Darian's eyes squeezed together as he sifted through the numbers scribbled on the page. The sums they presented were dwarfed by the astronomical figures of BRD Group. Going head-to-head with BRD Group?

His odds were Looking worse than a snowball's chance in hell.

Anxiety, dark and thick, sank into Darian‘s gut. He felt like a mouse in a maze with no exit. The thought of BRD Group's bottomless pockets wrung an expletive from his lips.

“Why are they so fixated on this? It's not Like BRD Group needs it."

His complaint was cut short by a knock on the door, and his secretary strolled in.

"Mr. Anderson, Mr. Perkins is here."

What? Adrian was Here?

Surprise danced across Darian's face, and he shot up from his chair to meet the unexpected guest.

Just a minute ago, he was badmouthing BRD Group, and now he had to flip the switch and play a gracious host to Adrian. Darian's quick change in demeanor left his secretary's jaw scraping the floor.

Adrian didn't even glance at Darian, sauntered right past him, and plopped himself down in the president's chair.

His pride smarting, Darian clenched his jaw and held back his ire.

Standing before Adrian with a smile that was more grimace than grin, he said, "So, Mr. Perkins. What brings you here without so much as a heads up?"

Adrian skimmed the room, and then waved an absent hand.

“Everyone out. I need to bend Darian's ear for a bit."

Once the office was empty of all but them, Adrian skewered Darian with his stare and got right down to brass tacks.

"You must know that SJ Entertainment's stock took a nosedive recently, evaporating billions trom its market value in a blink?"

Wearing a sheepish grin, Darian bobbed his head in a nod and began to reply in a sycophantic tone, "Well, about that-"

“I'm not interested in any cover stories," Adrian cut him off mid-sentence. Speaking without any sugar coating, he said, "I bought into SJ Entertainment because of Theodore's charm offensive. It wasn't really SJ Entertainment I was investing in, but Theodore. And now, with him gone and SJ Entertainment in freefall, I'm left holding the bag."

Adrian's candid lauding of Theodore in front of Darian was as good as a slap in the face. Shame washed over Darian, leaving him soaked in humiliation. Inwardly, he let loose a string of curses at Adrian, painting him as an meddler, and blamed him for the present mess.

But outwardly, all Darian could do was muster up a grin and placate, "Mr. Perkins, this was a curveball, no question. It's not what anyone wanted. But you don't need to lose sleep over it. My second in line, Jasper, he's got the chops too. Put your money on him, and it won't go to waste. Jasper will take the helm and steer the company back on course, making up for the lost market value."