CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 125. FISHING IN CLEAR WATER

After calling Henry, Sarah agreed to meet the man the next day. This time, it was in the same restaurant that Amber used when she called Sarah to talk about Mason. It was rather funny, both felt like they were trying to be seen as something more; like children pretending to be adults.

Well, that also meant it was serious business.

Asking for a meeting right away also meant he was getting impatient. It seemed like Austin’s investigation was true: they were lacking funds on the project because the land’s price was higher than they expected, not to mention hush money and all the bribes for the local politicians and officials.

"This much, Miss."

"Well, we do have it," Henry turned his focus back to Sarah. "But you know it means your investment will have to match the current market value, right?"

"That was only the shares owned by the holding company," the assistant said, motioning to the first card. "If we add the ones personally owned by the President..."

Looking at him, Sarah wondered if Henry was just trusting Daesung or if he just didn’t know much about what happened in the field. But that was better for her. "Good, good. As I said, I also won’t ask for much--hell, I won’t even ask for money."

"Too bad..." Sarah cut her castella with a disappointed sigh. "I prepared so much money, but you only have this much."

"What is it?"

Again, Henry turned toward the assistant, who immediately stood on his knees while taking out a phone from his inner pocket. "I’ll have to make a few calls first, Sir."

Henry blinked in confusion. This time, even the assistant’s gaze flickered alive, as if things were finally getting interesting for him. Sarah smiled and leaned forward, propping her chin with her intertwined hands.

"Ahem..." Henry cleared his throat and tapped the table softly to pull Sarah back in. He couldn’t afford to fail this investment now. "Alright, alright--but we won’t fail, so--"

Hajin nodded and replied nonchalantly. "It’s doable."

"Are you kidding me?" Henry immediately hit the table, causing the cups and plates to wobble and rattle. His deep frown returned, but Sarah ignored the glare.

This time, however, he came with someone else; a man who looked in his forties and reminded Sarah of Chief Secretary Park. Sarah thought the man was Henry’s secretary at first, but the man wasn’t there during their last conversation.

"Understood."

"If you have more, I can speeend it all~" Sarah continued.

Her eyes twinkled. "Shares."

"Come on, this is the first time I use this much money, you know. If it fails, I’m going to be ruined!" Sarah argued.

"Huh?"

Sarah handed the card to Hajin after reading the number, looking totally unimpressed. The value didn’t match the number of shares she knew they had. Not because it was too much, but because it was too little. And since there was no way they would put it undervalued, it meant they hid the actual amount they had, perhaps thinking Sarah wouldn’t have that much money anyway.

Of course, she could wait until the price dropped and people were mass selling in panic, but...if she could destroy one or two bad companies while at it, why wait?

Sarah pursed her lips and turned her face away, sulking. Henry flinched slightly in fluster--not because she looked cute while acting like that--but because it hot too close to home. Getting scrutinized and geared for achievement was something that he knew very well already.

"We’ll draft the contract and contact you again, Miss. Or should we contact your lawyer instead?" the assistant took over quickly, probably worried about Henry offending their new investor.

Watching Sarah pursing her lips while replying vaguely, Henry furrowed his brows. "What now?"

Sarah wasn’t really listening, just thinking about how delicious the meal was. The place was indeed pretentious, but the chef’s skill was excellent.

The man proceeded to go to the next room--which was empty--while making a call. Sarah was convinced now that the man was sent by Henry’s father, either from the secretary’s office or the strategic department. That being said, the decision seemed to be in Henry’s hands still, so that was good.

"Hmph."

"Don’t be impatient," Sarah chuckled, taking the teacup that Hajin gave her and leisurely drinking her tea while Henry was very clearly trying to suppress his annoyance. The ’assistant’ behind him, on the other side, was calm and unexpressive. Definitely not one of his people. Gently placing the cup down after feeling satisfied with her observation, Sarah continued with a smile. "I told you I had already prepared the money, I just...need some insurance."

Sarah knew that buying shares that were available for the public wouldn’t bring her anywhere near the management rights. But no matter how much money she had, she couldn’t buy something that people didn’t sell. Something that they had already owned and was still of value.

Was he someone sent by Henry’s father? Perhaps someone from the secretary’s office to help Henry seal the deal?

"Then?" the scowl gradually eased up when the answer came to Henry’s brain. "Yours? HS?"

"Is this the value of all the shares your side has?" Sarah asked dryly.

"Of course," Henry replied right away, brimming with confidence. "We’re going to start in the fall."

