Chapter 36_ A&T Project

Dante's plan for their day out absolutely impressed Raine. She was able to let go for the first time in a very long time. She probably would have forgotten about her present situation if she hadn't received a call from Rachel.

Unfortunately, it was a call that spoke about the pressing issues she had on ground so they had to cut their date short. Their drive back to Bleu Raine was quiet but not as uncomfortable as their earlier journey. After having their heart to heart talk, they had been able to come to a place where both of them could comfortably exist. They now understood themselves and their situations more and were willing to compromise for their joined goal…a good marriage.

"Thank you for today." 

Dante looked at the lady who was about to leave his car and coughed twice. 

"What is it?"

Raine was pressed for time but she wanted to be a considerate wife so she tried to hold her impatience back and ask politely.

"You never asked for my address."

"Why should I ask about something you have to send?" Raine asked in disbelief. "I really am running late, I'll see you later today okay?" She said and jumped out before he could reply.

Dante looked at his wife as she jogged off and smiled. He watched her enter through the back of the restaurant then drove off.

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Entering through the back was probably the best thing that Raine could do. She had called her agents beforehand and found out that the spies had left but it was always better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.

She entered through the kitchen then made her way to her private room where Rachel was waiting for her.

"Ya…you didn't even call to tell me how much you missed me. Is that how best friends do? I'm so disappointed."

Raine rolled her eyes and sat down. "Who are they?"

"Always to the point!" Rachel criticized with a pout. "Rose called and told me that these two have finished the assignment she gave them and were seeking audience with your majesty."

"And you?" Raine asked as she accepted the files the two ladies gave her.

"Somebody asked me to investigate something in three days so of course I'm here to give my findings." Rachel boasted.

"In that case, brief me."

Rachel looked up in surprise. She hadn't anticipated that.

"Why? Unwilling?" Raine asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"No! of course not. I'm just surprised. You prefer to read important information yourself." Rachel responded truthfully.

Raine stopped what she was reading and looked at her friend. This could be considered her first time actually seeing her friend that day. When she entered the room earlier, she had just gone straight to her seat without taking note of the room or its occupants. The reason she knew there were two others in the room was because of her training.

"I'm reading something important. Moreover, I trust you." Raine's explanation while seemingly indifferent, made Rachel very emotional. Raine was not one to say things she didn't mean so she knew that this was Raine's way of telling her that she recognized and appreciated all her efforts.

"Okay! The client is called Clement Hendrickson. To be very honest, My family has had dealings with that family but I've never heard of him before. The more I dug, the more I realized that he was a dark horse. He was adopted by the second son of the Hendrickson Clan when he was ten and didn't make any moves until two years ago when he steadily rose to fame by causing a 120% increase in revenue in the marketing department of their cooperation. Later, he was promoted and always performed excellently. The A&T project is actually the first project he has brought up since he began to work in the family business."

"In that case, why is such an upstart reaching out to us?" Raine asked. 

They had never invested in upstarts because it was a risky job. Raine wasn't a stanger to risks but there were some worth taking and some that weren't. For an upstart that didn't really have experience in business, what gain could he procure? Usually for such people, they had to be introduced to them by a trustworthy client of theirs who was willing to shoulder the responsibility if things went wrong.

Rachel began to drum on the table with her right fingers. "When the proposal was sent to us, we didn't research the background of the client because of his family name but when you told us to provide a more detailed report, I found out that it was hard to get information about him. It was almost like his data was wiped off the internet. I had to rely on my connections to get this done."

"So you believe it was a deliberate action then. Do you think we've been found out?" 

"On the contrary, I believe they don't know anything about your relationship with the company. They want to take advantage of me being a newbie on the rise. Anyone in my position would take such a lucrative idea without checking things thoroughly. The one thing I don't understand is why there aren't any loopholes. Usually, if you want to take advantage of someone it means you have an ulterior motive but I cannot find any issues with the proposal."

"Because there isn't any issues with it" Raine stated.

"How can that be?" Rachel asked as she brushed her hand through her hair, a sign that she was getting confused and frustrated.

Raine laughed then excused the other two ladies "Thank you for your help, I'll get in touch with you."

The two ladies stood and excused themselves with a bow. "Rachel, think about it, the shortest means to recognition is by being successful in a big project. What Clement needs right now is that big successful project but the cooperation would never give a newbie, an adopted child that opportunity, in that case…"

"He'll have to create one! However, even if he creates one, they wouldn't give him enough funds for it so it's either he pulls in more investors or uses his own money to fill the blanks but how much could he possibly have? In that case, the project would be taken over by the company and he'd be at a loss." 

"Exactly! But if he teams with my uncle who already knows about my relationship with an owner of an investment company?"

Rachel paused to think carefully about what Raine had explained to her. "Oh my!!!" Rachel said as she hit the table in anger. "Killing two birds with a stone; they are terrible, even if there is no issue right now. There'd undoubtedly be issues later in the future if you were to marry him."

"Bingo, but that is relying on the hypothesis that you are the only owner of the company." Raine replied with a chuckle.

"Urghh!!! I don't want to think about this anymore. Let's eat and talk about something else please." Rachel whined and Raine shook her head. She could never stay serious for long.

"That reminds me, Roy stopped me two days ago. He seemed really angry with me."

"Really?" Rachel replied absentmindedly. Raine already knew she wouldn't get a satisfactory answer so she wasn't annoyed. She just couldn't understand how Roy could deal with such a simple-minded lady. She was so pure that Rachel couldn't help worrying about her at times.

Raine quickly changed the topic to prevent Rachel from frying her brain trying to figure out what happened two days ago. "How's the preparation for your wedding? I have about an hour before I have to go home so you can either tell me about your plans or you can take me wherever you want to."

Rachel looked up instantly and her eyes were starry. "That's great! Get up let's go cake and wine tasting. Roy is too busy to help with that."