Andy left the meeting room confused and annoyed. He was determined to find out who Mr. Suntoro was, the new managing director of Sun Group Southeast Asia, and meet him personally.
Arriving at the lobby, Andy actually wanted to avoid Lilyana. But his sister-in-law looked curious and approached him.
“Why is the meeting going so fast, Andy? How did it go?” asked Lilyana, genuinely curious.
“Huh, none of your business!” Andy replied irritably, and quickly left the Sun Group office.
Lilyana looked at Andy's departure in surprise. She looked at the wristwatch in her hand to calculate the time. The meeting with the deputy director of Sun Group Southeast Asia that Andy had bragged about had only lasted five minutes! Five minutes!
“What's wrong with him? He seemed so excited when he was about to enter the meeting room. Why does he seem so upset now?” murmured Lilyana cluelessly.
In the parking lot, Andy had just opened the car door when his cell phone rang. The Tansyah family's crown prince's face instantly turned tense. It got even tenser when he realized who was calling: his father!
“H-hallo?” Andy's voice trembled as he received the call.
“You dumbass son! What have you done that Sun Group won't renew our partnership?” Mr. Tansyah snapped on the other end of the line.
“D-Dad... I-I... I didn't do anything. Really!” replied Andy shakily.
“No way!” snapped Mr. Tansyah angrily. “You must have made a mistake. That's the only reason Sun Group cut off the partnership. Just confess, who is the Sun Group bigwig you've angered?”
Andy was getting more and more confused. He had not interacted with anyone from Sun Group before meeting Megan and Charlie.
Lilyana who met him in the lobby was definitely not part of Sun Group. Neither was Alan, the Wongso family's useless son-in-law. So, who was it?
“D-Dad, I really didn't do anything. I also don't understand why Sun Group would suddenly decide that, without even looking at the renewal proposal I brought. Why don't you ask the Suntoro Family directly?” Andy replied later.
“Don't run your mouth, do you think the Suntoro Family would bother with crumbs like us?” snapped Mr. Tansyah. “Anyway, I don't want to know, you have to find a replacement worthy of this. Otherwise, don't you dare bear the last name Tansyah again!”
“D-Dad, are you kidding?”
Andy was stunned. Where in the world could he find a replacement worthy of the Sun Group? But before he could respond, the phone line had already been cut off by Mr. Tansyah.
Annoyed, Andy slammed the car door and threw his back against the seat. He was really curious about Mr. Suntoro, who had just taken over as managing director of Sun Group Southeast Asia.
“Who is he really? Have I met him and accidentally offended him?”
***
Don't know where it came from, but the news of the failed extension of the cooperation between Sun Group Southeast Asia and Tansyah Group was widespread. Next thing we knew, conglomerate families across the country had heard about it.
At the same time, news of a new person in the chair of Sun Group Southeast Asia's managing director was also circulating everywhere. Many then connected the two events.
One conclusion most people came to was that the new CEO of Sun Group Southeast Asia no longer saw the importance of the Tansyah Group. This is a very shocking assumption, because the Tansyah Group, together with the Sanjaya Group, is a respected business group at the global level.
If the Tansyah Group was underestimated, what about smaller business corporations like the Hosea Group, Pangestu Group and the Wongso Group? This made Albert Wongso very nervous.
[Everyone gather at my house tonight. No one should be absent. I'll be waiting!]
That's the message Albert sent to the family group on the Whaddup app. He wanted to quickly discuss the two latest issues with his children and in-laws.
Lilyana and Alan were still waiting in the lobby of Sun Group's Southeast Asia office when they received the message. Since Andy's departure earlier, the receptionist still hadn't gotten back to her about a possible meeting with the marketing manager.
“What about this?” Lilyana asked Alan.
“You'd better check with the receptionist first. We've been waiting for so long, do you think their marketing manager wants to see you or not?” suggested Alan.
Lilyana complied. She got up and walked towards the reception desk.
“Has there been any word from your marketing manager? Has he found time to meet me?” Lilyana asked the receptionist politely.
The receptionist behind the desk stood up and smiled.
“Please wait a moment, Ma'am. Let me ask first,” she replied politely, then contacted someone over the intercom.
After hearing the answer from the person she contacted, the receptionist said back to Lilyana, “Ma'am, sorry, Mr. Charlie is busy. You can come back another time.”
“Oh, okay.” Lilyana felt disappointed. But she knew it was impossible to force her will.
“How about it?” asked Alan when he saw his wife approaching with a lackluster look on her face.
“Let's just go home. We'll rest this afternoon and then meet Papa at his office in the evening,” Lilyana replied listlessly.
