Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“Forty million? Isn’t that a little too much?” Callum’s lips were tightly closed, the corners of his mouth pulled down slightly, and his Adam’s apple bobbled, trying to restrain the gushing blood. He practically rebuked Elspeth as a bandit with what he said, which was already quite a euphemism.
“Love costs money, Mr. Winthrop. How is that too much? Miss McGrath will be happier if you spend more money on her. That… is deep love. Or-Does she mean nothing to you? Why are you so hesitant to spend a few million on her?” she asked, smiling.
“That’s not true,” he replied as his gaze dimmed.
“I feel awful for him, and I don’t want him to overspend,” Jasmine interjected hurriedly. Even though she was only saying it, she knew her words would impact Callum and make him like her even more. “Miss Lynwood, I believe thirty million is more than sufficient. Forty is far too much.” She shot Elspeth a harsh look in an attempt to defend her fianc?.
In response, Elspeth smirked as she caressed the pen in her hand. “Have you heard of this, Miss McGrath? The willingness of a man to spend money on you determines whether he loves you. The
Winthrops have a net worth of hundreds of billions. If he’s unwilling to spend forty million on you, then as his fianc?, you’re nothing special.”
Jasmine paused, holding back all the words she wanted to rebut, despite Elspeth’s solid point. Indeed, the Winthrops were more capable than she had anticipated. How can Callum show his affection for me if he’s unwilling to spend even this modest sum of money on me? He had spent an astronomical amount on Elspeth, though.
She clenched her teeth, turned her head, and asked sheepishly of Callum, “What do you think we should do?”
Giving him the authority to make decisions was also an opportunity to see if he shared her compassion. He caught on to the situation, so he stopped objecting and replied quietly, “Of course, I can afford forty million.”
“As expected of you, Callum. You’re very generous.” Arthur clasped his hands and laughed heartily.
Elspeth almost burst out laughing when she noticed Arthur echoing her. “I won’t waste any time since you’re so forthright, Mr. Winthrop. Please sign the agreement, gentlemen,” she said, pointing to the contracts on the table.
Callum did not wish to say anything else to her, so he hastily placed his signature and handed her the document. However, Arthur was ready to sign the document when he came to a halt. “Wait a minute. Why did you only seek Callum’s opinion on the contract? What about me?” His smile faded.
Elspeth’s goal this time was to alienate Callum and Jasmine. Of course, she was not thinking about Arthur! Since he mentioned he had helped her, she decided not to make things difficult for him this time. “Well, what are your thoughts?”
He picked up his pen, pointed to a condition in the contract, and asked, “Why can’t I observe the actors while they’re filming?”
Her expression abruptly changed. The purpose of establishing the condition is to avoid conflicts during filming and to reduce my chances of bumping into you guys! I did it so discretely that I’m surprised he noticed it.
“Care to give me a plausible explanation?” Arthur’s flat tone was tinged with irritation.
“The reason for doing so is to avoid any interference to the actors. If you think about it, frequent visits to the set may distract them, disrupt their workflow and, as a result, cause the shooting to be delayed.” She straightened her back and responded, neither meek nor domineering.
I’m just saying. To be honest, I’m doing this to keep Jasmine from taking advantage of others and flaunting her power. As for Aldea… I’ve never interacted with her, so I’ll just let her be for the time being.
Arthur found Elspeth’s explanation sensible, which made him frown since he could not argue with her. I wanted to become closer to her. If I can’t visit the set, I’ll be wasting my eleven million. Argh!
“Are you stopping me from visiting the movie set even though I spent eleven million?”
“Mr. Winthrop has spent forty million and hasn’t complained. Why are you being fussy?” She sneered.
“I disagree, too,” Callum piped up, his eyes flickering.
Elspeth was taken aback by his unexpected dissent. Oh, great. Things are going downhill, all thanks to the sharp-eyed Arthur. Fifty-one million is a large amount of money.
She was unwilling to breach the contract, so she could only plead humbly, “The shooting would be divided into three sessions, each lasting around half a day. So, how about visiting the set for an hour every time?”
“One hour is insufficient!” Jasmine grumbled, openly dissatisfied with her suggestion. Callum had gone out of his way to see her for the first time, so she did not want to blow this chance!
“Miss McGrath, please remember that you are the ambassador because you signed the contract. You’re not here for a lovely date with Callum but to shoot the ad.”
