Chapter 302: Chapter 301: When the Wall Falls, Everyone Pushes
The photo album had been used for over a decade and was already worn out; the cover yellowed, and even the original pattern was impossible to discern.
Daisy Ginger sat on the sofa, as if holding some treasure, took a deep breath, and carefully opened it.
Ever since she married Edward Stephens, she seldom reminisced over old things. This photo album had been buried at the bottom of the box and hadn’t been opened for over half a year.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened the cover, wanting to see the boy from her memories.
Then, as she flipped through the album, she found that the few photos of Edward Stephens she had preserved inside had mysteriously disappeared.
Daisy Ginger was stupefied for a moment and instinctively flipped through the pages several times before her entire body went cold and she realized someone had taken the photos.
In this room, who else could rummage through her wardrobe?
Who could secretly take away the treasured photos she had?
Daisy Ginger stared at the empty album for a long time before slowly coming back to herself, overwhelmed by inexplicable anger.
——That bastard!
He had taken advantage of her ignorance to wipe away all traces of that person!
The teddy bear, the voice recorder, and even the photos; unknowingly, he had replaced all the treasures she had carefully preserved in her memory.
Daisy Ginger sat on the sofa, her mind ablaze, and her breath began to quicken.
She looked up and saw the teddy bear on the bed.
Since Edward Stephens had given it to her, she had always treated it as a treasure, placing it at the head of the bed.
At this moment, it seemed like outright mockery.
Daisy Ginger stood up from the sofa and fiercely smashed the teddy bear onto the ground.
The voice recorder inside fell out with a "snap" and started playing automatically.
"Happy birthday, Daisy Ginger."
"Happy birthday, Daisy Ginger."
"Happy birthday, Daisy Ginger."
...
It had been re-recorded.
Edward Stephens’ deep voice.
Daisy Ginger’s head buzzed violently, and she stomped on the voice recorder mercilessly, shattering the black box.
Shameless, utterly shameless.
How could there be someone like this?
Deceiving her, playing with her, and even destroying her treasures.
Daisy Ginger spent the entire night trying to suppress the urge to call Edward Stephens, and the next morning, she went to the company without even having breakfast.
Charlotte was making breakfast, and seeing her storm out, was briefly bewildered. How could she get angry after a good night’s sleep?
Who had upset her?
*
After half a month of absence from the company, Oliver Rubio almost filed a report. Seeing her in her office early in the morning, he was nearly moved to tears.
Daisy Ginger’s response was rather indifferent: "I was in a bad mood, so I went on vacation."
It was to give him an explanation.
Oliver Rubio was nearly infuriated to tears: In a bad mood, so a vacation; did she even consider us employees?
Did she know the work had piled up over half a month, almost crushing him?
"Here’s this quarter’s financial report," Oliver Rubio said with a dark face, bringing over a pile of documents, and placing them on Daisy Ginger’s desk, "Take a look and see if there’s any issue."
Daisy Ginger leaned back in her office chair, staring at the half-foot-high pile of documents, curiously asking, "Did I have to review this many documents in half a month when I was with the company before?"
He wouldn’t be retaliating against me, would he?
Oliver Rubio’s expressionless face: "This is just a week’s worth; I haven’t even gotten the rest for you."
"..." Daisy Ginger glanced up at him, "Alright... you can go out now." Apparently, her half-month absence had truly offended her beloved secretary.
"Call me when you’re finished." Oliver Rubio said coldly and went out the door.
Daisy Ginger watched his back, sighed lightly, feeling somewhat weary as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
She didn’t have much time to dwell in sorrow; losing Edward Stephens meant she couldn’t afford to lose the only inheritance left by her mother.
*
A week after Daisy Ginger returned, Ginger Group experienced a major event.
Swiss Tech Co., which invested 1.5 billion into Ginger Group last year, suddenly withdrew its investment from the company.
Due to the cooperation going well and the other party’s financial prowess, the strategic goals of Ginger Group for the year were mostly tied to the tech company. The sudden withdrawal caused Ginger Group’s stock to plummet by 60% overnight.
Daisy Ginger had no choice but to urgently contact the tech company’s person in charge, requesting a meeting, but was turned away at the door.
She couldn’t even see them, let alone demand an explanation.
Adding insult to injury, the stock decline caused retailers to lose confidence as well. In order to avoid further losses, they sold off their shares one after another. Within days, Ginger Group’s stocks turned entirely green, and the commercial value of Ginger Group suddenly decreased by two-thirds.
Even the long-standing cooperative banks got wind of the news, choosing to violate the agreement and refuse loans to Ginger, causing the capital turnover to become problematic. Daisy Ginger had no choice but to cut several billion-dollar businesses within the company, and even sold off a third of the equity to raise cash.
Under continuous blows, the publicly-traded Ginger Group found itself on the verge of collapse within half a month.
Even the leaders of the city government received word, subtly indicating that if Ginger Group did not regain their footing soon, they would change partners for the Banyan City commercial circle they planned to build together.
There were even acquisition companies that specially came over, offering Daisy Ginger 2 billion to acquire Ginger’s building located in the prime area of Banyan City.
When the wall is about to fall, everybody pushes.
Invitations for Daisy Ginger to attend commercial banquets vanished at once, and various business partners seemed to smell an opportunity, starting to poach her customers, taking away several old clients that had cooperated with Ginger Group for over a decade.
*
That night.
The light in Ginger Group’s CEO office was still faintly on.
Oliver Rubio opened the door from outside the office, seeing Daisy Ginger standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in thin clothes, smoking.
This month, she had lost a lot of weight, and continuous overtime had left noticeable fatigue on her face.
"Director Ginger," he called softly, "It’s late, you should go home and rest."
Daisy Ginger heard the voice, turned her head to look, smiled at him, and exhaled a puff of smoke, "It’s still early. You can go home; didn’t I tell you that you don’t need to stay and work late tonight?"
Oliver Rubio came over, standing next to her, accompanying her to view the night scenery.
"I still have some work left unfinished, I’ll leave once I finish it."
"You won’t finish it," Daisy Ginger sighed lightly, "You don’t have to be so hard on yourself."
"I..."
Daisy Ginger suddenly interrupted him.
"Have any headhunter companies tried to poach you?"
"No."
Daisy Ginger smiled, "You have great work capabilities. If you have better opportunities, you don’t have to stay here. If you want, I can also help you with advice."
Oliver Rubio looked at her smile with a slight emotional stir in his expression, lowered his eyes, and couldn’t help saying, "I won’t leave."
Daisy Ginger’s smile faded; she looked at Oliver Rubio and sighed lightly.
"There’s no need," she said, "This company is mine, and you’re just an employee. I can live and die with it; what’s it got to do with you?"