Ch. 1701..1710

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1701

Jory watched her disappear behind the closing doors. He got even more crestfallen.

He rubbed his forehead and rearranged his thoughts. I’m meeting a VIP next. C’mon, get your act together! Soon, the doors open again with a ding, and he exited the elevator with steady steps.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Simon Barrymore’s voice, along with its hoarseness and vicissitudes that came with his age, rang from inside. One could actually feel what the old man had been through, even experience a little part of their life, just by listening to the sound of his voice.

“Mr. Barrymore,” Jory greeted him loudly.

Simon looked up from his work to acknowledge his guest’s presence. Yet, he was unable to recognize Jory. No one in the Barrymore Group would call him by his last name. Calling him by his title would have sufficed. So who was this strange, young man standing in his office?

“And you are…”

Jory tilted his head. “Don’t you remember me?” Simon only looked more confused, so the young man added, “I’m from Alpire Group.”

It took a while, but eventually Simon managed to pick up the man’s name from the depths of his memory. He stretched out a hand and rose from his seat. “Jory? When have you arrived at Marsingfill?”

“Not long ago,” Jory responded with a grin.

Simon poured his guest a cup of tea and then, when he saw that Jory was still standing in his office, offered him a seat on the sofa. “Why are you still standing there? Come, come. Have a seat. How’s your father been all these years?”

A green leaf could be seen floating on the steaming tea. Simon used a tea tray with designs depicting ancient Chanaean culture. Its grid-like weaving method made the simple art of tea sampling much more fulfilling.

One of Raphael’s paintings, “The School of Athens”, hung on Simon’s wall. It was apparent that the chairman was a great fan of Chanaean culture.

Jory was so deeply amazed by the ancient Chanaean relics surrounding him that it took him a while to respond to the chairman’s question. “He’s doing fine. I believe business is thriving at Barrymore Group as well?”

Simon waved his hand. ““No, no. We are no match for Alpire Group’s rapid growth after all. That’s a given.”

“Mr. Barrymore, I suppose I won’t dally any longer. I come here today with a business proposal,” Jory said, driving his point home. “As you can see, Alpire Group’s development is gradually stabilizing. But, in the process of it all, what we lack is collaboration. And as you know, collaboration between two strong companies is the unchanging rule for survival in this industry. So…”

Simon interrupted the young man before he could finish. “Jory, listen. As the chairman of Barrymore Group, I am more than happy to know that Alpire Group has chosen us to establish a partnership. But, Jory, since you’ve come to us seeking one, I’m sure you’re also aware of our company’s development so far. Our partners have always been local companies. Barrymore Group has never cooperated with multinational companies. And we don’t plan to start now.”

The corners of Jory’s lips drooped briefly and, when he smiled, he looked defeated. “Mr. Barrymore, that incident happened so long ago. You shouldn’t take it to heart. I have learned to move on, and you ought to let it go too. I’m the only victim after all.”

Simon looked apologetic. “But, Jory, you have to know, the Barrymores are in your debt because of what happened. While I’m pleased to know that you’ve moved on, that can’t be used as a reason for Barrymore Group to work with a multinational company such as yours. Look, Jory. If you insist on bringing it up, then I’m afraid you’re just wasting your time.”

The old man was clearly still brooding over the incident many years ago. He claimed that Barrymore Group had never worked with multinational companies. That was obviously an excuse to brush him off. The old man just did not want to get involved with him. He had so many years under his belt, and yet he still bore an immense fear of gossip.

Since Simon was so frank about it—that collaboration was a no-go—then Jory would not force him, nor would he keep pestering the old man until he changed his mind. After all, Jory knew very well that Alpire Group was currently a lot stronger than before. Besides, he still had a trump card up his sleeves—the bug which Gabriella had installed in Joan’s phone.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1702

One of the reasons for Jory’s visit to Barrymore Group was to discuss collaboration with Simon. Being able to work together with a company of the same class would only reap benefits for Alpire Group. There was no reason for Jory not to give it a go.

Secondly, Jory came here to try his luck. He wanted to see if he could meet the woman who had rejected him back then. He also wanted to prove to her that he was not the worthless man she thought he was. In fact, he was a capable man of excellence, one who would make her regret her decision!

Between the two reasons, the second preceded the first. To him, it did not matter whether the business proposal fell through or not. If it did, then it meant good news for Alpire Group and its development; if it did not, it would not incur substantial damage to Alpire Group anyway.

