Chapter 331: Finally, She Understood

Zachary raised a hand and massaged his temples.

"Proceed with the plan accordingly," he finally said.

There was a short silence on the other end before Kevin suddenly burst into laughter. "Man, you really are all out to punish your brother and his snobby son, huh?"

Zachary could not help chuckling.

"Yeah. I need to teach them a lesson. I’m sick of seeing their arrogance."

Kevin laughed again. "You really hold a grudge."

"Well, I have my reasons," Zachary replied, amused by his friend’s reaction. "Anyway, we’ll meet tonight and talk about it."

"Sure, man. See ya."

"I’ll see you."

Zachary smiled and ended the call. He stared at his phone for a moment before making another call, this time to his wife.

...

The Secret Garden Cafe and Resto.

Sienna had just finished her work when her cell phone rang. She picked it up immediately. When she saw Zachary’s name on the screen, a small smile appeared on her face as she answered the call.

"Honey..."

"Hello, my darling wife. Are you still at the office?"

Zachary’s warm voice came through the phone, and just hearing him made Sienna feel as if he were sitting right beside her. She leaned back in her chair and smiled.

"Yeah, I just finished work. I was getting ready to go home."

A faint sigh came from the other end of the line. Sienna’s smile slowly faded as she recognized the change in his voice. Her husband sounded troubled, and she knew him well enough to realize that something was bothering him.

She straightened in her seat.

"What is it, honey?"

"I’m sorry, but I can’t join you and Sky for dinner tonight," Zachary said in his deep voice. "There’s some work I need to finish tonight, and I might be home late."

Instead of sulking over the fact that he would not be joining them, Sienna smiled when she heard the guilt in his voice. He sounded as though he already felt bad for disappointing her, even though she had not complained.

"Don’t feel bad about it," she said gently, trying to lift his mood. "Sky and I will still enjoy our dinner. You don’t have to worry about us."

"You have such a kind heart, my love."

Sienna couldn’t help laughing at his sweet words. "You’re really good at making me feel better about being left alone for dinner."

"My love, I’m not leaving you alone... You have Sky."

"That’s true, but you know what I mean." She laughed again before becoming curious. "So, something happened at the office?"

"It wasn’t an issue with Sterling Capital," Zachary explained. "It was more about the Sterling Group and Sterling Tech."

Zachary’s tone grew more serious as he explained what had happened. He told her about the military tender and the problem Sterling Tech was now facing after Cresswell Tech won the multimillion-dollar project. He also explained the accusation involving the tender and why the matter could eventually turn into a legal dispute between the two companies.

Sienna was shocked as she listened, but she didn’t interrupt him. She stayed quiet and let him finish.

As Zachary spoke, memories from a few days earlier returned: Riley had booked the entire restaurant to celebrate winning the multimillion-dollar military project. He had seemed so confident in the outcome that there had been no reason for her to think otherwise.

But now, Zachary was telling her that Sterling Tech hadn’t won the project. Cresswell had.

Countless questions immediately filled her mind.

’So, is this why Riley suddenly became unreachable? He is in trouble!?’

A small frown formed on Sienna’s forehead as she tried to put everything together. Riley had been so excited about the tender, and he had even gone as far as arranging a celebration dinner for his team. If he had truly believed he would win, then finding out that Cresswell had taken the project must have been a huge blow.

Then another thought crossed her mind.

’Wait. Wait.... What will happen tonight if Riley really lost the tender? Will he cancel the celebration dinner for his team?’

A chill ran faintly down the back of Sienna’s neck at the thought. She knew the restaurant had been booked specifically for Riley’s celebration. If he suddenly decided to cancel, the reservation could be in trouble.

Fortunately, she quickly remembered something else: Zachary had asked her to make sure Riley had already paid for the entire restaurant reservation.

Sienna’s lips curved into a small smile.

’Gosh, hubby... How could you have predicted that this would happen?’

She felt relieved that she had followed Zachary’s advice at the time. If she hadn’t, they could have lost money if Riley suddenly canceled the booking at the last minute. At least now, that part of the situation was being handled.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she faintly heard Zachary speaking again.

"That’s why I need to meet Kevin to talk about it," he said. "But I don’t think I can interfere with Cresswell’s company policies."

Sienna listened carefully.

"Even though I own shares in the company, I’m not involved in management at all," Zachary continued with a faint chuckle. "I simply receive my income from the dividends each year. I can talk to Kevin as a friend, but I can’t make decisions on behalf of the company."

Sienna understood what he meant. Zachary had his own connection to Cresswell, but his family didn’t know. That made the situation much more complicated. His family was asking him for help, yet he couldn’t simply use his position as a shareholder to interfere with the company’s decision.

She could hear the weight of that conflict in his voice.

"You must feel terrible about your father and the rest of your family, right?" Sienna asked softly.

There was a brief silence before Zachary answered.

"Hmm. I felt bad," he admitted, his voice becoming heavier.

Sienna knew her husband inside out, even over the phone, by the tone of his voice. He might not show it openly, but he cared about his family, even when they made things difficult for him. Knowing that they were counting on him while he had to keep an important part of his connection to Cresswell hidden could not have been easy.