"Yes, Mr. Gu. You're the boss of the company, and the decision-making is all up to you. I hope you can
give us an explicit instruction on what we should do about this situation," a shareholder said
ambiguously with the encouragement of Aron.
Aron closed the folder in front of him and leaned his entire body against the chair. His misty eyes under
the thick glasses reflected a greedy light.
"Regarding the strike, I hope everyone can brainstorm and provide a solution. I'm adjourning today's
meeting right now. If you have any objections, you can come to my office alone."
He knocked on the glass table of the conference room and said casually. A group of shareholders
looked stunned and went into an uproar, but Aron wasn't a bit surprised.
Jonas had poured most of his attention on Melinda recently. The staff in the CEO office had often
talked about it privately, and Aron knew all about it by the informants he appointed.
"What's wrong with Mr. Gu? It seems like he can't handle matters well in the company."
"Yes, the documents I sent him three days ago haven't even been approved yet."
The shareholders and the managers were busy tweeting about Jonas's attitude of handling things
recently. They all showed their dissatisfaction with his performance.
"Come on. Since Jonas is not an iron man, it's bound to happen sooner or later."
Aron came out to intervene in the complaint, but still respected everyone's opinions. Even though
Jonas had left, the conference room was still bustling.
Jonas didn't return to the office but went straight to the Gu's mansion. He chanced upon Melinda in the
middle of a video call with Kent. Seeing that Jonas came back, Melinda just took a glance at him and
then continued to discuss new articles with Kent.
"We can continue conferring about it tomorrow. My wife has called me,"
Kent said with consideration after he caught sight of Jonas standing behind Melinda with a long face in
the video. Jonas's face softened a little after he heard those words, and he gave Kent an
understanding look.
"Okay, let's meet up tomorrow and discuss it in detail."
After ending the video call, Melinda put away her mobile phone and turned around as she felt a shadow
enveloping her slowly. Jonas leaned closer to her and blocked all the light with his tall body.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Full of jealousy, he stared at Melinda stubbornly, trying to find an answer.
"I don't have to tell you everything. I'm going to rest now."
Melinda gave Jonas a cold stare. She didn't want him to know that she had joined forces with Kent on
her next project because she feared that Jonas might destroy the collaboration.
Melinda didn't want to say, and Jonas didn't go on asking. His stubbornness disappeared all of a
sudden, and he shifted the topic. "My company has encountered some trouble recently. After I sort out
this predicament, I'll take you on a trip. Do you have a specific destination that you want to explore?"
When he mentioned that there were issues in the company, Jonas looked forward to her concern.
"I'll give you an update later."
Melinda paused, struggling in her mind, but eventually swallowed what she had intended to voice out.
He probably didn't need her care and sympathy. She turned off the chandelier in the bedroom, turned
on the lamp beside her bed and mumbled, "If you're staying up late to deal with pressing matters,
please do it in the study."
Jonas wanted to pull her out by looking at the body shape bulging under the duvet on the bed. But
thinking that Melinda might be tired after being so busy with publicity these days, he resisted the urge.
These past few weeks, Jonas didn't have any accomplishments in the company, and the news soon
reached Nelson, especially the drawbacks on the workers' labor strike recently.
He thought that running a company would be an easy thing as long as he was the boss.
"Your uncle called me last night. He said that you've been completely distracted from your work lately
and that the company suffered unnecessary losses because of your wrong decision."
"I've been in a bad state lately."
Jonas didn't know what to say in response to Nelson's criticisms. He identified himself better than
anyone else about his current condition. He wanted to change many things, but his efforts ended in
vain.
When he calmed down, his mind was full of Melinda. He wanted her to feel his love but failed to find a
suitable opportunity.
"In a bad state? If you can't do it, you should've told me earlier. There are so many people working in
the company, and your cousin will be back soon. He must work for the company then. Is it time for you
to slack off now, Jonas?"
Nelson didn't know what was going on in Jonas's mind, but he felt extreme anxiety for his grandson's
future.
With a big and complicated family like the Gu family, the competition for the inheritance of the company
was very intense under the table. The fact that Nelson made Jonas the boss without even thinking
about the repercussions had caused many protests and grievances from Aron and Aron's son.
Fortunately, Jonas had an inherent talent for business, and he had been running the company very
well. The shareholders' qualms gradually quieted down.
"Grandpa, I'll handle everything as soon as possible."
Although his grandpa had always reminded Jonas that he was not the only heir, and could be replaced
at any time, he had no apprehensions. He knew that his grandpa just wanted him to have the tenacity
and a sense of urgency.
Both him and Aron were equally crucial to Nelson, but Nelson had favored Jonas since he was still kid.
"I don't want to hear any promises, but I prefer more action and a positive result. If any shareholders
complained to me about you again, it would be your own doing."
