Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike

Chapter 757 - 728: Love Across Parallel Worlds [050]

"We’ve created a 4D visual representation of the lakeside plot in South Bay. Take a look."After Simon Forrester finished speaking, he pressed a button on the remote in his hand. The center of the long conference table opened up, and a whiteboard rose straight up, then unfolded.

The 4D equipment projected a beam of light from top to bottom, forming a three-dimensional villa complex facing a natural lake on the whiteboard.

The architectural style leans towards Southeast Asian. The villa roofs are brown spires, the walls are cream-colored, paired with brown doors and windows. Each standalone house has straight oil palm trees planted in front, and underneath them are rattan loungers for residents to relax, arranged in arcs facing the lake and separated by screens made of brown wood and white curtains.

Simon Forrester pressed the remote in his hand a few more times, and the white base began to slowly rotate 360 degrees. The 4D visual disassembled and then reassembled the building facades, allowing Sienna Thorne and Maeve to view the entire look of the guesthouse from all angles.

Sienna Thorne cleared her throat and asked, "How much does it cost to build a guesthouse like this?"

Harrison Rowe timely handed the project documents to her and Maeve.

Simon Forrester, holding the projection remote, explained, "Including the land, construction costs, soft and hard furnishing costs, landscaping, and all the deed tax expenses, it is estimated to be between 25 million and 30 million."

The hand flipping through the project documents of Maeve paused. She turned her head towards Sienna Thorne.

The two of them whispered to each other.

Sienna Thorne said, "If we use the land as collateral for a bank loan, we can at most borrow seven million, still short by eight million to complete the guesthouse construction."

Maeve nodded, "Why don’t I reach out to that Head Fan? That person should be able to come up with eight million."

Sienna Thorne held her hand, shaking her head, "No, don’t! That kind of person isn’t a philanthropist. If they give you money, they’ll definitely want to get it back from elsewhere."

Maeve remained silent.

Sienna Thorne looked up at Simon Forrester and asked, "Is there a cheaper option? Something around seventeen million."

Simon Forrester smiled, "Yes, there is." As he spoke, he pressed the remote in his hand, and the 4D visual presented a completely different scene.

Three five-story buildings fell facing the lake. Because of the high benchmark set, Sienna Thorne and Maeve were unimpressed by this cheaper option, both troubled about how to fill the eight-million funding gap.

At this point, Simon Forrester said, "This plot is worth using the best plan. Combined with the existing tourist traffic to South Bay, there’s no worry about the guesthouse not having business. The investment can be recovered in as little as three to five years."

As he spoke, Harrison Rowe handed over two cooperative agreements, "If the minimum cost of this project is calculated at 25 million yuan, Ms. Lester’s contribution of 8 million yuan would correspond to a 32% stake, the remaining 68% belonging to the investors. If Ms. Lester agrees to this plan, the project could start as soon as this month and is expected to be completed before Christmas 2017."

"32%???" Maeve looked at Simon Forrester in surprise.

Simon Forrester nodded with a faint smile, "32% stake, but since you are the initiator of this project, we can negotiate further on the equity side. After all, the investors just want returns and don’t want to be involved in the management of the guesthouse."

Maeve, with a background in the arts, was learning for the first time that shares and equity were not the same thing. Although she didn’t understand, she felt in any case that the investors holding 68% was quite odd. The 25-million project investment was proposed on Simon Forrester’s side, and her 32% stake was based on that, implying that if Simon Forrester did anything to dilute her shares, it wasn’t impossible.

She leaned over to Sienna Thorne and asked in a low voice, "What do you think of this plan?"

Sienna Thorne shook her head with her eyes closed.

Maeve understood, raised the two proposals in her hand, and smiled at Simon Forrester and Harrison Rowe, "We’ll think it over tonight."

Simon Forrester politely said, "Alright. If there’s any confusion, feel free to contact Harrison."

Harrison Rowe turned off the 4D projector and then went to pull the curtain on the glass walls, making the environment clear immediately.

Harrison came over to invite Maeve, "Ms. Lester, if you aren’t pressed for time, you can come to my office, and I can explain the details of this project to you."

Maeve looked back at Sienna Thorne, "Should I go over first? You can call me when you’re ready to leave?"

Sienna Thorne, wanting to settle accounts with Simon Forrester, naturally agreed.

After everyone left, Simon Forrester closed the door again. When the curtain closed again, he walked over to the conference table and embraced Sienna Thorne.

Sienna Thorne resisted his embrace and pushed him away. He then wrapped his arm around her as they walked to the sofa, asking softly, "Who upset my Annie today?"

"What were you discussing in the office with that designer you already let go? Why did you pull the curtains as well?"

Her tone was a bit aggressive, and Simon Forrester was taken aback for a second before he replaced it with a smile. "I was just waiting for you all earlier. Since the 4D projection can’t have light interference, I had Harrison prepare in advance. Ten minutes before you arrived, Nina Sinclair came in saying there were some issues with the termination agreement needing my attention."

Sienna Thorne choked, then replied, "But after she came in, you could’ve just pulled the curtain back. These curtains are automatic, just a press on the remote, no need for manual operation."

Initially smiling, Simon Forrester’s expression shifted slightly due to her unreasonable arguments. With fatigue, he pinched the bridge of his nose and explained, "It came up suddenly, my mishandling, sorry, this won’t happen again next time."

"Next time? You’re hoping she comes to your office again?"

"No... I..." Simon Forrester struggled to argue, controlling his impatience.

Sienna Thorne criticized him, "You’re a department head, busy with running every aspect, yet you have the time to handle dismissal matters intended for legal or HR communication? Are you too idle lately, or are you feeling guilty for dismissing her before that you couldn’t refuse her now?"

"I..."

"You shouldn’t have seen her! Especially not with the curtains drawn! What will others think if they see that? The rumors about you two already exist, why do you need to meet behind closed curtains? Have you considered my feelings?" Sienna Thorne’s anger and grievance grew as she spoke.

"No, Annie, listen to me..." Simon Forrester explained, "She came in unexpectedly, and after all, she is my mom’s friend’s daughter. I couldn’t be too harsh on the surface, I had to handle it tactfully. I admit not pulling the curtains back was my fault, but truly nothing happened with her and me."

Sienna Thorne wouldn’t listen to anything, pushed away his arm, picked up her bag, and went downstairs to find Maeve.

Simon Forrester grabbed his jacket and car keys and chased after her. Amidst the surprised looks of the designers on the second floor, he caught up with Sienna Thorne in Harrison’s office.