Chapter 255 Are You a Trustworthy Man Yourself?
As night fell, the streets of Riverdale were illuminated by neon lights. A black car traveled up the hill along the winding paths toward the summer villa of the Burton Family.
It was moments after Justin left the boxing gym when he received Arthur’s call. Frankie was driving as he said, “You refused to answer Old Mr. Burton’s call, so he contacted me. It seems like he’s really mad this time.”
Justin had taken the liberty to promote Rachel to the position of general manager of the Burton Pharmaceuticals; it was, in fact, an act that went against Arthur’s original intentions.
“So?” Justin curtly replied, his expression impassive. As a matter of fact, before he made the decision, he had foreseen that Arthur would never allow this to happen if Arthur had known about it. Therefore, he decided to take action without his grandfather’s knowledge.
Frankie seemed to have something to say, but he ended up swallowing his words. Nobody would be able to stop Justin from doing as he pleased since he was the boss.
Upon seeing the shallow lines between Justin’s brows, Frankie asked, “President Burton, how is your injury?”
“I’m fine.” Justin held his arm with his other hand, but soon released his grip. If it weren’t for my injury, the match would’ve ended way earlier.
The vehicle arrived at the summer villa, which seemed especially tranquil and serene under the night sky. As soon as he alighted from the car, he saw a black vehicle driving away from the villa. When it drove past him, he noticed a freezing glare aimed at him from the car window that had yet to be rolled up.
The Burtons’ butler, who had been standing at the door, immediately stepped forward to welcome Justin. “Young Master Justin.”
Justin returned to his senses. “Did Jason just leave?”
“Yes.”
“That’s something new. I seldom see him returning in all these years. What brought him here today?”
“It’s nothing important. He was back to visit Old Mr. Burton.” It was obvious from Dennis’ response that he did not wish to elaborate on the topic. “Young Master Justin, let’s head inside. Old Mr. Burton is waiting for you.”
Justin entered the villa with his brows furrowed.
“Young Master Justin is here,” Dennis announced.
“Let him in.” Arthur’s cold voice was heard from the study.
“Grandpa, I heard that you wanted to see me.”
“Do you know why I want to see you?”
“I reckon it is about the new general manager of Burton Pharmaceuticals.”
Upon seeing how unashamed Justin was with his actions, Arthur was enraged. “Of course! I’m sure that you know how important Burton Pharmaceuticals is without having me explain it to you. I’ve invested so much blood, sweat and tears in building the brand, yet you are going to watch it go down the drain by handing it to a woman?”
“Go down the drain?! I don’t think that Rachel has the capability to do so, not to mention that she won’t do so.”
“She won’t?” Arthur slammed the desk and thundered, “How do you know that she won’t? She is a woman who sent her own father to jail! If only you knew…” Before he finished his sentence, the words choked in his throat, as if he suddenly realized something.
When Justin heard that, puzzlement appeared on his face. “Knew about what?”
“Nothing!” Arthur’s cold expression returned. “You can’t keep her in the Burton Group. no matter what. She’s bad news and will only bring harm to the Burton Group if she continues to stay.”
“And this is the reason why you struck a deal with her behind my back?!”
“Isn’t this enough of a reason? Perhaps you need me to tell you in the face that she had her motives from the very beginning when she tried to get close to you and joined the Burton Group! Don’t you understand now?”
“I know.” Justin seemed cold and calm. “She did all this for the sake of a man named Hans Egerton. Besides, you were the one who gave her the evidence back then. With that evidence, she managed to send Jefferey to prison.”
“If you knew it, why—”
“Since Hans’ matter has been resolved, why are you still worried?” His expression was as calm as dead water as he interrupted Arthur, rendering Arthur speechless.
Justin had to admit that he was furious and completely baffled when he first discovered that Rachel had approached him because of Hans’ death. However, when he finally calmed down, he managed to understand where she came from and even admired her courageous personality.
Since he was the one who broke Hans’ legs, it was an undeniable fact that he had to bear a certain responsibility for Hans’ death. In contrast, if he was in her shoes, he might not have been able to uphold justice when his family’s well being was at stake. Yet, she was able to do what he couldn’t.
“All in all, this woman cannot continue to stay in the Burton Group. Do you hear me?” Arthur raised his voice.
“You have no right to interfere.”
“What did you say?”
“Rachel holds two-thirds of the list of Burton Pharmaceuticals’ herb suppliers and she has been in charge of the collaboration with the Carter Enterprise and our exploration into the international market. You can’t just deny all her efforts, snatch everything that she is currently in charge of and kick her out of the company with just a word or two. That is if you’re willing to sacrifice the Burton Pharmaceuticals as collateral damage.”
Arthur’s expression changed rapidly and it finally fixed on a nonplussed expression. “That’s impossible! She has just joined the Burton Pharmaceuticals not long ago, so how could she—”
“You can take a look at this yourself if you don’t believe me.” As Justin spoke, he slowly pushed a document that was sitting on his desk toward Arthur.
In the folder were all the tasks that Rachel had been handling together with her entire network and contacts—they were evidence that the company’s performance would face a major downturn if she were to be kicked out from the Burton Pharmaceutical.
Justin was certain that Arthur wouldn’t dare to endanger his own hard work. As expected, after reading the entire document, a somber expression appeared on Arthur’s face as he fell into a long silence.
“Grandpa, I’ll leave you to continue reading. I shall take my leave now. Justin took a glance at his watch before he rose to his feet and asked, “Speaking of which, why did Jason suddenly return today?”
Arthur returned to his senses and nonchalantly replied, “He came back to visit.”
Although Justin forwent the question, he clearly noticed Arthur tightening his grip on the document from the corner of his eyes. Arthur clenched his fists so strongly that even his own joints had cracked—a clear sign of nervousness.
Justin then posed another question before he left. “Is there anything else that you are hiding about Rachel from me?”
Arthur frowned. “Is there any need for me to hide anything from you?”
“It’s great that you don’t, but even if you do, I will ask her myself.”
However, Arthur stopped him a second later. “Justin, remember this—that woman is not trustworthy. Don’t waste your time on her.”
“Are you a trustworthy man yourself? You have known the reason why she returned to the country a long time ago, yet you didn’t tell me,” Justin countered. To him, nobody was trustworthy. He only believed in what he saw and what he felt.
While watching Justin as the man left the study, Arthur abruptly threw the document into the waste paper basket.
Dennis heard the commotion and entered the room. “Old Mr. Burton, what’s the matter?”
With a gloomy expression, Arthur propped his withered arms on the desk as he ordered, “Have all the people keeping an eye on Rachel retreat for now.”
“What happened? Aren’t you worried that she may find out the truth about the video?”
“I’m afraid that those people whom we sent over may alert her and raise her suspicion instead. After all, she has been keeping in touch with that man from the Investigation Bureau lately.”
“How about Mr. Caleb then?”
“I’ve already ordered him to lie low now and stop all the unimportant business.”
