Chapter 55

Isabella wasn't surprised by Hayden's twisted logic. She slowly closed the file in front of her and pushed the contract toward him, her gaze calm.

"No."

Her flat response successfully made Hayden lose his temper. He angrily slammed his hand on the desk.

As if to match his fury, the coffee in the cup on the desk splashed out with his pounding, soaking the documents on the table.

"You'd better think this through carefully. As long as you work at the Taylor Group, you have to follow my arrangements."

He said furiously, grabbing the pen from the desk. He flipped to the signature page of the contract and threw it in front of Isabella, speaking in an almost forceful tone.

"Don't make me get physical. Sign it now, and finish all these projects properly."

Isabella dodged his hand, her tone firm. "I won't sign it. Give up!"

"Now, please leave. I still have work to do."

Hayden let out a cold laugh. "Busy? What could you possibly be busy with? The Taylor Group is already in such chaos. As long as you're willing to complete these projects for these people, the Taylor Group can get through this crisis."

"Why won't you help! After all, you're part of the Taylor Group too. Shouldn't you help out!"

Facing his questioning, Isabella found it amusing.

Who exactly turned the Taylor Group into this mess? Was it her?

She glanced at Hayden coolly, her expression shifting slightly.

"Whoever made the Taylor Group like this should clean up their own mess. Why should I use my time and my work to get resources for you? Do I owe you something? I don't owe you anything."

Isabella stood up.

"I'd advise you to give up on this idea. You'd be better off persuading Freya to marry for business. At least she's good-looking. I'm sure someone would be willing to marry her, and maybe that could get you some resources to get through this crisis."

Hayden's face stiffened, and he blurted out a rebuttal without thinking.

"How could that work? Everyone knows what Freya did. If she gets married, what kind of good life could she have?"

He had obviously considered this option before, but it wasn't feasible. As he said, Freya already had a terrible reputation in their circle. Even if someone was willing to marry her, she probably wouldn't have a good life.

"What about me? If I do what you say and sign my name on this contract to work for someone else's company, what kind of good life will I have?"

Isabella's tone turned cold.

Hayden could think about Freya's situation, but had he ever thought about what her situation would be like?

Faced with Isabella's repeated rejections, Hayden looked terrible. He angrily picked up the documents from the desk when his phone rang in his pocket.

It was Harold Rogers, the one who wanted to trade resources for Isabella. Hayden gritted his teeth and finally answered the call.

The Taylor Group's poor business performance was no secret in the business circle. Many people he had offended before were taking this opportunity to kick him while he was down. During this time, to keep the Taylor Group running smoothly, he had asked many people for resources, and without exception, they all mocked him.

Harold was only willing to make a trade because of his old friendship with Hayden. But now that Isabella was unwilling, this path was probably going to be cut off, too.

A flash of unwillingness crossed Hayden's eyes. He secretly regretted not putting on an act in front of Isabella before, at least pretending to be a loving father. Then today's matter might still be negotiable.

Even if he had to use moral blackmail, he would force Isabella to sign. But now his regret was useless. What troubled him was how to explain this to Harold.

Hayden answered the phone, looking grim. Whatever was said on the other end made him clench his jaw, his face dark.

"Mr. Rogers, I understand what you mean. How about this - you transfer the project to the Taylor Group first? You can be completely assured that the Taylor Group will definitely do a good job with this project."

He quickly added a few more sentences. Harold's attitude seemed to soften. They talked over the phone for a while longer, and Hayden's expression gradually brightened. He even laughed a few times to play along.

"No problem, Mr. Rogers. You can rest assured and transfer this project to the Taylor Group. I'll assign the most capable person in the Taylor Group to handle this project."

Isabella paid no attention, keeping her head down to handle the documents in her hands. Hayden hung up the phone. Having resolved something that had been bothering him, he showed Isabella a rare, pleasant expression.

"Isabella, it's fine now. This matter is resolved, but Dad still needs to trouble you with something."

Hayden softened his tone, staring at Isabella's face, not missing any expression on it, and said carefully.

"I think it would be better if you were in charge of this project."

For the sake of the Taylor Group, he had to back down and negotiate with Isabella calmly. He secretly resented her, thinking that once the Taylor Group got through this crisis, he would see how to deal with Isabella.

Isabella didn't rush to refuse him.

She had just briefly looked at the project through the documents. If she could do it well, it was indeed a good project. Maybe through this project, she could gain some say in the Taylor Group.

At least next time, she wouldn't be threatened by Hayden again.

After thinking it over, Isabella didn't agree right away. "I'll think about it, Mr. Taylor. If you don't have anything else, you can leave now. As for the result of this matter, I'll inform your secretary."

Her eyes were cold, her tone completely flat - the way she would treat a stranger. Hayden's hand slowly tightened around the documents, a flash of coldness in his eyes.

After this project ended, he should find a way to kick Isabella out of the Taylor Group. Cloudscape Mall was becoming increasingly important in the Taylor Group. Because of Freya's incident, some executives had disagreements with him. They were actually secretly expressing support for Isabella to take over the Taylor Group.

He had worked hard to build the Taylor Group to this point. He believed that without his efforts, the Taylor Group wouldn't be where it is today. These executives, just because of one problem, were eager to jump behind someone else.

Hayden gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger. "Alright, whatever you say. I'll wait for your good news then. You've been working hard lately. You can come home, and I'll have your mom make you a good meal."

"No need."

Isabella still flatly declined. As soon as Hayden left, the office returned to silence. She held the pen in her hand, absentmindedly drawing a few random strokes on the paper.

There was probably something wrong with Harold being so eager to transfer this project to Hayden.