Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 201 - 199: Executive Meeting

Old Master Forrester’s shout drew everyone’s attention to Sienna Thornton.

Zane Forrester was the first to stand up and ask, "Is this Mr. Thornton?" After speaking, he laughed heartily, with an undeniable appreciation in his eyes, "Mr. Thornton is even more beautiful in person!"

Sienna Thornton smiled and nodded, greeting the several executives present: "Chairman Forrester, the two Mr. Forresters, good evening."

Old Master Forrester nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, everyone is well, please sit down."

Sienna Thornton sat on the sofa opposite Old Master Forrester, while the two vice presidents, Zhang and Chi, sat next to Bianca Fordham and Zane Forrester, respectively.

Simon Forrester sat down next to Sienna Thornton, leaving a fist’s distance between them.

Old Master Forrester chuckled, suddenly turning to Zane Forrester and his wife, saying, "Zane, look, Thornton and Jules look quite well-matched!"

Sienna Thornton felt a thud in her heart, furrowed her brow slightly, and before she could clarify, Mrs. Forrester looked over, her exquisite eyes scanning Sienna up and down, then turned to Old Master Forrester, smiling: "Dad, you’re joking again. The young lady is shy, it’s inappropriate to always make such jokes."

After speaking, she looked at Zane Forrester: "Husband, don’t you agree?"

Zane Forrester glanced at Simon Forrester and Sienna Thornton sitting together, smiled but said nothing.

Simon Forrester glared at Old Master Forrester, sending him a meaningful look only the grandfather-grandson pair could understand: "Keep talking nonsense, and the three great-grandchildren will become one!"

Old Master Forrester instantly understood, coughing twice, he put away his smile and said seriously: "Since everyone is here today, I have something to discuss. This time, Thornton has saved Forrester Group quite a substantial amount in export surcharges. Once the finance department has calculated the exact amount, the group plans to give a 20% cash reward to the legal department. Does anyone have any objections?"

Zane Forrester and his wife said nothing, nor did vice presidents Zhang and Chi, but Bianca Fordham sneered: "The finance vice president mentioned it to me yesterday, and the preliminary budget is considerable, reaching approximately this amount." She held up two fingers.

Mrs. Forrester raised her eyebrows: "Two hundred million?"

Bianca Fordham nodded.

Mrs. Forrester then looked at Zane Forrester: "Husband, are you sure about taking out forty million as a departmental reward? Aren’t you afraid this matter might cause dissatisfaction among other employees?"

Zane Forrester’s face was grave.

Back when Simon Forrester proposed this to the board, no one expected Sienna Thornton would be able to resolve the export surcharges for those products of Forrester Group, and even less that two billion in export taxes could be saved in two years. Thus, the board did not object to this matter or conduct a detailed budget on the 20% reward ratio at the time.

The Forrester Group wasn’t miserly about the forty million, but rather how to explain this to other departments. After all, everyone worked diligently for the Forrester Group, and the Group’s current strength is inseparable from all its staff, yet no department had ever received such a large reward in one go.

Sienna Thornton calmly observed these executives planning to renege on their promises, with a hint of sarcasm at the corner of her lips.

Zane Forrester and his wife were undoubtedly on the same page, and Bianca Fordham, in charge of finance, naturally hesitated to hand out such a large reward to the legal department. Vice presidents Zhang and Chi seemed indifferent, as if it didn’t concern them. As for Old Master Forrester, when it came to matters involving the company’s management, he clearly wasn’t the type to issue orders arbitrarily.

It seemed this matter was about to fall through.

Only Simon Forrester hadn’t spoken, and Sienna Thornton was curious about how he would resolve this matter and exert pressure on the board members.

She observed him from the corner of her eye. As expected, when everyone remained silent, he leisurely asked, "Aunt, does the company’s account not even have forty million to spare? Would you like me to lend you a hundred or two hundred million from my firm?"

Bianca Fordham’s face immediately displayed a weird expression, retorting: "What do you mean by that, Jules?"

Simon Forrester chuckled coolly: "What do you mean, Aunt? When I proposed to the board a 20% reward for Mr. Thornton resolving the export surcharges, didn’t everyone here agree? Now that the matter is resolved, and the finance department calculated the amount, seeing you need to pay out forty million in bonuses makes you feel heartache? You don’t want to? Why don’t you consider that Mr. Thornton saved the company two billion in taxes? Without Thornton, would that two billion need to be paid out anyway? The money saved can’t be seen, but the expenditure is clear as day? How come everyone here is so good at math? Aren’t you afraid of your calculations eventually coming back to bite you?"

He seemed poised to lash out at the board members, while Old Master Forrester, who dotes on his grandson and always believed that Forrester Group would eventually belong to Simon, was willing to support any decision by Simon as long as it wasn’t outrageous.

However, Mrs. Forrester wasn’t pleased hearing her son’s remarks. Her charming face turned suddenly cold and stern: "Jules! How can you speak like that? Don’t you think your words are excessive and rude?"

Simon Forrester coldly looked at her: "Ms. Langley, you are neither a member of the Forrester Group’s board of directors, nor do you hold any position or shares in Forrester Group. I don’t understand why you’d have any opinion here? Ultimately, this is a matter for Forrester Group. As an outsider forcibly giving opinions here, aren’t you afraid it will be hard for others to accept?"

"Jules, you!" Mrs. Forrester’s face turned red with anger, and soon her eyes welled up, looking pitifully at Zane Forrester.

Zane Forrester gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, comforting her softly.

Bianca Fordham had a look as if she was watching a show.

She seemed to suddenly grasp something and actually laughed: "Let me answer Jules’s question earlier. Currently, the company’s account has sufficient funds to cover this forty million reward. However, from a group management perspective, I suggest the bonus be paid monthly. Since the saved taxes are for two years, make it a two-year payment period. This way, a reward of 1.5 million is given to the legal department each month, and the remaining balance is settled in the last month. What do others think?"

Sitting opposite, Mrs. Forrester gave her a sharp look.

But it wasn’t a bad compromise. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Old Master Forrester nodded repeatedly in agreement. When he asked if Simon Forrester agreed, Simon’s face had already turned completely dark: "You didn’t mention before that it would be paid monthly, so by that calculation, how do we account for the interest generated through deferred payment of the bonus? Whose responsibility is that?"

Everyone: "..."

Bianca Fordham, with typical financial thinking, and since she held shares in Forrester Group, she naturally wanted to keep any interest from this money within Forrester Group.

She didn’t expect Simon Forrester, an engineering student, to be so precise in calculating financial matters. Just as she intended to argue this point with him, Old Master Forrester gave an order: "Alright! Enough! Interest will be settled in the last month too!"