Chapter 83: Winning Again

Chapter 83: Winning Again "I will come to the hospital tomorrow for my own treatment. I have some things to sort out here. Thank you for coming by the way." Athena didn’t bother nodding at the half-ass appreciation from Alfonso. She’d rather talk to Gianna, who was watching the ambulance officials carry Mag on the stretcher to the van. Gianna, who wanted to shout, "Karma is a bummer," but who, like Athena, didn’t really wish damning sicknesses on people. That would be a tad too harsh, even if Mag had made things a bit difficult for her in the past. "Will you stay for the meeting?" She heard Athena ask, and casually shrugged her shoulders. "Since I’m already here, I might as well do the same. I was thinking the meeting would be held in another location, but this is better." Athena nodded, and together they returned to find Alfonso had settled into a chair. He looked as though he had just lost a game of musical chairs and was trying to reclaim his spot at the table. Not bothered, they shut the door behind them, sealing off the outside world for their little meeting. "Thank you for agreeing to the meeting," Alfonso said, attempting to sound grateful. Athena merely nodded, her expression as bland as the last piece of bread left in a lunchbox. "The meeting was called because of the company. I want you to buy it." Athena’s eyes remained as flat as a pancake as she looked at Alfonso for a mere second. "You changed your mind?" "Yes," he replied with surprising enthusiasm. "What about Ewan?" Athena pressed, crossing her arms on her chest. "Forget about Ewan." Athena nodded her head slowly. It would mean that Ewan had refused to buy the company, or he had offered a lesser amount, noting the current state of his company. "I’ll take it then. I’ll just have to draft some documents." Alfonso shook his head vigorously. "There’s no need for that. I already drafted it!" He immediately got up from the sofa and strutted over to the cabinet. Athena exchanged a glance with Gianna, who found Alfonso’s haste concerning. When he returned and handed the document over to Athena, she decided to voice her opinion. "Why the hurry, Alfonso? This is, as you call it, your baby. Why are you in such a rush to sell? Is there no way to salvage the situation like Ewan has done?" Alfonso bit back a retort. Salvage? Even though Ewan’s truth at the press conference hadn’t shed light on his role in their divorce, his company’s stocks had continued to drain like water from a cracked bucket. The shareholders had all pulled out, but Athena didn’t need to know that his company was almost worth nothing. Once he got the hundred million dollars, he would leave the city with his treated wife. Or no, he would stay and start over, think of something new, make some investments. Speaking of investments, he made a note to invite Ethan for a meeting about the shares. This was the best time. A thin smile perched on his lips. A hundred million dollars could do a lot. He watched as Athena blandly went through the document, and wondered why she wasn’t smiling or gloating over this potentially juicy deal. "I think there’s a mistake here, Alfonso?" Athena said, breaking the silence and making Alfonso’s heart race like a runaway train. He furrowed his eyebrows at her statement, collecting the document she was giving him. When he perused the document twice, seeing nothing wrong, he looked at Athena warily. "I see no issue there." Athena clicked her tongue like a teacher correcting a student. "You wrote a hundred million dollars here. Why?" Alfonso’s heart began a dull beat as a sense of dread washed over him. "You mentioned that you will buy the company at that price..." he stammered, desperately trying to remember the details of their past discussions. Athena nodded in agreement. "I did so... but that was more than a week ago. There’s a different price for today, given the deplorable state of your company." Alfonso swallowed hard, his throat feeling drier than a desert. His company’s situation with the shareholders should only be known to the inner circle, so how did the news get out? Who told Athena? Those unfaithful pigs! What was their problem? "So how much do you want to pay for it now?" He finally asked, his heart hanging in the balance, anticipation nearly giving him a heart attack. "Ten million dollars. And personally, I think that’s generous. Your company has no worth, except debts, just like Zack’s," Athena replied without missing a beat, then shook her head. "Birds of the same feathers." For Alfonso, he was shocked, not believing what he was hearing. Just ten million dollars? That was a common change! He picked up his phone and called Ewan, unwittingly giving Athena an answer. Unluckily for him, Ewan was in a meeting. But he didn’t give up; he sent a text instead: ’Is your offer still up for my company?’ Surely, forty million was more than ten! Opposite him, Gianna and Athena counted the time until they could get out of here. Five minutes passed before Ewan sent a reply. "I’m sorry, Alfonso. I think you should just shut down the company and sell the building maybe. I can’t take on your company and its debts now." Alfonso furrowed his brow. How did Ewan know about his debts? He looked at Athena, suspicion simmering. Did she tell him? He bit his lip in thought. "What’s the issue, Alfonso? Aren’t you interested in the deal again?" Athena asked, her tone gaining a hint of annoyance. "How did you know about my debts?" He sidestepped the question like a kid avoiding vegetables on his plate. Gianna laughed this time around, her voice ringing like cheerful bells. "Check the socials, old man. It’s been posted everywhere—your company’s balance sheets are trending!" Alfonso shuddered. With hands shaking, he picked up the phone by his side and checked his socials, almost going crazy with the number of notifications and messages he was getting. All condolences for his company. He gritted his teeth when he saw the media topping the charts. The KN media! He glowered at Athena, fresh hatred bubbling within. He recalled that KN media had almost brought down Ewan’s company last time. "You are behind this, aren’t you? You and your KN media! You hired someone to do this!" He accused, his voice rising like a cat defending its territory. Athena blinked, genuinely shocked. KN media? Zane talked about it once. But she had forgotten to check on it. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. The news aired first on the Guardian. KN is topping the charts because they have a larger fanbase..." "It doesn’t matter! This is your fault!" Alfonso roared, clenching his fists in unrestricted anger.