Since it had come to this, Jory believed he had no more reason to stay. It was a shame, because Simon had made him a good cup of tea, and he had only taken a sip. He would not have the chance to drink again.

Simon’s mood obviously took a turn for the better now that Jory stopped bothering him about work. He even encouraged Jory to come visit him more often when the young man made to take his leave.

Of course, Jory was only being polite. After bidding farewell to Simon, accompanied by a smile, Jory placed his hand on the doorknob. He found it strange when he felt the knob shaking when he had barely made a move to turn it. Within half a second, the door of the chairman’s office flung open from the outside. The doorknob which Jory had been holding also sprung out of his hand.

The person who entered the room had on the professional white-collar outfit of a businesswoman, but it was her face which Jory had a hard time taking his eyes off. They had met before, first on the road a few days prior, and the second time in the elevator, just over half an hour ago.

Difference being, this time she had a document in hand. Earlier, she had been empty-handed. The woman also recognized the guest in the chairman’s office. Both of them bore the same frozen expression as they exchanged looks and locked eyes. Both were equally alarmed by the circumstances that brought them together. You again!

Simon assumed this was the first time they met. Ever since the engagement was called off, he thought the two would never have the chance to meet. Obviously, fate had other plans.

Although Simon would rather they remain strangers, it could not be helped that they were currently facing each other. So, Simon bit the bullet and proceeded to make introductions. “Jory, meet my daughter, Nancy.”

“Nancy, this is Jory, heir to Alpire Group.”

While Simon was doing that, the other two interpreted it differently. “There you have it. She’s your ex-fiancée, and he’s your ex-fiancé,” was what they heard.

Although they had met more than once… they had not exactly asked for the other person’s name. As a result, this official introduction turned out to be much more embarrassing than their previous chance encounters.

Jory was first to extend his hand. After all, he ought to be the gentleman in this situation, especially in front of a lady. Exercising basic courtesy, he said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Jory.”

Nancy was dumbfounded from the minute she opened the door and found him in her father’s office. Back at the elevator, she had been wondering who he was and what he was doing here. Is he the manager of some other company? Or perhaps one of our major shareholders! He did press the button for the twenty-sixth floor, so he must be here to meet Dad! What a surprise! This man whom I keep walking into happens to be that unlucky playboy I rejected years ago!

Nancy totally loathed the idea of him. She had always hated the kind of underachiever who somehow managed to live vicariously through the hard work of others.

And, well, he seemed to fit the bill of one of those young, rich heirs who would rather be chasing skirts all day.

So when she found out that he was her marriage partner, she wanted so badly to call it off. Even if she had not met Caspian then, she would have outright rejected Jory even if she had her head strapped on the guillotine!

But after the last two encounters, Jory did not seem to the terrible man she had pictured him to be. The man was tough on the outside, soft on the inside, genuinely cared about others, and would actively admit his mistakes. In contrast, it would take a miracle for Nancy to utter an apology.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1703

So you’re Nancy Barrymore! My so-called fiancée who dumped me for no reason!

That was the only thought that popped into Jory’s head when her name was revealed. However, he did not feel the slightest hint of hatred, which he had originally expected to have when they finally met. In fact, he realized he did not hate her at all. On the contrary, he seemed to have developed an interest in her.

“What a coincidence! This is the third time we meet, and I finally get to know your name. I’m really sorry for what happened just now. Why don’t I buy you a drink?” Jory took note of her crushed hand from earlier and decided to right his wrong.

Nancy was thinking along the same lines. “That’s what I was thinking! I’m really sorry for my rude behavior the other day. I haven’t thanked you enough for fixing my car.”

Simon was startled by their instant friendliness and willingness to buy each other a drink. Do they know each other already? Who has introduced them, and when did it all happen? There was no room for him to think, for the two young people had cheerfully left his office to get some drinks.

Jory and Nancy had gone to a bar with a rather unique ambience. It was unlike other bars she had seen before, which were mostly smoky, reeked of cigarettes, frequented by men looking for pleasure and women with obscure faces.

Jory simply ordered two glasses of wine with relatively low alcohol content, and was first to break the stalemate. “I didn’t expect our third meeting to turn out like this. To be honest, you’re quite different from what I imagined.”

Nancy grinned. “Oh, do tell me. What kind of image did you have of me? And how has that perception changed now that we’re formally introduced?”

