Gianna gave the docunt to Ethan, her fingers lingering on the edge of the paper for half a second longer than necessary before she signaled him with her eyes to return it to Noah.
She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms across her chest, slowly. Then she looked at each board mber, one after the other, taking her ti, actually giving her mind ti to make a decision while letting the silence stretch just enough to be felt.
Noah was a good manager; she knew that much from his profile on the net, from the articles, the interviews, the numbers laid bare for public consumption.
He also had companies to his na, solid ones, so it wouldn’t take much for the buyout of her father’s company to go through—first his business acun, and then the money he had offered, generous and unquestionable.
After all, he said it was for her, right?
Gianna tucked in her lower lip.
Considering they were going to be engaged... she shook her head internally, a sharp denial that never reached her face. She was beginning to trust a man again, and she didn’t like it.
The realization unsettled her more than she cared to admit. And she didn’t think her father would want this. She was still owing Noah, for God’s sake.
She couldn’t let him do this; it might make him see her as dependent, and that thought alone made her chest tighten.
One could never tell with these n. One mont they were on your side, and another mont they were sothing else entirely, capping rubbish with a straight face and calling it the best option.
And there was the fact that he hadn’t told her he was doing sothing of this magnitude. That omission rang louder now than anything else.
She bit her lower lip again, harder this ti, her choice quietly making itself.
She wouldn’t let him buy it. No. Ethan’s presence here wouldn’t be in vain.
Athena trusted Ethan, and to an extent, she too trusted him—he had been faithful through the years, consistent in ways few people ever were.
There would be no form of complication, nothing that might rise later if, for so reason, she broke up with Noah. That possibility alone settled sothing firm in her spine.
She nodded, externally this ti, unaware that the simple motion had inford everyone in the room that the woman had made her decision. Their ears preened to hear it.
"I don’t accept the offer, Mr. Noah Newman." She spoke, her words bolder than she felt, especially when she t Noah’s gaze, which faltered for a second in surprise and confusion before sliding back to its signature blank form.
"Sure? I don’t think there’s a better deal, love. This way, it stays in the family..." Noah said.
Gianna bobbed her head as though she could understand, but really, she had seen the na on the docunt. It was his na written in bold letters, not hers.
She wasn’t ready to take a risk with her father’s sweat and blood.
"I know, Mr. Noah, but Ethan Patterson here has a better offer."
She watched the unstable frown on Noah’s face and couldn’t tell if it was because she was bent on saying no to him or because she was still addressing him formally.
Desiring to leave the matter at that, she gestured Ethan to get into the ga.
Then she watched him shift fully into his business form as he opened the bag he had co with and began offloading well-arranged docuntation of the company’s current data and possible solutions.
These he distributed to the people at the table, including a skeptical Clent and his second in command.
"I’m sure my reputation precedes ," Ethan started, now on his feet, positioned right at the head of the table. His hands gestured as he explained what was written on the docunts, breaking down the practical solutions to the matters on ground with calm precision.
"I propose representing Gianna on the table. Surely, you all know how Samuel Aldo built this company from the debris it once was into what it is today, such that you wouldn’t call the top fifty in the field without calling this company."
"And I also know he would want this company to stay in his family, but seeing as Clent has done a poor job at that, Gianna would be overseeing it, though I will be doing so in her stead, while grooming her personally..."
Gianna held in the urge to raise a brow. Groom her? That wasn’t part of the deal.
What was he talking about? Didn’t he hear her say, during their conversation at ho, that she knew nothing about construction?
"And I promise to double whatever Samuel achieved, or rather refine it and make it marketable, bringing the company into the top ten in the industry within five years." Ethan paused, his eyes roving the table. "I’ll take questions."
A bespectacled woman in a red, shiny suit raised her hand. "Gianna really wants an in in this business? What about her jewellery brand?"
Gianna looked at Ethan, without any of the smugness she was feeling—smugness at having her thoughts echoed out loud.
"She can juggle both," Ethan replied smoothly. "As you can see from the news lately, Gianna is a woman of many talents and fierce ambition, as her story showed. She is as determined as her father, which is why she brought in to do the needful while preparing herself to fit into his shoes. Surely, you understand that?"
The woman nodded slowly, then glanced at Gianna, who t her gaze unflinchingly. "I do."
And that was when Gianna understood what Ethan was doing—wielding both emotion and logic with precision.
It was very appealing, now that she looked at it properly. She only hoped the board mbers would eat the bait.
Clent cleared his throat. "I don’t think that’s a good idea." How could Gianna handle the company?
He was seeing red already. This would an that he and his family would be perpetually under her. He was beginning to suspect it had been her plan all along.
"How so?" Gianna asked.
He sighed weakly at her question because, for the life of him, he didn’t know how to explain it.
Going against her would an letting Noah buy the company or letting Zachary run it, and neither appealed to him.
Then Clent fird his lips. Better Noah had it.
Having studied the exchanges between Gianna and Noah, he suspected Noah had an ulterior motive for wanting the company. And still...
Hatred pushed Clent to speak next. "I think Noah should buy the company. I think he is a better handler than Ethan."
"Uncle..." Gianna laughed softly.
"That doesn’t even make sense. Didn’t you hear that Noah wanted to buy the company so I could still handle it? Either way, I’m being grood for takeover...or is that not right, husband-to-be?" she concluded, eting Noah’s gaze coyly.
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