Franklin stood in the entrance of the company building, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. Mr. Russell and Mr. Stephen were beside him, their faces lined with frustration and disbelief. The three of them had just been asked to leave the company by Mr. Thayer and the other board members, and now the weight of the situation hung heavily between them. Franklin cleared his throat, trying to find the right words to break the silence."Listen," Franklin began, his voice low and strained. "Both of you should go home. Get some rest. Let me handle this from here. It's all my fault anyway." His eyes flickered between the two men, searching for some sign of agreement.Mr. Russell shook his head. "No, Franklin, this isn't just on you. We all played a part in this mess. Besides, we're a team. We should face this together."Mr. Stephen sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck with a weary hand. "I don't like the idea of leaving you to deal with this alone, Franklin. But maybe you're right.
Casey Ford and her father, Bill Ford, decided to go for a drive through the city, hoping to catch up on lost time.Casey sat in the passenger seat, her eyes focused on the scenery outside, but her thoughts were elsewhere, a storm brewing inside her.Bill tried to break the silence. "It's been a while since we've done this," he said, his eyes flicking over to Casey briefly. "Just the two of us driving around. Remember when you were little and we used to take those Sunday drives? You always wanted to stop for ice cream."Casey smiled faintly, the memory tugging at the corners of her lips. "Yeah, I remember. I always asked for extra sprinkles, didn't I?""That you did," Bill chuckled. "And you'd get them all over the backseat. I think the car still had some sprinkles stuck in the cracks for years after."Casey laughed lightly, but her mind was still swirling with the events of the past few days. Her father seemed to sense the undercurrent of her mood, but before he could press further, t
Mr. Hughes and Conor walked out to the lobby of the Empire State Hotel right when Franklin Miles had requested to meet him. Franklin looked really tired and his face was very serious. Mr. Hughes and Conor saw this and went over to him, both looking worried and concerned.Mr. Hughes, looking closely at Franklin, said, “Sir Franklin, you look very worn out. Did something bad happen? You don’t look like yourself.”Franklin sighed deeply and his shoulders slumped. He looked at Mr. Hughes and Conor, then began to talk. “It’s been a rough day. I went to Miles Empire on the request of my secretary to meet Mr. Russell and Mr. Stephen. I thought everything would be okay, but it turned out to be a disaster. We were kicked out of the company. They didn’t give us any reasons, and they didn’t offer any compensation. It was very humiliating. I didn’t expect this to happen.”Conor’s eyes grew wide with anger. His fists were clenched tightly as he said, “They just kicked you out with no reason? That’
After the drive with her father, Casey Ford couldn’t take her mind off the growing worry about Richmond Wright and Big Joe.That night, after returning home, Casey called her most trusted security guards. She made sure they were the ones who could keep things under wraps, especially from her father, Bill Ford.In a low voice, Casey instructed them, “I need you to find out everything you can about where Richmond Wright, Big Joe, and their men were taken after their arrest. Be discreet. Don’t let anyone know, especially my father. Bring me the information as soon as possible.”The guards exchanged glances, then one of them named George, responded, “Understood, Ms. Ford. We’ll handle it. You’ll have the details by morning.”Casey nodded slightly, then dismissed them with a wave of her hand, her mind already whirling with plans. She didn’t sleep much that night, waiting for the information she needed.Early the next morning, George returned with the details. “Ms. Ford, we found out that R
Franklin Miles sat in one of the grand lounges of the Empire State Hotel, the soft hum of distant conversations and the faint clinking of glasses filling the air. The room, with its polished wooden accents and gleaming chandeliers, had become a familiar space to him over the past two weeks. The once-bustling corporate life he had known was now a memory, replaced by this more subdued, but no less challenging role of running a hotel that was transforming faster than he could have ever anticipated.Mr. Hughes walked in, carrying a thick stack of reports under his arm. Franklin noticed the way the older man moved—purposeful, steady, and always slightly hunched over, as though carrying the invisible weight of the hotel on his back. Hughes had been a pillar of reliability for Franklin, and it was thanks to his guidance that the hotel had started to thrive."Franklin," Hughes said, his tone carrying both respect and familiarity. He placed the stack of papers on the large oak table between th
In the cramped living room of their temporary apartment, Deborah Martyn paced back and forth, the soft thud of her footsteps the only sound cutting through the room. Her arms were crossed tightly, and her brow furrowed in frustration. It had been days since they had been forced out of Miles Empire, and the sting of that betrayal still burned deep inside her.“I cannot believe this,” Deborah muttered, shaking her head, her voice sharp with anger. “One minute, we’re in the boardroom, part of the future of the company, and the next—boom! We’re tossed out like old furniture, without so much as a decent explanation.”Vera Martyn, seated on the edge of the small couch, stared out of the window, watching the quiet street below. Her hands rested in her lap, fingers loosely intertwined. Unlike Deborah, her reaction had been quieter, more subdued. Yet, the weight of everything still hung heavily in the room.“They didn’t give us a choice,” Vera spoke softly, her words steady but tinged with sad
Casey Ford sat across from her father, Bill, in the spacious dining room, the soft hum of distant traffic filtering in through the large windows. A stack of legal documents lay scattered across the polished wooden table between them, contracts, and deeds among them. The atmosphere between father and daughter felt a bit strained, a weight lingering over their conversation, though neither had addressed it directly.For weeks, Casey had been pestering her father about buying the Empire State Hotel. It had become almost an obsession, though Bill couldn’t quite figure out what had sparked her interest in such a massive, complicated purchase. Today, though, they were finally sitting down to discuss it."You’ve been awfully persistent about this hotel," Bill remarked, flipping through the papers with a measured look. "It’s not exactly a small investment, Casey. Hotels like these come with a lot of responsibility."Casey straightened up in her chair, her eyes bright with excitement. “I know,
Bill Ford held his phone in one hand, staring at it for a moment before dialing Ivan, his most trusted loyalist. Casey, still buzzing from their conversation about the hotel, was lounging on the couch nearby, flipping through a magazine absentmindedly. The excitement on her face had yet to fade, her thoughts clearly preoccupied with the hotel and what it would mean for her.Bill's phone rang twice before Ivan’s gruff voice answered. “Mr. Ford?”“Ivan, I’ve got a job for you,” Bill started, his tone steady and firm. “I want you to meet with some representatives on my behalf. We’re looking to acquire the Empire State Hotel.”There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Ivan spoke again, his words slow and measured. “The Empire State Hotel? That's a pretty big target. You’re sure about this?”Bill glanced at Casey, who gave him a small smile, her eyes filled with that same bright excitement. “Yes, I’m sure. Casey’s been after this for a while now, and it’s time we make it