Jory looked up at the crystal chandelier, with its sparkling glass crystals, hanging above him. After putting in some thought, he said, “Well, for starters, before I met you, you sounded like the kind of woman who would jump to conclusions about other people despite not knowing them well. When I met you, I thought of you as arrogant and capricious. Now, after meeting you for the third time, you’re actually quite alright.

“As for why it came to that, I can’t really tell. I guess it’s just a feeling people get after they realize they get to know each other!” Jory added.

Nancy toyed with the napkin on the table. “Don’t you want to know what I think of you?”

To her surprise, Jory shook his head. His mouth twitched as he spoke, “I don’t want to know, and I don’t think it’s worth finding out. If I remember correctly, you got married a few years ago, didn’t you?”

Nancy argued, “So what if I’m married? There’s no law that says a married woman cannot be friends with an unmarried man, is there?”

“If you ask me, pure friendships do not exist between men and women. In fact, it goes beyond that,” Jory gave a mysterious answer. He just wanted to let her know that he was not promiscuous at all, so that she would doubt her own judgments, especially the ones she had about him back then, all of which turned out to be false.

Nancy only got more confused, but she had always been straightforward, and that was how she responded. “I used to hear that you’re a run-of-the-mill playboy.”

“And? Has our meeting today changed your opinion of me? As the saying goes, seeing is believing. You should only believe what you see with your own eyes. So, now that you’ve met me, do you think I’m what the rumors say I am?” Jory asked jokingly, but his smile at that time was a bit more restrained than the ones he had on during their previous chance encounters.

“We’ve only just met for the third time. How should I know what kind of person you really are?” Nancy teased. “Who knows, maybe you’re deliberately putting up an act in order to hide your true nature.”

When Jory heard that, an odd feeling rose within him. His next comment was dripped with sarcasm. “Then, it seems my performance today wasn’t good enough, for you to think of me that way.”

Right then, the server brought them the wine they had ordered. Jory held the wine bottle in one hand and a glass in the other. He poured one for himself first, then another for Nancy. Gripping the bottom of the wine glass between his middle and index finger, he proposed a toast, “I’m sorry I rubbed you the wrong way. Allow me to drain my glass first.”

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1704

Nancy hesitated. She seldom consumed alcohol, and she had no idea what sort of drunk personality she would exhibit later. She examined the red liquid in the wine glass in front of her, her mind a tangled mess.

Jory could easily see through her thoughts. He arched his eyebrows at her as he spoke, “Don’t worry, I ordered wine with low alcohol content. Just go ahead and drink.”

Since he said that, she could not possibly refuse. She proceeded to take a sip of the wine. A spicy and bitter taste instantly exploded in her mouth. Ew, how can anyone drink this stuff? And even be addicted to it!

“You don’t really drink, do you? Then, we shouldn’t come here next time.” Jory observed the indescribable expression on her face. Her cheekiness had left the building. In its place was dismay.

Nancy coughed a few times. “Don’t mind me. I’ve always imagined that the next time we meet, we’ll either start a fight or verbal warfare. It’s never crossed my mind that we’ll be here, sitting at a table in a bar, having drinks and a lovely chat.”

Jory continued to sip on his wine while maintaining a rather elegant posture, like one of those members of nobility in one of those eighteenth-century oil paintings.

Nancy was not a seasoned drinker, and she had no plans to force herself. Sitting opposite Jory, she simply put down her glass and, resting her chin on her hands, watched him as he drank.

“By the way, what business do you have with my father? I saw you in the elevator this morning and there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you…” Nancy began. After careful consideration, she supposed she should not pass up such a good opportunity to dig up some answers. She might possibly be able to help Joan find out the truth behind the acquisition of Norton Corporation’s branches.

Jory had his eyes closed as he savored the sensation of alcohol exciting his taste buds. “Ask away.”

“Why does Alpire Group want to acquire the five branches of Norton Corporation?” Nancy asked as she blinked quizzically at him, keenly anticipating his response.

“For the money.” Jory had always answered questions in a simple and concise manner. His three-word reply was clear-cut and irrefutable because he had just laid out a bare fact. The fundamental purpose of mergers and acquisitions between companies was, ultimately, money-motivated!

Those three words completely stumped Nancy. She feigned calmness and took another sip of her drink, only to cover her mouth again as more coughing ensued.

