The Billionaire's Forbidden Longing
Chapter 57 Fame from a Single Battle

There was this saying: "Don't bother trying to convince someone who's got their head buried in the sand." When it came to Preston, Allison felt she'd done everything she could.

She had just sat back down when the cops showed up to haul Mr. Perez away. The guy was so scared he almost peed his pants right there in front of everyone.

All the Bennett Group employees came out to watch the spectacle. Allison stood by the conference room window, watching Mr. Perez get led to the police car. She then turned to the other board members, who quickly sat down, not daring to make a peep. She had dirt on all of them; even if they hated her, they wouldn't dare cross her now.

Allison said calmly, "I know you all probably hate my guts right now, maybe even thinking about getting rid of me so all this evidence disappears."

As she spoke, Allison picked up her phone, hooked it up to the projector, and deleted all the files before formatting her phone. Everyone visibly relaxed.

Allison continued, "As the future chairperson of the Bennett Group, I have just one request: all the funds you've embezzled or misused need to be returned to the company within a week, and we'll call it even. Remember, we're in business to make a profit, not to engage in infighting."

With that, a new project proposal popped up on the screen, and Jonah handed out printed copies to each shareholder.

Allison held up the proposal and started explaining her plan. "This is the first business deal I've brought to the Bennett Group. I've acquired an online gaming company. This subsidiary will handle the design, production, and distribution of new games, and we're organizing three teams to compete in gaming tournaments! The operations will be managed by a postdoc from Celestial University's computer science department..."

After leaving the conference room, Hayden was grinning ear to ear. He knew it; Allison was the real deal!

As for the shareholders, Allison kept them back after the meeting. "Look, I'm just a junior, and some things shouldn't be done by me. I know you're all upstanding folks, but you can't guarantee your family won't cause trouble! Today's incident isn't shameful because I found out about it. But if other departments find out, it'd be a disaster for you!"

The shareholders quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're right. We'll handle this seriously when we get back. Those troublemakers in the family will be dealt with personally!"

After leaving the conference room, Allison saw Hayden waiting for her and walked over. "Grandpa!"

Hayden gave a satisfied smile. "Allison, let's go. I'll take you to eat something delicious!"

He held Allison's hand and walked out, very high-profile and proud.

He took Allison to Azure Coast Restaurant, a place she often visited as a kid. Whenever Allison was upset or unhappy, Hayden would bring her here to eat.

Allison remembered when she was a kid, the Bennett family wasn't particularly wealthy. One year, they faced business troubles, and their house was almost auctioned off. Allison got scolded by her mom and beaten by her dad. When Hayden came home, he was heartbroken, hugged her, and brought her to Azure Coast Restaurant.

"Mr. Bennett, the usual?" The manager of Azure Coast Restaurant personally came out to greet them. Hayden was a regular, so they all knew him.

Hayden smiled and said generously, "My granddaughter is here. Today, we want sirloin steak, made by the head chef himself!"

"Sure thing!"

The manager turned and, upon seeing Allison, paused for a moment. Allison had been here a few times, but always with Alexander, so the manager didn't realize she was the young girl who used to follow Hayden around. The manager smiled at Allison, "Ms. Bennett, long time no see!"

"Hello." Allison felt a bit awkward looking at the manager. But with Hayden around, she couldn't bring up Alexander.

The manager got the hint and just nodded before leaving. Once outside, he called Alexander, "Mr. Carter, Ms. Bennett is here for dinner with Hayden."

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Alexander quickly replied, "Make sure they get excellent service, especially Hayden!"

The manager, being sharp, immediately caught on. It seemed Alexander was Hayden's future grandson-in-law!

Alexander was still stuck at the airport. He'd been on a business trip for two days and rushed back as soon as he could, but a typhoon had delayed his flight. James was already working on alternative travel plans. "Mr. Carter, all outbound flights are grounded. We might need to go to another city's airport." "How long would it take to drive back to Skycrest from here?" Alexander asked.

"Eight hours!"

"Make the arrangements!" Alexander decided to drive back to Skycrest, aiming to arrive by midnight so he wouldn't miss the next day's schedule. However, Allison hadn't called Alexander all morning, which left him feeling a bit down.

Just then, Declan called, and as soon as Alexander answered, he heard Declan excitedly shouting, "Alexander, Allison is amazing! She took control of the entire Bennett Group shareholders' meeting today and even had a shareholder arrested. The business community in Skycrest is buzzing."

Alexander listened silently as Declan recounted the shareholders' meeting. Declan knew about it because the Walker family had ties with the Bennett family, and there were even rumors of a marriage agreement between their families. "Did Preston hit Allison?" Alexander suddenly asked.

Declan paused for a moment, then responded, "Yes, she was hit by Preston, but Hayden hit him back. And as far as I know, Preston is restricted from leaving the country. He can't even leave Skycrest. Where did Allison get such power?" Alexander took a deep breath. He wanted to know how many more secrets Allison had. But it was precisely because of this that he found her even more impressive. His woman should be this outstanding. Meanwhile, after eating with Hayden, Allison said she wanted to go shopping, so Hayden returned to the Bennett Villa.

Allison hailed a cab and went directly to Crystal Haven Mall in Skycrest, which had many luxury stores. Tomorrow was Mia's eighteenth birthday party, and Allison wanted to pick out a birthday gift for her.

After getting out of the car, Allison entered Crystal Haven Mall and headed straight for the high-end jewelry section. There were indeed some beautiful items here, and Allison picked out a few to look at.

However, the store clerk, upon seeing Allison's attire, spoke with a sarcastic tone. "Miss, this is the high-end section. Each piece costs over a million dollars. You might want to check out the discount section; there are cheaper pieces more suitable for you!"

Allison wasn't surprised by the clerk's disrespectful behavior; it wasn't the first time.

At that moment, a familiar voice sounded. "Isn't this Allison? Coming to buy jewelry dressed so poorly, what a joke!"

Allison turned around and saw Veda, Yasmin, and several other girls.

Yasmin spoke up, "Allison, I know you have some shares from Grandpa now and probably have some money, but you shouldn't be so extravagant. If Grandpa gets angry and blocks your card, it would be embarrassing if you couldn't pay." Luxury store clerks were very shrewd. Hearing that Allison was newly rich, they worried she might return the items if her sugar daddy stopped giving her money.

So the clerk's attitude towards Allison worsened, and she directly asked her to leave. "Miss, if you have nothing to do, please leave. This is not a place for someone like you!"