Exposing the Charade of Deep Affection - Season 3 Episode 4

He was speaking when the box door was pushed open. The man who came in was somewhat aged,

looking almost fifty. I recognized him – it was Wesley Smith, the man in charge of economic planning

for the entire River City.

As soon as he walked in, he said with a smile, “Are we not drinking today? Walter, you invite me to

dinner and don’t drink, I came out risking being scolded by your aunt. If we’re not drinking, I’m leaving.”

In the midst of speaking, he also saw me, paused, and said, “This is Tabatha, isn’t it?”

I quickly stood up to greet him, “Hello, Mr. Smith.” I knew that Wesley had some personal connections

with the Hinton family, but I had never met them directly before.

Wesley nodded with a smile, gesturing for me to sit down and chat. After he sat down, he looked at

Walter and said, “You didn’t invite me here today just to keep me from drinking, did you?”

Walter, for once, didn’t have a cold expression on his face. He smiled faintly and said, “Drink, I’ll drink

with you. But let’s wait until after you’ve finished your business, then we’ll drink.”

The “you” here, of course, referred to Wesley and me.

Hearing this, Wesley glanced at me, laughing in an elder-like manner, “Tabatha, look, it’s been several

years since he last invited me for a drink. This time he invited me, it’s all because of you. It seems that

you young couple have deep feelings for each other.”

I tugged at my lip, momentarily at a loss for words, and simply said,

“You flatter me, Mr. Smith.”

Wesley chuckled and said, “It seems I have to discuss work with you first, otherwise I won’t be able to

drink this wine tonight.” He continued, “I’ve heard some about the Conner Group from Walter, but there

are many large companies in River City. Nowadays, there are quite a few companies competing for

these projects in the southern district. Do you have any bid documents or plans? Tell me about them

first, so I can get a general idea. After all, these are projects worth billions, which will affect the future of

the entire River City. Personally, given my relationship with the Hinton family, I would sign. off on these

projects for you directly. But this is a major matter, and I can’t make the decision alone. So, you need to

show your strength and advantages, and then I can speak up for you.”

He understood his point. After all, many large corporations in River City, including those from outside

the province and even abroad, were planning to accept these projects. If they were so easy to get,

Alexander wouldn’t have been up all night revising the bid.

I roughly explained the advantages of the Conner Group and the bidding plan that Alexander had made

to Wesley. After listening, he nodded slightly. After a moment of silence, he looked at Walter and said,

“I listened carefully, and this is the case. The project in the southern region is too large. If it is all

handed over to the Conner Group, let alone other things, even the funds can’t keep up with the current

strength of the Conner Group. So, Tabatha, if you guys are planning to take over the entire project, I’m

afraid it will be very difficult to complete in the end.”

A project worth tens of billions was indeed too much for the Conner Group to handle all at once. I

nodded, looking at him and said, “Mr. Smith, this is indeed the case. We only bid to get one or two

projects in the southern area. What do you think about this? The municipal and cultural sports park

construction projects can be handed over to the Conner Group.”

He sighed slightly, somewhat troubled, “Tabatha, if these projects could have been bid on separately,

this matter wouldn’t have dragged on until now. It’s precisely because of the consideration of the

interconnection between these projects that the municipal committee has been thinking about finding a

company that can take on all these projects.”

From what he said, if there wasn’t the capability to take on all the projects, then there would be no

consideration for others.

For a moment, I fell into a slight silence. All the projects, the Conner Group couldn’t handle them,

but…

Seeing my silence, Walter spoke up. “Isn’t there any other way?”

Wesley paused slightly, saying, “Yes, there is, but you have to handle this privately. The Municipal

Committee has discussed that if two companies can jointly take over these projects, it is also

possible.”

Two companies?

I hesitated for a moment, turning my gaze to Walter. His expression faltered slightly as he said,

“Grandma has already withdrawn her shares from the Hinton Group and has no plans to get involved in

any of the city’s construction projects.”

Hearing this, I pursed my lips, falling into silence for a moment.

After a while, Wesley said, “It seems that a foreign company in Freyhedge is also planning to take over

this project, Tabatha. You might as well negotiate with the person in charge there. This project is large

in funding and high in risk, the other party may also need a partner to share the risk. You can talk to

them, maybe it’s possible.”

Freyhedge?

“I couldn’t help but wonder, mainly because Daniel’s identity was too

special, it was hard not to think more. Looking at Wesley, I asked, “Is

it the Monroe Group?”