Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Her Stubborn Refusal “No! Never!”

Corynn was adamant. She owed Jason far too much already. She needed to handle this crisis herself. She didn’t want to live her life relying on other people whenever she ran into trouble.

And if Harper Group was to thrive in the future, the company needed to strengthen its position in the industry so that it could weather such storms and remain standing in the face of oppression.

“But this is the most efficient option we have,” Erick argued. He never understood why Corynn couldn’t just accept Jason. He was a good man.

Corynn shook her head. “There must be another way, Dad.”

She wanted to pave the way for the Harper Group, and now was the perfect time to do it.

Right on cue, Erick received a call from Jason just as Corynn finished speaking.

His face lit up as he eagerly swiped to answer the call. “Jason!”

Before he could say anything else, however, Corynn grabbed the phone from his hand. “Hey, Jason. It’s me.”

“Corynn,” came the young man’s pleasant voice. “I just wanted to check in and remind you that... Well, I can help you with the issues your company is currently facing.”

“Thank you, Jason. I really appreciate it. But I can handle this on my own.”

Erick scowled in disapproval. How could she possibly solve it all by herself?

To Jason’s credit, he didn’t press her at all. “I understand. But if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“Thank you for understanding. I’ll keep that in mind.” Corynn hung up with a sigh, knowing that her father was disappointed with her.

“Why are you being so stubborn? Jason is just trying to help!”

“I’ll figure something out, okay?” Corynn handed him back his phone and left to go to her office.

Erick could only shake his head as he watched her go. The easiest solution had practically fallen on her lap, yet his tenacious daughter would rather make things harder for herself.

He heaved a long sigh, feeling both sorry and frustrated at Corynn.

Two days passed in relative chaos. Corynn must have made at least a hundred phone calls, but every single contact had refused to work with the Harper Group.

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16:39 Chapter 19 Her Stubborn Refusal Through that time, the Willis family doubled down on their attacks. They went so far as to lure away key staff members from the Harper Group’s technical department by offering them much higher salaries.

Soon, the threat of bankruptcy laid itself at the company’s door.

Corynn reassured her remaining employees for the thousandth time and retired to her office. She massaged her aching temples and leaned back in her chair. She had barely rested in the past couple of days.

She had just returned to the country and taken over the company. She couldn’t let the Harper Group fall on her watch.

In another part of the city, Elliot was reviewing the quarterly reports on his tablet as they drove over to the company. He was scrolling through the articles when a particular bit of news caught his eye.

Harper Group was suffering from raw materials shortage, and their employees were jumping ship by the dozens.

Elliot had been preoccupied with business discussions with Morris these last few days that he hadn’t paid that much attention to Corynn’s affairs.

“Kaden,” he said, his brows furrowing. “Find out what is happening over at the Harper Group.”

Kaden hesitated for a moment before saying, “It was all orchestrated by Miss Willis, sir.”

Elliot looked up sharply. “You knew all along, and you didn’t notify me?” he asked, his voice cold as ice.

Kaden shifted uncomfortably. “With all due respect, Mr. Andrews, you previously instructed me not to...”

11 He didn’t have to continue his sentence. Elliot remembered those instructions clearly. On the same day he had broken up with Corynn, he told Kaden to never mention her again, let alone report her business to him.

The tension inside the car grew so thick, Kaden could almost cut it with a knife.

In retrospect, he should have just taken the blame and cited his incompetence instead of bringing up the past.

“Right,” Elliot muttered.

The car ground to a halt in front of the company building. Elliot went straight to his office, and took out his phone. He stared at Corynn’s contact number, his lips pressed into a thin line.

He had been unaware of her situation. If he knew, he would have put a stop to Amanda’s schemes before things got this worse.

After a moment’s deliberation, Elliot braced himself and called Corynn.

The first call did not connect, so he tried again. And again. It took him several attempts before he finally realized that she had blocked his number.

He wasn’t about to give up, though. Scoffing to himself, Elliot simply used a different number and called her again.

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OQ