Chapter 128
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Before the shareholders could speak, Isabella continued, “I’m not going to argue further. Why don’t we listen to this recording first and then decide? Though it sounded like a question, Isabella had already pressed play.
In the record. Emily was arrogantly setting company rules, forcing Isabella, an intern, to handle Lucas’s case, an threatening to fire Isabella if she weren’t up to the task.
After hearing the record, everyone’s faces looked quite troubled Emily acted like a little tyrant in the department, running things as if it were her playground.
Isabella glanced around the room, her look cold and stern as she loudly asked, “Is this the reputation of the Stout Group? Everyone in the design department saw it themselves. You can verify if I’m lying or not.”
Isabella paused for a moment before continuing. And have any of you heard the rumors circulating in the company these past three days
Isabella sat upright in her chair, but at that moment, her presence was incredibly intimidating. It felt like she carried a destructive power, sending chills down everyone’s spine. The room went silent.
Hudson’s face was not happy. He thought, “What a fool, that Emily! But he held back his anger and looked at Isabella. suggesting softly, “Everyone makes mistakes. Just have her fix it
Hudson thought, Emily is Ivana’s close aide, and firing her will certainly affect Ivana. Isabella is not on my side, an presence at the company means she is trying to take control from me. The only reliable person now is Ivana‘
her
Isabella sneered inside, ‘Emily is just Ivana’s lackey, yet he’s so protective of her. What a deeply bonded father–daughter relationship.
Isabella responded coldly, “Mr. Stout, that’s not how it works. If everyone acted this way, what would happen to the rules?”
Isabella knew from the moment she entered that Hudson would protect Emily. But she wasn’t someone who could be easily messed with either. She stood firmly, defending her rightful interests.
At this moment, Max, slightly out of shape in his casual suit, sat up straight, placed his hands on the conference table, and nodded in agreement with Isabella.
He said, “If the truth is like this, then Emily is unsuitable for the company. It’s not good for the company. No one knows. what trouble she might cause someday.”
Several shareholders nodded in agreement, too. They said, “Exactly, the design department is important. It can’t be ruined by her
Hudson’s face stiffened, and his hand clenched into a fist under the table as he struggled to suppress his anger. He had no choice but to accept the result.
Hudson thought, “Damn it, what is Isabella trying to do now? She has just been in the company for three days and is targeting Ivana’s allies. Is she planning to take over the Stout Group?‘
Max turned to Harry and the others, saying earnestly, “Let’s vote on it. Whichever decision gets the most votes is the one we’ll go with. How about that?”
Even if Harry and Hudson were unhappy, they had no choice but to comply with Max’s suggestion.
Continuously supporting an incompetent deputy manager might end up affecting them, too. Neither Hudson nor Harry wanted such a situation to happen.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Max scanned the room and finally locked eyes with Isabella. He continued, “Since everyone
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Chapter 128
agrees, please make your choice. Raise your hand if you disagree with dismissing Emily”
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In the entire meeting room, not a single person raised their hand. At this moment, even if Hudson wanted to raise his hand he couldn’t–let alone anyone else.
Max nodded understandingly and said, “It seems we don’t need to vote further, as no one opposes Ms. Stout.”
The decision to dismiss Emily was already set in stone and couldn’t be changed. Hudson gritted his teeth be had nothing to
say.
Isabella had foreseen this outcome long ago. After settling the ranter, she stood up, looked at the others, and nodded politely. Then she said. “Thank you for making this trip.”
Isabella then took a stack of free vouchers from her bag and placed them on the table. She added, “This is for a store a friend of mine opened. If you have time, try the massage here–it’s top–notch”
Isabella’s action left several shareholders puzzled. Max picked up one of the vouchers from the table, looked at it, and asked in confusion “Free”
Isabella smiled slightly and said, “Yes, it’s free with the voucher. After all, it was George’s new venture. Isabella figured this was her way of supporting him..
Meanwhile, as George was busy, he sneezed. He rubbed his nose and murmured, “Who is thinking about me now?
Isabella’s smile grew wider as she politely said. “You go ahead. I’ll get to work now.”
She seemed different from the assertive Isabella earlier. After doing all this, Isabella turned and walked out of the conference room cheerfully.
