Can’t Win Me Back

"You've been freed?" Justin asked, his voice distant.

"Sir, I'm really sorry for troubling you. You even had to make arrangements for me," Sheryl said apologetically.

"I just made use of my connections. It's nothing. Besides, I figured they'd summon you-Jasper did get his medications from you, after all."

Sheryl, still shaken from earlier, lowered her gaze. "Is that cop, Rio Olson, one of us? He seemed eager to arrest Jasper, so I thought you might have recruited him. But during the interrogation, he was relentless. He wouldn't go easy on me at all." "He is one of Mr. Barrett's men. That's enough for now."

Sheryl mulled over it for a moment. Then, she lowered her voice and said, "Sir, Jasper can only be charged for drug use. As a first-time offender, it's not enough to keep him behind bars. I suspect he'll be bailed out by the day after tomorrow." Justin chuckled softly. "So?"

"It's a shame we couldn't take him down for good," Sheryl said through gritted teeth.

"Jasper has Grandpa's support and the Taylor family backing him. His roots in Solana City run deep after years of influence. He's a formidable opponent." Justin's lips curled into a chilling smile. "All I want right now is to reclaim what's mine. After that, I'll consider the rest." Sheryl understood exactly what Justin meant. He wanted everything Jasper had.

...

The next morning, an emergency board meeting convened in Beckett Group's conference room. The agenda was whether Jasper should be dismissed as president of the corporation.

with tension. This was a

members

to unprecedented heights. Now, when he's in trouble, we should stand by him. How can

was

since Mr. Jasper's incident. We've lost billions. How do we recover

he avoids

will stain

public knows,

image. If he remains president, how can he represent us in negotiations? How can he face

of this corporation!"

others nodded in

situation had reached an

deeply. He didn't want to replace Jasper. Jasper's leadership and expertise were invaluable. But the scandal left the board with no choice. Public trust demanded action. "Everyone, please don't worry about Project A5,"

assurance. "I'm certain I can secure Project A5 for

was calm, his