Chapter 36
Chapter 36
“Miss Haynes, you’re so beautiful. Are you interested in joining the entertainment industry?”
Joanna smiled gracefully toward the camera. “Nice joke. I’m more than content if Haynes Group would flourish.”
“Excuse me, when are you and Mr. Grimm getting married?”
“That’s personal. I can’t answer it right now!”
Joanna had been non–committal about her affair with Jaydon over the years.
After all, she still needed Jaydon as her patron at the moment.
Of course, the partnership was a two–way street.
With her title as Mr. Everett’s ex–wife, she would automatically be dragged into the limelight.
That way, she could bring more attention to Jaydon’s film and television company.
“Mr. Grimm, when are you going to propose to Ms. Haynes?”
Jaydon smiled, looked lovingly at Joanna, and said in a half–earnest and half–in–jest manner, “That depends on when she’s okay with that! If she wants to marry me now, I can propose immediately!”
“Wow, that’s sweet!”
“Propose now!”
The reporters cheered.
Joanna smiled bashfully and turned to Jaydon.
She made an eye gesture to him not to let the press digress in this direction.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Jaydon gazed soulfully at Joanna.
His demeanor indicated that he did not just throw out a joke.
“You two even have your babies. So you’d better hurry up and get married! Don’t forget to invite us to your wedding too!”
Joanna couldn’t look Jaydon in the eye again and quickly withdrew her gaze. “I’m not going to answer any questions about this topic outside of work. As you know, my grandfather has just died, and I’m still mourning. Marriage will not be in my plan for the upcoming three years! I hope everyone. will stop asking.”
After the reporters heard that, they stopped probing.
After all, they need to respect someone who was mourning her loss.
Jaydon listened and suddenly felt a little despondent.
He had met countless women in his life, be it an innocent girl or a coquettish seductress.
He was finally tired of love hunting.
He had an open mindset and didn’t mind that Joanna would be in her second marriage and have three children.
Sadly, Joanna always used this excuse to turn him down.
Jaydon quickly put aside his inner turmoil and smiled. “I will stop hogging the limelight now and leave the press conference to Miss Haynes!”
With that, Jaydon smiled politely and headed offstage.
Meanwhile, outside of the camera, someone watched Joanna on TV.
Bruce was smoking a cigarette before he stopped his movement in a daze.
The cigarette in his hand burned right up to the end. He only snapped back to his senses when the bud burnt his hand.
He got up quickly and ditched the cigarette butt in the ashtray.
Joanna was undeniably good–looking.
However, it was not until today that he realized, apart from her beauty, that she also carried a strong will and indomitable spirit.
Nevertheless, it didn’t lessen the disdain he felt for her.
“They say that a beautiful woman always carries a wicked heart. Isn’t Joanna a good example?” he thought to himself.
“Hmph!”
Seeing Joanna interacting with Jaydon, Bruce turned off the TV indignantly.
Even though they were divorced, he didn’t want to see her get too close to other men.
Halfway through the press conference, a ruckus erupted downstairs.
Two middle–aged men brought in more than ten people and started making trouble downstairs.
Everyone was holding banners and shouting slogans.
“The new chairman of Haynes Group has made several families‘ lives difficult due to the sudden. downsizing.”
“Haynes Group is an image of greed and heartlessness. They do nothing but rip us off!”
“Joanna, get out of Greyport!”
“Joanna has no conscience at all!”
The guards stopped them and tried to disperse the crowd.
The protesters shouted at the media. Some even harmed the security guards to the ground.
Jaydon frowned. “Who’s making trouble down there?”
“It’s a dozen ex–Haynes Group employees. They’re not happy with being laid off, so they came here
and made trouble.”
“Chairman of Haynes Group, please come out and give us an explanation!”
“Don’t be such a coward, you heartless bitch! Get out of Haynes! Get out of Greyport!”
“Heartless being, you don’t deserve to be a human.”
When the media saw this, they couldn’t resist asking, “Miss Haynes, how do you explain the layoffs?”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Joanna’s face fell. She looked at the camera with a solemn expression. “This layoff was done in accordance with the standard operating procedures of the company. Moreover, the personnel who have been laid off have all been compensated.”
“Well, did those staffs make a mistake that led to their unemployment?”
“Haynes Group wouldn’t fire its employees without a valid reason. This layoff is, for one thing, an attempt to bring in new blood. Secondly, it’s also a means to break through the company’s trouble. Haynes Group has uncovered evidence of corruption, bribery, and job pocketing by certain individuals. I can promise before the media that the police are welcome to come in and investigate at any time! Some individuals definitely need to go through a thorough inspection and compensate for
the damages they have inflicted on Haynes Group!”
Joanna asserted eloquently. She answered every question thrown at her by the media. She made her statement reasonably and incisively, without the slightest hint of panic.
Joanna’s statement was a big slap on Ingrid’s face.
Joanna saved Ingrid some dignity by not exposing her to the public.
Her statement was meant to be a warning to Ingrid to behave herself.
“This…”
Ingrid broke into a cold sweat when she was watching the live
She realized she had underestimated Joanna.
press conference.
For sure, she didn’t want to get the police involved. She hurriedly took out her phone and called the two middle–aged people who were making trouble on the scene.
The two middle–aged men were shouting slogans with their faces reddened when Ingrid’s call came in.
“You guys should leave now.”
“Why? Joanna is almost out. The feces are ready to roll as she walks out of the building. We’re going to throw it at her!”
Ingrid’s furious rant rang out over the phone. “It’s an order. I want you to get out of there immediately! The market won’t be able to strike back if the ruckus continues.”
“Whoa! All right then. We will leave.”
“Let’s go now!”
They didn’t watch the live broadcast and had no idea what was going on.
They were hoping to make a bigger scene.
However, a phone call from Ingrid brought their actions to a halt.
They dared not to disobey Ingrid and scurried off.
After hanging up the phone, Ingrid’s face contorted in anger. “Joanna, you son of a bitch! I won’t let you giddy on for long! Just you wait!”
Those people were executives in various departments of the company.
They were running amuck in the company with Ingrid as their backup.
If the police found out, not only would they go to jail, but they would also need to pay compensation. to Haynes Group.
Moreover, the reason why Ingrid was afraid of the police’s investigation was that the two cousins she mentioned were not actually her cousins at all.
Instead, they were her lovers.
Ingrid always paid them a visit using the excuse of wanting to play cards with friends.
Instead of playing Rolling Stones, they were rolling in the hays.
Usually, suspicion would arise if a man and a woman traveled alone.
However, people would stop gawking when a woman traveled with more than one man.
No one should underestimate the hunger of a mature woman.
Ingrid had higher needs than Roxanne.
Shaun suffered from diabetes and a heart condition.
Moreover, Shaun didn’t even work out. There was no way he could quench Ingrid’s biological needs.