CHAPTER 219: CHAPTER 218. DRY WOODS

"W-what?!" Austin stood up in panic. "Should I hide?"

Unfortunately for them, the apartment wasn’t the one with high security, so anyone could come inside and wait at the door if they wanted--meaning, it was too late for Austin to get out from the emergency stairs. He would be present in the deciding board meeting, so Sarah couldn’t affor anyone from HS to find out they knew each other.

"Maybe he just wants to give a message from the chairman?" Hajin shrugged. It wasn’t the first time the chief secretary acted as a middleman.

"He could easily do that through a phone," Sarah shook her head. "Going all the way here when it’s far from the mansion and the company means he’ll probably stay for a while."

"He needs to hide then," Hajin glanced at Austin, who was still holding onto his empty plate and staring longingly at the paella.

Sarah looked around and pointed at the door beside the kitchen. "Stay in the laundry room, Austin."

The financier gasped. "What? Not even a bedroom?"

"In the room where we had sex?" Hajin arched his brow while taking Austin’s bag and throwing it inside the laundry room. "We just did it this morning by the wa--"

"T-that room, then!" Austin pointed at the master bedroom.

"Even I can’t go to that room," Hajin scoffed, pulling the financier by the hand to the laundry room. "Just keep quiet by the washing machine, ’kay?"

"What the hell?!" Austin stared longingly at the leftover paella inside the pan. "A-at least give me something to drink!"

With a chuckle, Sarah took a bunch of drinks and even some snacks for the poor guy while Hajin was hiding the shoes. Thankfully, there was a chair there that Sarah sometimes used when she wanted to stare at the swirling laundry, although he would have to hold it in if he wanted to pee.

Sarah secretly prayed for Austin’s bladder while Hajin was opening the door.

"Mr. Park," Hajin greeted the old man who had been patiently waiting outside while they were hiding Austin. It was surprising that he didn’t even look annoyed at the delay. "What brings you here? Is there a message from the chairman?"

"No," the chief secretary shook his head. "I’m here to talk to the Young Miss."

"Me?" Sarah peeked at the foyer, observing the chief secretary. The old man was in his suit and coat, as if he had just come from the company--despite it being the weekend. "Does the chairman send you?"

"No, Miss," the chief secretary replied in a business-like, serious expression. "I came on behalf of myself."

Sarah raised her brows, looking at the chief secretary in intrigue. The man who seemed to only exist for doing what the chairman told him to do, said he was doing an errand for himself? How interesting. "Come in, then," Sarah said, hoping Austin had a strong bladder. "Have you had dinner? My puppy just made a killer paella."

"I had, but thank you for your offer," Chief Secretary Park said while taking off his shoes and following the girl to the living room.

"Drinks?" Sarah gestured toward the coach and took a seat on the only armchair there. "I want my milk, Puppy."

"Just warm tea, please, if you could be so kind," the chief secretary said, nodding at Hajin.

It was interesting seeing him act politely. Not that he was rude before, but there was a sense of superiority coming from him, the way adults looked at children and thought they were better. Was it because he knew Hajin was Chairman Yoo’s son? Or, as expected...

Did he know the chairman had asked Sarah to be the successor?

"Please, have a seat," Sarah maintained her neutral smile, pointing at the couch in front of her. "I have to say that I’m pretty surprised. I never thought you’re the type to come unannounced, Mr. Park."

"You have to pardon me, Miss. I have been rather busy with the chairman’s condition as it is, so it’s hard to find an exact time I can come to visit you."

"Wow...you even sacrifice your break!" Sarah clapped cheerfully with wonder, because it seemed like the chief secretary had come in secret. "Must’ve been important."

"Indeed, I do think so," Chief Secretary Park nodded solemnly, and it only made it even intriguing for Sarah.

To think he didn’t even react to the cynical remark. Sarah held back from arching her brow, and thankfully, Hajin came at the right time with the ginger milk and the warm tea. It was always nice when she had the time to observe the other person behind the cup and the steam.

The chief secretary himself didn’t look hurried. He gracefully accepted the tea and drank it in relief, as if he had been waiting to wet his throat in preparation for this important stuff he did secretly behind others’ backs.

Sarah put her cup back on the table after feeling satisfied with her observation. "So? What is this important business?"

The chief secretary stared at his tea for a few seconds and exhaled slowly before raising his face, eyes filled with determination.

"I heard you rejected the chairman’s offer about the succession," he said. "I would like you to think about it more positively."

Very direct. No glib. Sarah kind of liked it, although not so much with the content. "I thought you were not here for him?" she frowned.

"I am not," the chief secretary replied firmly. "I’m here for the Group."

There was a glint in his eyes within that unhesitating answer that made Sarah arch her brow. "Interesting."

