At least the driver got to nap in the car and got paid for it, so he couldn't complain about the grind; he was genuinely just worried about Latham.
But since Latham refused to listen, he kept his mouth shut.
By the time they pulled up to VIA Group, the driver noticed Latham was out cold in the backseat.
He was just debating whether to wake him when Latham's eyes fluttered open.
"Are we here?"
Latham's voice was raspy, heavy with the exhaustion of his sleepless night.
"Yes, Mr. James."
The driver sat up straight.
Edison genuinely hadn't expected Latham to actually show up at the VIA Group headquarters.
Since Latham had arrived without an appointment, the receptionist politely asked him to wait. He didn't get straight through the doors.
"Mr. James, our boss is currently in a meeting. Please have a seat over here,"
the secretary said with pristine professionalism.
Latham knew exactly how the game was played. When you showed up begging for
a favor, getting the cold shoulder was part of the process.
As long as Edison was in the building, Latham was prepared to wait all day.
Edison hadn't been lying, though. He did have a business trip later and a morning board meeting to wrap up first.
Once the meeting adjourned, the VIA Group executives filed out one by one.
Only then did Edison instruct his secretary to bring Latham into his office.
The Edison sitting behind the desk was a far cry from the man Latham had met in the James Village.
In the countryside, Edison had played the part of a humble, low-key relative.
Now, commanding the CEO's chair at VIA Group, he looked sharp and lethal. "Have a seat, Latham," Edison offered with a polite smile.
Latham pushed down the swarm of thoughts clouding his mind and sat down with practiced composure.
VIA Group was an old-money empire. Anyone capable of running a behemoth like this was no fool.
Playing the family card alone wasn't going to win Edison over.
Latham mentally debated the best angle of attack.
Pure sentimentality was a dead end.
Tugging at heartstrings might work on a soft mark, but against a shark like Edison, it was useless.
"Edison, you're Claire's relative, and I raised her. Technically, that makes us family."
"I wouldn't be here bothering you if I wasn't in a real bind."
Latham spoke with total
earnestness, hoping Edison could convince the elusive chairman of VIA Group to inject capital into his failing company. In exchange, Re
was ready to offer a ten percent cut of the West End project.
Ten percent was a massive concession. He was even willing to hand over company
shares to Edison personally, depending on how they negotiated.
The terms were highly lucrative assuming the James family wasn't currently
drowning in a public relations nightmare.
Edison didn't reject the proposal outright, simply stating he would run it by the chairman.
"Don't hold your breath on that capital injection, though."
Edison was blunt. "Right now, unless
someone buys out the James Group money at vo
entirely throwing
just burning cash to plug an endless
hole." .
FindNovel.net
Latham fiercely disagreed. "That's completely untrue. The James Group has a rock-
solid foundation. We just hit an unfortunate string of bad luck."
"I was actually ready to cut my losses and sell off the West End project."
"But someone out there is playing dirty. My son's car crash was no accident."
"If I just roll over and take it, people will think Latham James is a coward!"
"Edison, you have to believe me. If we can just jump-start the West End project, the returns will be astronomical."
"I'm only offering you this kind of cut because we're family..."
Latham pitched his heart out.
But Edison wasn't buying a single word of it.
Frankly, he thought Latham was blinded by greed.
Cutting his losses was the only logical way to save the James
Group from bankruptcy, vet Lat
was refusing to take the lifeling
purely out of stubborn pride.
Was the man an idiot?
Still, on some level, he understood Latham's bitter desperation.