Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Mr. Hawthorne Had Already Given Instructions

She reached out and took the resume he handed her, looking over the information.

His surname was Zimmer, too—Simon Zimmer. The same as Assistant Zimmer.

After all, he was someone sent over by Sebastian Hawthorne, so his resume was impressive.

Cecilia Croft’s gaze fell to the bottom of the page: he had once represented the national team in sumo wrestling. ’No wonder he’s so imposing,’ she thought.

She accepted his resume, a smile on her face.

"From now on, I’ll call you Big Mason. Is that okay?"

Since he and Assistant Zimmer were both assistants, she needed a way to distinguish between them.

Big Mason nodded, showing no objection to the name Cecilia Croft had given him.

"Do you know what your main responsibilities will be here with me?" Cecilia Croft asked.

Big Mason replied immediately, without a second thought.

"Dealing with scumbags and protecting President Croft’s personal safety."

Cecilia Croft gave him a thumbs-up.

’With his bulk, it’ll be hard for Jude Sheridan to get anywhere near me now.’

’Let’s see him try to carry me off now!’

"President Croft, I’ll go get to work now."

After speaking, Big Mason walked out of Cecilia Croft’s office, closing the door behind him and taking up a post by the entrance.

Cecilia Croft put Big Mason’s resume in her drawer and began to review Vantage’s situation since her departure.

She had been gone from Vantage for over six months.

During that time, to show Jude Sheridan due respect, she had barely involved herself in company affairs.

Now, picking it all back up was time-consuming and exhausting.

This was why she had put their past issues aside and rehired Assistant Zimmer. Assistant Zimmer had worked under Jude Sheridan for six months and knew Vantage’s situation well. With his help, it would be much easier to find the traps Jude Sheridan had set.

「Lunchtime.」

When Assistant Zimmer returned from the cafeteria, he saw Big Mason still standing by the door.

He had already been briefly introduced to Big Mason and understood that this was the man Cecilia Croft had hired for her own protection.

Seeing him still standing there, he asked,

"Has President Croft gone to lunch yet?"

Big Mason nodded. "Yes, President Croft is still busy."

Assistant Zimmer glanced at his watch and said, "You should go get lunch first, then."

Big Mason shook his head, refusing.

Assistant Zimmer didn’t know him well, and seeing his dedication, he didn’t press the issue. He just knocked and entered Cecilia Croft’s office.

He saw her completely engrossed, poring over the proposals and projects from the last six months, and gently reminded her, "President Croft, it’s lunchtime."

Only then did Cecilia Croft look up from the pile of documents and glance at the time on her computer.

"Okay, I’ll head to the cafeteria in a bit."

After she spoke, she buried her head in the pile of documents again, rummaging for a specific file.

Seeing this, Assistant Zimmer stepped forward to help her organize the files and asked,

"President Croft, what are you looking for?"

Cecilia Croft picked up a contract and handed it to Assistant Zimmer.

Assistant Zimmer took the contract from Cecilia Croft and frowned slightly as he reviewed it.

He had no recollection of this project.

’This contract probably never crossed my desk.’

"I’ll look for it."

He had already moved all of Vantage’s investment and project files from the past six months here. Logically, it should be among them.

The person in charge of the records room was a very serious and meticulous young woman.

In all these years, her filing had been flawless.

Cecilia Croft opened Vantage’s corporate management account, went into the backend system, and searched for the contract number. She found the digital copy.

The contract had already gone through the full approval process, and the investment capital had been wired to the other party’s account.

Cecilia Croft checked the notes. The column for downloading the associated project file was completely blank. There was no documentation attached.

Missing documentation required a manager’s signature for the record to be archived; otherwise, all files had to be complete before being entered into the system.

Cecilia Croft found the manager’s signature line. Jude Sheridan’s name was written there, clear as day.

Assistant Zimmer leaned in. Seeing Jude Sheridan’s signature, he whispered,

"Should I go ask Attorney Cole?"

He was the one who drafted this contract.

Cecilia Croft shook her head, her expression grim. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Don’t bother."

"A cost analysis has already been performed for this contract. The investment failed, it’s been terminated, and part of the investment was recovered. There’s only 500,000 left."

It was a five-million-dollar investment, and in less than six months, they’d lost over four million.

’Jude Sheridan pulled the funding mid-project.’

’Something is very wrong with this investment.’

’Jude Sheridan must be secretly transferring company assets. And he likely started planning it six months ago, right after I left the company.’

Assistant Zimmer looked slightly stunned. He asked cautiously,

"President Croft, what are your plans now?"

A faint smile touched Cecilia Croft’s lips as she said calmly,

"We’ll wait and see. Don’t tip him off."

’Six months isn’t a very long time, after all. Not long enough for Jude Sheridan.’

’He has to transfer the assets secretly. Then he has to use funds from the company’s other investments to cover the deficit. All to make it look like Vantage’s accounts are healthy and not arouse suspicion.’

’How clever of you, Jude Sheridan.’

’He knew I’d be watching the company’s accounts, so he made it this convoluted.’

"Return all the files to the records room, and act like we know nothing."

Assistant Zimmer nodded, put the files back in order, and returned them to the records room.

Cecilia Croft got up and walked out of her office. Seeing Big Mason still standing by the door, she asked,

"You’ve been standing here the whole time?"

Big Mason nodded.

Cecilia Croft looked at his stoic, earnest expression, rubbed the bridge of her nose, and said softly,

"As long as no one is trying to approach me, you can sit and rest in the main office area."

"Have you had lunch?"

Big Mason shook his head. "Not yet, President Croft."

Cecilia Croft glanced at the time. "Then come have lunch with me in the cafeteria."

「The Cafeteria.」

When Cecilia Croft appeared with Big Mason, she drew everyone’s attention.

Jude Sheridan and Manager Quinn were eating at a table by the window.

Upon seeing Cecilia Croft, Manager Quinn, who had been in the middle of a sentence, immediately fell silent and nudged Jude Sheridan with a look.

Jude Sheridan turned, saw Cecilia Croft, and set down his chopsticks before walking over.

"Cecilia, come sit over here."

The moment Big Mason saw Jude Sheridan approaching, he immediately took a defensive stance, subtly moving to block him from getting too close to Cecilia Croft.

Jude Sheridan frowned, his eyes filled with disdain as he scanned the towering figure of Big Mason in front of him.

"Cecilia, who is he?"

Cecilia Croft glanced at Manager Quinn, who was avoiding her gaze, and let out a cold laugh.

’Just look at that guilty expression. You can tell he’s up to no good.’

"My new assistant, Big Mason. Say hello to President Sheridan."

"President Sheridan." Big Mason said, but he didn’t budge, refusing to let Jude Sheridan get any closer to Cecilia Croft.

When Jude Sheridan reached for Cecilia Croft’s hand, Big Mason raised his own hand to block the attempt.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

Jude Sheridan’s face instantly darkened.

Big Mason: "My job."

Jude Sheridan’s brows knitted together. He stared at her, his eyes simmering with anger.

"You hired someone just to keep me away?"

Cecilia Croft, very pleased with Big Mason’s professionalism, ignored Jude Sheridan’s question and started walking toward the food counter.

"Let’s go, Big Mason. Getting food is more important."

’Isn’t it obvious? Does he even need to ask?’

"Yes, President Croft."

Big Mason followed Cecilia Croft.

Cecilia Croft grabbed a tray for Big Mason and handed it to him, praising him generously.

"Good work."

Big Mason: "Mr. Hawthorne gave me instructions."

Cecilia Croft raised an eyebrow. ’No wonder he was so on-target.’