Chapter 264 Hitting a Wall
Her voice cut through the hostile air in the room like a bell. “You can’t stop us from demolishing your homes,” she said. “We’ll wire the compensation as promised. So, what are you going to do? Sue us?”
“We have legally acquired this land and paid the agreed price. Is it really worth it to continue this dispute?”
Her eyes scanned the room with sharp intensity. “My father is of a similar age, so I understand your concerns. I would love to receive as much as possible, but I would never sacrifice my dignity for money.”
Her voice was laced with exasperation as she berated their behavior.
Josie took a deep breath, her face growing grim. “This is our final offer. We are willing to negotiate on the rates, but we will not be flexible if you are unwilling to compromise.”
The residents were taken aback by Josie’s bluntness. Their expressions hardened as they listened to her ultimatums.
A man stepped out of the shadows and shoved Josie. “Don’t listen to her!” he shouted. “She’s just trying to trick us! Look at her! She’s wearing expensive clothes! She’s not one of us!”
The man shoved Josie with such force that she almost lost her balance. She was wearing heels, making it difficult to keep her footing. She stumbled backward, and for a moment, it looked like she was going to fall into the deep hole behind her that the excavator had dug.
Alice cried out, “Jo!” and reached out to catch Josie just before she fell.
Josie’s face turned ashen pale as she looked behind her in shock..
She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder blades.
The man who had shoved her was also stunned.
Josie let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “Let’s end it here,” she said, defeated.
Everyone else sighed in relief. The man who had shoved Josie smirked. “I told you she was only pretending!” he said.
Josie’s rage boiled over. She stopped in her tracks and glared at the man. She wanted to throw a brick at him but knew it would only worsen things.
“What do you want to do? Hit me?” he shouted. The man’s arrogance and insolence were baffling.
Alice immediately stepped in to defuse the situation. “Don’t get riled up,” she said and continued, “you’ve misunderstood our intentions.”
Josie removed her coat and examined the bruises on her arms and shoulders as she got into the car.
Alice waited outside. “I told you that the people here are as stubborn as mules,” she said. “You’d get a heart attack from trying to convince them otherwise.”
The news of what had happened with the residents spread quickly within the company. Everyone knew about it before she even returned to the Russell Group.
Hitting a Wall
When she returned to the office, her subordinate’s concerned voice stopped her in her tracks. “Ms. Warren, are you alright?”
Her face grew grimmer with each passing second as she mulled over what had happened. Her subordinate’s question was met with a strained nod, and she quickly made her way to the elevator. She jabbed the button for the top floor, and the doors snapped shut behind her.
She had already prepared the proposal for Dexter to approve. It would force the demolition of the houses
in that area.
The secretary nodded at Josie with a knowing smile.
Josie suddenly remembered that Ivy hadn’t been around lately. “Ms. Moore, hasn’t Ms. Miller returned to work? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Mr. Russell has encouraged Ms. Miller to take some time off,” Ms. Moore explained to Josie. ‘she’s been working tirelessly for the past few years, and he thinks she needs a break.”
A capitalist like Dexter wouldn’t hold such noble intentions. Josie furrowed her brows as she guessed that something unusual must have happened.
She raised her hand to knock on his door but paused. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She knew that talking to him would only make her angry.
She leaned her head to the side to try and take a peek at what he was doing inside, but the curtains were drawn. I’ll think of a way when I’m back home.
When she turned around, she bumped into someone’s cold, hard chest. “Go inside if you’re curious,” the man said in a deep, composed voice.
