billion book
Chapter 77
Chapter 77
The next day, tabloids and social media were ablaze with a scandalous piece of news. Mr. Bainbridge of the Chadwick Group had gotten plastered during a night out and caused a scene at a hotel, stripping down and performing an impromptu striptease before being hauled off by the cops.
The video showed Bainbridge, out of control and stark naked, in the throes of a drunken frenzy.
Eventually, a concerned bystander called the police, and they carted him away.
After a total rager of a night, Jarvis managed to spring him, stinking like a brewery.
Smack! Smack! Two sharp slaps landed on Bainbridge’s face.
“Are you sober up yet?” Jarvis had spent the entire night cleaning up the mess, calming the nerves of the Chadwick Group’s employees, and spinning the narrative that Summit Corp’s backing would guarantee a brighter future for the company.
Thanks to his efforts, the stock prices had stabilized by morning. That 20% stake seemed to be the only casualty.
He hadn’t expected his son to cause such a debacle.
“Dad, Larkin set me up! He said if I downed those drinks, he’d have my back,” Bainbridge sobbed, his clothes crumpled and reeking of spoiled sauerkraut. “He left me naked in the hotel lobby!”
For Bainbridge, who was all about appearances, this was worse than death.
Smack!
Jarvis slapped him again. “Pull yourself together! History is written by the victors! All this infamy means nothing in the face of power and status!”
Sobbing uncontrollably, Bainbridge whimpered, “What do I do now?”
“Wait,” Jarvis said, a shadow crossing his eyes.
“Wait until your grandfather’s 70th birthday bash. He’ll hand over his 30% stake to us. For now, keep your head down!”
Bainbridge nodded eagerly, his former arrogance nowhere in sight.
“And, get the Sawyer family to cover our losses. The condition is that you’ll marry Vivien,” Jarvis sneered. “Better yet, get her pregnant. Your grandfather loves kids.”
These were all just pawns in his game. He had conveniently forgotten how he had disparaged Vivien at the hospital.
11-071
ang W be a grand birthday present for Grandpe: Bainbridge
sense of purpose and a hint of malice in his voice.
Like fathat like son
Waldo to lay low for a while. Your grandfather’s getting suspicious”
But Howard
He’s a piece of trash! Once we get those shares and control over the Chadwick Group, we’ll deal with him once and for all
Bainbridge clenched his teeth and nodded in agreement.
Gwendolyn returned to the hospital after her leave ended.
Aken Yates praised her solid foundation and trusted her with the minor cases when things got busy. She spent the day administering injections, feeling the ache in her back
and shoulders.
“Gwendolyn, it’s getting dark. Head home early” Aiken kindly suggested as he reviewed patient files.
He saw great potential in this young nurse and offered her a full–time position.
al do.” Gwendolyn packed up and left the hospital.
The night was pitch–black, and the streets were getting empty.
She walked to the bus stop in the dim glow of the streetlights, trying to catch the last bus
home at ten.
Checking the time on her phone, Gwendolyn remembered that this was when she usually finished with Howard’s acupuncture.
Suddenly, her phone screen lit up with several messages from a college roommate she rarely spoke to.
One message in particular stopped her cold. [Gwendolyn, Mamie’s dead]
[They say she racked up a peer–to–peer loan of over twenty thousand dollars, and the loan sharks threatened to leak her intimate photos. Her parents and relatives back home are humiliated, disowning her. Mamie was on the run, dodging debt collectors, when she got hit by a car. She died instantly.]
Gwendolyn’s fingers tightened around her phone, and her grip white–knuckled.
The news of Mamie’s death was a shock. She couldn’t quite identify the mix of emotions swirling within her.