Alan immediately deduced that Charlie didn't want to take the time to meet Lilyana. This marketing manager of his was indeed an arrogant person.
“Wait a minute, I need to use the restroom first,” Alan said, then without waiting for an answer left immediately.
Alan lied. He had actually gone back upstairs to see where Charlie was and what he was doing. He wanted to know why the marketing manager didn't want to see Lilyana.
Stepping out of the elevator, Alan immediately saw Charlie chatting casually with one of the female employees in front of his room. The two of them were laughing freely.
“Hmmm, this Hosea Family son-in-law deserves a lesson!” growled Alan who immediately grabbed his cellphone.
[Harold, tell Megan that the marketing manager position has to change to a new person by tomorrow!]
[What? Young Master aren't joking, are you?]
[I've already discussed it with Megan. So, there should be no problem.]
[Oh, okay, Young Master. I'll do it right away.]
Then Alan deliberately waited. Not long after, there was the sound of a telephone ringing from the direction of Charlie's room. A young secretary came out to inform him and Charlie entered.
Only a minute later, Charlie had come out again with a crumpled face. His eyes were glazed with anger, with his face down on the floor.
“Mr. Manager, where are you going?” asked the female employee Charlie had been chatting with. “Didn't we agree to have lunch together at Prime Taste Restaurant?”
“Shut up!” snapped Charlie angrily. “I'm no longer your manager!”
The female employee was shocked to be yelled at like that. She looked at Charlie's departure with an astonished and confused look.
“What did he say? Not a manager anymore? Demoted or fired?” the employee muttered, wondering to herself.
Arriving in front of the elevator, Charlie bumped into Alan who was still there. He had a shocked look on his face as he recognized who was standing by the button.
“You?” exclaimed Charlie between shock and disbelief. “Why are you here?”
“Oh, I'm on the wrong floor,” Alan replied nonchalantly, then preceded into the elevator that had just opened. “You, yourself, why do you look so disheveled?”
“None of your business!” snapped Charlie, then roughly pressed the button to close the elevator door.
That response made Alan secretly smile with satisfaction.
=$$$=
That night, all of Albert Wongso's children and in-laws gathered. Newlyweds Stephen and Cynthia were no exception.Initially, Albert didn't want to invite Alan, his son-in-law who he saw as having nothing to gain personally or in business. But the wealthy businessman didn't want to disappoint Lilyana, who couldn't possibly not come with her husband.As usual, Alan and Lilyana arrived last. Inevitably the two of them, especially Alan, became the center of attention as soon as they entered the living room where everyone was waiting for the meeting to begin.All eyes suddenly turned to stare at Alan. Especially Stephen who felt extremely annoyed at his brother-in-law for not giving a wedding gift.“Huh, how could you not feel ashamed to come to this meeting,” Stephen said sarcastically.“Don't start a mess, Steve!” snapped Lilyana, quickly coming to her husband's defense. “Didn't Papa invite all of us, his children and his sons-in-law? Let me remind you in case you've forgotten, Alan is
NOT long after Lilyana and Alan left, Andy took Gabriella to say goodbye as well. He told Albert that he was called by Mr. Tansyah who wanted to talk to him about the cancellation of the contract extension with Sun Group.But Andy's real purpose was to follow Lilyana and Alan. He was really curious about the mysterious Mr. Suntoro, the new managing director of Sun Group Southeast Asia.Who is he really? Could it really be Alan? Because Alan was the only person with the last name Suntoro that Andy had ever interacted with.However, Andy found it hard to believe that Mr. Suntoro, the new director of Sun Group Southeast Asia, was Alan. More precisely, he was unwilling to believe it. That's why he wanted to find out the truth.“Where are they going?” muttered Andy in the car, while staring intently at the MPV that Alan and Lilyana were driving in front of him.Andy followed the MPV at a safe distance. Not too close, but always within his eyesight.“Of course they're going home,” Gabriella
“Young Master, why are you staying at a hotel? Even in a standard room. Didn't I prepare a house for you to stay in Summerville City?” asked Harold as he stopped by Alan's side.“Shhh!” Alan put his forefinger to his lips, while turning his head left and right to observe the situation. “Keep your voice down, Harold. I brought you here because I wanted to talk to you alone.”“Oh, I'm sorry, Young Master.” Harold covered his mouth with the palm of his hand. “But, wasn't that woman Young Master's wife? Miss Lilyana of the Wongso Family, isn't she?”“That's right,” Alan replied, letting out a long sigh as it turned out that his grandfather had actually tracked him down secretly. “It's just that I still don't want her and her family to know my true identity. You understand what I mean, right? “Of course, Young Master, I understand,” Harold replied quickly. “B-but, Young Master, I still have to make sure Young Master resides in the residence that has been prepared. If the Great Master asks