"No matter how well he hides it, the chairman is in a condition where he might collapse at any time," the chief secretary continued. "If something like that happens before an official heir is appointed, I’m afraid the internal structure would be thrown into disarray."

Sarah leaned back and crossed her hands. "Internal?"

"Well, of course, the shareholders’ distrust is inevitable with how many troubles are hitting the family these days, but..." The chief secretary took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "What I fear the most is when the executives decide they couldn’t rally behind anyone and start to claim the company for themselves."

Sarah tilted her head. "And you don’t like that?" She narrowed her eyes at the old man, looking him up and down. "You’ve been working for a long time, Mr. Park. Don’t you want some slices of cake for yourself?"

The chief secretary smiled; the kind that almost seemed like a chuckle. "Even if I do, I don’t have the means, Miss. And what, then? What would become of the Group after internal wars among the directors?"

Sarah used to think comparing a company to a country was ridiculous, but...there was some truth in it. Especially for big companies with thousands of employees, which are run by a family. Succession could cause a bloody battle and make people kill each other, while the subordinates had no choice but to choose a side. A civil war could happen with just that, but when the generals tried to snatch the throne instead of supporting the heir?

This was when people got sacked and the companies broke off.

As for any wars, the ones who suffered the most were the regular employees who were caught up in the fray.

"I had been working for the Group all my adult life, Miss; starting from a lowly intern during your grandfather’s reign," the chief secretary, once was one of those regular employees, said with a bitter smile. "I have seen how HS rose, declined, and stagnated. I know it would be hard for the Group to be better in the future, but at the very least, I don’t want it to crumble."

Sarah narrowed her eyes at this narration that gave her a strange impression. The bitterness in this man’s voice made her think that he didn’t really like the current chairman, or the way the Group had been running. Indeed, no one had quite gotten the ability that the previous chairman had, so HS had only been enjoying a status quo built by Sarah’s grandfather.

So...this old man had just confessed that his loyalty lay with the previous chairman, not the current one?

"And you think I’m the best option? How funny," Sarah chuckled, before dropping her tone altogether. "Why?"

"Because that’s what your grandfather wanted."

It was a clear, concise answer, but Sarah looked utterly unimpressed. The chief secretary smiled and continued.

"You probably don’t know, Miss, but I was the one who convinced the executives to prepare you in the past, following the previous chairman’s will."

Sarah frowned. "I don’t think there’s anything like that in the will."

"Of course, not. It was a verbal request, after all," the chief secretary shrugged. "The plan was to make sure you have a better education than Mason, station you in a strategic position in HS Stone, and have you show more capabilities so the others wouldn’t mind having you as the heiress."

Sarah tapped her elbow at the unspoken ’but...’ lingering in the air. "But the accident happened and the executives lost all hope?"

"Not at first. However..." the chief secretary sighed. "The chairman was very angry at that time."

"Ah," Sarah sneered. "Because he lost the project to Daesung?"

The chief secretary held the armrest, startled. "How did you--" his widened eyes observed the sneer on her lips, and he couldn’t help but sigh. "You’ve known all along?"

"Not too long ago," Sarah replied truthfully. "So, the chairman was angry and you could no longer show your support to save yourself?"

"I’m ashamed to say this, but...yes," the chief secretary lowered his head, bowing slightly in regret. "If I have to be honest, it was very hard for me to suppress my disappointment with every report we received when you were abroad."

"What’s changed now?" Sarah smirked and threw her arms wide. "I’m still trash in people’s eyes; I still don’t care about the Group."

The chief secretary smiled. "But you did a long time ago."

"I didn’t," Sarah replied sharply. "You just groomed a clueless child to be what you wanted her to be."

The chief secretary felt the daggers between those words stab his conscience. "I’m...sorry," this time, he bowed his head deeply. "However, I still believe you are the right one for this position, Miss."

Sarah twisted her lips; she wanted to shift the old man to the other children--even if it was only to sow more chaos inside the Group. But she remembered that she didn’t have the leeway to throw away a chance for internal support at a time like this, when the chairman had just received more shares from Lee Hyun.

"The right one, huh?" she tapped her elbow in contemplation, tilting her head as she looked at the old man tauntingly. "What if I sell the companies piece by piece?"

"Pardon me, but I don’t believe you could do something that would hurt the innocent employees," the chief secretary said with an unflinching conviction. "And that is exactly why I think you’re the best person, Miss."

Sarah could see Hajin arch his brow from the kitchen, as if telling her that this old man knew her well.

"You tried to make people see you as a wild, carefree lout, but..." the old man smiled. "Your mask had been slipping ever since you left the house."

Sarah almost clicked her tongue out loud.