BXBX NOVEL Chapter 429 - Cox Industries (3)
In the study room of White family villa, Jeff\'s grip on JoAnna was firm. He held her body close to his and she could feel the desire within him rising as his kiss intensified. She was doing her best not to lose control by focusing on a corner of her mind which hoped that no one comes in the study room and finds them like that.
Jeff\'s phone beeped indicating new text message, and JoAnna used this as an opportunity to break the kiss. "Maybe it\'s important."
Jeff closed his eyes and took a deep breath in response, before taking a look as his phone. "Aiden and Sarah fixed the problem." Jeff gave a small nod of approval.
"What was the problem?" JoAnna shifted a bit to fix her dress, but she didn\'t get up from his lap.
"Timothy Cox was about to get resources from offshore." His explanation was short and to the point. As usual.
JoAnna was surprised. "My baby sister and Aiden missed something?"
He was amused with JoAnna\'s faith in her sister and his brother. "No. He was getting help from someone else."
"How did you find out about it?"
Jeff was pleased that JoAnna\'s deductions are correct. He is the one who managed securing the informant from Cox Industries. "His secretary agreed to cooperate in exchange for a comparable job at White corp."
"So, you found yourself a mole?" JoAnna was impressed how thorough Jeff\'s tactics are. \'No wonder he is the Almighty Jeffrey White.\' She was proud when thinking that this man is hers.
"Not many people are willing to stay on a sinking ship."
"How did you know that she will not tell on you and reveal the plan?"
"We didn\'t tell her the plan. She only knows that we are interested in Timothy\'s actions related to finances or upper management. It was not difficult to find someone who is close to the CEO and unhappy."
JoAnna looked at Jeff with admiration. He knew what he is doing, and he was doing it without any mistake. "I am impressed. Very thorough."
Jeff liked her praise and could not hide his grin. "I must do my best when my wife tells me to destroy someone."
She tapped his forehead playfully. "Just don\'t let it get into your head. All six of us are working on this together."
"Yes, yes… " Jeff pouted, not happy to share the glory. He wanted JoAnna\'s praise to be only for him. His attention got drawn to the notification shown on the screen of his laptop. "Talking about others… it seems Sarah sent something." He opened the email and looked at pictures in attachment. "Oh…"
"Who is this Sabrina Welsh?" JoAnna saw that in the email Sarah noted that these are pictures from Sabrina Welsh\'s phone of her and Timothy Cox.
"Remember resources from offshore that Timothy Cox was hoping to get?" Jeff saw JoAnna nod and continued. "She is the one who was about to bail him out."
\'So, his lover was giving him money.\' JoAnna frowned. "How would it impact the plan if they managed to pull that off?"
Jeff looked at the numbers on his screen and exhaled. "Not much. We already have 60% of Cox Industries and other two companies are 63% and 67%. They would just prevent us from getting more than that." He looked at JoAnna expectantly.
She noticed his gaze. "Are you expecting a praise?"
He looked at her innocently. "I didn\'t say anything. But if you feel that I deserve a praise, go ahead."
JoAnna laughed and pinched his cheeks. "You are amazing!"
He proudly lifted his chin. "And there is still more than two hours until the stock exchange closes. We will have even more until then."
"OK. You will get your reward then." JoAnna winked and before he could respond, she changed the topic. "These photos… they show that he is a cheater. Right?"
"Yes."
JoAnna\'s face lit up when she heard his answer. "How quickly can you get these published in magazines?"
Jeff was surprised with lack of hesitation from her side and explained her options. "If you want in print, they can be in morning papers. If online, in less than half an hour."
"Let\'s go with magazines... They got humiliated last night, today they are losing their company, tomorrow marriage between these two will be destroyed, and Sophia will hit them with a lawsuit in two days for the riding incident." JoAnna\'s eyes showed malicious glint.
Jeff watched her with admiration. "I never saw you like this. Fierce and beautiful." He kissed back of her palm.