“ALAN, you're not hiding anything from me, are you?”Lilyana asked the question as soon as Charles and the hotel housekeeping staff left. Alan, who was closing the door, immediately looked at his wife with a puzzled look in his eyes.“What do you mean, Lily? What do I have to hide from you?” Alan asked back.Instead, Lilyana looked at Alan intensely. It was as if she was trying to find out if there were any lies in her husband's eyes. Aren't the eyes the window to the heart?“I'm still confused, still very confused, Alan. Why did we suddenly receive this upgrade to the Presidential Suite. If it wasn't for you hiding something, how could this have happened,” Lilyana said later.Hearing that, Alan smiled a little. He put his arm around Lilyana's shoulder and invited her to sit on the sofa near the master bed.“I don't know what's on your mind, Lily. But if you're guessing that the hotel owner upgraded the room because of me, I think you're wrong. Who am I, huh? Don't Papa and all your b
Alan's vegetable stall is simple but modern in concept. He has adopted a self-service scheme where customers can choose what they want to buy and pay at the cashier.As soon as he arrived, Alan was busy checking his inventory. Some of the vegetables were wilted and even rotten, and had to be thrown away immediately because they were no longer edible.Meanwhile, more durable vegetables such as potatoes, eggplants, carrots and cabbage were in short supply. This meant that Alan had to go shopping again to replenish the stock.“Ah, I still can't start selling today. I have to go shopping first,” muttered Alan after he finished checking all the supplies.Just as Alan was about to check the cash register, the glass door of the stall opened. A young woman wearing an elegant blazer appeared with a smile.A fragrant aroma filled the shop as soon as she entered. It was the typical scent of expensive perfume worn by the rich.“Sorry, our shop is still closed today. Please come back tomorrow,” Ala
Elsewhere, Jacky Hosea had just stepped into the lobby of his family's corporate office. Upon arriving at the reception desk, Albert Wongso's son-in-law was startled to see someone he recognized.“Charlie?” Jacky exclaimed, unable to believe who he was seeing.The person being called was talking to the receptionist, so his back was to Jacky. Upon hearing the call, the man immediately turned around.“J-Jack?” said Charlie, equally surprised.“Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be in the office?” asked Jacky probingly.The question made Charlie lower his head, not daring to meet Jacky's gaze. Obviously, this attitude made Jacky even more curious.“Why are you silent?” Jacky urged. “You can't be lazy working at Sun Group. Even though you're just a son-in-law, if you're lazy like this, you'll bring shame to the Hosea family.”“J-Jack...” Charlie was about to say something, but hesitated. “Actually... actually I....”“Actually what?” snapped Jacky impatiently.“I... I've been fired from
“Stop! Don't come in!” snapped the security guard guarding the entrance to the Wongso Tower parking lot.Alan immediately slammed on the brakes of the three-wheeled motorcycle he was riding. His body was thrown against the back of the seat as the vehicle came to a sudden stop.“Hey, Greengrocer, where do you think you're going?” the security guard asked, suddenly standing next to Alan.“I'm going to the Golden Dragon Hall. My brother-in-law is getting married, so of course I have to attend his wedding,” Alan answered honestly.The security guard grinned badly and gave a short snort. His piercing gaze then scrutinized Alan entire body, from his toes to the top of his head.“You're not joking, are you?” the security guard asked, smiling mockingly. “Hosting a party at the Golden Dragon Hall tonight is Albert Wongso, the richest man in Southeast Asia. How dare a greengrocer like you claim to be his son-in-law!”Alan swallowed. He couldn't blame the security guard, who didn't seem to belie
“G-grandson?” Alan repeated with an astonished expression. “You say I'm your grandson, old man?”The man smiling in front of Alan was in his sixties. His hair had all turned white, and the skin on his face was wrinkled.However, the old man's teeth were still complete, pure white, a sign of great care. His clothes were simple, a combination of a T-shirt and shorts, but they looked elegant and made of classy materials.“Your name is Alan Williamson Suntoro, right?” the old man asked later.From being astonished, Alan was now shocked that this stranger knew his full name. But then he had another thought. The old man could have been told by the hospital nurse.“If you think I'm your grandson, tell me my father's name,” Alan challenged.The old man chuckled. Instead of answering Alan's question, he pulled out a photo from his pants pocket.“I know your father died and left you when you were only five years old. But at least you've seen his picture, right?” the old man said, showing the ph