Next up, my mom was all tied up dealing with supplier issues.
Seeing all this, my dad took it hard. Both my mom and I told him to stay out of it. He was about to retire. If someone got dirt on him, his reputation would go down the drain.
To ease some of the load off my mom, I reached out to Dominic's dad, Mr. Anthony.
He was out of the business game, but his friendship with my mom still stood.
"Mrs. Finch and I have already had a chat about this. We've worked together for a long time, so pricing is negotiable. The main issue is... there are factors we can't stand against," Mr. Anthony sighed on the other end of the line.
"Spill it," I urged him sincerely.
"The problem lies with Whitmore Co. Ms. Finch, you were once married to Mr. Whitmore. Why not try hashing it out with him?" Mr. Anthony revealed the true cause.
My heart sank. As expected, it was Neil, targeting my family!
It reminded me of the stuff that went down in my past life. He stirred up a huge ruckus with my family to divorce me, driving us almost to the brink of despair.
Was history going to repeat itself?
After hanging up, I sat and thought for a while, then grabbed my car keys and left the office.
When I arrived at the Whitmore Co., the receptionist stopped me, asking if I had an appointment.
"No, but I need to speak with Neil urgently." I replied politely.
The receptionist examined me up and down. She seemed to recognize me but couldn't place me. She was probably new, as I used to work here for a while, and she wasn't the receptionist then.
She then denied me, "I'm sorry, miss. We can't arrange a meeting with Mr. Whitmore without an appointment."
"Is he in the office now?" I asked again.
"I'm sorry, I can't disclose that," she replied professionally, not revealing more than necessary.
I plopped down on the couch nearby. I tried calling Neil, but his phone was off.
So I had no choice but to wait for him.
As it got later, the staff at Whitmore Co. trickled out. Some of them recognized me. They shot me curious glances and whispered among themselves.
During the wait, I tried calling Neil a few more times, but his phone was still off. I didn't know if he was genuinely busy or deliberately making things difficult.
Just then, a stylishly dressed woman walked in. Her baseball cap and sunglasses covered most of her face, so I couldn't see her clearly.
She didn't notice me. She breezed past me, greeted the receptionist, and hopped onto the executive elevator. The two executive elevators at Whitmore Co. were card-access only.
I squinted my eyes, got up, and walked towards the elevator. I saw it stop at the top floor, where Neil's office was.
"Miss, it's already dark. You should go home," the receptionist, seeing me approach the elevator, rushed over to stop me and asked me to leave.
"Who's she?" I asked. She didn't seem like Neil's wife, Bonnie.
The receptionist dodged my question, simply saying, "She has an appointment."
Neil was forcing our biggest supplier to cut ties with us, yet he was avoiding my calls and meeting some hot chic?
I was pissed, so I dialed Stella Wallace, "Stella, is Mitch Hebert there?"
It was after office hours, so the top floor was deserted. Neil's office was just a short distance away. All I had to do was open that door to find him.
I walked up quietly and found the door wasn't shut tight. I could peek through the small gap.
"Neil, what's the meaning of this?" The woman from earlier, now hat and glasses-free, was Scarlett, the one who had been linked to Neil recently.
Neil sat on the couch, legs crossed, with a magazine on his lap. He was flipping through it absentmindedly, unresponsive to the woman next to him.
Scarlett moved closer, "I came straight here as soon as I got your call on set. Why are you being so cold? Don't you like what I'm wearing today?"
She suddenly stripped off her purple bodysuit. The black bra underneath was quite suggestive. Her large breasts made her waist look incredibly slim.
Although I've heard that Scarlett has always been fairly honest with people, her bold move stunned me.
"You aren’t moved, or what?" Scarlett leaned in, deliberately getting up in Neil's grill.
Neil started to furrow his brows. His gaze swept over the door and lingered for a moment. I quickly ducked out of sight a bit.
Even though I wasn't intentionally spying on them, I still felt a bit uncomfortable.
"You're such a bad boy!" Suddenly, Scarlett from inside the room said, sounding coy and pleased.
Soon, the door swung open. Neil's figure appeared before me, "Had enough of a peep show? Want to come in and see the real thing?"
There was a lipstick mark on his shirt collar; I wasn't sure if it was just left there.
Scarlett was sitting on the sofa, her arms wrapped around her bent knees, giving me a hostile look, "Are you some kind of pervert? He invited you in, and you actually came?"
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