Chapter 595 Good News From Zane
“Auction?” Sonia’s eyes shone with interest as she repeated the word. “Lindorff Co. is the one in the machinery industry, yes?”
“That’s right. It’s similar to what you’re doing at Paradigm Co. If you can win your bid on Lindorff Co. during the auction and merge it with your company, Paradigm Co. will be a new force to reckon with in the industry.” Zane then smiled and asked, “How’s the news? Good enough for you?”
“It’s great news, and I’m tempted by the offer. But in case you forgot, let me remind you that I’m broke,” Sonia said with a frown.
“Isn’t that but a small matter to worry about?” Zane sloppily asked as his legs swung. “There’s a rumor that the government allows companies to use company shares as credit for the auction. I suggest you use some of your shares to get funds in return. Not only will you have the government as one of Paradigm Co.’s shareholders, you will also have their backing in the future. That way, you won’t have to constantly worry about being on the receiving end of some hanky-panky business.”
Surprised by the favorable conditions of the auction, Sonia sat up straighter than ever. “That’s too good to be true!”
Zane nodded in agreement at that. “It indeed is. It’s not something that we can come across often. It’s first-hand news to me, but once words get out and far, for sure will be a number of private businesses that will want to join in on the bid. I mean, who wouldn’t want to catch this big fish that’s blatantly swimming in front of their eyes? Which is why, Sonia, you have to grab onto this opportunity. Lindorff Co. could easily be taken away by other private businesses if you don’t look out and act fast,” he said.
Upon hearing this, she could only bite her lower lip in resignation. “I know what you mean, but unfortunately, I can’t buy Lindorff Co. There are too many companies that are better than Paradigm Co. out there. Paradigm can’t possibly win against the hundreds of thousands of competitors we have.”
“You don’t have to worry about this. Companies that wish to take part in this auction first have to send in their application, and if the officials were to find out anything problematic with these companies that registered upon inspection, they would be disqualified immediately. I’m predicting a disqualification of at least 80 percent of all the companies in just the first round,” he explained.
It was not a well-kept secret that every business had, in some ways, done something against common business practices at some point in their existence.
The authority wasn’t looking for a company that was completely free of underhanded dealings; they wanted someone that had not done anything that had crossed the line of being justifiable.
The small glimmer of hope Sonia had earlier went away in a poof as she understood Zane’s words. As she massaged the tip of her eyebrows, she gloomily said, “Paradigm Co. will definitely be eliminated as well then. Asher had done a good deal of suspicious ventures under the company’s name before. Tax evasion was anything but taboo when he was in charge of Paradigm Co.”
Indeed, if it wasn’t for her quick move at getting a loan from the bank to pay off the remaining unpaid taxes, Titus would probably have reported her to the authorities.
By then, Paradigm Co. would have been destroyed before she even had the chance to manage it.
Getting rid of all the bad eggs within the company was one of the things she was thankful she did every time she recalled the time she had gotten her new position in Paradigm Co.
“As you said, all that happened was when Asher was in charge. You’re the boss now. Paradigm Co. has been free from corruption these past few months, correct? In my honest opinion, I think Paradigm Co. stands a pretty good chance against other companies. The first thing these investigators inspect is not the business itself, but the background of the person in charge. As long as the head of the company is not problematic, the rest of the body should be safe too,” he leisurely said as he swung his legs and crossed them on his desk.
His reassurance made her slightly regain her confidence. “Really? You think so?”
“I know so. Why would I lie to you? Anyway, just fill in your application to join the auction. I’ll send it in for you, and I’ll let you know the result as soon as I can.” His head was busy bobbing up and down as he told her that.
A smile then unconsciously appeared on Sonia’s lips. “Alright. I’m sorry for the trouble. I will definitely repay you if things work out the way we want.”
As Zane listened to her, an assistant of his came into the office. He knowingly brought his legs down from the desk and said to her, “I’ll wait for the day then. I have a meeting now. We’ll talk again some other time. I’m hanging up.”
She let out a low hum in agreement before bidding her farewell. “Bye, Zane.”
Her excitement didn’t go away even after the call had ended. She tightly held onto her phone with a face full of exhilarated smiles.
Sonia had thought that Paradigm Co. would have to go through a long waiting period before it could stand amongst the other giants again. Who would have known that an opportunity like this would present itself in the most appetizing way right in front of her eyes?
