“Are you serious?” Rachel was surprised. “Last time, I remember you saying that we need to stick together when it comes to issues with your relationship. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be friends with me anymore.”
When she met Jolly overseas, the latter had talked to her about this seriously. No matter what kind of choices they faced in the future, they had to stick together if it was related to their friendship. Otherwise, Jolly would fall out with her for sure. But now, Jolly was asking her to attend the dinner that Ryan had pulled some strings for when she was on bad terms with him.
“I’m not who I used to be anymore.” Jolly put on a proud look. “When I was just idling through life back then, I thought that how could all these men have a better life than me? How could he get over the relationship so quickly and start all over again? I hated him so much at that time that I wanted to kill him and feed his corpse to dogs.”
“But after that, I got over it myself too. Do you know that I rarely think about him anymore? I’m not saying that I’ve moved on completely since I was really devastated for those few years, but I just feel that I’m having a good life now, so I don’t have to waste my time hating him. He’s nothing anyway!”
As she said that, she heaved a sigh of relief as though she had lifted the weight off her shoulders. “Simply put, you shouldn’t give up on this opportunity because of me. This is business, after all. More importantly, do you think that people like Ryan will give up on their own interests to help others? Wake up! He’s not a God who’ll benefit everybody, he’s just a human who never does things without purpose.”
After thinking for quite some time, Rachel nodded. She felt that what Jolly said was reasonable. If Ryan was doing this just for Jolly, he didn’t have to embarrass himself over and over again. It was just because he was too greedy and wanted everything. Jolly knew him too well, so that was why she was tired of him.
This would not be a simple dinner, and the collaboration with President Sanchez would not be easy either. Rachel pulled herself together. “In that case, I’ll go to the dinner tonight.”
“I’ll take you there and wait for you outside.” Jolly acted on what she said. She didn’t mind, but she was just worried about her safety.
At 7.00PM in the suite of the Nertonham Palace Hotel, Rachel had just gotten off the elevator. When she was about to send a text to Ryan, she saw him standing at the entrance of the suite. “Here.”
“Thank you, President Sutton. You didn’t have to come out to take me in.” “I should. After all, I’m the one who pulled the strings and whatnot. You’re also the only lady here tonight, President Hudson. Naturally, I should look after you.”
When she heard that, Rachel gave him a glimpse and said indifferently, “From what I remember, you didn’t treat me like this previously, President Sutton.”
When she was investigating the case earlier, Ryan was always mean mugging her since he felt that she was taking risks with Jolly.
“I’ll have three glasses of wine later as a penalty to apologize for those unhappy episodes previously.” “It’s fine. If you can make this deal a success, I should be toasting you instead.”
When the waiter opened the suite’s door, Ryan gestured for her to enter first and introduced her to everyone in the suite. “Let me make the introductions. This is Hudson Pharmaceuticals” President Hudson.”
There was a big round table in the suite, and everyone inside was a member of the Chamber of Commerce. They treated Rachel with courtesy when they saw her. “Seeing for myself is better than hearing from others. Indeed, she’s a beautiful lady.”
“Not only is she beautiful, but she must also be extremely talented as well to carry the whole Hudson Pharmaceuticals on her shoulders. She’s even better than most of the men out there.”
After making small talk, Rachel finally sat down when Ryan gave her the signal. “This is President Sanchez of Star Medical.” The man seated on his right was around forty years old and was a little chubby, giving people the impression that he was simple and honest. After he shook hands with Rachel, he let go of her hand right after. “Owen Sanchez.”
“Rachel Hudson,” Rachel introduced herself politely too. Ryan then said, “Owen, didn’t you ask me to find a suitable pharmaceutical factory in Riverdale to collaborate with you? The person in front of you is the most suitable one.”
“Is that so?” Owen asked in surprise. “Is Hudson Pharmaceuticals doing spare parts for medical devices now?”
Rachel nodded calmly. “Of course. Right now, the competition in the medical industry is so fierce that expanding into new markets is the only way to survive. Hudson Pharmaceuticals has put a lot of effort into hiring professionals in R&D to refine our medical devices.”
When Owen heard that, he showed interest immediately and started asking her questions. As Rachel had previously discovered, President Sanchez of Star Medical was a careful person. He had a high benchmark for product quality. If Rachel wasn’t as omniscient as she was, she wouldn’t be able to answer his questions for sure.
“If you’re interested, you can come and visit our factory some other day. You’re welcome at any time.” “Sure, I’ll definitely be there.”
As they were talking, there was someone outside of the suite. “President Peters, you’re finally here.” Although she didn’t know who had said that, Rachel felt her heart skipping a beat before she lifted her head. It was Julian indeed.
“I’m sorry to keep everyone waiting. The road was a little congested. I’ll drink a cup of wine later as penalty for being late.” Julian saw Rachel as well, but he wasn’t surprised. “You can sit here, President Peters.”
“No, this seat is more suitable for him.” Ryan’s voice came from her side. When she heard that, Rachel clenched her fists and knitted her brows slightly. Meanwhile, Ryan stood up and gave his seat to Julian.
“Long time no see,” Julian greeted Rachel softly as soon as he sat down. However, she remained silent with her brows furrowed. She had no idea how to face a former friend in such a situation.
When he noticed that, Julian said, “We’re going to meet each other during occasions like this in the future. If you keep hiding from me, how can you help Hudson Pharmaceuticals?”
After saying that, he waved his hand and asked the waiter to change the wine glass in front of her into juice. Everyone in the room had different looks on their faces upon witnessing that, and they stared at each other awkwardly.
For the sake of their friendship in the past, Rachel didn’t want to embarrass him publicly either. Hence, she forced a smile and stepped back quietly, watching them toast each other while they drank glass after glass at the table.
“President Peters, I heard that the final list of the candidates for the election has been released. Justin is on the list as well.”
Rachel was unsure of who said that, but she felt her heart sinking all of a sudden. At this moment, Ryan said, “His approval ratings are not very high anyway. We’re all going to vote for President Peters on that day, right?”
Rachel immediately stared at Julian upon hearing that, and she wanted to know the real purpose of this dinner.
When Julian noticed her gaze, he glimpsed at her before saying, “After all, the establishment of the Riverdale Charity Foundation is a success mostly because of the strong support from the Burton Group. Justin merely borrowed the Burton Group’s name. Ultimately, the vice president’s seat is Burton Group’s and has nothing to do with him.”
Rachel was in disbelief when she heard that. After putting all his heart and sweat into the charity business for so many years, Justin’s hard work was nullified with just a few words by Julian. She couldn’t believe that the kind Dr. Peters could say such a thing.
There could be many tactics in business rivalry, but taking credit for the kind acts of others was just despicable.