Jory poured her a glass of plain water from the jug next to him. Between her coughs, it was strenuous for Nancy to express her gratitude. It took some time for her to recover and utter her thanks, however faintly it turned out.

“Of course, it’s for the money. I didn’t think it was a secret. As I said, a large part of a company’s growth has always been done through the acquisition of other companies and reaping the gains from their stocks in order to keep growing. You should know that, don’t you?”

Nancy nodded. She understood that acquisitions were performed with a financial motive, but that was not what she was asking at all. In her subconscious mind, she believed that Alpire Group’s repetitive moves to acquire Norton Corporation’s branches were essentially an attempt to gradually destroy the said company. Furthermore, Alpire Group’s greed did not come to an end when profits had been made. Instead, it intensified. Their plans were still being carried out progressively, while Norton Corporation was slowly being devoured by the giant.

Nancy knew the reason for the whole venture had to be beyond monetary gains, but she had no clue how to go about questioning Jory. To him, she was the woman who turned down the engagement and brought him much humiliation.

If she had been the one who had been divorced, she would probably remember it for the rest of her life and might not forgive the other person. Therefore, she could totally empathize with Jory’s current mood. She could not imagine how much it must have taken for the man to confront her, to let go of the past completely, and to let his guard down around her.

She held the glass of plain water that Jory had poured for her. The lukewarm temperature was similar to general feeling Jory rubbed off on her—gentle and approachable. But she refused to trust him so easily. She could not be sure if his gentlemanly appearance was a farce he put up just to confuse her. She could not be sure if the person before her was as gentle and elegant as the plain water in the glass, without a trace of danger.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1705

Hurriedly, she made up an excuse and left the bar, leaving Jory there all by himself. He did a lot of thinking. He thought about the past, the present, and the future. He let his imagination roam and his fantasies fly, and somehow he seemed to understand a little bit more why Dustin had been so desperately searching for that person…

He used to tease Dustin that he got hung up over a woman too easily, that he could never seem to let go of Joan. He often failed to understand why the man would rather reject the many wonderful women around him and continue to waste his efforts on a married woman.

Love does not discriminate when it comes to time or targets, and it makes matches in no particular order. How can you be sure who you’ll fall in love with in the next second? One could not predict when or how it would happen, just like Jory at the moment. He had no idea that he was starting to develop a different kind of feelings for Nancy. He supposed he might have fallen in love with her, but if someone asked him what love was, he could not come up with a clear answer.

“What’s up, Caspian? Are you still unable to contact the director of Alpire Group?”

“I’m afraid not, Boss. I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve searched for all the contact information of almost all the existing corporations, but I can’t find anything on Alpire Group!” Caspian reported. He was extremely anxious, for this was the first time he had ever felt so powerless. His efforts had been in vain.

On the other side, Larry was getting increasingly worried. “What can we do now? We want to meet them, but we can’t even find their contact number. The branches are being acquired one after another. If this goes on, we’ll eventually go out of business!”

Caspian did not respond. The noise on his side was getting louder and louder, so much so that Larry could barely make out his voice. Larry placed his ears closer to the receiver in desperate need to hear Caspian amid the noise, when the latter suddenly yelled, “Get them out of here!”

Before Larry could even ask the man whatever was going on, Caspian beat him to it. “Boss, whatever you do, don’t come to the company. I don’t know how the hell they did it but this place has been swarming with journalists for the past few days, especially today. They all want to come into the building to interview you. Boss, you cannot come here! They’ll have you cornered!”

“Caspian, what’s going on? Why are there suddenly so many journalists?” Larry asked uneasily.

“I don’t know, boss! There’s a lot more of them today! It’s like they have made a pact to swarm in here! I heavily suspect that they’re acting under someone else’s orders. Whatever you do, do not come here!”

Despite Caspian’s repeated warnings, Larry believed he had to go see for himself. He was the president of Norton Corporation. He should be shouldering all responsibility, and not be shielded by his staff. He was not a coward. Hence, he must step forward to bear the burden. As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. He understood that much since he took over his father’s company. He thanked Caspian hurriedly over the phone and swiftly made his way to the company.

Before Larry’s black car could even come to a stop in front of the company’s entrance, the journalists, all of whom had been pestering the front desk manager despite being blocked by the security guard, immediately swarmed towards the president. One by one, they pressed themselves on the car windows like layers of vines.

They held up microphones representing various TV stations and online shows. Behind them were the camera crew. They clung onto Larry, hungry and desperate for the latest scoop.

