Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Cecilia Croft Calls ’Dad

The investor Jude Sheridan brought in was none other than Titus Croft.

"President Croft, please."

Jude Sheridan’s assistant saw Cecilia Croft pause and gestured for her to enter the meeting room.

Cecilia Croft walked into the meeting room expressionlessly. While everyone else followed Jude Sheridan’s lead and greeted Titus Croft, she walked to the far end of the long table and sat down.

The scrape of her chair was loud, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room, including Titus Croft.

Jude Sheridan’s expression changed, and he quickly spoke up to introduce her to Titus Croft.

"Mr. Croft, this is my fiancée..."

Cecilia Croft frowned and cut him off coldly. "Does President Sheridan have amnesia? Was I not loud enough when I told you we were through? Or was your wedding to Jessica Keller not a big enough spectacle?"

Jude Sheridan’s face turned livid. The person sitting closest to Cecilia Croft even cleared their throat and whispered a cautious reminder.

"President Croft, this is the client President Sheridan found to invest in Vantage. Please just put up with it for today."

Cecilia Croft let out a cold sneer, her mocking gaze falling on Titus Croft.

Jude Sheridan took a steadying breath and explained to Titus Croft in a low voice.

"Mr. Croft, my apologies for that display. We’ve been at odds lately. Please, take your seat, and I’ll start the presentation for you right away."

Only then did Titus Croft tear his eyes away from Cecilia Croft and take the seat Jude Sheridan had prepared for him.

The meeting began on time.

Titus Croft had initially been very interested in Vantage, but after witnessing Cecilia Croft’s attitude, he was starting to have reservations.

Internal discord is the last thing a budding company needs.

"I’m going to the restroom."

"Alright, I’ll show you the way," Jude Sheridan replied quickly.

Titus Croft, however, waved him off, rising from his chair and heading out of the meeting room.

Of course, Jude Sheridan noticed that Titus Croft wasn’t paying attention.

Clearly, Cecilia Croft’s earlier words had made him sympathetic to her, causing him to hesitate.

Seizing the opportunity while Titus Croft was in the restroom, Jude Sheridan rose from his chair, strode over to Cecilia Croft, and spoke in a low, heavy voice.

"Cecilia, I know you’re angry, but now is not the time to be making a scene."

"Mr. Croft is very interested in Vantage. He’s from Karthus and comes from a powerful family. Have you heard of Karthus Century City? That’s a Croft family enterprise."

"If he invests in Vantage, we won’t have any more funding problems."

Cecilia Croft looked at Jude Sheridan with unconcealed sarcasm. "Did you even run a background check?"

Jude Sheridan nodded. "Of course."

’Karthus Century City was the Croft family’s most successful project, back when they were at the height of their power.’

’But that was over a decade ago. The Croft family’s status in Karthus had long since plummeted.’

’And if one dug a little deeper, it wasn’t hard to find out that Titus Croft had been kicked out of the Croft family.’

’Jude Sheridan had clearly only scratched the surface.’

Watching his confident display, Cecilia Croft’s lips quirked as she spoke in a light tone.

"Let me be clear: I’m not giving up twenty percent of my shares. You all can figure out how to scrape together twenty percent for him yourselves."

Jude Sheridan’s brow furrowed, his expression stiffening slightly.

"Cecilia, don’t you want Vantage to get through this crisis?"

"We built Vantage up from a company of just a few people to its current scale of over a thousand. If Vantage goes under, over a thousand people will lose their jobs, and a thousand families will be affected."

"Cecilia, you once said that people in our position must have a sense of social responsibility. Have you forgotten those words?"

Cecilia Croft gazed coolly at the man beside her, listening to his impassioned speech without a flicker of emotion.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Titus Croft standing by the meeting room entrance. A calculating glint instantly appeared in her eyes as she looked up at Jude Sheridan and said softly,

"I haven’t forgotten. And isn’t that why I’m getting ready to play along nicely?"

"I know it’s hard for you to give up twenty percent of your shares all at once. You’re afraid of undermining your own position. But you could offer ten percent, the other executives here could contribute five percent proportionally, and I’ll chip in the last five percent. How does that sound?"

Cecilia Croft’s proposal had everyone exchanging glances. Those with smaller stakes, of course, were unwilling to part with their shares.

Jude Sheridan didn’t want to part with ten percent of his shares all at once either. His brows furrowed, and his expression was grim as he rejected Cecilia Croft’s proposal.

"No, that’s too risky. I can only put up five percent."

’If he gave up ten percent, he’d only have twenty-two percent left—just two percent more than the new investor. The impact on his own position would be too great.’

"Don’t forget, President Sheridan, you’re the one at fault here. We lost clients because of your moral failings."

Cecilia Croft resumed her nonchalant air and said lightly,

"I’m just making a suggestion. If you all don’t agree, then I’ll wash my hands of it. I’m willing to sell twenty percent of my shares, but I’m not putting that money back into the company. However, if everyone pitches in and invests their proceeds back into the company, then I’ll have no objections."

She leaned back leisurely in her chair as she spoke, a faint smile playing on her lips as she watched Jude Sheridan, the very picture of nonchalance.

With a grim expression, Jude Sheridan returned to his seat.

Just then, Titus Croft re-entered the meeting room.

The executives, whose faces had been grim just moments before, all plastered on smiles as they saw Titus Croft walk in.

Cecilia Croft’s lips remained curled in a smile. She rocked her chair gently, her eyes glinting with amusement.

To Titus Croft, she looked just like a cunning little fox. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

’Trying to set a trap for me?’

’She’s still too green for that.’

Jude Sheridan was still flustered by Cecilia Croft’s proposal.

"Mr. Croft, shall we continue?"

Titus Croft waved a dismissive hand.

"Let’s just drop it. From what I’ve just observed, the two leaders of your company don’t seem to get along. I’m afraid if I invested my money here, it would just go down the drain."

"Perhaps we can cooperate some other time."

The color drained from everyone’s faces at Titus Croft’s words, and all eyes fell on Cecilia Croft.

A flash of victory shone in Cecilia Croft’s eyes.

’Just as I thought. Titus Croft no longer wants to buy shares in Vantage.’

’He might not want to, but that doesn’t mean Jude Sheridan will stop hounding him.’

’So...’

’I have to kill his idea for good.’

Cecilia Croft watched Titus Croft’s retreating back and spoke slowly.

"Dad."

Titus Croft froze, one foot already across the threshold of the meeting room.

Her one word—"Dad"—made the color drain from everyone’s face.

Jude Sheridan’s pupils contracted. He stared at Cecilia Croft in disbelief, but he quickly composed himself, his face breaking into a slightly stiff smile.

"Cecilia, what did you just call Mr. Croft?"

Titus Croft turned back to face Cecilia Croft, a deep-seated wariness in his eyes as his mind raced, trying to counter her next move.

Without answering Jude Sheridan, Cecilia Croft simply smiled as she rose from her chair and walked toward Titus Croft.

Titus Croft took an instinctive step back, cementing the conviction in his mind that Cecilia Croft was trying to set him up.