Henry arched his brow. "Why? Is someone interested in this too?"

The space between Henry’s brows dipped lower. "What?"

How interesting.

Rather than answering right away, Henry glanced at the assistant instead. Sarah already knew the answer from Austin, but she waited patiently. The man seemed to contemplate it for a few seconds before finally nodding.

Sarah maintained a nonchalant expression as she asked back. "How much would it be?"

"But I’m going to be scolded, then! Do you think it’s fine getting schooled in front of my grandpa’s loyalist?"

Henry blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

Sarah clasped her hands. "That’s alright! We can wait while eating."

Dirty work, like sewage, hid expenses in unknown places and sucked coins endlessly.

He slid the new card and Sarah handed it to her bodyguard. "How about it, Puppy?"

"Well, I told you I need to think about this deeply," Sarah replied with a smile, sitting on the floor mat with trained elegance. Her tone was neutral and lighthearted, as if this meeting was nothing more than a normal afternoon tea session. "Besides, it takes a while to put everything in one account--not everything I own is liquid, you know."

Oh, so he wasn’t a total dimwit. Sarah hid her smile behind her intertwined hands. "You have it, right?"

Henry looked relieved for a second, before returning to his default, haughty expression. "Once again, it’s just collateral, okay? If the project is successfully finished, then the contract is void," he warned Sarah. "It’ll become a normal investment contract."

"Wait, wait--I need to discuss this first!"

.

Still, she felt like Hajin’s homemade food tasted better.

"Uh-huh?"

"I told you I’m doing it so the geezers won’t get in my case, right?" Sarah told them. "So, I was thinking about what would make those geezers happy."

"Took you a while."

"Okay!" Sarah clasped her hands. "Let’s do this then."

"Don’t misunderstand," she laughed despite the tension in the air. "I don’t mean your company’s shares."

"Don’t worry, don’t worry--I won’t ask for much," Sarah waved her hand dismissively, once again returning to her lighthearted tone that made it seem like everything was easy and rosy. "It’s also not insurance in case the project does not profit enough, only in case the project falls through--which is impossible, right?"

The assistant returned to his original position afterward, and Sarah leaned forward, talking a bit quietly. "Anyway, you said there are several slots for investors, right? Are they still available?"

"You think we’d have a lot of yours? We don’t really have any interest in--" Henry started to spout in annoyance, before the assistant nudged him sharply on the side. He paused and, after sneaking a glare at the assistant, cleared his throat. "Ahem. What about it?"

"Of course, of course. It’s just for show, you know," Sarah swatted the air. "But you do have more than I thought--I mean, for an outsider."

What could Henry do then? He just nodded in affirmation. "Do that"

"Well..."

"Just contact me," Sarah said. "I’ll send someone over, then."

Immediately, he turned toward the assistant. They whispered closely while Sarah continued to enjoy her dessert. After telling Sarah to wait for a little bit, the assistant made another call--shorter this time--and returned with a new number on a new card.

While waiting for the long phone call, the meal came and Sarah enjoyed it through Henry’s incessant rumbling about how great the project was and how even greater he was for being appointed to lead such a great project...or something like that.

"Then there’s no need to worry, right? I also don’t want this to fail, you know. I joined in for my portfolio too. Isn’t it more profitable if it’s a success?" Sarah said with a shrug. "I just want to avoid those geezers’ long speech about being careful or whatever. They won’t be able to speak much if there’s insurance, right?"

The man returned when they were about to eat dessert. He had a plain card in his hand, which he slid across the table for Sarah. On the back of the card was a number--the amount they would be willing to put the HS shares they had as collateral for the investment.

As usual, Henry never greeted with good afternoon or good evening, or even good day. A set of refreshments was already in front of him, as usual not bothering to wait. Also, as usual, he looked annoyed at Sarah’s tardiness, with a mix of exasperation. It seemed like he got used to it after three times.

"Maybe we should just use the rest to diversify, Master," Hajin offered, prompting Henry to raise his hand abruptly.

"Haa...fine," Henry sighed. He already learned that Sarah was truly doing whatever she wanted. A wild spirit, but that was exactly why controlling her would feel very nice later. "But this means you’re going to invest, right?"

"Hmm..."

"It won’t fail," Henry scoffed and crossed his arms haughtily. "Besides, does it matter if you don’t have your money? You just need to marry."

"I don’t know yet, but I can try to talk to some people if you want," Sarah smiled. "Like Daniel."