"No, no..." Sienna Thornton propped her chin, habitually deducing the case’s doubts in her mind.
After a while, she suddenly jumped off the sofa, searching all over the coffee table and the floor for sothing. Simon Forrester closed the docunts in his hand and followed her with his gaze: "What are you looking for?"
"I was thinking, how co it’s such a coincidence that your father has an important negotiation the next day, and such a thing happened the night before? Once he’s arrested, won’t the negotiation be unable to proceed..."
She continued rummaging and finally found a not-so-complete copy of a case file among the pile of docunts, which included several contracts and a settlent agreent.
She took these and nestled next to Simon Forrester. Simon glanced slightly and said, "One of The Forresters’ overseas businesses is energy extraction, specifically helping so oil companies from The M. Republic in foreign countries to conduct oil drilling and exploration. I’ve heard about this case before."
He looked at Sienna Thornton, puzzled: "But what’s the connection between this case and my father’s case?"
"It might not be related, but the timing of the two cases is too close. It’s never wrong to learn more about it."
Simon Forrester nodded, recalled for a mont, and said: "The other party is a The M. Republic oil company in V-Country. The Forresters helped them build and operate oil rigs in V-Country. However, the project’s completion was delayed by half a year compared to the contract schedule, so they refused to pay the project funds on the grounds that The Forresters breached the contract. My dad has a habit of clearing old accounts before the New Year, so he agreed to have the final negotiation with this company on the 18th."
"Now that your father has been arrested, does that an the negotiation can only be postponed indefinitely?"
Simon Forrester nodded: "In theory, yes."
Sienna Thornton flipped through the agreent in her hand, astounded at the long string of zeroes behind the number: "The project funds are tens of billions of dollars!"
"The scale of that oil drilling project is considerable, so this amount isn’t surprising.
The case amount was much higher than the cases Sienna had previously handled at Vantage. Her professional instincts kicked in, and she began seriously reviewing all the files of this case. She thought she should resolve at least one of the cases first, because who knows when Zane’s case will be settled and they can start on this one.
She was engrossed in the case files when soone gently pulled them away.
Simon Forrester picked up the person squatting barefoot on the sofa in a lump and carried her to the bedroom, gently laying her on the bed.
"Let read a little more! Let read a little more!" Sienna Thornton anxiously struggled to get up.
She let go of him, obediently settling down, though she still looked at him intently, cupping his strong, tense face, her voice lowered: "Okay, I’m going to sleep. You should rest early too."
Simon Forrester’s arms were still wrapped around her waist, and he gazed at her deeply, his eyes dark and gentle. He looked at her for a while, then suddenly smiled: "Go to sleep, leave this case to , I’ll give you results in the morning."
"Okay..."
Simon Forrester covered her with the blanket and quietly left the room.
She sighed a bit worriedly, suddenly realizing her throat was dry and her head heavy, probably because she had been too busy in the past two days.
For the sake of the baby inside her and to feel good tomorrow, she ordered herself to have a good night’s sleep tonight.
...
Although Sienna Thornton slept through the night, she didn’t sleep well, frequently waking up, feeling empty inside. She hadn’t had this issue for four years since the ti when her relationship with Simon Forrester was unclear, having rejected him while worrying about him and missing him. There was a period like this back then, easily waking up after falling asleep, feeling like she hadn’t slept at all.
Last night, when she finally woke up, she glanced through the gap in the curtains, seeing that it was daylight. The space next to her was empty and cold; Simon Forrester hadn’t co in to sleep all night, no wonder she couldn’t sleep soundly.
Worried about him, she put on a coat and walked outside.
Simon Forrester was standing by the living room’s floor-to-ceiling window, making a call, instructing the person on the other end in fluent English to ensure the negotiations conclude by Saturday, or they would proceed to litigation.
Sienna Thornton stood quietly less than ten ters away, listening. When she saw him hang up, she quietly walked over and hugged him gently from behind: "Good morning."
He turned his face to her and smiled, one hand gently patting the small hand wrapped around his waist: "Did you sleep well last night?"
She shook her head: "Not well because you weren’t there."
He laughed, the fatigue in his smile evident: "I’ve got a handle on the drilling company’s case and arranged to continue negotiations with them on Saturday. If they continue to stall, we’ll have to hand it to the lawyers for litigation. I can’t neglect taking good care of you for a single case."
Hearing this, she moved to face him, gently caressing his face with both hands. The morning light shone on his face, making his amber eyes appear lighter and his complexion a bit pale, with noticeable dark circles under his eyes.
She caressed his face, both angry and heartbroken: "You haven’t had a proper night’s sleep for three days. I’m very worried about you."
He laughed, taking her hand and kissing it lightly: "I slept a bit on the sofa last night. Don’t worry."
Sienna Thornton didn’t want to expose his lie and instead asked, "You said you figured out the case; can you tell about it?"
"I suspect the other party is refusing to pay the project funds using the project’s delayed delivery as an excuse because they’re preparing for bankruptcy. Last year, V-Country introduced several policies that were unfriendly to The M. Republic companies. It seems they are preparing to withdraw from their businesses there, including the project The Forresters’ drilling company worked on."
Sienna Thornton nodded: "Then this is a tough battle." It’s not an easy task to recover project funds from a company planning for bankruptcy.
The case was more complicated than she had imagined. As she was about to ask Simon Forrester if he had any strategies, he had already scooped her up in his arms and carried her directly to the large bed in the room.
He held her in the blanket, wrapping her in his embrace: "It’s just past six o’clock, sleep a little longer..." His voice, always rich and textured, was especially low and soft today. Sienna Thornton knew he was truly tired.
She had lost her sleepiness too but didn’t disturb him, remaining in the sa position in his embrace, her mind replaying and analyzing what he had just said, thinking of ways to help him solve this difficult issue by Saturday.
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