Jasmine fell silent and looked Elspeth in the eyes. After consenting to her requirement, Arthur and Callum signed the contract.
Thereafter, Elspeth left her card on the table, adding, “Here’s my bank account number. Go ahead and transfer the money to me.” Then, she gently turned and walked away.
She felt invigorated after leaving the cafe and was suddenly reminded of Yelena, prompting her to make a phone call. The phone rang twice before connecting, and she was astonished to hear a feeble greeting voice. “Yellie, what’s up with your voice? Why do you sound so drained?”
I’m just saying. To be honest, I’m doing this to keep Jasmine from taking advantage of others and flaunting her power. As for Aldea… I’ve never interacted with her, so I’ll just let her be for the time being.
“It’s nothing. I’ve been too busy these days and a little fatigued,” Yelena answered, rubbing her throbbing temple.
“How can you be exhausted when your company has no events planned for you recently?”
Yelena’s voice cracked. ” Elspeth… Things have gone wrong.”
Elspeth’s forehead furrowed into an agonized frown upon hearing her snivel. “What’s going on?”
“The company is facing some issues, and we may go bankrupt. My father and brother are both extremely busy at the moment. I’m worried because I don’t know what I can do to help.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” Elspeth stroked her brow.
“I didn’t want to trouble you. You’re already in a difficult situation, so I was hesitant to tell you…”
Truly, Yelena cared for her friend, who was already helpless. If something troubled Elspeth once more, others would scheme something to get her. Therefore, Yelena was reluctant to burden her with her family problems for that very reason.
“Are we even friends? What did you promise me?” How can you be the first to help me in need, but I’m the clueless friend who doesn’t even know your distress?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to trouble you.”
“Send me your address. I’ll be there soon.” Elspeth hopped into her car and activated her GPS.
Yelena’s sniffling voice softened abruptly at that point, saying, “It’s alright. I genuinely don’t want to bother you.”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Give me your address. Now!”
As a result, Yelena had no choice but to obey. Twenty minutes later, Elspeth was on time at her door because it was close by. She had been waiting for Elspeth since the wee hours of the morning, and her eyes were swollen like walnuts.
Elspeth was getting out of her car when Yelena hurried over and gave her a bear embrace as she burst into tears. “I’m so sad, Elspeth!”
“Don’t worry. Breathe in and take it slow. Now, tell me, what’s wrong?” Elspeth patted her friend on the back and calmly reassured her.
“This has to do with the Alphascape Group.” Yelena gritted her teeth.
Elspeth was instantly alert when Alphascape was brought up. She could not stop silently cursing when she was reminded of how she had been targeted. The Little Family seems to have caused havoc this time. They only targeted the marginally weaker Sullivan Family since they can’t benefit from mine.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“The Littles insisted on paying a premium to take over a project we were working on with a foreign company. We, of course, disagreed! As a result, they bribed a project manager and claimed that our batch of goods is defective. So, the corporation wants to terminate our contract and sue us. We’re gonna have to compensate a lot of money…” Yelena began to cry.
“How much?” Elspeth inquired concernedly. It’s not a problem if money can solve it.
“Four-hundred million.” Yelena sobbed.
That’s an astronomical amount of money!
“Calm down. What’s the name of the foreign company?”
“It’s StoneY Group,” Yelena said after regaining her composure.
StoneY Group is a well-known firm, ranking among the top ten largest in the country.
Elspeth took a brief pause before asking, “You mentioned they’re going to sue your company. Have you consulted with a lawyer?”
“My dad and his employees are looking for one, but he often comes home with deep sighs. I suppose the search is futile,” Yelena explained, shaking her head helplessly.
“I have a good suggestion.” Elspeth immediately thought of someone.
“What is it?” asked Yelena.
“Why don’t you get Hank?”
Yelena recoiled in disgust upon hearing his name. “No way! Why should I?”
At that point, Elspeth widened her eyes with curiosity, gasping. “What’s with the fright?”
“He’s been trying to ask me out ever since he gave me a ride home. I didn’t want to meet him because I don’t know him well. Anyway, he claimed to have a video of a drunken me calling him ‘honey’, so I’ve been avoiding him lately,” Yelena explained, softening her tone.
Drunk? Hank? Honey?
Elspeth brought her hand onto her face in dismay. Yup. That’s something drunk Yelena will do.