Chapter 12 That Weirdo Is Gardner Corporation’s President!
The next morning, Nicole spruced herself up before changing into black formal wear. She had a great curvaceous figure, and her tight-fitting suit hugged her voluptuous curves in all the right places, making her look mature and somewhat businesslike from a distance. She waited for Hayden to get up. After they had breakfast together, she told him to stay home and be good; only after that did she leave home in a hurry.
Unbeknownst to her, however, as soon as she left home, Hayden took out his cell phone and dialed Colton’s phone number…
…
On the top floor of a tall building, a man dressed in a black suit was sitting in a brightly lit office, giving off frosty vibes with a hint of restlessness in his narrow eyes. Tapping his cold and pale finger on the table, he said in a voice as chilly as the piercing cold wind of winter, “Is this how you guys are doing your job?”
Those before him lowered their heads without making a sound.
As time went on, the chilliness in the air became even more apparent. Finally, someone bit the bullet and stepped forward, saying in a timid voice, “President Gardner, it was Miss Anderson who did it. W-We didn’t dare to stop her.” They had fixed on a manufacturer to order this batch of materials from, but Queenie insisted that they order from another manufacturer. Knowing about her relationship with Colton, everyone dared not stop her.
Queenie, huh… Colton pressed his thin lips together before waving his hand. “Ignore her decisions from now on. Just throw this batch of substandard materials away and reorder the materials.”
Upon hearing Colton’s words, everyone finally sighed with relief. It’s fine as long as he doesn’t blame it on us, they thought. Now that Colton had given the word, they replied, “Roger that, President Colton,” in relief. Then, they left right away, fearing that he would go back on it.
Colton closed his eyes for a small break as he was left alone in the office. His skin was cold and pale, and his fingers were slender; he placed his fingers gently around his eyes, massaging them slowly. Five years ago, he had been drugged by a business rival, but Queenie saved him at the critical moment. That was her first time, and I’ve spent five years returning the favor since then. Over the past five years, I’ve gratified all her vanity by granting her every wish. Still, I didn’t expect that not only was she not content with that, but she even pushed her luck by ordering goods from another manufacturer without permission! Since that’s the case…
Just then, his cell phone suddenly rang; it was an incoming call from an unfamiliar number. His eyes lowered, he picked up the phone and answered the phone call.
On the other end of the line was a child’s clear voice, which sounded a bit like an adult despite its childish quality. “Hello, are you Mr. Colton Gardner?”
“Uh-huh,” Colton mumbled. If I remember correctly, this voice belongs to the boy at the airport, he thought. He was somewhat curious about what kind of tricks this boy would play—or what kind of tricks his mother would like to play, to be exact.
“I’m calling to tell you that my mom is arriving at your company soon. She’ll give you a document, and the third-to-last page of the document has my hair on it,” Hayden said quickly; he had sneaked his hair into the document without Nicole’s knowledge. “I’m your biological son. If you don’t believe me, you can get a DNA paternity test done on my hair.”
Colton was amused deep down, but just as he wanted to speak, he was interrupted by Hayden in a cocky manner. “You don’t have to say anything. Just listen to me. I’m now four years old. You can think about whether you’ve come into contact with a woman five years ago, especially during the period between December and February. If you have, please do the DNA paternity test,” he said while flipping through the document in his hands, which was written in scrawls and scribbles.
“You’re Gardner Corporation’s executive director. Owning 51% of the company’s shares, you have full ownership of the company. We’ve met before, and I’m satisfied with your looks. And besides, we’re related by blood, so I consider you qualified to be my dad,” Hayden continued. Worried, he added, “It won’t take you much time to do the paternity test. Regardless of whether I’m lying or not, isn’t it great to be able to dispel your doubts?” With that, he quickly hung up without giving Colton the opportunity to answer back.
Looking at his cell phone, Colton couldn’t help being amused. This is the first time I was instructed how to do things—and by a boy, of all people? As far as I recall, the kid’s mother is called Nicole, huh?
…
Meanwhile, having arrived at Gardner Corporation, Nicole looked up at the building that towered into the sky. The company deserved its reputation as the leading enterprise in the country. The fact that it could buy such a tall building in downtown Goldwick—an area where property prices were sky-high—as its premises was enough proof of the company’s enormous potential.
When Nicole walked up to the front desk with the contract, the front desk receptionist asked politely at once, “Good morning, miss. May I help you?”
Nicole nodded slightly, saying, “I’m Lisa from F&M Apparel, and I have an appointment with President Gardner today. Please tell him that I’ve arrived.”
As soon as Nicole revealed her identity, a look of surprise flashed across the front desk lady’s face.
Recalling the rumors spread by Zachary, Nicole had no choice but to hand over the work badge in her handbag. Bringing her work badge everywhere she went wasn’t her style usually, but because of what happened last time, she decided to bring it with her for this trip.
Seeing that the work badge was indeed bearing F&M Apparel’s logo, the front desk lady finally greeted respectfully, “Nice to meet you, Ms. Lisa. President Gardner has specifically told us that you may take the elevator to the 28th floor directly. The president’s office will be on your left.”
“Okay. Thank you very much,” Nicole said with a smile before taking back her work badge and heading upstairs.
Although it was around the rush hour, the elevator Nicole took was the president’s private elevator, which could arrive at the president’s office directly, making her the only person in the empty elevator. After reaching the president’s office, she put on a businesslike smile and knocked gently on the door.
“Come in.” From inside the room came a familiarly deep and husky voice.
Nicole frowned slightly; she couldn’t help feeling that she had heard the voice somewhere. However, she didn’t think much about it, and she opened the door and walked inside.
As soon as she entered the spacious and brightly lit office, she saw a reddish brown desk, of which sitting behind was a man dressed in a suit who projected the aura of an elite from every pore. At this moment, he was handling documents with his head down, allowing Nicole to see his stylishly cut black hair and chiseled jaw.
“Hi, I’m Lisa from F&M Apparel. I’m here on behalf of F&M Apparel this time to discuss our upcoming collaboration with Gardner Corporation next summer,” Nicole said, introducing herself.
As soon as she finished introducing herself, the man finally looked up, revealing his dashing eyebrows, inky eyes, pug nose, and thin lips. Surprisingly, it was a face Nicole was all too familiar with. It’s Colton Gardner, the weirdo I met at the airport the other day! To think that he’s Gardner Corporation’s president!
