The CEO's Empathy Pregnancy Pains

As expected, Emily tagged along with Abigail back home again.

Michael didn't even get a chance to chat with her, let alone have a deep conversation. Feeling pretty helpless, he headed back to Smith Corporation and got to work.

Luckily, there were some leads in the investigation.

At least Michael's trip before wasn't a total waste.

Ever since Roger stirred up trouble last time, Michael started digging into why Roger suddenly came back to the country and decided to settle in Emerald City with his wife and two daughters. Sure enough, he found some inside details.

Michael asked, "You mean he's in debt overseas?"

Andrew handed him the tablet and said, "More like he owes a ton of money."

Taking the tablet, Michael started going through Roger's recent spending records.

Sure enough, apart from Alice and Luna, Roger and his wife's spending had tanked. Plus, Roger seemed to be constantly juggling deficits between domestic and foreign accounts.

Basically, he was using small domestic profits to cover a massive foreign debt, but that wasn't gonna work long-term. The Ward family was on the edge of bankruptcy.

Andrew added, "So, it's pretty clear why he came to the company to mess with you. He's probably after the money your dad promised, so..."

Seeing Michael's face get darker, Andrew stopped talking.

The office was quiet except for the sound of Michael making coffee. After a while, he slowly looked up and poured the freshly made coffee into the trash. "From the start, I never planned to take back that ten percent of the shares. Considering my dad's promise, he could still be seen as a friend of the Smith family."

"Ten percent of Smith Corporation's shares, everyone in Emerald City knows what that means in terms of profit. But even so, he's still not satisfied, still wants to take the shares and fight with me. Why does it have to get to the point of no return before he stops?"

Thinking about this gave Michael a massive headache and a deep sense of sorrow.

After so many years in business, he knew he couldn't fully grasp human nature.

But as his dad's best friend, Roger really shouldn't be like this. Was he truly that eager to amass wealth by stepping on others?

Michael didn't get it, so he just kicked Andrew out of the office and stayed alone for a long time.

Scarlett said, "He's in the office, right?"

Scarlett showed up at Smith Corporation in the evening.

Of course, she wasn't there for dinner; she just happened to be passing by and wanted to talk to Michael.

After all, Michael hadn't been answering her calls, which was really worrying.

Andrew, being Michael's right-hand man, knew that Scarlett and Michael didn't have the best relationship. Letting her in without permission was a no-go; he needed Michael's okay first. But Scarlett clearly wasn't in the mood to wait.

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After all, she was Michael's mom. Being turned away by her son was a joke to others.

Scarlett said, "I'm his mother. Do I need an appointment? Andrew, you've been with him for years, and you're really killing it, huh?"

With Scarlett's snarky comment, Michael opened the office door.

He'd already heard her high heels clicking and her sharp tone outside. This was typical Scarlett, and Michael was used to it.

Seeing Michael come out, Scarlett let out a sigh of relief.

She shot a glance at the silent Andrew and then marched into the office.

The place smelled like fresh coffee, which seemed to put Scarlett in a better mood. She started chatting with Michael. "This coffee smells pretty good."

But Michael wasn't in the mood for small talk.

He sat back at his desk and started writing.

Scarlett knew he was ignoring her, but she was used to it.

In this office, Michael rarely even offered her a glass of water, let alone a cup of coffee. Thinking about this made Scarlett's eyes narrow. "Michael, I heard you enrolled your sister in an MBA course?" Hearing Scarlett's question, Michael paused.

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He had recently sent Veda to take business management courses, and it seemed Scarlett had caught wind of it.

Since Michael had told Veda to keep it under wraps, he knew Scarlett must have gone to some lengths to find out.

He decided there was no point in hiding it and responded directly. "Yes."

Scarlett asked, "Why would you enroll Veda in an MBA course? She's not getting any younger, and it's time for her to start thinking about marriage. Now you're giving her this burden, and all these things will have to be postponed?"

In Scarlett's view, girls didn't need much education, especially someone like Veda, who was destined to marry into a wealthy family or form an alliance through marriage.

She would eventually be a mother and manage the household.

Learning these things was more important!

MBA? That was for men who were out there building their careers!

Thinking about this made Scarlett even angrier. She felt Michael was disrespecting her as a mother, hiding his sister's future from her and meddling.

But Michael believed that only by doing this was he truly doing right by Veda. "Mom, women need careers too. Veda's situation is different from yours. She lives in a fast-paced society and needs her own career and network, not just revolving around the Smith family all day."

"Like Emily, right?" Scarlett shot back. "Your wife is like that, isn't she? Ignoring family matters and always running around. Now she doesn't even come home. I heard she's involved with Watson Corporation. Did you hear her words when I called you the other day?"

"Bryan sent her home. Can you believe it? I couldn't. Emily has such skills to get close to someone like Bryan. Imagine how many other things you don't know about her."

"Michael, Veda is not Emily. She's my daughter. I have the right to be responsible for her future. Cancel her courses immediately. I want to arrange a marriage for her, maybe even find a family that can help the Smith family."

At this point, Scarlett's eyes lit up as if she had thought of something. "By the way, isn't your father's good friend Roger back in the country recently?"