Female Novel
Chapter 1646
"I'm in charge of Theclair Group from now on. If I promise that we won't make things difficult for youin the future, will you consider staying?" Suanne asked with a smile, looking at Liam with a verygentle expression.
After pondering for a moment, he shook his head. "No, Madam Suanne. Thank you for your offer,but I planned this long ago. It's not just about me, so that's why I need to leave."novelbin
Suanne nodded when she saw that Liam was determined to leave. "True, this isn't on you. Theyfailed to appreciate you."
He merely smiled without saying anything.
She said, "Okay. Since you've made up your mind, I won't force you to stay. I heard that it was theLowe family and Jones family that are helping you with the termination of your contract. Why don'tyou help me to make an appointment with Zachary Lowe and Heinz Jones? I'd like to discuss yourcontract with them over a meal."
Taken aback, he felt as if he was in a bind.
Suanne's request was reasonable, but he was unsure whether Zachary and Heinz had the time toentertain her. Furthermore, he did not want to trouble Zachary any more than he already had.
"Why? You look troubled." She smiled kindly. "Don't worry. It'll just be a chat. Since I just took overand most of the things were handled by Sinclair earlier, I'm not sure what they've discussedpreviously. That's why I want to speak to them. They should be willing to see me. Why not call andask?"
Sensing her discernment, he smiled. "Sure. When would you like to meet them?"
"No better time than the present. Let's have lunch together today. If not, later in the afternoon wouldwork as well," she replied.
"Okay." Liam picked up his phone and called Zachary. After explaining to Zachary that he was atTheclair Group meeting Suanne, he said, "Mr. Lowe, I'm in Suanne's office now. She wants to meetyou and Uncle Jones for lunch. Are you available today?"
Zachary immediately understood that Suanne was right beside Liam at that moment.
He said to Liam, "Pass the phone to Madam Suanne."
"Okay," Liam replied, then held out the phone to Suanne. "Mr. Lowe wants to talk to you."
She took the phone and said with a smile, "Mr.
Lowe, I've heard a lot about you. I'm Suanne."
"Madam Suanne, congratulations on taking over Theclair Group."
"Thank you, Mr. Lowe, but it's nothing to be proud of. Theclair Group isn't what it used to be, so myposition isn't enviable at all," Suanne answered candidly. Chuckling, she continued, "Let's get backto the matter at hand. I'd like to invite you and Mr. Jones to lunch. Would you be willing to make timefor me?"
"I don't know if Heinz has the time, but I do," Zachary replied.
"Why don't you invite Mr. Jones for me? I'd appreciate your help with that. We can talk about Liam'scontract while we eat," she said.
"Sure." Zachary readily agreed.
Suanne grinned at Liam after she hung up. "Letting you go is Theclair Group's loss, but it's also aturning point for us. I hope you succeed wherever you may go. You've always been goodlooking,and you've only elevated yourself by completing your studies. I hope you'll have better projects inthe future, regardless of whether it's with Theclair Group or other companies."
"Thank you, Madam Suanne. I hope that you'll lead Theclair Group to new heights," Liam repliedwith a smile.
She nodded. "Well, you can go if you wish. We'll be in touch if there's anything else."
Liam left the building shortly after.
He sat in the car and called Zachary to tell him what happened.
Zachary said, "We've been keeping an eye on Suanne recently. She's a driven woman, and shewields influence."
"Sorry for calling you when I was in her office," Liam apologized, feeling that he had been somewhatcompelled into making the call.
"It's okay. It's normal to be unable to handle such a strong-willed person at your age. That requiresexperience. Just wait for our news, okay?" Zachary answered calmly.
"Okay." Liam returned to his apartment and continued reading the book Maria gave him. The morehe read, the more he enjoyed it.
He tried to put himself in every character's shoes, closing his eyes and attempting to embody everyone of them.
Meanwhile, Zachary called Heinz about the lunch appointment. "Theclair Group's new president,Suanne, invited us to lunch. Are you free?"
"We're having lunch with a woman?" Heinz asked.
"Yes, a woman."
"I'm not going," Heinz replied, refusing immediately. "Is there really a need for lunch? Let's keepthings strictly business."
Zachary replied, "She's an old woman. She's several years older than us."
"She's still a woman. Zachary, has your heart wandered because of your wife's pregnancy? You'reactually going to have lunch with another woman?" Heinz teased.
Zachary felt exasperated at Heinz's words. "Can you shut up? We're going to talk about Liam'scontract."
"Ask Yvonne and Grace to go then. It would be awkward for us to have a meal with a woman on ourown," Heinz said.
Zachary replied, "Fine, take Grace. I'll ask Yvonne to come."
"Okay. I'll book a place. I'm not comfortable going somewhere that's been arranged by someoneelse."
"Sure." With that, Zachary hung up the phone and confirmed their lunch appointment with Suanne.After that, he went to pick Yvonne up.
When Yvonne heard that it was Heinz who suggested that the ladies join them, she could not helppraising his thoughtfulness. "Heinz is very thoughtful. Zachary, have you been too lonely recently?Are you trying to cheat on me?"
Zachary's raised his eyebrows sharply. "Do you think I'm that sort of person?"
"Look at Sinclair. Who would've thought that he had an affair with Cindy's manager? Furthermore,Cindy slept with so many men, including her own manager's husband. Who could ever haveexpected that?"
"So, you suspect that I'm the same?" Zachary was rather exasperated at the way his wifequestioned him the whole journey to the hotel.
"No, but you're a man, and a man is bound to have some wayward thoughts. I'm pregnant now, andI can't be with you all the time. It's very possible that you might be thinking of looking for anotherwoman," Yvonne's explained. Her pregnancy hormones had made her prone to overthinking.
"Stop that. I never thought of cheating on you," he insisted. "Now that you're pregnant, it's evenmore impossible that I would dream of doing something like that."
"That's more like it. I knew you could be trusted." Yvonne smiled.
"It's good that you know that." Zachary smiled and held Yvonne's hand. "After the baby is born, youcan make it up to me."
Yvonne chuckled. "Okay, deal."
They met Suanne at the hotel that Heinz had picked. She came alone, and she was dressedsmartly in a suit.
They exchanged greetings and entered a luxurious private room.
The conversation was lively during lunch. After their meal, Suanne finally brought up the topic ofLiam's contract.
"Mr. Lowe, Mr. Jones, I learned of this incident only recently. To be honest, I'm reluctant to part withsuch a talented artist," she said.
Zachary and Heinz exchanged glances before they looked at Suanne.
Zachary asked, "What's your plan, Madam Suanne?"
"I asked Liam about it today, and he's made up his mind. I wanted to persuade him, but he seemedfirm. Hence, I feel that it's best to respect his wishes. Furthermore, I'd like to build a good rapportwith both you gentlemen," Suanne replied in a calm tone.
Zachary was rather taken aback. "In that case, we have to thank you for being willing to part withLiam."
"Theclair Group failed to cherish him. We can only blame ourselves for that," Suanne answered witha sigh.
Heinz smiled and said, "What's the catch?"
Suanne returned Heinz's smile. "There's no catch, and there's no need to pay any termination feeeither. Let's just terminate the contract on peaceful terms."
All of them were stunned at Suanne's reply. Zachary asked, "Aren't you losing money that way?"
Suanne grinned. "Frankly, I don't feel like I've lost anything. Building a good rapport with all of you isessential for my business in Northern City. I believe that I'll end up profiting immensely from ourgood relationship in the long run."