The shareholders looked at the stack of coupons. They wondered if those coupons were meant to be a gift
A few shareholders changed their views of Isabella, thinking, ‘She seems young yet surprisingly savvy about social interactions.
Hudson’s gaze fell on the stack of free coupons, his expression dark. Isabella’s actions today were indeed a slap in his face. This unfilial girl Hudson yelled inside. He suddenly stood up and walked out with firm steps.
Harry didn’t look too happy either. He thought, Isabella takes advantage of the Guzman family’s connections to act recklessly as soon as she joined the company; who knows what else she might do in the future?‘
The other shareholders held the coupons. One of them whispered, “Why do I feel like the Stout Group is about to undergo a major change since Ms. Isabella Stout joined?”
If that was the case, they needed to think carefully about which side to align with in the future. This was about future interests, after all.
Harry glared at the speaker and said discontentedly, “What change are you talking about? She’s just an inexperienced young girl.”
Harry sneered inside, ‘If such a young girl could change the Stout Group, then there would be lots of capable people everywhere.
Some shareholders nodded in agreement, saying, “That’s true. After all, Isabella hasn’t been at the company as long as Ivana
has
In other words, how could Isabella change the company when she didn’t even understand it?
Everyone thought that made sense. They decided to keep an eye on things for now. Then, the shareholders slowly dispersed
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The design director’s office had three one–way glass walls, with two covered by blinds. The desk was a seamless glass formation, extending elegantly from the left side downwards like a flowing ribbon, with smooth and beautiful lines, full of design flair.
Ivana sat in her expensive office chair, her gaze dark as she looked through the one–way glass at Isabella’s workspace outside. She thought. That witch still holds a lot of company shares
At this moment, the office door was knocked on. Ivana hid the malice in her eyes and softly said, “Come in”
The door opened with a click
Emily turned around and shut the door, her eyes red and swollen as she walked towards Ivana. Before she could reach Ivana, tears had already started falling from her eyes.
Emily looked at Ivana. She tried to hold back tears as she said, “Ms. Ivana Stout, I know I was wrong. Could you please talk to Mr. Stout and ask him to give me another chance? Please?”
Emily was on the verge of breaking down the moment she received her termination letter–Isabella did what she said she would do. Emily had never imagined that Isabella would wield such great power.
Ivana looked at Emily with a troubled expression and said. “Emily, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. This was a unanimous decision by the shareholders, and even my dad can’t change it.”
Seeing Isabella through the glass, the resentment in Ivana’s eyes deepened. She thought, Isabella is truly ruthless. In no time, she got the shareholders to fire Emily. She is really a nuisance!
Emily paused, with tears falling even more. She said, “Could you talk to Isabella about it? She’s the one who let me go. She might know what to do.
The Stout Group had such high salaries, and Emily had finally worked her way up to deputy director. Getting fired this time ultimately set her back to square one. All those years of effort wasted.
Ivana concealed the hatred in her eyes. She slowly stood up, walked to the water cooler, and handed Emily a cup of warm
water.
Ivana gently comforted, “Emily, it’s not that I don’t want to helppou, it’s just that Isabella is stubborn. She has never liked me, so even if I begged for you, it wouldn’t make a difference.
Ivana thought. It is impossible for me to humble to Isabella, that jerk. Besides, Isabella wouldn’t give me any respect even if
I did
Ivana was worried Emily would keep clinging to her. She bowed her head, blaming herself, and said, “Sorry, I really can’t help you.”
Emily paused when she took the cup from Ivana and looked at vana. Ivana looked weak, yet she gave of a cold vibe.
Emily regretted it. If she had known Ivana was this useless, she wouldn’t have stood up for Ivana. Now that something happened, Ivana didn’t even say a word.
Emily put down the cup. The warm water couldn’t warm her heart. She wiped away her tears, her eyes filled with spite as she looked at Ivana and said through gritted teeth, “Ivana, you’re heartless.” She added inside, ‘Heartless and useless.
Ivana wanted to say something, but Emily didn’t give her the chance and turned to leave. Emily thought. If I have another chance, I would definitely stand by Isabella. At least Isabella isn’t this useless.
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