Captivation: Want Nothing But You

Chapter 143 The Shares

A strangely comfortable warmth settled in Rachel’s heart. She lowered her eyes and looked at the bank card on the table. She couldn’t help but feel ridiculous when she remembered what Victor had said about Andy as he threatened her to sign the agreement. She hadn’t believed him at that time. Now, as she looked at the card, she was sure of her choice. Andy couldn’t be bribed. She had given him five million, but he never even touched any of it. He even kept it safe for her in case she ever needed it someday. He certainly wasn’t as bad as Victor had painted him to be. She picked up the card and gave it to Andy once more. “Andy, you can take the five million dollars. Take it.” “I won’t. This has always been your money. I was just keeping it for you. Now that you are here, it is only fair that I give it back.” Andy shook his head slowly as he refused. He pinched his nose bridge slightly in embarrassment and laughed. “I don’t mind if you laugh at me, Miss Bennet. In all the forty years I have lived, that was the first time I held so much money in my hands. Ironic, isn’t it?” “Then why would you give it back to me?” Rachel asked. “Because that money is not mine.” All the humor left Andy’s face as he said seriously, “I’ve been a lawyer for twelve years. I’ve enjoyed glory and seen what real power was like. I, more than anyone, know the importance of drawing the bottom line. When I applied for law school, everyone around me thought that the path wasn’t suited for me. A boy born from an average family, they all thought I would get lost in between, so none of them even bothered to support me. Everyone, except my high school teacher. He patted me on the shoulder as he smiled and said he believed that I could make a great lawyer.” Thinking of the past, Andy’s eyes lit up in a way Rachel hadn’t seen before. Maybe he really enjoyed being a lawyer. “He told me that there was no job was easy in this world. That as long as I knew my limits and kept to my boundaries, no matter how tough it may be, I wouldn’t lose myself.” Andy looked at Rachel with the same smile and said, “So I did not earn it. Miss Bennet, please forgive me. I can’t take this money.” “I understand.” A person who stuck to their limits was always someone to admire. “But I’m afraid you will have to take the five million even if you don’t want to. And it’s more than five million.” Rachel grinned. “What exactly do you mean, Miss Bennet? I don’t think I understand.” Andy leaned closer. The confusion in his eyes made Rachel smile. “Andy, other than the shares owned by Sullivan Group and me, how many do the other board members own? And how many are the scattered shares?” Andy’s eyes lit up in desperation. “Miss Bennet, are you going to buy back the shares from all these people?” Rachel leaned back with a faint smile still on her lips. She didn’t say anything, but her look expressed her affirmation. “In addition to the ones transferred by your father some time ago, Miss Bennet you currently hold eight percent of the Bennet Group’s shares.” After thinking for a while, he continued, “The Sullivan Group holds fifty-five percent of the shares. That way, even if we buy all the shares from the board of directors and individual investors, we still won’t have enough to take back control of the Bennet Group.” As soon as he finished his words, Andy looked at the bank card once more. He now got why Rachel said there would be more than five million. If she decided to redeem the shares, it would take both time and effort to buy all of them back from the individual investors, not to mention how the shareholders would obviously demand exorbitant prices. Rachel grabbed a pillow and leaned back into the seat comfortably. “I am not trying to regain the control of the Bennet Group.” “Then…” Andy was even more confused, “If you don’t want to take back absolute control of the Bennet Group, then why do you want the shares?” “To sell them.” Rachel’s smile grew even wider at Andy’s reaction. “I only have eight percent now, it will be too insignificant to sell, right? But if I have the rest of the forty-five percent, I think we can get a good price for it.” Andy was stunned. He hadn’t expected such from her. “Miss Bennet, you are really going to sell the Bennet Group?” “Yes.” Rachel nodded. “But your family worked so hard to build it in the first place. Why would you sell it?” Andy couldn’t even begin to comprehend the thoughts behind Rachel’s decision. A few days before, Victor had pushed her hard, but she hadn’t given Bennet Group to him. She had even agreed to work for the Sullivan Group in order to keep her family business. But now that she had finally saved it, why would she suddenly want to sell it? He couldn’t get his mind around it. Rachel didn’t answer him then. Instead, her eyes around the living room evading his. After a long time, she looked at him and said, “I’ve already made up my mind. So I need you to help me contact the board of directors and you will buy their shares on my behalf.” “Miss Bennet, why don’t you think…” “Andy, I said I’ve made up my mind.” Rachel knew that Andy was only worried about her. After all, in his opinion, the shares she had of Bennet Group were her last support. As long as the shares were in her hands and the Bennet Group remained the same, she was still considered a celebrity. But he also knew that as long as Rachel made up her mind, no matter what he said or did, it would all be useless. Rachel was just stubborn as her mother sometimes. Andy sighed slightly and said, “Okay. I will do my best.” “Thank you, Andy.” “I promised your mother that I will look after you, Miss Bennet. You don’t have to thank me. I am just fulfilling my duty.” Andy shook his head. “But if we are going to buy all the shares… we will need a lot of money,” he finished his sentence in his mind. With only five million, it would be a tough job to redeem the shares from the individual investors, let alone the sophisticated and sly directors in the board. The major shareholders have been there since Bennet Group was first established, and they would not be easy to deal with. Even at a time like that when the Bennet Group was on the verge of collapsing, they still didn’t sell their shares. It was not because they had any emotional attachments to the Bennet Group, but because of they saw hope in it when the Sullivan Group came into the picture. They felt that with the support of the Sullivan Group, as long as they still held their shares they would get the dividend, and perhaps the Bennet Group would rise again eventually. Therefore, everyone just waited on the edge for things to turn around. So if Rachel offered to buy their shares, they wouldn’t be so agreeable. Even if they did, they would ask for more than what the shares were actually worth. “How much do I need?” Rachel asked. After hesitating for a while as he did the math, Andy finally stretched out two fingers. “Twenty million?” Rachel said. “Umm… More like two hundred million.” Andy said in a whisper before he put down his hand. “If we want to redeem all the shares, we need at least two hundred million.” Rachel’s eyes darkened, as thoughts raced through her mind. After thinking for a while, she said, “Okay.” “Miss Bennet, what did you say?” When Andy heard her decision the second time it was even more shocking. That was an extremely large sum of money they were talking about.Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.