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Chapter 7 Three People with Their Own Agendas

The next day, Alice and Nova sat across from each other in Zachary's office.

Alice smirked and said, "Is Mr. Hall trying to make her apologize to me? Kneeling in a skirt can be pretty painful, but I don't mind. If you're so sincere, then let's get started."

Nova frowned. Normally, if someone tried to humiliate her like this, she'd fight back without a second thought. But after talking with her mom, Olivia, last night, she decided to keep her cool.

She thought, 'I'll put up with this for now. Once you're in the company, I'll have plenty of ways to ruin you! You weren't a match for me five years ago, and you still aren't now!'

Alice didn't get the hysterical outburst she expected from Nova, leaving her well-prepared rant unused. Nova's unusual behavior puzzled Alice, but she figured it was Zachary's doing. She couldn't help but admire his skill in turning even a spitfire like Nova into a docile lamb.

Alice had her own plans. She wanted to force them to make her join the company. Only then could she show Nova what it meant to open the door for her own enemy! She wanted Nova to see how she would bring her down step by step, making her fall into the dust and never rise again!

She wanted to repay the humiliation from five years ago a hundredfold.

Zachary's face was grim. Although he had agreed to give her a chance last night, he had no fondness for her. How could he even try?

Now, he liked her even less.

"I can compensate you in other ways. Name your terms," Zachary said.

"I lack nothing but an apology," Alice insisted, her goal being to provoke him.

"I brought you here to solve the company's problems. Based on your current behavior, I don't think you have the capability," Zachary implied that successful people should be magnanimous. All he saw in her was pettiness and a focus on immediate disputes, questioning her long-term vision.

Facing Zachary's insult, Alice didn't back down and retorted, "Such a big company has such serious problems, and you haven't figured out the key issues but are very experienced in lecturing others? Who is the real culprit here?"

Alice implied that as the head of many companies, he hadn't even figured out the basic issues causing the company's problems. What right did he have to call her short-sighted? The real reason for the company's decline was his poor management!

Nova looked puzzled. She didn't understand their veiled insults and couldn't ask openly, so she pretended to be deep in thought.

Zachary frowned, but Alice continued, "The company has been hollowed out from within! With such a big leech, no wonder the company hasn't improved." Nova hadn't yet grasped Alice's blatant sarcasm and was still trying to figure out their cryptic conversation.

Zachary fell silent, reminded of something by Alice's words.

The development of the Happy Tots site was outsourced. They didn't have that industry in-house, and Nova was in charge of the outsourcing. He remembered Nova telling him that the final payment was settled mid-project.

So why were workers not getting paid in the end?

There was definitely something fishy.

Back in the day, Nova was in charge of the company's cash flow. Despite the constant losses, Zachary just thought she was bad at management and hired someone to help her out, but it didn't make a difference.

He hadn't really thought about it before, but now he realized there was a bigger issue.

"Are you saying there's a mole in the company?" Zachary asked.

"Exactly," Alice replied, nodding.

Nova finally caught on—they were talking about a mole in the company.

She tensed up, thinking she couldn't let this conversation go any further.

Originally, she was supposed to help the company recover, but now it was implicating her?

The more she thought about it, the more scared she got. Suddenly, she lunged at Alice, "How dare you insult Zachary! I'll rip your mouth apart."

The sudden outburst shocked both of them, but Alice reacted quickly, pushing her chair forward to block Nova, ready to fight back.

Zachary also jumped in, pulling Nova back.

"Zachary," Nova looked at him with pitiful eyes.

Zachary didn't respond, his mind occupied with the thought of a mole in the company.

He pulled her behind him and looked at Alice.

"So, how do you propose to save Jewel Sparkle?" He wanted to hear what suggestions Alice had.

Alice glanced at Nova, thinking she was suspicious. But with Zachary there, she couldn't say it outright and needed to gather evidence secretly.

Zachary's protectiveness of Nova reminded her of Henry. Could Henry grow up to be a domineering CEO? Alice didn't connect the two but thought her son would be handsome and successful when he grew up.

Zachary stared at Alice, thinking she was contemplating how to save Jewel Sparkle, unaware that her thoughts had wandered.

She quickly snapped back and sarcastically said, "Mr. Hall, you're the president of such a large group, but you don't even know how to save this company?"

"I'm in a good mood today, so I can give you some pointers." She smiled. "Based on my understanding of the company, the best business right now is children's design. There have been successful cases before. We urgently need a child spokesperson to promote it. If the advertisement goes viral, we can capture a large part of the children's clothing market."

Zachary nodded. He agreed that the best way to break the deadlock was through Happy Tots, the company's most promising and only viable project.

"Alright, I'll set a goal for you. I want to see results within a month. You can start from any department, but I want to see improvement in a month," he said.

Alice sneered, "Mr. Hall, you seem to have forgotten something. Do you need me to remind you?"

Was he trying to brush this off with her? Dream on!

"Alice, don't push your luck!" Zachary was annoyed.

He thought, 'This woman is smart but too petty.'

He had to admit, she could always provoke him, even if it was in a bad way. In contrast, Nova was obedient but couldn't stir any emotions in him.

Alice remained silent, refusing to back down without any benefits. She was no longer the person she was five years ago.

"Come back with this request after you achieve results in a month," Zachary budged.

"What if you go back on your word?" Alice compromised slightly.

"I'll make sure you get what you want."

"Alright, it's a deal."

Improving the company in a month was a tough challenge! Especially with a mole in the company...

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