knowing how Aiden operates, he'll probably tear up the contract for profit. The choice is yours."
Without me, Aiden would only chase short-term profits and never consider the company's long-term development.
"Ms. Spencer, let me think about it. But if you can really get S, I'll definitely work with you."
I understood what he meant and said directly, "I can give you time to think. Of course, I'll also show you some of S's design sketches to prove I'm not just talking."
I didn't push further and hung up cleanly, then dialed the next number.
When the Smith Group was expanding most aggressively, they got into multiple industries, from daily necessities to home appliances—they did almost everything. But the Smith Group mainly sold brand licensing, with most products made by contract manufacturers. And I was the one who negotiated with those manufacturers one by one for Aiden.
I made several calls in a row, with Alexander remaining silent beside me the whole time.
As I used various conditions to convince those business partners, making it likely they'd choose to support me, Alexander's way of looking at me gradually changed.
Just as I was about to dial the next number, he suddenly pressed down on my hand.
I looked at Alexander in confusion, trying to figure out what he wanted, and saw him frown slightly and clear his throat, "Just how many skills have you been hiding?"
Even though he covered it up quickly, I still caught a flash of surprise in his eyes.
"What, you sound unhappy about it?"
Alexander's frown deepened, as if he were quite dissatisfied with my question. The emotion that flickered in his eyes quickly disappeared, making it almost impossible to tell what he was thinking.
After a long while, Alexander finally spoke, "Letting you go was Aiden's loss."