Chapter 5 Daniel, I Hope You're Well.
The large conference room spanned about two thousand square feet.
A long table stretched across the room, with key personnel from various departments seated on either side.
Jerry sat at the head of the table, surrounded by the core business team, all aware of the company's mafia connections.
When introducing Elsie, he made it clear that she was one of the current power players in the Moore family.
The room erupted in applause, a thunderous ovation for the twenty-four-year-old Elsie, who wielded such significant influence.
Though the Moore family was no longer what it once was, having left Emerald City and retreated from the mafia's central battleground, it still held a formidable presence, especially to ordinary people.
"I see all your efforts, and I won't waste time with empty words. With me here, you'll earn at least double what you do now. Exceptional performers can even receive equity."
"This is not an empty promise. Let's wait and see."
Elsie paced the room with a coffee cup in hand, not taking a seat.
She observed the attendees, and they observed her in return.
Her grandfather, Tate Moore, had always said that instead of hiding in the shadows to watch your opponents, it was better to approach them directly. Mutual observation was the most straightforward and effective strategy. If you didn't dare, you were likely to lose.
To put it simply, go for it!
Sure enough, a few people displayed disdainful smiles.
Elsie smiled back, walked over, and glanced at a name tag: Sales Manager - Yves Thomas.
As expected, he was from the Thomas family. What a coincidence.
"You seem to have something to say," Elsie broke the silence, nodding towards Yves.
Yves stood up, bowed slightly, but his eyes roamed shamelessly over Elsie's face and chest, a lecherous grin spreading across his face.
Elsie remained unfazed, scanning the name tags of the others, all bearing the surname Thomas. The Thomas family had become quite brazen within the company.
"Ms. Moore, we believe in your promise to help us earn more, but..."
"But the equity distribution should be handled by the Wilson family, right? I don't have a say in that, do I?" Elsie interrupted, smiling.
Yves straightened up, "That's correct. Mr. Wilson mentioned that the Thomas family has done excellent work on projects at PAT Marketing Company. Naturally, we deserve a share of the equity. There's no need for you to worry about that. Our Thomas family contributes 98% of the annual revenue at PAT Marketing Company. You could say..."
"You could say PAT Marketing Company belongs to the Thomas family, right?" Elsie finished his sentence, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze, almost like a massage.
Yves was taken aback, thinking that while the Moore family might be in decline, its descendants were perceptive enough to recognize who was truly important. The scent of Elsie's perfume clouded his mind, and he fantasized about seducing her, believing that if he could get her into bed, the Thomas family would effectively take over the company.
As he reached out to touch Elsie's hand, the fury in her eyes blazed.
"Yves! Know your place!" Jerry slammed the table, and Yves reluctantly withdrew his hand.
But the sight of Elsie seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't quite place it.
"I reiterate, those who perform well will receive shares in PAT Marketing Company, personally handed over by me," Elsie stated calmly, causing a stir among the attendees.
"From you?" Yves sneered, but his expression quickly turned to one of pain.
The agony in his shoulder rendered him speechless.
"Let me guess, you're from the Thomas family, but not Kai's son. Likely his nephew..."
"The Thomas family has fallen so low that even a fool like you can be a sales manager?"
The pain cleared Yves' mind, and he suddenly remembered something, trembling as he spoke, "You... you are..."
The sound of a shoulder bone breaking echoed.
As Yves opened his mouth to scream, Elsie shoved her coffee cup into it, gripping his throat to silence him.
In mere seconds, a woman had overpowered a grown man in front of everyone.
"I declare that Yves, the Sales Manager of PAT Marketing Company, along with other key personnel, are fired for their disrespectful behavior towards the CEO and their arrogance in meddling with company affairs!"
Several members of the Thomas family stood up abruptly but were unsure what to do, intimidated by Elsie's presence, especially with Yves still in her grasp.
The conference room door opened, and a group of people entered.
Leading them was a man in a black suit, with a buzz cut, sharp features, and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
Daniel.
For three years, aside from thoughts of revenge, Daniel's image had haunted Elsie's mind day and night.
She had once admired, loved, and respected him like many other women, even feeling smug after their drug-induced encounter.
But she hadn't expected his disdain, calling her a whore, a slut, and accusing her of drugging him.
She was a victim too, not the mastermind behind it all.
She couldn't forget Daniel's look of disgust, the same look he gave her now.
Elsie composed herself.
Behind Daniel was Wren, who had interviewed them earlier.
It was clear that Wren had recognized Elsie from her personal information, confirming that she was the same Elsie presumed dead in a fire three years ago.
This was all part of her plan; the information was deliberately leaked, and the Thomas family members needed to be fired.
Given the significance of the incident, Wren was bound to bring Daniel.
Seeing Wren's smug expression, Elsie sighed inwardly at her foolishness.
This was the first time she and Daniel had met in three years.
That night had been a scandal, known only to a few, including Wren.
After a long stare, Daniel's lips moved, "You can't touch them."
Hearing Daniel's voice again stirred emotions in Elsie's heart.
Their relationship wasn't just one-sided; there were two children he didn't know about.
Elsie calmly walked to her seat, tossed a document onto the table, and said, "The acquisition contract between the Wilson family and the Moore family states that the Moore family has absolute freedom in managing the company's business, independently and without restrictions."
"Does the contract mention personnel decisions?"
"Don't play word games. The core business management clauses are independent. By analogy, other business-related matters should also be independent. In court, I would still have the upper hand. If you don't believe me, we can settle this in court."
Elsie spoke without hesitation, her tone firm.
Daniel's eyes flickered, surprised by the transformation in Elsie, who had once been timid and weak.
Or perhaps she had always been this way, which explained the drugging incident three years ago.
He felt an instinctive irritation and inexplicable hatred towards her, emotions he couldn't understand.
Daniel's gaze lowered, and after a moment, he said, "Make sure the severance packages are handled properly."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Mr. Wilson," Elsie called out instinctively, "I hope you're well."
She didn't know what to say or how to express herself.
Their first meeting in three years ended with a brief discussion about contracts, and he walked away. She felt a pang of disappointment.
Even an argument would have been better than this, so she called out to him.
Daniel stopped but didn't turn around, "You still disgust me."
With that, he left the conference room.
Elsie's heart sank.
Bitterness welled up inside her. So, she had always disgusted him?