JoAnna smiled and caressed his cheek. "They dared to mess with your family. Since I\'m going to be your wife, that means they messed with my family. I have no compassion for such people. I will defend you… I will defend us with everything I\'ve got."
"And you have plenty." Jeff said dotingly.
"Yes, I do." JoAnna smiled and leaned into his embrace. "For the first time in my life I feel that I have something that I need to protect. I will not fail."
"I will not let you fail." He kissed her forehead. "I will make necessary calls and photos will be distributed in time for morning editions."
"Thank you." JoAnna enjoyed in his embrace. Jeff has the power to make her feel safe and that anything is possible.
There was a knock on the door, and a maid peeked inside, informing them that Miss Olivia Jones is here to see Miss JoAnna.
JoAnna stood up, and Jeff grabbed her wrist holding her back. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No need. And I\'m not going to be alone. Mom and dad are there, right?"
Jeff was not convinced. He looked at the maid who was still at the door. "Where are your Madam and Master?"
Maid was visibly uncomfortable. "They retreated to their bedroom."
Jeff\'s face showed disbelief. "What do you mean by \'retreated to their bedroom\'?" His voice was louder than he intended it to be.
JoAnna gestured with hand to the maid to stop and turned to Jeff. "Maybe they went to take a nap." She winked and grinned.
"In any case, it\'s just Olivia. She is my friend and I invited her to come. I got it covered."
JoAnna kissed Jeff lightly on the lips. "Focus on your work. I expect to be impressed with results." She gave him another quick kiss before following maid to the living room.
…
JoAnna found Olivia in the living room.
"Thank you for coming." She greeted her warmly. "How about we go to the garden?"
Olivia nodded with a smile and followed JoAnna. Olivia was looking around, it was her first time inside White family villa, and she found that everything looks luxurious and sophisticated. She praised the house as they walked through it.
JoAnna smiled politely, but at the end she had to clarify to Olivia. "This is White family home. I don\'t live here. All your praises should go to Mrs. White, Jeffrey\'s mother."
"But you will marry Jeffrey, right?" There was a trace of fear in Olivia\'s voice.
JoAnna smiled at the thought of her marrying Jeff. "Yes. However, we will not live here."
"Oh?" Olivia looked disappointed.
"Were you hoping that I will live here?"
Olivia gave a shy nod. "Yes. It\'s difficult to find a person who is not trying to backstab me."
At that moment, JoAnna felt sorry for Olivia. \'It seems that she was bullied by more people than just Lindsay.\' JoAnna reminded herself that she can\'t fix the past. "I will take that as a compliment. You are talking about Lindsay?"
Olivia looked down and gave a small nod.
"To be honest, she is the reason I called you here." JoAnna saw Olivia\'s body stiffen, but she didn\'t look up. JoAnna continued explaining. "I heard last night Lindsay and Scarlet talk about cutting you. Is that why you are afraid of her? She bullied you?"
Olivia gave a small nod.
JoAnna felt her heart tighten. She took Olivia\'s hand in hers and patted it gently. "It\'s OK. We are taking care of Lindsay."
Olivia looked at JoAnna, disbelief showing on her face.
JoAnna gave her a reassuring smile. "We have a recording of her confession that she instigated sabotaging my saddle. My older sister is a lawyer, and she will handle the case. Lindsay and Liam will get maximum sentence. We are going for an attempt murder. My sister believes that she has a strong case."
JoAnna waited sometime for Olivia to process the information.
"She will go to jail?" Olivia\'s voice was faint and full of doubt.
"Yes. For a long time." JoAnna was confident. "If you want to get justice for yourself, this is a good time. My sister can take your case as well. If we do this together, the case will be stronger."
Olivia looked at JoAnna. It was obvious that she is uncomfortable.
JoAnna didn\'t want to push her. Only Olivia knows what she went through. "I don\'t want to force you into this. You have one day to think about it before my sister starts the lawsuit. Also, if you don\'t want to sue Lindsay, consider being a character witness in my case."
Olivia didn\'t respond.
They chatted a bit more before Olivia left.