The Return Of His Unrivaled Ex-Wife (Joanna)

Chapter 358 Chapter 358 The next day.

In the Everett Group.

At nine in the morning, Joanna arrived at the company punctually.

In the conference room.

Joanna pushed open the conference room’s door. It was already filled with senior executives of the company.

“Miss Haynes, good morning!” “Good morning, everyone!” Joanna greeted briefly as she walked towards the head of the conference table and sat in her usual spot.

“Is everyone here?” “Well, Mr. Roger and Mr. Paul haven't arrived yet.” Joanna glanced at her watch, realizing it was already five past nine. “Let's wait for them a bit.” Just as she finished speaking, Luna knocked on the door and entered. “Miss Haynes, Mr. Roger just called to say that he’s feeling unwell and won't be able to attend the meeting today.” Joanna furrowed her brows in response.

“Also, Mr. Roger called just now. He mentioned he had to deal with an urgent matter at home, and he can't attend the meeting today.” Joanna's brows furrowed even more when she heard that. It seemed that the two of them had planned it together. They intentionally skipped the board meeting.

“Since that’s the case, we won't wait for them.” “I appreciate everyone’s hard work during my absence.” The senior executives lowered their heads and flipped through the documents in their hands.

“Miss Haynes, here’s the performance overview of the company during this period.” “And also, these are the financial statements and a list of employees who have resigned.” “Let's set those aside for now.” Joanna turned on the computer projection and began the meeting with the management team. “Starting today, | am officially back to work.” “Today's meeting will focus on five points. Firstly, the company may undergo a transformation. We will change our direction and focus our sales on Mossbourne.” “Secondly, | suggest that the management team visit the second and third—tier cities in Mossbourne for market research.” “The consumer base in these cities is not inferior to that of the first-tier cities. It is a vast consumer market that we must not overlook...” The meeting lasted for over two hours.

“Does anyone have anything to add?” “No.” “Then let's conclude the meeting for today. Dismissed.” The management team gradually left the conference room.

Joanna also returned to her office.

A few executives couldn't help but discuss, “The Haynes Group might really be going through a major change. | heard Mr. Paul and Mr. Roger are planning to resign from the board of directors!” “We thought it was just a rumor, but seeing that they didn’t attend the board meeting today, it seems they really are leaving.” The marketing manager chimed in. “Wow, first Mr. Everett stepped down from the board, and now Mr. Paul and Mr. Roger are also leaving! Is the Haynes Group heading towards bankruptcy?” “I don't think so! After all, there’s Miss Haynes and the new shareholders.” The marketing manager pursed her lips. “A single tree cannot make a forest. Can Miss Haynes alone sustain such a large company? Besides, she doesn’t seem actively involved in the management recently!” Chapter 358 “Don’t worry! Even if Mr. Roger and Mr. Paul resign from the board of directors, there will be new shareholders.) “With the Haynes Group in its current state, who would be willing to take on this mess?” “Let's check the job postings tonight, just in case! We don’t want to be caught off guard.” In the office.

Beep, beep “Hello, the person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again later...” Joanna tried calling Mr. Roger and Mr. Paul multiple times, but they refused to answer their phones.

It was not until three o'clock in the afternoon that Mr. Roger finally picked up the call.

“Hello.” Joanna felt a tightness in her chest but managed to steady her emotions. “Uncle Roger, it's me. Joannal” “Oh, | see. What's up?” Mr. Roger pretended to be dumb.

“Luna mentioned that you weren't feeling well, so | wanted to call and ask how you're doing now.” Mr. Roger hesitated briefly before politely responding, “Oh, | was really feeling unwell in the morning. I'm much better now. | can’t help it. Getting older comes with headaches and heatwaves.” “Please rest well, and don’t overwork yourself. Take a break until you're feeling better and ready to return to work!” Mr. Roger laughed dryly. “I might not be able to return for a while. I'm planning to take some time off in Mostax to recuperate!” After a brief pause, Joanna gathered her thoughts and asked directly, “Uncle Roger, | heard that you're planning to sell your shares. Is that true?” Mr. Roger hesitated a while before responding, “Oh, | do have that plan in mind!” “May | ask why?” Mr. Roger took a deep breath and pretended to say earnestly, “Joann, Uncle Roger is getting old. I've reached retirement age and don’t want to deal with all this anymore!” “Now, | only want to travel with my wife and enjoy our golden years. We'll leave the business matters to the younger generation like you to strive for success!” Joanna's heart sank. “But we've been working together for so long. It would be a pity if you sold your shares.” “There’s no other way. How about you repurchase my shares? I'll sell them to you at the original price we agreed upon. Consider it my final contribution to the Haynes Group.” Upon hearing this, Joanna was at a loss for words and remained silent for quite some time.

