Claire’s announcement sent a shock wave across the room, making everyone gape in extreme surprise!

Everyone thought that Claire must be out of her mind!

It was the worst time to stand under the limelight now! Other than failing miserably, there’s nothing else she could achieve!

Emgrand Group was the largest company in Aurous Hill and the Wilson family was nothing more than an insignificant ant to them! Whoever took the challenge would only end up failing!

Harold couldn’t help but mock sarcastically, “Claire, do you really think you can get a deal from Emgrand Group?”

Wendy continued in the same mocking tone after her brother, “Claire, who do you think you are, what do you think Emgrand Group is? You being so reckless and irrational will only humiliate us, the Wilson family!”

Someone else added, “Wendy is right! If she is kicked out by Emgrand Group, our family will be a laughing stock in Aurous Hill!”

Blood rushed to Claire’s face and she felt her face burning in embarrassment.

Her status in the family had plummeted since she married Charlie. Not only did the family members ignore her and elbow her aside but they also derided her parents.

She felt that if she could strike that deal with Emgrand Group, she could consolidate her position in the family.

The most important thing was that her parents could also stand up tall and be proud of who they were.

But under the sarcastic comments and condemnation, she wanted to withdraw herself from her silly idea.

She glared at Charlie in annoyance. How did he bewitch her and why did she listen to him? She shouldn’t have made such a silly suggestion in the first place…

Lady Wilson was very angry as she listened to the audience’s verbal exchanges.

No one dared to accept the task after she asked several times. Now that Claire courageously stood up to take the challenge, these people started ridiculing her!

Lady Wilson had always disliked Claire, but at this moment, she was glad that Claire was at least willing to walk the impossible talk, unlike the rest of the members who were only good at giving her trouble!

Especially her favorite grandson, Harold! He was such a disappointment!

Because of this, Lady Wilson’s attitude towards Claire changed a lot. She said immediately, “Stop your nonsense, you cowards! I’ll pass the task of striking a deal with Emgrand Group to Claire!”

Sheepishly, Claire mumbled, “Don’t worry, Grandma, I’ll try my best.”

Harold puffed a breath from his nose and sneered coldly, “You try your best, and then what? You’ll embarrass us when you fail later!”

Charlie asked in a mocking tone, “Harold Wilson, why do you taunt Claire like that? Do you think that the Wilson family is not qualified to collaborate with Emgrand Group?”

Harold had never expected that the loser Charlie Wade dared to speak up during the family meeting, not to mention in such a high horse manner.

Seeing the fury slowly burning on Lady Wilson’s face, he quickly explained, “No, I don’t mean it like that, I just think it is impossible for Claire to strike the deal! That’s all!”

Charlie laughed in amusement and asked, “What if she succeeds? Should we make a bet?”

Harold grinned coyly. “Okay, let’s bet then! Do you think I’m scared of your little threat? What do you want to bet? Let’s hear you out.”

Charlie said, “If Claire succeeds, you will grovel at my feet and admit that you’re wrong in front of everyone. If she fails, I will grovel at your feet and admit that I’m wrong. What do you think?”

“Hahaha!” Harold laughed out loud. “You’re really digging your own grave, loser! Alright, I’ll take the bet!”

Charlie nodded with satisfaction and uttered, “Everyone, all of you are our witnesses. Whoever goes back on the bet would have his father, mother, grandpa, and grandma die!”

He intentionally emphasized the word ‘grandma’ loudly and clearly, for he didn’t want Harold to break their promise after he lost.

Harold wouldn’t dare to go back on his words after such a statement. If he did repent, he would be cursing his grandmother, Lady Wilson, to die! Lady Wilson would not let him off the hook so easily!

“Okay!” Harold thought that he was on the winning side, but what Harold didn’t know was that he was jumping right into Charlie’s trap. He laughed loudly and said, “Everyone, you’ll be my witness, I’ll wait for you to kneel before me!”

Claire was startled by the entire event that she kept signalling to Charlie with her eyes, but he turned a blind eye to her.

Lady Wilson couldn’t care less about the bet. Her only concern was whether the Wilson Group could take a spot in Emgrand Group’s collaboration list. If the deal was on, she wouldn’t even mind if Harold called Charlie his daddy, let alone kneel before him.

Thus, she said calmly, “Okay, that’s all for today. Claire, you have three days to negotiate and strike the deal. Dismiss!”

***

After returning home, Claire’s parents threw a fist at the young couple.

Claire’s mother, Elaine Wilson, paced the living room agitatedly and said, “Claire, you’re crazy! How could you listen to the loser and accept the task without thinking it through?”

Claire’s father, Jacob Wilson, turned to Charlie and chided, “Charlie, you hopeless loser, you’ve pushed my darling daughter right into the grave this time!”

His face flushed in red as he continued, “If Claire fails this time, she will be elbowed by the rest of the family, and you! You’ll have to bow to Harold like a peasant in front of the whole family! My dignity will be ruined!”

Charlie said earnestly, “Dad, Mom, everything will be alright if Claire succeeds in the negotiation and strikes the deal, am I right?”