Nelson felt disappointed with Jonas. Jonas couldn't handle his relationship well with Melinda and just
took her for granted. He had focused more instead on that sinister woman, Emily. What was more, the
shareholders had shown their disapproval of him all over the company.
Jonas felt stressed. This feeling was similar to the one when he just took over the company. But he was
full of enthusiasm then and only wanted to make some achievements at that time. Now, he had too
many distractions in his mind.
"Sir, Miss Gu wants to go out." Gavin showed up at the study just after Jonas left. Since Yulia stayed at
home after her grandpa grounded her, she needed Nelson's permission whenever she wanted to go
out.
"Why does she keep on going out lately?"
Nelson frowned and asked. He didn't allow Yulia initially, so Yulia stayed quietly at home. Nelson saw
that she had behaved herself, so he didn't restrict her in the past few days. However, she became
active again.
"Perhaps it was because she felt bored at home. But I can ask her if you want."
"Never mind. Just let Yulia go as long as she doesn't get into trouble."
Both Jonas and Yulia left the mansion. One of them went to the company, and the other went to meet
Emily.
Emily wore a pair of big-framed sunglasses and a white, rattan summer hat, so she could only nod her
head when she saw Yulia.
"Can we change our meeting place next time? It's easy for the public to recognize me,"
Emily said with slight frustration and looked around warily as she thought it would be easy to encounter
the paparazzi in such a place.
Yulia didn't take it seriously and mocked, "There are just a few photographers who are so eager to stalk
you, considering your current popular status."
"Okay, fine. I'm not here to talk about that today. By the way, how are Jonas and that woman doing
recently?"
Since Emily hadn't been able to reach Jonas lately, she couldn't prevent herself from feeling anxious.
She wanted to persuade Jonas to invest in her business.
"They are still in a cold war, but the upper hand is in Melinda. She has always been aloof to my brother.
I don't know if she's playing cat and mouse with him. That woman is very scheming."
To better understand the relationship between the two, she often tried to get closer to Melinda and
naturally saw her distant demeanor to Jonas.
Melinda's indifference and coldness annoyed Yulia a lot. How could Jonas stand that? Perhaps men
were naturally tolerant of this kind of emotion.
"Jonas had fallen in love with her? !"
Emily exclaimed loudly with eyes full of reluctance and disbelief. She manifested her jealousy by
grazing her skin with her fingernails, burying it deep into her flesh.
"Don't be in such a rush. What we need to do now is to continue sabotaging their relationship. My
brother can endure it for a while, but can he live through it all the time?
I noticed that Melinda and Kent started becoming close. They planned on working together on a new
book. Maybe you can get some ideas from Kent's wife."
"Kent's wife? Kent has been like that to Melinda even when he got married. His wife never blamed him.
I don't want to expect any help from her."
Emily thought it would be unreliable. She had a very vague impression of Kent, and she only
remembered that he was very protective of Melinda.
"By the way, my brother's workers revolted against him and the company. They're going on strike. Can
you help him?"
The affair with Emily was no longer a secret. The media reported the scandal but got suppressed fast,
so it didn't become a big deal for the time being.
"They went on strike?"
Emily never read the financial section of the newspaper, so she had no idea about strike, neither did
Yulia. So after talking with her for a long time, Emily still felt in a daze.
The final solution was to ask Emily to solve Jonas's problem, in showbiz style, which could lead to a
win-win situation.
Jonas had been stressing about it for a long time, and he didn't expect it to come to an end anytime
soon. He had asked William to find out if it was Emily who had been speaking for Soaring Group when
she attended an event and even on live stream.
"Miss Bai helped us out. Mr. Gu, I think you should thank her,"
William said in surprise. In the past, he didn't have a good impression of Emily. He always felt that she
got close to Jonas with a hidden agenda. But this time, he had a completely different opinion on her.
It was known to all that the staff of the entire office floor was deeply alarmed with this matter. They held
close door meetings every day. Those people joined together to commit to this undertaking, but the
problem rolled over to Jonas, and he had no choice but to oblige.
Of course, Jonas was grateful for Emily's help. While he was deep in his thoughts, his phone rang. It
was Emily on the other line, and he didn't hang up the phone as he typically did to her calls.
"Jonas, are you free tonight? I want to invite you to be my date at a party.
Don't say no so quickly. These people greatly influence the entertainment circle, and many business
friends might help you."
The situation suddenly reversed. Even though Jonas had planned on his next move, he didn't refuse.
The party had no significance to him as what she had mentioned.
"You have been busy with the concerns of the company recently. You should come out and relax. If you
don't enjoy it, we can just have a short walk in the street."
Emily made a lot of effort just to get an invitation to the party, so she persuaded Jonas. On the other
hand, Jonas knew that going home and seeing the indifferent face of Melinda would only depress him.
"Okay, I'll pick you up tonight."
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