She just knew it in her guts that this was an opportunity she couldn’t miss, and with that thought in mind, her beautiful almond eyes narrowed in determination.
At that moment, a knock came from the direction of her bedroom door before Toby’s deep, melodious voice rang out. “Sonia, are you awake?”
Sonia took a deep breath to calm her still-tingling nerves, and only when she was composed did she look toward the source of the voice. “I’m up.”
“Come out for breakfast then. The food’s ready.” Toby had slowly removed his hand from her door as he said that.
Her soft voice then answered from the other side of the door. “Got it. I’ll be out soon. You can go ahead without me.”
He didn’t say anything more, and she did not bother continuing the brief conversation. After that, she got out of bed and went to freshen up in the bathroom.
She wasn’t worried about not having anything to change into as one of the servants had passed her a fresh set of laundry just last night.
In just a short time, she had washed herself, changed into clean clothes, and had her makeup done. Thereafter, she finally headed toward her bedroom door.
After opening the door, she walked straight ahead without sparing a single glance at Toby, who had been waiting for her all this time. “Sonia,” he called with his eyebrows raised ever-so-slightly.
Hearing a male voice unexpectedly saying her name got her stopping dead in her tracks as she whipped her body around to see who it was. Only then did she see Toby leaning against the wall right beside the bedroom door. She couldn’t help but ask him strangely, “What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to go ahead without me?”
“I was waiting for you,” he said as he took long strides toward her. “But you were walking straight ahead without even looking at me.”
Embarrassed, Sonia tousled a lock of her hair and apologized. “Sorry. I thought you left. I didn’t look because I didn’t know that you’ve been waiting for me.”
“I’m not blaming you or anything. Let’s go to the dining hall,” he said after he was done teasing her. He then took his hand out of his pocket and held her hand in his.
She instinctively wanted to pull away, but his grip on her was strong enough to restrict her from doing so. With a serious look on his face, he said, “Sonia, even though we’re not back together, we, technically, are a couple. So please, don’t reject my advances.”
Her eyes dropped as she listened to his sincere pleas, and she said, “Sorry. I understand. I’ll try to get used to it soon.”
“That’s good then. Let’s go.” And that was all he said before he smilingly walked with her along the corridor.
Breakfast was already served when they reached the dining hall.
Toby pulled a chair for Sonia to sit in, and to his pleasure, she did not reject his gesture this time. Seeing how the seat for the head of the household was still empty, she asked, “Where’s Grandma?”
He proceeded to take the seat beside her while he poured her a glass of milk. “Grandma doesn’t eat here. She takes her breakfast in her room,” he replied.
“I see.” She nodded understandingly and stopped asking questions.
“Go ahead and eat,” he urged while pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Sonia only hummed in response before picking up the cutlery and started cutting her food into bite-size pieces. After her first bite, she looked at Toby, who was enjoying his cup of hot coffee. Her mouth then opened and closed as though she had something to say regarding what she was seeing.
He put down his cup and caringly asked, “What is it?”
“Um…” She hesitated for a while before saying, “It’s better to not drink coffee too early in the morning. It’s especially bad for your stomach to drink your coffee black. Also…”
Her face suddenly turned red by the end of her sentence. She then chose to keep the remaining words to herself.
“What else?” he asked as his sharp eyes narrowed curiously.
Her face only got redder as time went. “It’s nothing. Check online if you want to know. I’m going to eat now.” He could barely hear her with her head lowered and her voice as soft as a whisper.
She then started to robotically cut into the omelet on her plate. Toby, who had his curiosity piqued as he looked at her, eventually took his phone out.
He wanted to know exactly what it was she was hiding from him. Seeing him holding his phone only made her head drop lower. The flush on her cheeks had spread all the way to her ears by then. While Sonia was busy turning herself into a tomato, Toby had already found the information she was hiding from him.
Just like Sonia said, coffee in the morning was supposedly bad for the stomach.
It was a fact that he had known for a very long time. In fact, coffee taken black was harmful to the stomach no matter the time it was consumed. However, it was something he never minded due to his coffee-drinking habits.
Toby’s thumb continued swiping upward as his eyes moved down. When his eyes landed on one of the health disadvantages of drinking coffee, his pupils suddenly dilated as his eyes became dim.
Ah, right. So this is what you mean by the cons of drinking black coffee…
