Penn poured Garry a drink, hoping to win him over. “Garry, it’s honestly a huge honor that you wanted to meet up with me. What’s on your mind?”
Garry picked up his wine glass, his expression unreadable. “I heard Vanguard Capital Partners had their IPO application rejected.”
So that’s what this was about? But earlier, out in the hallway, Garry and Parrish acted like total strangers.
Penn couldn’t wrap his head around it. “Yeah, Vanguard Capital Partners didn’t quite meet all the requirements, so the application didn’t go through. Garry, what’s got you interested in them all of a sudden?”
Garry’s voice dropped, cold and sharp. He arched an eyebrow. “Is that a problem for you?”
Penn froze, panic showing clear on his face. “No, no, not at all. That’s not what I meant…”
Before Garry could say anything else, Warren jumped in for him. “Penn, I don’t care how much Sovereign Wealth Strategies paid you. Vanguard Capital Partners is under Garry’s protection now. You’d better think carefully about your next move.”
A cold sweat broke out across Penn’s forehead, his face turning pale. Sovereign Wealth Strategies had definitely paid him off, wanting to make sure Vanguard Capital Partners’ IPO never happened. Their reason was simple. When Parrish left Sovereign Wealth Strategies, he’d taken all his clients, and they’d been holding a grudge ever since, doing everything they could to get back at him.
But Penn never expected Parrish to have someone like Garry backing him. Now he was truly stuck.
“Garry, I promise, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied with how this turns out.”
Garry got to his feet, the sharp lines of his face giving off a chill. Without another word, he headed for the door, Warren following close behind. At the doorway, Garry paused and glanced back at Penn. “Keep this to yourself.”
Penn nodded frantically. “Of course. I won’t say a word.”
Garry pushed open the door and left.
Teresa’s voice was calm. “I will.”
Parrish walked back to the private room to find Penn, and Teresa headed down the hallway. She reached the elevators just as the doors were about to close, pressing the button in time.
The doors slid open, and there was Garry, his face as striking as ever.
Teresa stepped inside, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and turned to face the closed doors.
As the elevator slowly descended, the numbers ticked down. When they finally reached the lobby and the doors slid open, Teresa broke the silence.
“Why did you block me?”

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