Chapter 46

Elan stopped but didn’t turn around. “If I don’t leave, am I supposed to just stand here and witness your humiliation? Maybe you don’t realize it, but I’m holding back right now because I will have reason. I knew I couldn’t afford to offend you. But my patience has limits. When I lose my composure, I might just overstep my bounds.”

Sebastian Leance was pampered and proud. She would never tolerate being slighted.

After a few seconds, he finally spoke again, his voice still low and indifferent. “I can allow Zeilen to continue working with you.”

Eleanor didn’t look pleased. After all, she knew it wouldn’t be that simple. “What’s the condition?”

“I solve your problem, and you solve mine,” Sebastian responded.

Ele thought about it and smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Happy to be of service to you, then, Mr. W—”

Sebastian snapped his fingers. Colaste entered, lives outside, and handed Eleanor a document with both hands. She took it and flipped it open. It was a detailed dossier on a company called Beaded Corporation.

“May to clear the debt.”

Bahati sat back down and took a sip of tea. “This company owes Ransom Finance a hundred million and can’t pay up, which makes our books look bad. Find a way to clear the—”

Eleanor considered for a moment. “When’s the deadline?”

“These days.”

She left the place with the dossier in hand.

After Eleanor was gone, Celeste adjusted the curtains in the private lounge. She walked over to Sebastian and hesitated before asking, “Mr. Whitman, isn’t three days a bit too short?”

“She could have negotiated if she thought it was too short. But since she didn’t, that means she should handle it,” Sebastian replied, leaning back in his chair.

Celeste wasn’t convinced that Eleanor could resolve the issue in just three days. After all, this was a long-standing problem that had been discussed in multiple internal meetings at Ransom Finance. No one had come up with the best solution yet.

Sebastian’s gaze landed on the card sitting on the table. “Did Kelsey leave this?”

Crieste sighed. “Yes. Ms. Lawson came by while you were out. She left this behind and said… well, you know.”

Sebastian flipped open the document again, completely uninterested. “Throw it away.”

“Ms. Lawson also invited you to dinner tonight,” Crieste said, trying to persuade him. “Mr. Whitman, that wouldn’t look good, especially since the madam is here as well!”

Of course, Celeste was referring to Cynthia Keer, his mother.

Annoyance flickered across Sebastian’s face, but in the end, he still asked, “Which restaurant?”

“The Willow.”

Eleanor returned to her hotel. She curled up on the couch and finished reading through the details of the hundred-million-dollar debt between Ransom Finance and Bradford Corporation. In short, five years ago, Ransom Finance had invested in Bradford Corporation for a project. However, due to policy changes and market shifts—paced with Bradford Corporation’s sluggish response and failure to recognize the risk in time—the project ultimately failed.

According to the contract, Bradford Corporation was liable for Ransom Finance’s losses; after countless meetings, bank negotiations, and multiple settlements, the final amount owed was 120 million.

Over the years, Bradford Corporation had been selling off assets, laying off employees, and cutting operational costs in an attempt to gradually repay the debt. But with no new investors and no ability to pivot for increased revenue, the company was now on the verge of bankruptcy.

Therefore, Ransom Finance would never recover the money it lost. Bradford Corporation had nothing of value left to repay the debt. The missing money would show up as bad debt on Ransom Finance’s financial statements, which would create a major headache.

After hearing that whole story, Elica could only sigh. “How does one even screw up this badly?”

Bradford Corporation had once been a well-known major company. No wonder it had faded from public view in recent years. It had made one wrong move and lost everything. Compared to that, the minor mistakes Eliza made at work seemed utterly insignificant.