“Mr. Norton, can you tell us how your company’s doing lately?”

“Mr. Norton, can you talk about the underlying causes of the stock volatility?”

“Mr. Norton! Mr. Norton! What’s your opinion on the rumors that Norton Corporation’s about to be acquired by Alpire Group, the multinational company? “

“Mr. Norton, can you take a moment to accept our interview?”

Their many faces resembled the scary images one would often find in horror stories. They screamed, clamored, and twisted, while Larry struggled to catch his breath. He could not even make out their faces as he could only feel the opening and closing of their mouths. So much mumbling and murmuring rang about his ears, but he could hear nothing else other than the sounds of his own beating heart. Thump! Thump! Thump! It was all so deafening, as if the noise could pierce through his chest at any given moment.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1706

Larry did not have any bodyguard with him, so he had to push through the mob like a lone ranger. He moved through it with much difficulty, listening to the many voices in his ears throwing around the word “interview”. But he took no heed of it all, as he kept muttering to no one in particular, “Excuse me, coming through.”

Once Larry got out of his car, the ruckus downstairs suddenly got so loud that even Caspian, who was upstairs, noticed the oddity. No way! I just got off the phone with him! I told him not to come! How did he make it here so fast?

Caspian wanted to take the elevator down, but it took too long and he did not have the patience to wait. He stomped his feet once and decided he might as well use the stairs. He glanced downwards from the stairway and, as expected, spotted Larry’s tall, distinctive figure amid the crowd, surrounded by pesky media representatives and moving very slowly, with no one there to rescue him.

Caspian clenched his fists. Holding on to the handrails, he sprinted down the stairs, taking two to three steps at a time. When he reached the bottom, Larry barely managed to squeeze into the hall, blocked by a wall of humans. He did not see Caspian, and the latter, who had emerged outside, had lost the patience he once had.

When the commotion started, he still had the patience to confront the journalists and tell them, “Sorry for the inconvenience, but the president is busy. He will not be accepting interviews, but in time we’ll clarify our situation.” Now, witnessing these journalists and their stubborn refusal to back down, with little care for how other people feel, he decided that the time for niceness was over. He charged over, grabbed hold of a random journalist, and swiftly tossed him aside.

He was a soldier once. The skill had not completely left him. Since getting married, he had had one too many peaceful days, and never really had the need to practice. Surprisingly, the situation that day gave him a chance to exercise his muscles. One by one, he lifted the members of the press with ease. It did not matter they were male journalists at six feet tall, or female journalists weighing about a hundred pounds. Caspian picked them up like he was carrying chickens.

After getting rid of the last journalist who got in his way, Caspian spotted Larry who was trapped with no way out. He rushed to his front and gave the scowling journalists a telling off, “Look, you’re all well-known figures of the media. I’m sure you abide by your professional work ethics. The way you guys block the entrance to our company has greatly impacted our operations. If you still have the minimum level of conscience, please leave before we call the police. We will make an announcement about our company affairs in due time.”

Caspian’s statement had not completely fallen on deaf ears. Several journalists actually lowered their microphones, but there were still some restless troublemakers who would not take no for an answer.

“Then, tell us, sir. Why isn’t Mr. Norton, the president, responding to any of this? Why must you stand up for him?” The journalist raised her microphone so high that it almost poked another person in the eye.

Caspian detested these people and wanted to throw them over his shoulder countless times. Fortunately, he had managed to send Larry into the building before the journalists got them. Otherwise, he feared that they would ask more loaded questions.

One troublesome journalist was like a stubborn piece of gum. She stepped forward and clung onto Caspian, leaning towards him with her microphone, its logo facing the camera. It was like she needed the audience to know that she represented a weekly online news agency in Marsingfill.

If it weren’t for the fact that you’re a woman, and I don’t hit women, I would have taken you out moments ago. Gosh, these nosy journalists are even more insufferable than my wife! Those were the thoughts running through Caspian’s mind. He soon realized that the journalists who had previously lowered their microphones were raising them again. Perhaps the irksome journalist’s question happened to be right up their alley.

The situation escalated and got physical really fast. Some had resorted to grabbing Caspian by the sleeve, demanding an explanation.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1707

The tugging was the final straw for Caspian. He finally understood why there was always news about celebrities knocking down the camera crew’s gadgets, or agents assaulting journalists and such popping up all over the Internet. In the beginning, he would have pitied the media reps who were just doing their jobs, but at that moment… Well, they probably deserved it.

