One week later.
At 2 p.m., the sun was blazing in Riverforge, and people walking on the street were all holding umbrellas and wearing sunglasses.
At this moment, Ryan Caldwell, who was sitting in the BMW waiting for Emily, was also furious.
"What? Apex Lounge went bankrupt too? Holy crap, how could a perfectly good company just go bankrupt?"
Ryan was on the phone in the driver's seat, looking troubled.
Apex Lounge is one of the seventy companies that Ryan invested in, and it is also the most profitable one among them.
But in the last two days, for some reason, the companies that made him money were suddenly targeted by companies in the same industry, squeezed out and left with nothing, and went bankrupt one after another.
In addition to the forty or fifty companies that had already failed in their investments, Ryan has now lost almost all of his money.
"Damn! What bad luck!"
Ryan angrily slammed his fist on the steering wheel, then made a phone call to his father:
"Dad, I've been having bad luck lately. All the companies I invested in that were going to make money have gone bankrupt. Could you give me another 100 million?"
Ryan Caldwell Sr. said, "The company needs money recently. I spoke with world-renowned hotel master Paul Dubrück a couple of days ago. He told me that we should reopen the hotels that have closed down in the past and then keep expanding into third- and fourth-tier cities to open hotels."
Ryan asked in confusion, "Dad, didn't he used to oppose our blind expansion?"
Ryan Caldwell Sr. said, "You don't know anything! Times have changed! Now everyday travelers can afford to stay in hotels, so we don't need to be too demanding in terms of quality. The most important thing is quantity! We plan to invest most of our family's money in it."
Ryan was stunned. Most of the money was invested, which meant at least a billion or even two billion!
If you make a profit, that's fine; but if you lose money...
Wouldn't the Caldwell family then starve?
Ryan said, "Dad, I disagree! You can't put all your eggs in one basket! What if Master Dubrück's advice is wrong this time? Then our family will go bankrupt!"
Ryan Caldwell Sr. said, "What you said makes some sense. Diversifying investments is the right thing to do. I see you've done well over the past year, so I'll give you 500 million! Invest boldly! Even if we lose money, you'll still be there for us."
"Thank you, Dad! I'm going to use this 500 million to make 5 billion!" Ryan exclaimed excitedly.
At that moment, the charming Emily entered through the passenger door.
Seeing Ryan's radiant appearance, Emily asked, "What's making you so happy?"
Ryan said, "My dad gave me another 500 million! Haha, Emily, how does it feel to be Mrs. Caldwell? This 500 million will soon become 5 billion!"
Emily felt a surge of happiness and thought to herself, The Caldwell family is so rich! My father-in-law just casually gave me 500 million.
Emily took Ryan's hand and said, "Ryan, I'm so happy to be married to you. This is something I've never had before."
Ryan said smugly, "Of course! Jeff's good-for-nothing father probably can't even come up with 50,000 dollars for you, haha!"
"By the way, we've both got our marriage certificate, shouldn't you change how you address me now?"
Emily hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Husband... husband."
This was the first time she had called another man "husband." In the past, this title belonged only to Jeff.
At this moment, she suddenly missed Jeff, and missed the times she called Jeff "husband" over the past three years.
Jeff was a son-in-law who lived with his wife's family and had no status in the household. Therefore, when Emily called Jeff "husband," it was a time when she was especially happy.
So, whenever she called him "husband," a smile appeared on her face.
But when Emily called Ryan "husband," she didn't smile; instead, she felt a pang of sadness.
"Perhaps, this is the destiny between Jeff and me."
After a moment of reflection, Emily returned to her current role.
Emily said, "Honey, take me to Horizon Group. I want to personally deliver the wedding invitations to Chairman Sterling and Ms. Lang."
The wedding date for Emily and Ryan has been set for May 12th, just one week from now.
The Harpers and Horizon Group are currently collaborating on the Yipin Emily project, and Emily is the project's deputy director. She will definitely invite the chairman of Horizon Group to her wedding.
Ryan said, "Okay, by the way, did you invite Jeff?"
Emily was immediately embarrassed: "He's my ex-husband, why would I invite him?"
Ryan laughed and said, "It would be more interesting to invite him! Do you have any useless wedding invitations? Give me one, I'll invite him!"
Ryan then took out another wedding invitation from Emily's bag, which had no name written on it, and wrote Jeff's name on it with a pen.
The caption read: "If you're a man, come and see what a truly top-tier wedding looks like!"
After finishing writing, Ryan handed it to Emily.
Emily knew what Ryan meant. He wanted to outshine Jeff that day and let all the guests see that Emily's ex and current boyfriend were worlds apart!
"By the way, Emily, come sleep at my place tonight. I've been really stressed these past few days. All the companies I was interested in went bankrupt. Can you help me relieve some of that stress?"
Ryan grasped Emily's hand.
Logically speaking, since the two have already registered their marriage, Emily should be able to live together.
However, Emily said, "Grandma said we can't live together before we get married. Just wait a little longer, we'll get married in a week anyway."
Ryan was a little unhappy: "Your grandma is really old-fashioned! Sigh, I've known you for so long and only slept with you once. But I'm still better than that kid Jeff. That guy has been married to you for three years and hasn't slept with you even once, haha."
Emily lowered her head and said, "Alright, let's not talk about him anymore, let's drive."
The car started quickly, soon reaching 80 mph. Emily looked at the scenery outside the window, thinking to herself:
Jeff, don't blame me for not letting you touch me for the past three years. Actually, I like you too, but if I really became your woman, Ryan wouldn't love me like this now, and the Caldwell family wouldn't be willing to accept me as their daughter-in-law.
"If you have to blame someone, blame the timing of our meeting!"
Twenty minutes later, Emily arrived at Horizon Group.
Emily has long hair draped over her shoulders, wears two square earrings, one large and one small, and is dressed in a white shirt and black high-waisted trousers.
She is pure and lovely, yet possesses the maturity of a married woman.
Bang bang.
Emily knocked on Victoria Lang's office door.
"Please come in."
Emily pushed open the door and entered. Victoria Lang immediately stood up from her seat and said, "Mrs. Caldwell, you look so beautiful today. Marrying into a wealthy family has made you look much more elegant."
Emily didn't catch the sarcasm hidden in Victoria Lang's words and smiled, "Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Lang. It will take me another ten years to catch up with your taste in clothing and temperament."
"By the way, I came today to deliver wedding invitations to you and Chairman Sterling."
Victoria Lang was slightly surprised: "The wedding date has been set?"
Emily said, "Yes, just one week from now, on May 12th."
Victoria Lang was stunned: "May 12? Isn't that Jeff's birthday?!"