Chapter 248: Mr. Drake’s Decision
The banquet soon began.
The Faulkners, the Rhodes family, and the Sterlings coincidentally sat together. Joy Drake didn’t come over to greet them, but the three families chatted happily among themselves.
𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Occasionally, someone would come over to join the fun, but they usually only exchanged a few pleasantries to make their faces known before leaving. After all, this was the Faulkner family—the greatest of all the wealthy families in Aethelburg!
As for the Rhodes family, everyone knew that Miss Rhodes and Mrs. Faulkner were best friends. And regarding the Sterlings, rumor had it that Miss Rhodes had taken a liking to the young Mr. Sterling.
Tsk, none of these three families were weak in terms of power. If they truly came together, it would be a formidable alliance.
Soon, the banquet’s main program officially began.
Mr. Drake finally appeared, immediately drawing a multitude of gazes. Many attendees had come specifically for him. He walked up to the podium and greeted everyone. The media swarmed forward, snapping photos and recording videos, hoping to find an opportunity to glean more information from him.
"The Drake family has returned to our home country with our medical patents," Mr. Drake announced. "At the same time, we place immense value on Veridia’s cosmeceutical market and aim to build a concept of ’infusing medicine into makeup’!"
Mr. Drake spoke at length, sharing many of his visions. The media felt greatly encouraged, and the majority tactfully offered polite platitudes to flatter him.
How could they not flatter him? When Mr. Drake had gone abroad, he was merely from an ordinary family of traditional medicine practitioners. After years of development overseas, he had earned international recognition and brought the capital he had amassed back home! It was essentially a direct contribution to Veridia’s GDP! With such a beneficial development, they had no right to question anything!
Once the pleasantries wrapped up, one of the reporters asked about the most crucial aspect of the new company. "So, regarding this new company, will you still be the primary shareholder, Master Drake? Will you also operate it personally and supervise on the front lines?"
Mr. Drake nodded. "Although I am getting on in years," he said seriously, "the initial phase is the most critical for an ethical enterprise.
"In the beginning, I definitely have to take the helm personally. This applies to both the sourcing of cosmetic ingredients and the operation of our specialized technologies.
"In the future, perhaps when I am no longer up to the task and have found a suitable successor, I will hand the Drake family’s business over to her. But for now... not yet."
Mr. Drake smiled warmly.
Vivian Lowell sat in the audience, keeping her eyes fixed on Mr. Drake. The firm look in his eyes at that moment was naturally captivating. But Vivian wasn’t sure if she was mistaken. She couldn’t shake the feeling that after saying those words, Mr. Drake had deliberately glanced in her direction.
Was she seeing things?
Vivian hesitated, not entirely certain. She wanted to ask Julian Faulkner, but out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the siblings, Joy and Hazel Drake, standing not too far from Mr. Drake.
Joy and Hazel both looked rather displeased. They seemed dissatisfied with Mr. Drake’s monopolization of power, but it wasn’t their place to speak up. The siblings’ parents were also nearby, gesturing for them not to make any rash moves at such a crucial juncture.
Huh? Seeing this scene, Vivian remembered something.
Right. When the Drake family first returned to the country, it was Sylvia and Joy who had helped manage things here. Now, the initial tedious steps were mostly completed. However, when the company was officially established, the real power remained firmly in Mr. Drake’s hands, leaving Joy looking like nothing more than an errand girl. She had no shares and hadn’t been appointed to any significant role by Mr. Drake, so she naturally felt resentful.
"From the looks of it, Mr. Drake still doesn’t trust Joy." Vivian leaned closer to Julian and asked in confusion, "But with the way the Drake family is right now, it must be very difficult for Mr. Drake to find someone reliable from within. In the end, who will be the one to take over the Drakes’ business?"
Julian shook his head. The Drakes currently all seemed driven by greed and self-interest. Even if Mr. Drake wanted to pick the best of a bad bunch, it would be tough. It wouldn’t be easy for him to find someone whose thoughts and ideals aligned perfectly with his own.
Seeing Julian shake his head, Vivian didn’t have any clues either. But she knew that Mr. Drake would definitely try to find that person, and until then, he would continue running the family business himself!
The rest of the banquet was quite boring. In truth, there wasn’t much for Vivian to do. Those attending the dinner were essentially business partners looking to collaborate with the Drakes. The rest were just members of the media.
Vivian’s industry had nothing to do with cosmetics or medical aesthetics. Her design work focused primarily on clothing and accessories. If she were to design packaging for cosmetics, she could provide some ideas, but she wasn’t sure if consumers would buy into it. Therefore, she didn’t take the initiative to step forward and say anything. Instead, she chose to be a bystander, simply sitting there to show her support for Mr. Drake.
On the other hand, things were quite lively around Julian.
Many of the industry heavyweights who had come today were just making an appearance. This was an important event, so even if it had nothing to do with their respective fields, they still felt they should make the trip! It was a matter of face. If they didn’t show up to such a major occasion, what if people gossiped later that their family was failing and hadn’t even received an invitation from the Drakes? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
At past nine o’clock, when Vivian left the banquet hall, there weren’t many people left at the dinner. Joy had arranged accommodations for all of them.
Conversely, the hotel’s bar and gym had become bustling. Vivian hadn’t really gone out all day, so after some thought, she decided to head to the gym with Julian for a workout. That way, she wouldn’t have trouble falling asleep once she got into bed that night.
In the gym, Vivian started the treadmill and was about to put on her earphones to listen to music.
Julian walked over and chose the treadmill next to hers. After turning it on, he asked, "Are we going beachcombing tomorrow morning?
"I happen to have time. We can also charter a boat to go together."
Vivian was a bit surprised. She had just told Julian about her dream earlier today, and she hadn’t expected him to be prepared so quickly!
"Sure." Vivian gladly agreed, then thought for a moment and asked, "Just the two of us? I want to invite Eleanor too! After all, it’ll be a unique experience!
"I wonder if her parents will come along too! Beachcombing is definitely more fun with more people. We can gather everything we catch and have a barbecue for lunch, right?"
Julian remained noncommittal, but he figured that since this beachcombing trip would consist entirely of a bunch of novices, he’d better have Vance Wyatt on standby to buy some ready-made seafood from the market.
If they accidentally came up empty-handed, wouldn’t they end up with nothing but air for lunch?