He sharply yanked his arm away and almost tore his sleeve. Then, he glared at his surroundings. If this were a movie, there would be raging flames burning behind him. With a growl, the horrible din around him came to a standstill. “It’s my pleasure to stand up for him. So what!”

Instantly, the mob fell silent. As soon as the words came out, Caspian wanted to bite his tongue. There were so many other ways to say it and he had to use those exact words! If that caused a misunderstanding of any sort, who knows what kind of news articles would show up online the next day?

He did not want to think about it. He wanted to get away from the mob as quickly as he could, but alas the place was tightly packed. Caspian could not stand it anymore. Lowering his head, he pushed through the stream of journalists, mumbling, “Let me through, let me through.”

It took a while for him to break out of the crowd. He quickly ran towards the security guard at the entrance and muttered incoherently, “Shut the doors! Don’t let those lunatics in!”

The security guard stared at him for a second, puzzled, but he knew the man was pretty close to the president. So, he obeyed, and closed the door quickly behind Caspian.

“Why did you come here? Didn’t I tell you very clearly not to do that?” As soon as Caspian stepped into the office, he darted towards the water dispenser. Arguing with the horde of journalists had gotten him extremely thirsty.

Larry ignored him. He sat in front of the computer, fingers busy tapping away on the keyboard. He brows furrowed tightly, and for a moment everything around him became nothing more than an illusion.

“Boss, I’m talking to you. Are you angry?” Caspian gulped down a mouthful of water but he talked too fast and almost choked.

Larry still did not turn his attention to him. Impatiently, Caspian leaned forward to peek at the computer screen.

Caspian rested one hand on Larry’s desk and the other on the back of his chair. Larry’s computer screen displayed a mixture of languages. Even Caspian, who claimed to be a computer expert, felt dizzy just looking at them.

“Isn’t this… the exact IP address that belongs to S?” Caspian stared at the familiar string of codes before he realized what they were. This was the IP address that caused him so much confusion and grief back then! Difference being, Caspian found many IP addresses that time, while Larry only managed to find the one and only.

Larry merely glanced at him, and swiftly turned his attention back to the IP address on the computer screen.

“My gosh! How did you manage to find that?” Caspian exclaimed as he patted Larry on the shoulder. “Even I couldn’t find it. And I’ve spent hours searching for it. Boss, where did you pick up this skill? “

Larry rubbed his chin and totally avoided the question. “Are the journalists gone?”

“Ah? No, I guess not. I asked the security guard to bar the door and not to let them in. Boss, you haven’t really answered my question yet.”

Larry simply grabbed a fountain pen and scribbled the address on a piece of paper. “This IP address belongs to Alpire Group, not S.” Paying no attention to Caspian’s stunned expression, Larry continued, “Thanks to your reminder, I’ve just realized that this address is the same as one of the many IP addresses we have come across which could be traced to S.

“I’m just taking a guess. S gave us a warning some time ago. That might indicate that he’s somehow related to Alpire Group, whose target is to acquire us. He may have sent us different photos from different locations, and I’m guessing that one of those might just be Alpire Group.”

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1708

Caspian gave him a thumbs up. “Yes! That’s right! If that’s the case, Alpire Group and S are definitely related to each other. Besides, Alpire Group seems to have been plotting to acquire our company for a long time. I don’t think they’re after us for the money.”

Larry mulled over it for a while before replying, “Exactly, and that was what I worried about the most, but, alas, it’s now confirmed to be true. Anyway, what does S want from us?”

Meanwhile, Nancy was ordering coffee in a café. Her ears immediately perked up the moment she heard two of the servers gossiping about Norton Corporation.

“I wonder what’s the relationship between this guy and Mr. Norton.”

What kind of relationship could they be referring to? Countless questions flashed through Nancy’s mind as she sipped on her coffee, straining her ears to listen more.

“Yeah, it does look suspicious. Look at him—he is even publicly defending Mr. Norton.”

As the servers continued to chatter and giggle at their phones, Nancy could not wait to share what she heard with Joan and rushed back to her seat.

They bumped into each other while on their way to Norton Corporation. Thinking that she had not formally apologized to Joan for locking her out previously, Nancy decided to invite Joan for a coffee together at a café nearby. After all, their previous conflict was not something easy to be resolved.

