Chapter 141
Beyond the Divorce
Substantiated News âThatâs fine! Letâs plan something once youâre back,â I said.
As I was about to end the call, she asked, âMs.Chloe, havenât you heard? ATL Empire is about to change.
ownership.â âWhat?â I asked, my heart racing.
âChange ownership?â Stella chuckled and said, âLetâs discuss it later when Iâm back.
It wonât be long now! Goodbye!â She hung up, leaving me puzzled.
30 What did she mean by that? Change of ownership? It was a serious matter.
A conglomerate the size of ATL Empire, and they were changing ownership so quickly? My knowledge of ATL Empire was clearly limited.
It suddenly made sense why Atlas had rushed off and told me to wait for his return before handling things.
Then, I realized the meaning behind Stellaâs question.
She must have thought the call was an attempt to pry information from her.
Just as I was about to call Ivanna, Lauren Burton called.
It was a name I had nearly forgotten.
I answered the call.
âHello, Ms.
Burton!â âDo you have a moment? I need to talk to you about something,â she said.
âAlright! Where should we meet?â âItâs lunchtime now.
Letâs grab a meal!â She thought for a moment.
âCome to Stallion Road.
Thereâs a place known for its beef stews! Iâll be waiting for you!â I headed straight to Stallion Road, where she had mentioned a restaurant with a unique name.
Sure enough, it was a small store with no parking spaces.
I had to park across the street and make my way through the traffic to enter.
Though the restaurant was small, it was remarkably tidy.
Lauren called out from a narrow staircase, Chloel saw her waving at me, so l quickly followed her upstairs.
second floor had a few private rooms, and Lauren had chosen one with a window! She had see +15 BONUS She gestured for me to sit down and said, âThis place makes the best stews.
I come here whenever I have the chancelâ I couldnât help but admire that she frequented such downâ
toâearth eateries.
She laughed when she saw my confused face.
âOnce you try it, you wonât look at me like that anymore.â After we sat down, she began, âI heard about the situation at your company.
What happened? Is there any hope left?â I looked at her.
âYou certainly have your sources.
âHa! As I told you, your companyâs name still reminds me of that scumbag.â She made a face that showed her disgust, which was endearing.
âEither rebrand or dismantle the company.
Donât tell me youâre still hung up on that scumbag!â âDonât worry, it affected me, too!â I teased her.
âBut now isnât the time for a rebrand.â She smiled.
âAlthough our relationship is unconventional, I always stand by my friends.
Of course, you donât have to be friends with me if you donât want to.â âYouâre overthinking it! Iâm not that petty.â I assured her.
I quite liked her straightforward nature.
âI wanted to tell you that Matthew secured a foothold with Echelon Group.
He even took out a seven- millionâdollar loan.
They are working with the Echelon Group to buy a plot of land in Operose.
Heâs now a shareholder,â she revealed.
She confirmed what Johnson had told me earlier.
âEchelon Group is in a hurry to expand their capital.
They want to secure that land because their only.
competitor, ATL Empire, is in turmoil.
It has considerable growth potential.
If Echelon Group succeeds, Matthew will be thrilled.â âSeven million? His audacity knows no bounds.
What if he fails? Isnât he afraid of going back to square one?â I scoffed.
âI know Matthewâs background the best.
He suffered significant losses under my management.
Where did he get all this confidence for such a risk?â âHe probably fell into Echelon Groupâs trap.
They have deep pockets and have worked with him before.
Matthew couldnât resist the temptation,â Lauren reasoned.
âWe canât let this punk off easy! Will you be fine with him succeeding?â I had to admit that Lauren was right.
I would never be at peace if Matthew gained too much power.
I asked, âSo, what do you suggest?â