Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 220

It had been a while since Victoria gave Bernard her details, but he still hadn’t replied.

He didn’t even bill her anything. She checked the time and wondered if he was

playing around. After all, she did hear some noise in the background earlier. She had

done all she could. All the information she could get her hands on, she had found

them. Further searching would yield nothing, so she closed her laptop and went to

bathe.

Hence, she didn’t notice Bernard’s call. When she came back out, she noticed that

he had sent her all the info she needed. She didn’t even open the file yet, but one

look at the content list, and she thought, No wonder Mr. Saunders recommends

him. He is efficient. She didn’t look through it but said thank you to Bernard, then

she told him to send her the bill.

Even though she was prepared for the results, Victoria was still shocked to see how

much wealth she had. She had estates in Gandra, Jasea, and a lot of other cities,

and not just any estates. Some estates were managed by someone else, so she was

the one who gained the profit. The properties she visited earlier were only finished a

few years ago.

Since they couldn’t contact her, the managers couldn’t rent those estates out.

Finally, Victoria noticed she also had some Cadogan Group’s shares. Once she was

done reading, Victoria had no idea what to feel. She bit her lip, her chest heaving. He

gave me so much without me knowing. What is the meaning of this? Does his

beloved know? Did she agree to this? She couldn’t keep reading anymore. Victoria

closed her laptop and called Bernard. “Sorry, Mr. Sandler, but can I confirm the

veracity of this file? I’m not doubting your professionalism, of course. It’s just…”

“It’s just that you can’t believe how much wealth you have, right?”

Smart. That’s exactly what I was trying to say.

“I had the exact same reaction the first time I was handling the case, and I too

suspected it to be false, but unfortunately, it’s real. My mentor and I listed the whole

thing out.”

“Your mentor?” Victoria had a bad feeling about this.

“Yes. He’s Mr. Cadogan’s personal lawyer.”

Ugh, I should’ve known. Mr. Saunders is already capable enough. His junior worked

abroad for so long, so that means he must be a capable one too. His mentor must

be even more prominent than he is. Of course he’s Alaric’s lawyer. She didn’t think

things through, and now she was already entangled in this matter. “You didn’t tell

your mentor about this, did you? I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but I’m no longer his

wife, so…”

“Ah, I apologize, but he already knows,” said Bernard. “He has the master file, so I

asked him to give me a copy. And he asked me a few questions, so I answered as

honestly as I could.”

Sigh. I can’t blame him for this. He’s the student. Of course he talks to his mentor.

“Sorry, Miss Selwyn. I didn’t think this would affect you, but my mentor isn’t one to

gossip, so don’t worry.”

Victoria calmed down a little. “Thank you.”

“Do you need someone to handle these assets for you?”

“No.” Victoria shook her head. “Can we meet tomorrow, Mr. Sandler?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, yes.”

“Very well.”

They met at a restaurant at the agreed time the next day. Even though Bernard had

seen Victoria’s picture when he handled the inheritance transfer, he still was

stunned by her beauty when he saw her.

Even when Victoria was already saying hi to him, it took him a while to snap out of it.

“Hello, Miss Selwyn.”

“Hello, Mr. Sandler.”

..

They made small talk, and then food was served. Bernard was famished, but he

couldn’t gorge on his food, not when a beauty like Victoria was right in front of him,

so he chose to carefully flip through his file instead. When Victoria told him what

she was planning, Bernard froze. “A–Are you serious? You’re relinquishing

everything?”

On the other hand, Victoria was calm. “Yes. I don’t take what’s not mine. Give it back

to him.”

Did I travel into another dimension? She doesn’t want all this money? No one can

resist money. “But these assets are yours. You’re not committing any crime taking

them. You’ll live your whole life without worry. Are you sure you don’t want them?”

“I can live my life without worries even without these things.” That man had helped

her before. If she took something from him again, she would never be able to repay

her debt.

“So please proceed with my request, Mr. Sandler. I will pay you once it is done. If you

want an advance payment, I can do that too.”

Bernard was shocked for a long, long time, but he still nodded in the end. “Very well.

I’ll handle your request, Miss Selwyn.”

“Thank you.”

Once she was gone, Bernard told his mentor about the situation.

Victoria settled some trivial matters and started to work on her new company. The

website was up and running now. Victoria wrote a job advertisement, then she told

the website designer to post it on the site.

Advertisements cost a lot, and the company needed a lot of things to get started. It

was only now Victoria realized how hard it was to run a company. The next few

weeks were busy for her. Victoria worked long hours, and even then, they only

managed to hire a few employees. Fortunately, one member of the management team had experience

working in a big company, and they started talking about the

company’s issue with Victoria.

“We’re a new company, and our scale is small. After all the scams that have

happened, no one wants to work for small companies anymore.”

Victoria looked at him. “So why did you come?”

The person froze. “Sorry?”

“Why did you work for my company?”

That person snickered. “Life had been a little fast–paced for me so I wanted to catch

a break, and what’s more, I know you.”

Victoria was surprised. “You know me?”

