Chapter 247

Marshall had a softened expression.

“Keegan’s outstanding. Not only is he outstanding in the eyes of the elders, but he’s also outstanding in the eyes of his peers. During exams at school, none of us could be as good as him, no matter how hard we tried. Even at sports, he was also always better than us. He’s good -tempered, patient, skilled at his profession, and treasures talent. You can see how much everyone trusts him from how his schoolmates came to help him when he started the company right after he graduated,” he said in a gentle tone.

‘Keegan’s good-tempered? Keegan’s patient? Do we both know the same Keegan?’ wondered Stella.

“You must have some kind of misunderstanding toward Keegan. So you’re saying he’s good tempered?”

Stella could not help but say, “Up till this age, I’ve never seen a person with a worse personality than his. He puts on a long face every time he’s unhappy. He’ll pick on your mistakes whenever you ask why he’s unhappy. If you act like you don’t see his expression and do not ask him about it, he’ll stare at you the entire day and make you feel uncomfortable,” she said as she mimicked his expression. She continued, “This is the expression. Doesn’t he look like Squash from Plants vs. Zombies?”

Marshall could not help but smile.

While Stella was mimicking Keegan, she suddenly noticed Keegan standing by the door with a stoic expression. She shuddered and almost showed panic on her face.

Stella coughed and said guiltily, “Honey, your meeting ended already?”

Keegan threw her an icy side-eye, “If I didn’t return earlier, how would I get to watch your superb imitation show?”

Stella was at a loss for words.

She pouted. Since Marshall was present, she kept quiet.

Marshall laughed, “Stella was worried that I’d feel bored, so she purposefully chatted with me for a while. It was just banter.”

Keegan obviously knew it was banter, and he would not get angry over a single criticism from Stella.

‘It’s not like it’s my first day knowing this woman. I just feel uncomfortable seeing Marshall helping Stella explain the situation,’ he thought.

Keegan walked over and stood between Stella and Marshall. Then, he sat down next to Stella with a natural expression.

“Aren’t we meeting in the afternoon? Why’d you come over this early?”

Marshall replied warmly, “Madam Chase is going on a picnic with some of her classmates this afternoon, so she asked me to be her driver. I was worried that I wouldn’t make it this afternoon; I dropped by because I needed to help her pick up some things.”

Stella was puzzled, “Madam Chase?”

Marshall smiled, “My mother’s last name is Chase.”

Stella nodded.

‘Marshall must share a good relationship with his mother. Otherwise, he wouldn’t make such a joke,’

she thought.

After the two briefly exchanged pleasantries, they got down to business.

‘Keegan asked Marshall to look over at some contracts, presumably because they involved clauses that need to be interpreted by a professional attorney. The legal counsel team at the Vinci Rivera Group is impressive. I wonder if Keegan looked for his own friend because he doesn’t trust them. I rarely ask Keegan about company-related matters, but over the years, I more or less know about them.

In the Vinci Rivera Group’s earlier days, they did foreign trade business. During Keegan’s grandmother’s days, the production levels were lower domestically, so many products had to be imported.

At the time, the new policy was introduced. Coupled with the husband and wife’s diligence and boldness, they accumulated a lot of wealth within a few years through the import and export business.

However, as the nation developed its economy, transportation, and ease of communication, many foreign trade channels from the earlier years could not adapt. As a result, the company’s efficiency plummeted. And so, they started to seek transformation.

At the end of the 80s, radios, television, and other electrical appliances had just emerged. So not many local companies manufactured them. Since the price of the imports was not lowered, people could only afford a few brands. Keegan’s grandfather had an idea and acquired an electrical company. He spent lots of money to hire professionals that specifically did independent research on developing and producing electrical appliances. The electrical appliances under the Vinci Rivera Group soon took over the market.

By the time Keegan’s father, Quentin Kane, took over the company, it happened to be the beginning of a century. Quentin was much more far-sighted. He felt that it was bound to enter a fully intelligent machine era at some point in product development. And so, he entered the automation major during his schooling days. A few years after his graduation, he got Keegan’s grandmother’s support and transformed the company. That was how the Vinci Rivera Group today became the nation’s industry leader in chips.

Meanwhile, Keegan carried over Quentin’s ideas and continued his journey. Keegan’s capable in this area. But merely being capable isn’t enough in this company, especially when it’s a company as complex as the Vinci Rivera Group. Keegan’s grandfather and Quentin are similar in some ways. For example, they didn’t forget their past relatives even after making their fortunes.

While Keegan’s grandmother’s lineage is the main people controlling the Vinci Rivera Group, there are still many collateral branches of the Kane family within the company. Keegan is not good at socializing and hates perfunctory conversations. He is different from those who stay in their offices all year round and only do business planning; he comes from a technical background and values research and development. As more money invested into research and development, more money came out of the collateral family’s pocket. So Keegan wasn’t that likable in the eyes of these shareholders.

But Chandler’s different. He’s more like a businessman; the company and shareholders come first. This led to Keegan not being as popular as Chandler despite him creating excessive profits for the company over the years. Those people don’t trust Keegan, and neither does Keegan trust them. Otherwise, why’d he ask his own friend to look at the contract?’ thought Stella.

Stella was not interested in their conversation, so she sat in Keegan’s office chair and scribbled around with a pen.

When Keegan was speaking, he glanced at her and saw her head down with a smile. He suddenly felt curious as to what she was drawing.

Stella was immersed in her drawing that she did not even notice when Keegan walked over. When Keegan lowered his gaze to look at the paper under her hand, he turned blue.