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    “Shall we continue the meeting?” Urban asked with a gentle smile, his tone deceptively soft. “Please,

    do go on.”

    The man at the front involuntarily took a step back, even attempting to withdraw into a corner of the conference room. When no one was looking, he raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his

    forehead.

    Bradley finally couldn’t hold back. With a grim expression, he stood up and announced, “This meeting

    is adjourned. We’ll discuss the specifics when Mr. Soto returns.” He heavily emphasized thest few words, making his displeasure evident to everyone in the room.

    One of the shareholders rose from his seat with a sneer and said, “You went to all this trouble just to drag us here and show us this farce? How utterly ridiculous.”

    He voiced what most of the shareholders were thinking, and the rest began standing up and filing out. Bradley opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to exin and persuade them to stay, but with Urban’s video still looming on the big screen, he was powerless to say a word. All he could do was watch as everyone left one by one.

    Maxine had already reached Vivian and, excitedly embracing her, eximed, “I was so worried you

    might have missed it, I was so nervous!”

    “Back then, I was in a meeting in the conference room over there,” Vivian said with a hint of resignation, “As soon as I saw your message, I rushed right over.”

    Vivian nced over at Bradley, who was standing by the conference table, and teased, “So, did they give you a hard time here, or did you manage to hold your own?”

    Though her voice wasn’t loud, everyone in the conference room could hear her. A muscle in Bradley’s face twitched involuntarily, he couldn’t understand what the foreigner was saying, but the challenge

    in her tone was unmistakable.

    He slowly clenched his fists, fighting the urge to put this woman in her ce.

    Just then, Urban spoke up, his tone calm yet authoritative. “Bradley, I’ll be at thepany in half an hour. See me in my office when I arrive.”

    “Understood,” Bradley could only nod in response.

    After finishing speaking with him, Urban’s gaze shifted to Maxine. Without another word, he ended the

    call.

    17:35 Tue, 26 Aug

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    Dawn smiled warmly at Maxine and Vivian. “Thank you both so much for today. Please make yourselvesfortable in the reception lounge. Mr. Soto will have some business matters to discuss

    with you when he returns.”

    Maxine nced at Vivian, who shrugged nonchntly and said, “No problem. I don’t have anything else going on anyway.”

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    Dawn led the two into the empty lounge, poured them coffee, and hurried off, after all, she still had plenty to do. cating the restless shareholders and taking the opportunity to sow discord between Bradley and the board.

    Vivian took a sip of the coffee. “Not bad at all.”

    Maxine took a sip as well. She said. “ssic iced coffee”

    Vivian set her coffee cup down and looked at Maxine. “So, are you still in touch with Urban?”

    Maxine couldn’t help but give a wry smile. “We share a child. You’ve seen him yourself, so it’s not like I have much of a choice.”

    Vivian clicked her tongue impatiently, but she had to admit Maxine was right. No matter what issues existed between adults, a child’s right to know his mother shouldn’t be denied. Still, Vivian shot her a serious look. “If you’re thinking about getting back together with him, I’ll need to vet him properly first.”

    AD