The person nodded, smiling. “Of course. It’s been five years, and you’re a lot more beautiful than you

were, but I recognized you right away. You came to our company

for a negotiation back when you were working for Cadogan Group, and I was just a

regular employee back then.”

I see. “So, you climbed all the way to top management in five years?”

“Yes.”

“Not bad.” Victoria liked that, but that was not the point. First, they had to settle the

company’s issues.

The man she hired was one Henry Poole, and he said, “It’s a simple problem to

settle.”

Victoria looked at him. “You seem to have a solution.”

“Angel investors,” said Henry. “If we can have a big company investing in us, we

won’t have to worry about the operation or funds anymore.”

Victoria had considered that, of course, but… “You want me to convince someone to

invest in us? When we don’t even have ten employees?”

Henry shrugged. “You can do it, can’t you?”

Victoria said nothing. Henry didn’t care what she was thinking, and he started listing

out the companies they could convince to invest in them. “First on the list is

Cadogan Group and the Floyds.”

The mention of Cadogan Group made Victoria silent. Noticing that, Henry smiled.

“Boss, I know you have some… issues with Cadogan Group, but this is for the future

of the company. You won’t let the past get in your way, will you?”

Victoria took a deep breath to calm herself down, then she smiled. “Sorry, but I will.”

Huh? Henry scratched his head sheepishly and coughed. “Very well. Then that leaves us with the

Floyds. They’re growing strong lately, and that auction a few days ago was proof of it. The new heir

showed off his wealth without a care in the world. Ah, but boss, Jordan can be quite the playboy, so don’t fall for his tricks when you

negotiate, alright?”

Jordan Floyd. He’s in my contacts, and he lent me a suit. Perhaps I can use this connection. Quickly,

Victoria opened up her contacts and searched for Jordan.

They didn’t even talk after they added each other’s numbers, pretending that they

had never met. Since she was busy, Victoria had forgotten that he lent her the suit.

She took a long time just to come up with an opening text, and she messaged him.

‘Thank you for the suit, Mr. Floyd. I’ve cleaned it, so when can I give it back to you?’

Victoria didn’t think he would reply right away so she put her phone down, but then

Jordan texted, ‘Oh, and here I thought you wouldn’t give it back.

Sheepishly, Victoria texted, ‘Sorry. I’ve been a bit busy. It’s not until now that I have

time.‘ She added, ‘So when can we meet?‘

Jordan answered a bit flirtatiously, ‘If it’s you, anytime.’

Victoria was silent for a while, then she texted, ‘I’d like to talk about work.‘

Jordan didn’t reply this time. Victoria held her phone tightly, the look on her face

slowly becoming solemn. Was I too forward? But if I beat around the bush, he might

take it as a hint he can woo me. She was on guard because of what Henry told her

about Jordan.

Five minutes later, he texted, ‘Eastton’s racecourse. Can you come over right away?‘

A racecourse? Not the best place to talk business, but it’s a chance. Victoria picked

up her bag and scarf, then she left. The weather was a bit windy, so she wrapped

the scarf around her neck and hailed a ride.

The racecourse was roaring, and dust flew in the air as a big black horse galloped

across the course. Sitting on its back was a slender, handsome man with an aloof

look on his face. The look on his face was dark, and he held the reins firmly. Even

from a mile away, everyone could feel the anger coming off him.

Ever since he got onto the track, everyone else led their horses away lest they incur

this man’s wrath.

Jordan had just come back from a race. Even though it was winter, he downed half

a bottle of cold drink like it was tea, then he screwed the cap shut and looked at the

angry man. He teased, “What happened to him? He’s miffed today.”

The people beside him shook their heads. “Not just today. It’s been like this for a

while.”

Huh. “He’s been venting at the course for two weeks now. Thanks to him, business

has been bad. The owner’s complaining but he can’t take it up with him. He’d

destroy this whole place.”

Jordan clicked his tongue. “Who crossed him anyway? Two weeks and he can’t

even hold it in?”

Someone said, “Who knows? We have no idea what he’s thinking. Feels like we’re

working for a king.”

A king? Jordan chuckled, and he took out his phone to check the text. It’s been

twenty minutes. Wonder where she is right now. Just then, his phone beeped, and a Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

text appeared.

‘I’m almost at the course. Where are you? I’ll find you, sir.’

Sir? This is amusing. “Interesting. She’s older than me, and yet she calls me sir.”

Noticing his smile, the people beside him huddled closer. “Oh, a lady? So, you found

a new toy?”

Jordan shot him a look. “Bah, none of your business.”

The guy grinned and was about to tease Jordan more, but a rider vaulted over the

obstacle and charged straight at them only to stop a few inches before them.

Shocked, a lot of people backed off while grumbling, and some fell on their rear.

Only Jordan remained still with his phone in his hand.

The man stopped his hores and booked at sodan and West

Jordan looked at him and cooked file eyebrow then the emiley Sure but im

bringing one more person

Alaric frowned

Jordan smiled “Ever tried racing with a woman riding with you?