Chapter 433
That afternoon, Charlene and Gaylord were in the office discussing work when a knock sounded at the door. “Ms. Ross, Mr. Padgett has arrived.”
“Thank you, I’ll see him now.” Charlene turned to Gaylord. “I have some personal matters to take care of. Why don’t you get back to your work for now?”
Gaylord glanced at Padgett and his assistant, nodded politely, and stepped out.
Padgett and his assistant each carried a briefcase. Once Chester closed the door behind them, they began laying out stacks of documents-contracts, deeds, legal papers and carefully checked every item.
When the inventory was finished and everything exchanged, Padgett said, “By the way, Thorne’s attorney asked me to pass on a message. Thorne said that if you find all of this too much trouble, if you don’t want to get involved with managing or making decisions for the company, and you’d rather sell off your shares, he’d be happy to buy them from you.”
Charlene’s expression didn’t change. “I understand. Thank you.”
With nothing more to discuss, Padgett and his assistant soon left.
Charlene looked at the piles of paperwork and legal documents, then set the briefcases aside and went straight back to work.
Half an hour later, Stewart dropped by.
He stepped into her office, ready to speak, but his eyes immediately landed on the two briefcases by her feet. “Huh? What’s all this?” he asked in surprise.
“The property deeds from my divorce settlement with Thorne,” she replied.
“All of them? That’s a lot of real estate-worth over a billion, at least. According to your agreement, he had two years after the divorce to settle it all. But you haven’t even finalized the divorce yet, and he’s already wrapped everything up? That’s fast.”
Charlene nodded. “Everything’s here. Not a single document missing.”
Stewart gave a low chuckle. “He’s in quite a rush, isn’t he?”
So it was all settled already. No wonder Thorne had reached out about finalizing the divorce paperwork so soon.
After a brief pause, Stewart asked, “And the cash? Did he transfer it to your account too?”
Charlene nodded again. “This morning.”
“Wow.” Thorne’s efficiency was almost unsettling. Even knowing Charlene had already moved on, Stewart couldn’t help but feel a pang on her behalf.
He frowned, as if a thought had just occurred to him. “You know, you two haven’t even signed the divorce papers yet and he’s already transferred all these assets to your name. Isn’t he worried you’ll change your mind and not go through with it?”noveldrama
Charlene’s voice was calm. “I wouldn’t know.”
Ever since she’d asked for a divorce last year, she’d just been waiting for it to be over. She never let herself dwell on anything else.
Stewart hesitated, then mused aloud, “For him to act so quickly, maybe it means he still trusts you. At least, on some level.”
Trust?
Their relationship had only begun because of a single disastrous night. To this day, Thorne still believed she’d orchestrated the whole thing. If, in his mind, she was that manipulative, how could he possibly trust her now?
Stewart seemed to remember this as well and gave a rueful shrug. “Alright, forget I said anything.”
Charlene changed the subject. “So, what brings you by?”
“Our company’s anniversary is coming up soon,” Stewart said. “I wanted to talk with you about the dinner arrangements.”
PrimeStar’s tenth anniversary was just around the corner-a milestone worth celebrating, especially given how far the company had come in a decade.
As they discussed the event, conversation shifted easily to business.
PrimeStar’s partnership with The Henderson Group had become well known in the industry, drawing plenty of attention.
As their meeting wrapped up, Stewart added, “We definitely have to invite The Henderson Group to the anniversary.”
Charlene simply replied, “That won’t be a problem.”