A Spoonful of Sugar: Don't Beg for Love

"Ahem!" Isaac nudged at Rachael when his attempt to notify her failed. Rachael was in a bad mood right now. When Isaac nudged at her, she raised her head and glared at him. It was only then that she realized Isaac's expression was ugly.

Even though Rachael was the true heir of the Lanes, she did not dare to say anything when Isaac's expression turned dark. Suddenly, she realized that her surroundings were a bit too quiet. She looked around and remembered that she was here to attend the shareholder meeting.

"It seems like you're really busy, Ms. Lane. These messages keep coming in one after another. I'm sure they're even more important than managing Lane Holdings, right?" A certain shareholder chuckled mockingly.

In fact, who was in charge of Lane Holdings was the least of these shareholders' concern. As long as they could earn enough money, they did not care who owned the company.

However, the company's profits had obviously declined ever since Hesper left, and Rachael did not seem to know anything. Not only was she unable to speak or act properly, but she was also naive. "Sorry, sorry." Rachael knew she had done something wrong and kept apologizing while Isaac sighed behind her.

"Today we're going to discuss Lane Holdings' future development direction for the next six months. The previous projects have been completed satisfactorily, but it seems that you haven't secured any new projects in the first half of the year, Ms. Lane."

Rachael's heart skipped a beat when someone mentioned her name.

She did not know anything about managing projects. When she was asked to entertain some of their clients, she did not have the slightest clue of what they were talking about. The good thing was that she still had Renee to help her entertain those clients, or else it would have been a complete disaster.

She did not even know how to make a quote. How could she negotiate with a group of people who were talking about things she could not understand?

In the midst of her panic, Rachael suddenly remembered the projects Hesper had left before she left. Those were projects that Rickard gave them. Rachael had already consulted Juniper before and knew that those projects would keep her well-fed and clothed for several months if they were launched.

"I... I have some ideas," Rachael stammered.

Isaac frowned. He knew better than anyone else what Rachael did everyday, so there was no chance that she had any idea of what to do.

"Really? Enlighten us please, Ms. Lane."

Without looking at Isaac, Rachael said, "I know that before Hesper left the Lanes, she had many projects that were handed over to her by Rickard. They're all in Matt's hands, but he has never told anyone about them."

"Ms. Lane!" Frowning, Isaac grabbed her and whispered, "Didn't we already talk about this before? Those don't belong to you. You can't touch them."

Ignoring Isaac, Rachael continued, "The Duval Group and Lane Holdings are competitors. Although Rickard hasn't done anything now because of our relationship, who knows when the Duvals will turn around and bite us? If we don't start those projects, will we just let them fall into the hands of our competitors?"

"Rachael..."

The shareholders looked at each other in silence. It was true that Matthew had never mentioned these projects to them, and what Rachael said made perfect sense. Although Hesper had already left the Lanes the benefits she had gained still belonged to the Lanes, right?

Isaac could tell from the expressions of the shareholders that they had all taken Rachael's words to heart.

Rachael felt a little pleased with herself.

'Hesper, haven't you been making me live in your shadow? So, I'm sure you won't mind if I use some of what's yours, right?' she thought to herself.

"Who gave you the permission to use what Hesper owns?"

Rachael's smile froze. She raised her head and saw Matthew, who had not been to the company in a long time.

"Matt..."