“Negotiate my a*s!” Jacob growled furiously, “Do you have any idea how powerful Emgrand Group is? They won’t even bat an eye at the mediocre Wilson family!”

Charlie said with a smile, “Maybe someone will bat an eye at us, you don’t know that. Honestly, I have confidence in Claire, I think Claire will strike the deal easily.”

Elaine sneered scornfully. “You think? Who are you, do you think you are the owner of Emgrand Group? You are nothing but a loser, a piece of trash, how do you dare be so ignorant and confident?”

Looking at her parents ridiculing Charlie, Claire sighed and said, “Dad, Mom, don’t blame Charlie for this. It was my idea, I just don’t want our family to be looked down on anymore. Haven’t we suffered enough all these years?”

Claire’s mother blurted, “But still, you can’t take on such a task. It’s not just you—even if your grandma goes in person, they wouldn’t entertain her!”

Charlie managed a bitter smile as he watched the bickering. He bet that his snobbish in-laws would never believe that he was the real owner of Emgrand Group.

At this exact moment, there was a knock on the door.

“I’m coming…”

Elaine heaved a distressing sigh as she walked to the door and opened it.

Charlie shifted his gaze to the door and saw a young man donning an Armani suit standing at the door. The man looked very charming and alluring with a Patek Philippe watch on his wrist, which seemed to be worth at least four million dollars.

Elaine shrieked excitedly, “Hey, Wendell! Why are you here?”

The man was Wendell Jones, the young man of the Jones family who had been pursuing Claire relentlessly.

Wendell donned a smile and said, “Auntie, I heard about Claire’s negotiation with the Emgrand Group, so I’m here to give her some ideas.”

“Wow, you really are our family’s life savior!”

Elaine was very excited and thrilled, and she looked at him like she was looking adoringly at her son-in-law. She quickly welcomed him into the house and said, “Wendell, could you help Claire to win Emgrand Group’s contract?”

Wendell nodded with a polite smile. He ignored Charlie entirely, treating him like a lowly ant. He walked straight to Claire and said gently, “Claire, why didn’t you tell me anything about this? This is huge. Anyway, don’t worry, my family has some connections with Emgrand Group. I’ll speak to my father, let’s see how we can help you with this.”

Frankly, Wendell’s father wasn’t as influential as he claimed to be, but he was simply trying to win Claire’s heart by saying so.

Claire knew that Wendell had feelings for her all along, so she said indifferently, “Wendell, I appreciate your kind offer, but no thanks, I’ll find a way myself.”

Elaine gaped in bewilderment and chided, “Claire, are you crazy? Mr. Jones is kind and generous enough to pay you a visit and help you, how could you say such things?”

Claire remained quiet, but Charlie asked Wendell intriguingly, “Mr. Jones, I’m curious, how can you help Claire? Emgrand Group is so big and I don’t think you’re much of an influence to them, right? And now you claim that you have a way to help Claire win the contract?”

Wendell sneered contemptuously and said, “What do you know? The Jones family and Emgrand Group have always been cooperating partners for years. This time, our family can get at least one-third of their two billion dollar project! Until then, I’ll ask my father to allocate ten million dollars as a subcontract to Claire—mission accomplished, isn’t it?”

Charlie gaped in surprise, “Wow! I didn’t know that the Jones family has such an intimate relationship with Emgrand Group!”

Wendell sneered. “Of course! Everyone in Aurous Hill knows about that!”

He then glared at Charlie disdainfully and uttered, “Charlie Wade, let me offer you a piece of advice. A frog in the well like you had better leave Claire now. A hopeless man like you can’t bring her happiness, you’ll only be her burden.”

Claire said coldly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Jones, I don’t need your help and please watch your mouth!”

Dumbfounded, Wendell said in disbelief, “Claire, I’m helping you, why are you still taking this loser’s side? Why are you so protective of him?”

Claire said in a serious tone, “He’s not a loser, he’s my husband!”

A gloomy cloud hovered over Wendell’s face. He growled furiously, “Okay! You asked for it, do as you please! I want to see how you’re going to solve this problem! Don’t come crying at me for not giving you a chance later on when you fail!”

Then, Wendell turned around, slammed the door, and left.

Elaine went after Wendell hurriedly, but he was long gone. She slapped her thighs indignantly, pointed at Charlie’s nose, and screamed, “You! How dare you! What else can you do besides being Claire’s burden? Mr. Jones had kind-heartedly lent a hand but you chased him away!”

Charlie said flatly, “Mom, he’s all talk. He can’t even win a contract with Emgrand, how can he help Claire?”

“Bullsh*t!” Elaine scolded, “What do you know, you ignorant fool! The Jones family can get one-third of the two billion dollar contract!”

Charlie was inexpressive but deep in his heart, he was grinning as he thought, ‘I don’t know how powerful the Jones family is, but I know that my Emgrand Group will never have any connection with them anymore! Even if they did work together on many projects previously, from now on, all of this will be terminated!’

Of course, Claire couldn’t read her husband’s mind. She turned to her mother and said, “Mom, don’t blame Charlie. Just wait until I return from Emgrand Group!”

“Huh!” Elaine sighed in great dismay, feeling that God was unfair to her. She had married a useless husband, while her daughter had married an even more useless man!

