Chapter 276: Have A Problem
The following day at school, Josiah, for the first time, was holding his notebook and asking Jillian about their coursework.
“Jillian, is this how you solve this problem?”
Both Madelyn and Jillian widened their eyes in disbelief, staring at Josiah. Could this guy have lost his mind?
“Why are you all staring at me like that? And you, Jillian, I’m talking to you. Is this answer correct or not?” Josiah said impatiently.
Left with no choice, Jillian took his notebook and forced herself to read through his handwriting, which was as illegible as cryptic symbols. Finally, she nodded, saying, “It is.”
Josiah left contentedly with his notebook in hand. Truth be told, his actions were more of a spontaneous whim. For reasons he couldn’t quite pinpoint, whenever he saw Madelyn studying earnestly, he found himself wanting to improve alongside her. It was indeed quite peculiar.
Madelyn stood frozen in disbelief, shaking her head. She questioned if she was dreaming. Just then, a phone call came through.
Once the call connected, a sweet feminine voice spoke, “Ms. Thornton, this is Cheryl Sherritt. The proposal we discussed last time is ready at our company. We hope you can find some time to endorse us in front of Mr. Lockhart.”
After some thought, Madelyn hesitated for a moment before saying, “Why wait? Let’s do it this afternoon.”
“All right! We will wait for you at the bottom of Lockhart Group’s building.” After saying this, Cheryl ended the call, revealing a smile that was both sweet and venomous. “Finally, Janessa, do you actually think you can rise above me and Mom? Dream on!”
In the afternoon, at Lockhart Group, after school, Madelyn hurried over. By the time she arrived at the base of the company building, Cheryl and her father had just stepped out of a black car to meet up with her.
“Ms. Thornton, we’re counting on you for this project proposal! If it’s successful, our Sherritt family will be forever grateful,” Rupert Sherritt pleaded as soon as he saw Madelyn, his face filled with a desperate plea for help.
Madelyn, however, didn’t seem too bothered. “No need to thank me just yet. I can only put in a good word. Whether or not your proposal gets approved is entirely up to you. After all, Lockhart Group has quite high standards when it comes to project proposals.”
“Absolutely, Ms. Thornton! You’re right. We are already very thankful for your offer to introduce us.” Naturally, Rupert wouldn’t be so insatiable. After all, Sebastian was such an imposing figure that people feared even to look at him. They rarely had the chance to see him in their daily lives, let alone have the audacity— Madelyn had managed to do this much, for which they were already deeply grateful.
Following that, Madelyn then led them upstairs.
Before long, the group arrived at Sebastian’s office. Madelyn politely knocked on the door, to which Sebastian’s indifferent voice responded from within, “Come in.”
The three of them then entered together.
“Sebastian, Mr. Sherritt and Ms. Sherritt have come over with their proposal. We talked about this before,” Madelyn stated plainly as soon as she walked in the door.
At that moment, Sebastian was impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, sitting in front of a computer. He emanated an air of sophistication and grandeur, his handsome features slightly aloof. His entire demeanor exuded an innate sense of dominance and strength.
Upon seeing him, the father and daughter of the Sherritt family were immediately somewhat shaky.
Sebastian cast an indifferent glance at the father-daughter duo, his voice cold as he commanded, “Hand it over.”
Upon hearing this, Rupert shuddered on the spot. Immediately, he hurried forward, and with trembling hands, handed over the proposal that the company had meticulously prepared for this project. “Mr. Lockhart, please take a look.”
With a stoic expression, Sebastian accepted the proposal, then began to flip through it. As they listened to the sound of him flipping through the papers, a wave of tension unknowingly swept over Rupert and Cheryl. Although the proposal was crafted by the best planners in their company, and they all believed it to be foolproof, once it reached Sebastian, they were all unexpectedly filled with uncertainty.
After all, being the business mogul of the world of finance, Lockhart Group was notoriously meticulous and cautious when it came to business proposals. Even the slightest dissatisfaction could lead to a proposal’s elimination. It was uncertain whether their standard would be able to catch Sebastian’s eye.
Just as expected, after Sebastian finished reading the project proposal, he was indeed very dissatisfied.
He tossed the proposal back immediately. “The flaws in this proposal are glaringly obvious. While the place of origin indeed holds potential for development, the amount of investment and the return are hardly proportional. Can’t you see that, Mr. Sherritt?”
Upon hearing this, Rupert was immediately thrown into a panic. He quickly picked up the proposal and, upon review, he indeed found the unreasonable aspect!
Almost instantly, Rupert bent over, apologizing repeatedly, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Lockhart, this was entirely my oversight! I truly apologize from the bottom of my heart!” As he spoke, Rupert wished he could slap himself hard. How could he have been so blind to not see the issue at hand?
The light in Cheryl’s eyes dimmed as well. It’s over. The opportunity I fought so hard for has just been wasted…
Madelyn could only helplessly shrug her shoulders. Since it was an issue with the project proposal, they couldn’t blame anyone else but themselves for it.
“However, this project is not without its merits,” Sebastian suddenly added.
The three of them immediately widened their eyes.
Sebastian’s expression remained unchanged as he continued. “This proposal needs to be revised. Once you’ve made the necessary changes, review it thoroughly before presenting it to me again.”
Upon hearing this, Rupert and Cheryl were simply overjoyed!
The underlying message of these words was that Sebastian was willing to give the Sherritt family a second chance.
Oh my goodness!
Cheryl was brimming with excitement as she swiftly stepped forward to collect the proposal. She then gave a respectful bow and said, “Mr. Lockhart, please rest assured. We will certainly revise the proposal thoroughly once we return. When we come back next time, we will not let you down!”
“Hopefully,” Sebastian responded coldly.
Madelyn actually felt a bit relieved. It seemed that Sebastian wasn’t as unapproachable as he appeared to be.
Following that, Malcolm escorted the father and daughter duo out.
Meanwhile, Madelyn was consumed by curiosity and approached Sebastian, asking, “Sebastian, why did you give them a second chance? I mean, I don’t think collaborating with the Sherritt family is entirely detrimental. However, if their business standards don’t meet the requirements, you have every right to reject them.”
“The proposal from the Sherritt Group indeed had many shortcomings,” Sebastian analyzed rationally, “but it wasn’t as bad as you think. If properly revised, it should still be serviceable.”
“Good, that’s a relief,” Madelyn finally relaxed.
That night, in the Sherritt residence, Janessa had recently been pondering over how to approach Sebastian once more to present her project to him, but she hadn’t found the right opportunity yet.
Thus, at that moment, she was lying in bed, deep in thought.
Just then, a tall, dark figure suddenly slipped in through the window. Upon entering, the person immediately lowered his head and said in a grave tone, “Ms. Sherritt, we have a problem.”