CHapter 128

Chapter 128

“What is a bad thing?”

Annie focused on the road ahead, her hands firmly on the steering wheel, her gaze resolute. “To me, anything that goes against morals, the law, or ethics is a bad thing.”

Noella chuckled softly. “I feel the same way.”

Annie sighed in relief, grateful that Ms. Noella shared her views. It gave her the courage to share her troubling discovery!

“The guy Yvonne was playing cards with seemed a bit too close for comfort. I checked Yvonne’s accounts, and the money coming in recently was either from Ashlyn or that guy, and it wasn’t chump change. From their chats, it looked just like a normal business relationship. At first, I thought he was some relative of the Schnabel family, but he wasn’t. That’s why I kept an eye on them.”

Annie believed that anyone giving away large sums of money for no apparent reason was definitely suspicious!

“The thing is…” Annie hesitated, clenching her teeth as if struggling to speak, “Yvonne, she calls the guy ‘Dad‘.”

The chat logs gave Annie the creeps.

She thought she’d stumbled upon something bizarre, but it turned out this guy really acted like a dad to Yvonne. Yet, she’d never heard of the Schnabel family adopting godfathers for their

kids.

Noella nodded, understanding that if someone was that close to Yvonne and giving her so much money, he was probably her biological father.

If she remembered correctly, Ashlyn publicly claimed that Yvonne was an orphan. It seemed they might have been pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.

“What’s his background?”

“He’s a businessman, but from the Gruber family. We can’t really probe further.”

The Gruber family held significant sway in Imperial City. Though they didn’t quite match the Pollack or Schnabel families, they still held influence. Digging into Gruber affairs wasn’t simple.

Annie did right not to pry deeper.

“I see. Thanks for the ride. Go home and rest; we can talk more after you’ve slept.”

Noella noticed the dark circles under Annie’s eyes – a clear sign of lack of sleep, probably from the hectic days with Yvonne.

Tears of gratitude welled in Annie’s eyes! Did Ms. Noella ask her to drive just so she could get

10:05

Chapter 128

some rest? What kind of angel was Ms. Noella?

Annie nodded like a pecking chicken, watching Noella enter the gallery, reluctant to leave.

If only she could work for Ms. Noella, chatting with her every day. Oh, how she longed to switch

jobs!

Travis stood at the door, respectfully waiting for Noella. “Ms. Noella, several of our partners have abruptly cut ties with us, and we have an exhibition scheduled – the invites are already out. If we can’t proceed as planned, it will tarnish the gallery’s reputation and financial standing…”

Travis was on the verge of tears.

Noella entered the gallery, her tone even, “When is the exhibition?”

“Thursday, tomorrow. We’ve invited many artists and media. It’s too late to retract the invites, but those suppliers just backed out on us without any notice, not even willing to pay the penalties.”

Noella sat in her office chair and glanced at the supplier information.

A coincidence?

They were mostly companies tied to the Gruber family or related businesses. Essentially, all were industries that thrived thanks to the Gruber family.

“How many pieces are we short?”

“One hundred and thirty, and we still need to set up an exhibition hall. We can’t get the materials – there’s only one company in Imperial City that supplies them.”

Travis was frantic, the exhibition hanging by a thread.

Why didn’t Ms. Noella look worried? Perhaps she was overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation?

“Change the materials. We’ll find another solution for the exhibition hall. Leave the artwork to me.”

Change materials? If it were that simple!

With caution, Travis replied, “Ms. Noella, our gallery has a sterling reputation. We don’t use subpar materials, and they’re not good for our guests‘ health…”

Noella gave him a measured look. “Construct with a space frame system, using aluminum for the main frame. Change the venue to an oil painting theme, based on Master Killian’s work.”

“That could work, but the space frame company…..‘

Hadn’t he already said they refused to cooperate? If finding a suitable space frame supplier were easy, he wouldn’t be so distressed!

10:05

Noella picked up the phone and called Beckett “Beckett, I need a batch of space frames for the exhibition tomorrow.”

“Sure, I’ll have them delivered ASAP,”

Hope flickered in Travis’s evest

How could he forget? His new boss was none other than Ms. Noelta from the Schoolbel tamily What material could the Schnabel family not procure?

“But we don’t have that many paintings, let alone Master Killian’s oil paintings, Our entire gallery has only five.”

“I have a plan. Don’t worry.”

Travis was about to say more, but seeing Noella’s calm demeanor, he swallowed his words.

Fine, even if they were short on artwork, at least the exhibition hall would be ready. They could use the lesser works from the storage as placeholders., though the gallery’s reputation was at stake.

Noella glanced at Travis. “I’ll handle the artwork, ensuring the exhibition won’t be any less impressive than expected. But I want to know why these suppliers suddenly decided not to cooperate?”

Refusing to work with the gallery, even at the cost of high penalties, didn’t make sense. Moreover, these were companies that had previously collaborated, and it would certainly damage their reputation as it showed their lack of commitment to contractual obligations.

Travis hesitated, stuttering for a while, “Um… um… it’s because these companies, I don’t know what they heard, but they said that since our gallery changed owners, they…”

The companies in question were like old wolves, previously treading carefully out of respect for the former boss, her grandfather Merrick. They behaved like obedient grandkids, not daring to step out of line.

But with the gallery under new management, these same companies started to strut around like they owned the place. It seemed they felt slighted because Noella, a newcomer to the scene, hadn’t hosted a welcoming dinner or engaged in the right small talk. They were now showing Noella a cold shoulder, hoping to make her bend and learn the ropes of how to play the game of favors and networking in the business world.

Noella snorted in derision. “Good grief, their heads are so full of muck, always looking to play the role of the big shot, schooling the younger generation. At their age, still clinging to their positions–it’s clear there’s not much upstairs.”

Although Travis secretly agreed, he wouldn’t dare voice it!

Ms. Noella seemed all sugar and spice, but who would’ve thought she could be so sharp–tongued and feisty!

“I bet they’ll show up at the exhibition tomorrow to gawk, probably waiting for you to stumble.

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Chapter 128

and then go crawling back to them,” Travis ventured.

Noella let out a soft chuckle, replying coolly. “Stumble? Well, that’s perfect. I rather enjoy watching others make fools of themselves.”

Travis, watching her exude such strategic confidence, became curious himself.

Where on earth was Ms. Noella going to find enough artwork?

He really wanted to see those snobs put in their place!

“Ms. Noella, I’ve got some pieces back home that could help fill the space. Should I bring them over?”

“No need,” she replied smoothly. “I’ve got it covered.”