“Joan, just now I heard the servers gossiping about Larry’s relationship with another guy. I wonder what’s that about.” Nancy eyed the counter, signaling Joan to look at the servers.

Joan could not help but roll her eyes. What relationship? What guy? Brushing aside the rumor, she told Nancy to pay no mind on the silly tittle-tattle. Just when Joan was about to take a sip on her coffee, Nancy sprang up from her seat, pointing at the phone in her hand. “Oh my God!”

“Gosh, Nancy, stop being so jumpy. I’ve had enough of stress at the company these few days. My poor little heart can barely take it anymore,” Joan said, patting her chest.

Nancy continued to stare wide-eyed at her and smiled stiffly, handing her the phone. “Okay, I’ll shut up. Have a look at this yourself.”

In the video, a group of journalists was swarming a man in the middle. Since this clip was taken by one of the onlookers in the jostling crowd, the whole footage was so shaky that it made Joan dizzy.

As the clip went on, the crowd got even denser. As such, Joan could not see the face of the man who was surrounded. Nevertheless, she clearly heard the journalists asking questions related to Norton Corporation. Before the clip ended, someone among the crowd shouted, “I don’t care! I’ll help him no matter what!”

Wait a minute. That’s Caspian’s voice. Turning towards Nancy, she saw her burying her face in her hands as if she was so embarrassed that she could not bring herself to face anyone.

The short clip immediately spread throughout all entertainment news with the headlines: ‘The Commotion in Front of the Norton Corporation’, ‘Norton Corporation’s Staff Is Gay’, ‘Staff of the Norton Corporation Provokes the Journalists’. At the time of their viewing, the footage had about fifty thousand likes and twenty thousand comments.

The majority of the comments were about the relationship between Larry and the staff. Joan could not help but sigh at the speed of the news became viral on the internet—probably faster than the speed of a rocket launch. The media is taking the content in this video out of context. It clearly shows that the man is only trying to get his friend out of a sticky situation. Yet, the media misled the audience into thinking it was something else.

Joan handed the phone back to Nancy, speechless. Nancy threw her phone into her bag and stepped out of the café with a grim expression, muttering, “I’m going to see him now!”

After leaving a tip on the table, Joan hurriedly took her bag and trailed behind Nancy to look for the protagonists in the video. Have the words about the company’s crisis spread out? Otherwise, why are those reporters flocking the company?

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1709

When Nancy and Joan arrived there, the entrance was not as crowded as the video clip just now, but there were still a few journalists left. Some of them were pestering the security guards while the rest were hanging around, waiting for the people from Norton Corporation to come out.

As they were about to step inside, one of the journalists recognized Joan as Larry’s wife and yelled about her presence. In an instant, all the others whipped their heads around and looked at her like a pack of hungry wolves before rushing towards her and seizing the opportunity to take all the photos they could.

Joan immediately realized the incoming trouble. She shielded her face with her arms and picked up her pace, trying her best to pass through the journalists. But whenever she took a step forward, they would block her way and refused to budge.

Unlike Joan, Nancy could no longer stand the reporters’ questions. I’m not scared of them. I’ve got a black belt in Taekwondo. She then raised her phone in the air and put on a stern face to scare them off. “Get out of our way! I’ll call the police and let you guys be arrested for being a public nuisance.”

As expected, as soon as they heard the word “police,” most of them quickly lowered their microphones and cameras. Meanwhile, when the others saw their fellow journalists had chickened out, they also gave up on interviewing the two ladies. Indeed, instead of risking their careers to get some shocking news, it was better to let the ladies through. Therefore, they glanced at each other before allowing a path for them.

Nancy let out a snort deliberately and walked into the building with Joan, leaving the annoying reporters behind.

Before they even reached the office’s door, they could hear Caspian laughing and cheering inside the room, like a kid who was given candy.

“I bet you’re happy because you know you’ve gone viral on the internet, aren’t you?” Nancy went forward and knocked Caspian on the head.

Baffled, Caspian had two questions in his mind. Why is Nancy here? And how have I gone viral? He had absolutely no clue.

Seeing right through his mind, Nancy chucked her phone to him and said, “Look at this.”

Caspian caught it fluidly and watched the video with Larry, who had leaned closer to the phone out of curiosity. After they finished viewing it, they stared at each other, dumbfounded.

