Chapter 169 The Umbrella Gesture
On Riviera Boulevard, a black Maybach sliced through the rain curtain, eventually stopping at the entrance of Hoverdale Tech University
Inside the car, the scent of sandalwood tangled with the jasmine from a young girl’s hair. Josh glanced at the girl beside him. her fingers twisted in anxiety. Tears had formed crystals on her eyelashes, revealing the delicate outlines of her collarbones through her wine–stained white T–shirt.
She looked up, her voice soft, “Thank you for bringing me back.”
1er tone was light but sincere.
Josh, with a hint of curiosity, raised an eyebrow and teased, “You really are a student, huh?”
The girl pursed her lips, her fingers curling slightly, looking a bit uneasy.
Seeing her silent, Josh raised his eyebrows again, “As a student, you should really avoid bars. If I hadn’t come along, you could have been bullied today.”
She nodded quietly, a soft “Mhm” escaping her lips.
She didn’t want to work at the bar, but it paid well. After her mom got fired from the Bennetts, she just wanted to ease her mother’s burden
Mia nodded, her voice barely a whisper, “T–I should go now”
As she reached for the door handle,
“Hold on Josh’s voice suddenly interrupted.
Mia paused and looked at him, puzzled. The next second, Josh picked up an umbrella and handed it to her.
The umbrella gleamed with a metallic huster under the car’s interior lights, looking particularly exquisite
Mia hesitated for a moment, then smiled gratefully and took the umbrella, Thank you.”
Just as she was about to get out, something occurred to her, “Sir, how can I return the umbrella to you?”
“No need to return it
Seeing the “Maybach Jogo on the handle, Mia firmly shook her head, “Such an expensive umbrella. I must return it to you.”
Her mom had worked for the Bennetts for years; she recognized luxury car logos and knew that the accessories from such cars weren’t cheap.
Josh’s eyes twinkled with amusement, “Fine, I’ll come to pick it up tomorrow morning.”
Mia didn’t catch his intrigued expression, earnestly replying, “Okay, I’ll wait for you at the school gate tomorrow morning”
She opened the car door, stepped out, and turned back, “Sir, be careful on the road.”
With that, she opened the umbrella and walked into the campus.
Josh watched Mia disappear into the school grounds before slowly driving away. He was still smiling slightly from their conversation, the girl’s earnest and stubborn nature adding a bit of fun to his otherwise mundane night.
The car glided smoothly through the rainy night, the raindrops continuously blurring the windows.
Josh held the steering wheel with one hand, the other casually checking his phone. When he saw three missed calls from Felix, his lips twitched.
He sighed softly, muttering to himself, “Must have been the loud music at the bar, didn’t hear it.”
He pressed redial and switched to speakerphone, waiting for the call to be answered.
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Chapter 169 The Umbrella Gesture
At the Brooker’s Villa, Felix answered, “Your nightlife seems quite rich”
Josh laughed. “Can’t hide anything from Mr. Brooker”
Felix chuckled, not prying into his activities.
Finished
Direct and to the point, he said, “Elliot’s been too idle lately. Let’s bankrupt Bennett Corporation; give him something to play
with
Josh rolled his eyes silently at the idea of bankrupting a company as a form of play. He knew a call from Felix in the middle of the night was never good news.
Despite his high salary of 140,000 dollars, he had no sympathy for the Bennetts after being involved in many such plots.
“What’s the deadline?”
Felix glanced outside at Elliot, still kneeling and looking unsteady, a smile not reaching his eyes, “Before dawn.”
Josh felt a throbbing in his temples upon hearing those words.
Bringing down Bennett Corporation overnight was no small task. given its substantial internal vulnerabilities.
He sighed inwardly, foreseeing a sleepless night ahead. Talking was easy for those at the top, but it meant running around for
him.
Despite his handsome salary, he was still a hard–working employee.
After hanging up, he pressed down on the accelerator. The black sedan, like a cheetah, swiftly cut through the rainy night toward his company.
As the car raced, the rain screen was momentarily torn by the speeding vehicle, then swiftly closed again
His mind worked furiously, like a finely tuned machine, scouring through Bennett Corporation’s various divisions, searching for that lethal blow that would push the company into the abyss of bankruptcy within just a few hours.