Chapter 215
In the upscale offices of the FitzGerald Group, Granger lounged on a plush leather couch, cracking open a bag of roasted peanuts. “Madge is dodging the paternity test, something’s definitely fishy,” he said, “I’ve done my homework. When Ruby was living with the Collinses, Madge treated her like a princess. Even if she was just sucking up to her for being a rich heiress, it doesn’t make sense that she’d turn on her own daughter that fast after getting her back.”
Rhett nodded in agreement. “It is suspicious.”
“But, this won’t stump me,” Granger said with a cocky raise of his eyebrow. “Give me a strand of Garner’s hair and one from Kristin. I’ll run a DNA test and we’ll have our answers.”
Rhett leaned back in his armchair. “Always good to have you around in a pinch.”
“Listen to you,” Granger scoffed as he stood up, straightening his jacket. “How about a little advance for my troubles? That sports car you bought last year…”
Rhett cut him off. “Solve the problem first, then we’ll talk rewards.”
Granger shot him a disgusted look. “You are so pity as a rich guy. That car’s just collecting dust in your garage. Are you waiting for it to rust into scrap metal?”
“Sorry, I’m a married man now,” Rhett said, a smug smile creeping across his face as he took a sip of his coffee. “Everything I own, including that car, is now shared property with my wife.”
Granger’s mouth twitched in annoyance. Ever since Rhett had tricked Kristin into signing a prenup and tied the knot, he had been acting like he was on top of the world.
“Puppy love, puppy love,” Granger spat out with a mix of envy and resentment. “Ends up with nothing in the end.”
“I have a wife,” Rhett reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah,” Granger grumbled, grinding his molars. “Go on then, make it official.”
Rhett raised an eyebrow. “Now you’re playing psychic?”
Granger was shocked, lunging toward Rhett, touching his forehead as if checking for fever, circling around him in disbelief. “Have you been bewitched? Are you still the Rhett I know? You’re actually considering going public with this? At a time like this, have you lost your mind?”
Rhett was supposed to be at the office today because the Haywoods were visiting the FitzGerald Group, and the place was swarming with reporters, probably awaiting the official announcement of the marriage between the Haywood and FitzGerald families.
“Get out,” Rhett said with disdain. Ever since he got married, he didn’t feel like talking to single folks anymore.
“Mr. FitzGerald, Mr. Holcomb is asking for you,” York called from outside, sounding a bit anxious.
“What’s the matter?” Rhett asked, his voice deep.
“He says… there’s a press conference scheduled for this afternoon to announce the marriage between the Haywood and the FitzGerald families. He wants you to join them for lunch,” York gasped, his voice shaking.
Rhett’s expression turned icy in an instant.
Drumming his fingers lightly on his desk, Rhett said in a hushed tone, “Let Holcomb know that I won’t play ball with the Haywood family.”
“Mr. FitzGerald… the board members are all here, and I think Mr. Holcomb is trying to corner you,” York fretted.
Rhett could make a temporary compromise, even just for show.
The situation was critical.
Holcomb had called in the board and lawyers, clearly planning a realignment of the company’s share distribution. If Rhett didn’t comply and acknowledge the marriage to the Haywood family, Holcomb would call a board meeting and strip Rhett of his CEO position at the FitzGerald Group.
At the IF Shopping Mall.
Rhett had told Kristin to take some time off, which made her suspect that trouble was brewing at the FitzGerald Group.
Holcomb was about to make his move against Rhett.
“Kris, something on your mind?” Harriet asked, looking sharp in her sales associate blazer.
Kristin snapped back to reality, accepting the cup of water Harriet offered. “No… I’m okay.”
She was just a bit scared and worried for Rhett, fighting his battles alone at the company.
“Harriet, what are you doing? Not attending to your work, chatting with someone who can’t afford luxury goods?” The supervisor was
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Chapter 215
obviously targeting Harriet with a tone of annoyance.
Harriet rolled her eyes.
Since day one at the job, the supervisor had it out for her because she was considered an ‘outsider. While Harriet certainly had the looks for the job, her academic credentials and past weren’t exactly stellar.
“We don’t welcome loiters here,” the supervisor said rudely, standing in front of Kristin.
Feeling uncomfortable, Kristin apologized, “Sorry… I was just leaving.”
“Don’t go!” Harriet said angrily, confronting the supervisor. “Don’t you dare! When your friends come in, you gave them gifts and discounts. What’s wrong with my friend coming here?”
The supervisor sneered. “My friends are rich, their partners are company bigwigs earning millions. Does your friend even compare?”
Harriet was speechless, her mouth agape, too angry to respond.
The fact that Rhett and Kristin’s relationship was a secret meant that she couldn’t speak out to defend them and didn’t want to cause them any trouble.
Kristin was about to speak up for Harriet when her phone rang. It was Rhett.
“I need to take this call, Kristin said nervously, quickly answering the phone.
“Mr… Mr. FitzGerald!” Kristin’s heart raced, fearing the worst.
Early this morning, as Kristin passed by the bustling street outside the FitzGerald Group headquarters, she noticed a throng of reporters gathered there.
Rumor had it that today was the day the Haywoods and the FitzGeralds would unite their illustrious families, with Holcomb scheduled to hold a press conference at three in the afternoon.
“Did you have breakfast?” Rhett asked softly, his voice tinged with concern.
Kristin stammered, unable to find her words, then cut to the chase. “Mr. FitzGerald, I heard from York that Mr. Holcomb called for a board meeting, brought a team of lawyers, and threatened you over the share distribution…”
Rhett fell silent, the weight of the moment lingering. Finally, he spoke in a deep voice. “That loudmouth York… You shouldn’t listen to him.”
“Rhett…” Kristin hid in a quiet corner, her nerves frayed to the point of collapse, forcing her to squat just to muster the energy to speak. “Maybe… you should just agree to the arrangement with the Haywoods for now, even if it’s just a temporary fix.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she couldn’t help the tears welling up in her eyes.
She couldn’t bear the thought of Rhett and Hertha announcing their engagement.
She didn’t want to stand by as Rhett had a legitimate fiancée in the public eye. While she would remain nothing more than a shadow, hidden away–a joke.
“You trying to get a rise out of me?” Rhett’s tone was clearly tinged with annoyance.
Kristin hung her head, tears clinging to her long lashes. “No… I’m just scared…”
“Scared of what? Haven’t I told you to trust your man?” Rhett’s voice softened even more.
Kristin’s heart eased slightly, but she still blamed herself for not being able to help Rhett.
“Where are you?” he asked again.
“I’m at IF, I’m with Harriet…” Kristin hurriedly responded, wanting to ease his worries.
ཨཱུ བྷཀྟེ རྫ ཀྟྭཱ སྟྲŁ རྟ རྩྭ རྦ ཞེ རྟ རྩྭ ༄
“Harriet’s store? With all the bags and jewelry there, didn’t you find anything you like? You know you can use the card I gave you for anything.”
Rhett suddenly remembered that since he gave Kristin a credit card, she hadn’t used it even once.
“No, no need, I don’t want anything.” Kristin/flushed. She had no desire for such luxuries.
Back when she was with the Turners, Clarence also liked to buy her expensive handbags, which she found unnecessary–a thirty–dollar bag could last just as long.
“Wait there for me; I’ll come to you, and we’ll have lunch together.”
Before Kristin could protest, Rhett ended the call.