She didn’t have enough money at the moment to repurchase his shares! “Take some time to think about it. If you're not interested in repurchasing them, I'll have to sell them to someone else.” “I'll consider it, Uncle Roger. Please hold off on finding other buyers for now.” “Alright! I'll give you a week to think it over.” “If 1 don’t hear back from you by then, I'll sell them to another company.” “Alright.” “Then I'll hang up first.” Mr. Roger didn’t say much more and ended the call.

Joanna heaved a sigh, feeling troubled and overwhelmed as she held her forehead.

Ethan happened to come by.

Noticing Joanna's worried expression, he asked with concern, “Miss Haynes, what's wrong?” Joanna sighed faintly and replied softly, “Mr. Roger and Mr. Paul are planning to leave the board of directors. I'm afraid the Haynes Group might be acquired by another company and eventually fall apart “If we want to save the Haynes Group, we'll have to repurchase their shares.” Joanna felt a headache coming on.

She didn’t have enough liquid assets to repurchase their shares in the first place! Hearing this, Ethan frowned solemnly. “Is that s0? That's really troublesome.” “Yes!” Chapter 358 Ethan pondered for a moment before an idea struck him. He proposed, “Miss Haynes, why not discuss with Caleb and see if he’s willing to repurchase a portion of their shares?” “If he agrees, you can share the burden with him. It's better than selling the shares to someone else, right?” Joanna's eyes narrowed as she heard his suggestion.

“That could work. I'll go find him right away!” With that, Joanna immediately stood up and made her way to Caleb’s office.

Caleb was a new shareholder in the company. He was a mixed businessman with strong financial resources.

Five minutes later.

Joanna arrived at Caleb's office.

Joanna immediately told him about the repurchase.

Caleb was also very interested after hearing this.

“That sounds promising!” “Are you agreeing to it then?” Caleb shrugged and flashed her a gentlemanly smile. “Hmm, perhaps...” “But, | don’t have the necessary funds at the moment either. So we need to raise money as well.” “How about we pool our resources and raise the funds together? We can each repurchase half of their shares.” “That's a possibility. Let me think of a solution.” As Joanna exited Caleb's office, she found herself facing another dilemma.

Even if each of them repurchased half of the shares, it would still cost about 300 million dollars per person. It was not a small sum. Joanna really did not know where to raise so much money in such a short time.

“Miss Haynes, why don’t you sell a portion of your shares and take back their shares first?” Ethan suggested.

“Sell my shares?” Joanna hesitated. She only had 41% of the shares in her hands now. If she sold more, it would reduce her stake in the company even further.

It would mean losing control as the majority shareholder and jeopardizing her decision-making power within the Everett Group.

“Considering the current need for funds, it seems like the only option.” Joanna contemplated, but after some calculations, she concluded that the risk was too high, and she couldn't afford to sell more shares.

Noticing her hesitation, Ethan proposed an alternative. “Miss Haynes, if you're not willing to sell them, you could consider using the shares as collateral at a bank.” “Using the shares as collateral?” “Yes, it might be a way to alleviate the immediate financial pressure. By securing a loan from the bank with the shares as collateral, we can buy ourselves some time and cushion the previous difficulties.” “Once we overcome the current challenge and repay the bank loan, we can work on buying back the shares.” “Otherwise, we can only watch as other companies acquire the Haynes Group!” “I'll think about it!” A week later.

Mr. Roger called again. “Joann, have you made your decision?” “If you've made up your mind, I'll sell the shares to you at the lowest price. But if you haven't, I'll have to look for other buyers.” “Uncle Roger, give me some time to raise the funds.” “Then you have to be quick. | won't keep on waiting!” “Okay, | got it.” Chapter 359