What had she done to end up like this!

The next morning, Claire brought the file filled with proposals that she had prepared overnight and went to the Emgrand Group office with Charlie.

Standing in front of the 100-story building, Claire suddenly felt as if her heart was hollow and empty.

How could such a magnificent company like Emgrand collaborate with the Wilson family? Not to mention that they were aiming for a thirty million dollars deal.

It was like a beggar approaching a wealthy man and asking for a thirty million dollar change. It was absolutely ridiculous.

However, she had promised her grandmother and accepted the challenge in front of everyone, so she had to go for it no matter what…

Sensing her anxiety, Charlie stroked her head tenderly and said, “Dear, don’t worry, go ahead, you’ll make it. Trust me.”

Claire sighed dejectedly and murmured, “Alright, let’s hope so! Wait for me here.”

She took a deep breath and walked through the door.

As he watched her walking in, Charlie took out his phone and called Doris.

“Doris, my wife is going up to see you as we speak. You should know what to do!”

“Yes, Mr. Wade. Don’t worry, I’ll fulfill your missus’s every request.”

“By the way, I heard that Emgrand Group has a rather close connection with the Jones family. Is that true?”

“Yes, we did have a lot of projects with them, completed and ongoing. They wish to collaborate with us again on this new megaproject and they’ve submitted the proposals and materials for my review. However, it is up to you to decide, Mr. Wade.”

Charlie said coldly, “I don’t want the Jones family to be involved in the new project and any other projects in the future.”

“Yes, sure. Don’t worry, I’ll do as you say!”

***

Meanwhile, Claire walked into Emgrand Group’s office building and waited for her appointment at the front desk. She didn’t even know if Doris Young, the company’s vice-chairman, would like to see her.

Not long after, a graceful female assistant approached her and began, “Hi, are you Miss Claire Wilson? Miss Young is waiting for you in her office, please follow me.”

Claire nodded in a trance. She was still waiting in line to make an appointment, how did Miss Young know she was here and call her in already?

Could it be that Doris Young knew she was coming?

It didn’t make sense though…how could a prominent individual like Doris Young know about her?

Although she couldn’t figure it out, she might as well grab the rare opportunity as she was given. She quickly followed the assistant and she was escorted directly to Doris’s office.

Doris stood up from her chair and greeted Claire respectfully. “Hi, Miss Wilson, I’m Doris Young, vice chairman of Emgrand Group, nice meeting you.”

Claire was a little nervous as she met the most famous businesswoman in Aurous Hill. She spoke, her voice trembling anxiously but staying calm, “Hello, Miss Young, thank you for seeing me. I’m here to talk to you about the hotel project. Although Wilson Group is not as strong and prominent as other companies, I can assure you that we work very hard and have established a very positive reputation in the interior design and decoration industry!”

She handed over a document file and continued, “Miss Young, this is Wilson Group’s portfolio, please have a look.”

Doris smiled gently and took the document from her. After a brief glance, she said immediately, “Miss Wilson, I’ve seen your documents, I think you are the perfect partner for us.”

“Really? Is it true?” Claire gaped in bewilderment. Why did it go so quickly and smoothly? It was a little too easy, wasn’t it?

Doris said with a smile, “Of course. I admit that Wilson Group does not match our requirements and qualifications, but our chairman thinks highly of you and he is willing to give it a shot.”

“Your chairman?” Claire said in a shocking tone, then asked, “May I know who your chairman is? ”

Doris smiled faintly. “Our chairman is Mr. Wade from Eastcliff.”

“Mr. Wade?”

Claire frowned in confusion. “I don’t think I know anyone by the last name of Wade except for my husband.”

Doris nodded gently. Charlie had ordered her not to disclose his identity, so she could only say that much.

Other than Charlie Wade, Claire didn’t know anyone by the last name of Wade, but she would never have guessed that her useless husband, who was an orphan, would be the Mr. Wade that Doris was referring to.

Then, Doris added, “Miss Wilson, I see in your proposal that your quotation for the agreement is thirty million dollars?”

Claire nodded anxiously and asked timidly, “Is it too much?”

Doris smiled and answered, “Oh no, it is actually less than what we have budgeted for.”

Claire furrowed curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Our chairman told me to increase the quotation to sixty million dollars.”

In the middle of the conversation, Doris retrieved a contract and handed it to Claire. “Look, we’ve drafted the contract in advance for a total of sixty million dollars. If you have no problem with it, we can sign the contract now.”

“Huh? This…”

Claire gaped, dumbfounded.

She had never expected that Emgrand Group, which seemed so unreachable from Wilson Group’s perspective, would prepare the contract beforehand!

Moreover, the amount had doubled!

Grandma’s goal for the project was 30 million dollars, but the contract literally stated 60 million dollars in black and white!

Suddenly, she recalled her husband’s serious and earnest face when he had asked her to accept the task at the family meeting the previous night.

Why was he so confident?

When they were at Emgrand Group’s entrance, she was very doubtful and pessimistic, but he seemed so positive and undaunted.

Could it be that he had known the outcome all along?

Who was he...