The manager from acquisitions knocked and stepped in. “Waldo, I wanted to double-check a few things about the Blair Group buyout.”
Waldo stood up, his expression thunderous, anger still burning in his eyes. “Spread the word. I want the Blair Group acquisition moving at full speed. Push their stock down as fast as possible. Accelerate everything.”
The manager flinched, clearly rattled by Waldo’s intensity. “Yes, Waldo. We’ll do everything we can, it’s just—”
Waldo cut him off, slamming his palm on the desk. “No excuses. I want results, and I want them now.”
“Yes, Waldo,” the manager said, backing off. “I’ll get everyone together and finalize the plan right away.”
Waldo dropped heavily into his chair, chest rising and falling. Lawrence. Just one man, and somehow he’d gotten under Waldo’s skin like no one else ever had.
He was determined to crush Lawrence, to make sure he never got back up again. And he wanted Catherine to see it all. He wanted her to see just how pathetic and powerless her choice of a man really was.
***
Meanwhile, in a different office, Shirley was ready to stir things up. She wanted to drag Catherine into this, let her see firsthand how ruthless Waldo could be, and make her hate both Waldo for his cruelty and Lawrence for his uselessness.
She grabbed her desk phone and dialed Catherine’s number.
Catherine noticed the call was from a landline and hesitated before picking up. “Hello? Who’s this?”
Shirley didn’t waste time. “Did you hear Dad’s company is about to be taken over by the James Group?”
Catherine instantly knew where this was going. Her voice was cool. “Yeah, I heard. So what?”
“So what? Catherine, Dad’s company is getting swallowed up. Aren’t you even curious about who’s to blame for this?”
“I don’t care,” Catherine replied, not missing a beat.

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