Caspian’s expression immediately turned livid as if he wanted to burn the phone in front of him with the fire in his widened eyes. “Who the hell filmed this? And what on earth are these nonsense comments? Do they have a death wish? I’m more than happy to end their lives!”

Judging by Larry’s expression, he was obviously displeased with the video. However, Caspian’s reaction was so amusing that he wanted to laugh out loud. With a stern expression, he said, “How could they spew nonsense? They can be sued for libel.”

Caspian continued to grumble, “Was I wrong to defend Larry? These people are a bunch of shameless bastards who have nothing better to do in their lives!”

At that point, Larry suddenly remembered what he and Caspian had discovered just now. Turning his laptop to Joan, he said, “Hey, take a look at what Caspian and I have found regarding the IP address of S.”

Hearing his words, Joan retracted her gaze from Caspian and bent down to look at the laptop screen. “I thought you guys previously said that S sent each of the images using many different IP addresses. What have you guys found this time?”

Nancy was also curious about their findings and waited patiently for Larry’s explanation. “Do you remember the warning S sent a long time ago? I was thinking if the warning was actually a foreshadowing of Alpire Group’s intention to buy our company and if S and their company were related to each other. So, I checked the IP address of their company, and Caspian then accidentally found that out of the many IP addresses that S used, one of them was exactly the same as the IP address of Alpire Group,” Larry spoke solemnly.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1710

“So, you’re saying that S might be someone from Alpire Group and that there’s a possibility that S had sent one of the images from their company,” Joan replied.

Caspian shook his finger. “No, it’s not a possibility; it’s a certainty. He must be someone from Alpire, and they must have been plotting to buy our company for a good amount of time.”

As the three of them continued to discuss the matter, no one noticed that Nancy’s expression was turning grimmer by the minute. Sure enough, it’s Alpire Group who did it. Suddenly, she remembered the guy who quarreled and fought with her on the roadside and hurt her finger in the elevator.

Oh my, is he the one who did it? But he looks so cheerful and positive. However, if he is really the one, it means he has the upper hand because he knows so much about the Norton Corporation, but none of us knows anything about him. Most importantly, if he is S, the fact that he can acts so casually in front of me, despite his schemes, really makes my blood run cold.

Nancy gulped anxiously, trying her best to conceal her emotions. What will happen if Caspian found out about our past? Judging by his character, the matter would definitely be spiraled out of control. I would best pretend like I know nothing, then everything would stay as it is.

Therefore, Nancy opted to zip her lips and remained silent. Who is Jory Synder actually? Now it seems he’s not just an ordinary playboy. Wait, Jory Synder? Synder? S? Could he be the mysterious S we’ve been looking for?

Although Nancy did not know much about Jory, her gut was telling her that he was not S. So, instead of telling the rest about the conjecture in her mind, she decided that she should go and ask Jory herself if he was S. If he really was S, I’d like to know why he did that! If he wasn’t, then we might become good friends! I sure hope he isn’t though… No matter what, Nancy hoped that he was not the person who had been sending weird images to Norton Corporation.

“Nancy? Nancy?” Joan waved her hand in front of her. Crap! I was so lost in my thought that I didn’t realize that she’s been calling me.

She hastily turned to Joan. “Yes, Joan? Anything?”

Joan teased, “Did you really get shocked by the news just now?”

Unable to contain himself, Larry burst into laughter upon hearing that.

Caspian immediately turned red.

On the other side, Jory thought he must be out of his mind. Ever since the last time he met Nancy, he had no idea why he would come to the place where they first met every day. There was one time the traffic was so congested that he had the urge to take a shovel and remove all the obstructions in front of him.

Seeing the then empty road, his heart felt inexplicably empty, and he yearned to have something to fill the vacancy in his heart. Feeling frustrated, he turned his steering wheel and wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Suddenly, he saw a red Bentley passing by and without a second thought, he immediately floored the accelerator and sped down the road. However, the red Bentley was also moving very fast. Hot on its tail, Jory fixed his eyes on the rear of the car for fear of losing sight of it.

The sound of the honks from the other vehicles grew louder and louder, but he heard none of them and continued to weave through the traffic like a madman, ignoring all the angry glares from the other drivers.

Finally, the red Bentley came to a stop, but Jory was so out of it that he only realized that when he was about to crash into the rear-end of the Bentley. He hit the brakes immediately, lurching forward. After he moved back to his original position, only then did he realize that his forehead and his palms were drenched with sweat. He then opened the door mechanically and stepped out of his car.