Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 236 - 233: Fu the Naive Innocent

Sienna Thornton continued to ponder.

Previously, when she discovered that Steven Chapman and Bianca Fordham were in cahoots, Simon Forrester proposed that the Forrester’s legal department be merged into her law firm. Naturally, he still wanted to firmly control this department, which has full supervisory authority. Old Master Forrester agreed not because he thought she was particularly capable and had to manage the legal affairs of Forrester Group, but because he tacitly acknowledged that the future of Forrester Group belonged to Simon, and he was mostly willing to respect whatever Simon wanted to do.

But the final result was that Zane Forrester, Nolan Kramer, and others, without Simon and Old Master Forrester’s consent, put on a facade, organizing a grand bidding event. Although they ultimately chose Cognitas, secretly, Nolan and the others still tightly held onto the Forrester’s legal affairs. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

They concocted some fake agreement, explicitly requiring her to take time off to work at Forrester Group, knowing well that with her law firm outside, during a lawsuit, she might not even find a single day free in a month.

So much acting, truly painstaking efforts!

There’s no way Nolan could do so many things alone, and he wouldn’t be foolish enough to make big moves that would offend her, especially since he just joined Forrester and Simon clearly told him she was his fiancée. Everyone knew she and Simon were a team, so offending her in this matter was clearly orchestrated from behind the scenes.

Who is behind this? Naturally, the "higher-ups" he mentioned—Zane Forrester or Mrs. Forrester!

Sienna felt this matter was very subtle, as it seemed like Zane and his wife not only did not trust her but also did not want their son to truly understand the operations of Forrester Group.

Sienna wondered how she should explain the current situation to Simon. Given his evaluation of Nolan and his lack of a strong reaction to the bizarre legal outsourcing clauses this time, it showed he still had considerable trust in Zane.

But is Zane really like that? Not necessarily.

-

Sienna spent the entire afternoon pondering this issue, and she was still preoccupied when she returned home for dinner with Simon.

Simon thought she was troubled about her father’s affairs, and since he already felt guilty, he didn’t dare to ask too much, quietly eating his meal.

Suddenly, as they ate, Sienna said, "I have something I’m not sure I should say..."

Simon’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked uneasily, "What is it?"

Sienna looked up, biting her chopsticks, her gaze clear but with a hint of confusion, "Is your grandfather’s intention that the Arcadia company belongs to your father, while the domestic Forrester Group belongs to you?"

It wasn’t about her father’s matter!

Simon let out a sigh of relief and nodded, "That’s how Grandpa arranged it, yes. So, I’m the second largest shareholder in Forrester Group after Grandpa, and my father holds very few shares. Conversely, in the Arcadia company, I hold less than ten percent of the shares."

"Your grandfather’s arrangement is quite interesting. It’s like he’s treating you and your dad as brothers, dividing the inheritance that way. Normally, isn’t it passed from father to son, and then son to son again? Your grandfather directly split it between his son and grandson."

Simon gave a wry smile, "Grandpa’s sharp; naturally, he has his reasons for arranging things this way."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you sharp too?"

Simon glanced at her, slowly smiled, and said, "I’m just a naïve sweetheart."

Sienna: "..."

She wasn’t sure if Simon had already sensed the current situation at Forrester Group or if he was just focused on his preferred career, choosing to turn a blind eye to everything concerning Forrester Group.

If Simon didn’t plan to bother with these things and she took everything seriously and gave various opinions, would it be meaningful?

She decided to test Simon and thus asked, "Cognitas signed a contract with Forrester Group today. I told Nolan that if I had to work at Forrester Group, I must be given the position of Deputy General Counsel."

Simon glanced at her, "I knew you wouldn’t be so easily fooled."

"But Nolan said that any issues I have at work should first go to him and then be reported to your father."

Simon gave an ambiguous smile, split the fish along the centerline, and placed the tender belly meat into Sienna’s bowl, "What do you think?"

"What I think isn’t important; what’s important is how you want me to act."

Simon put down his chopsticks, leaned back, rested his hands naturally on the table edge, and bent his gaze directly at Sienna’s eyes, smiling:

"Just treat Nolan like you did Steven Chapman before. Don’t offend him, but don’t underestimate him either. For now, I can’t leave my design studio; it’s not convenient for me to take on a post at Forrester Group, so I can’t easily assert authority. Therefore, we’ll have to trouble you for the time being. But we have to do this so that when we officially take over Forrester Group in the future, it will be less strenuous. I suggest you train a close aide to stay at Forrester Group regularly so you can focus on the law firm."

Sienna nodded, "I understand." She then looked at him and calmly asked, "Do you desire to take over Forrester Group?"

She needed to know Simon’s attitude towards Forrester Group to make some decisions in the future with confidence and not cause trouble for Simon.

Simon didn’t hesitate, "Of course. On a day when I don’t want to design and you don’t want to be a lawyer, at least we’ll have Forrester Group to fall back on for a living. Also, I think, when you are less busy in the future, we could start doing some charity work."

"Charity?" This was the first time Sienna had heard these words from Simon; she didn’t know he had such thoughts.

Seeing her confusion, Simon elaborated, "For example, in your hometown, kids have to go to towns far away for middle school. We could build schools in villages and rural areas so kids can get an education nearby. We could also set up scholarships for those who are academically excellent but can’t afford further education due to financial difficulties. Additionally, addressing severe pediatric diseases is a field worth investing in. Many kids lose their lives due to lack of medical treatment, dragging their families down with them. We could help with that. But to do these things, we need a lot of money."

"Forrester Group makes so much money every year. The sooner we take over, the sooner we can do many meaningful things. It’s not just about grabbing family assets from my dad; I want to start doing what I want sooner. For instance, charity—my parents don’t have that concept and would even stop me. I don’t want to be financially controlled by them, so it’s imperative to hold Forrester Group in our hands. Moreover, to put it bluntly, my dad isn’t even 60 yet and seems like he can carry on for another twenty years at least. If he ever steps down and lets us take over, how old will we be then? I’ll be over fifty, and you’ll be almost fifty too."