The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1160

Jonathan paused, his expression thoughtful. “You know, Father has always admired people with guts and real skill. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hold Aurora in such high regard.”

He looked at Israel, his gaze steady. “If you go begging at Father’s feet now, he might just end up disappointed in you—and start admiring Stella even more.”

“Israel, Stella is his child too. If she proves herself truly capable, you know Father will give her more responsibility. If it weren’t for the issue with those initial shares, he’d probably be grooming Stella right now.”

Israel’s face stiffened. He knew Jonathan was right. The truth stung. His eyes reddened with frustration and unwillingness.

“Stella’s got no brains,” he muttered bitterly. “She’s just got someone clever pulling the strings for her.”

Jonathan shrugged. “Connections are a kind of strength too. If Father finds out Stella has someone that competent backing her up, don’t you think he’ll value her even more?”

Israel fell silent, lost for words. He realized, with a sinking heart, that he had lost this round—completely.

Jonathan took in Israel’s defeated slump and tried to encourage him. “So what if the company’s gone? You’re still young. There’s plenty of time to start over.”

“Sure, you lost your company, but you still have your position at The Williams Group. Focus on that—sometimes, managing something established is better than starting from scratch.”

A weary, self-deprecating smile crossed Israel’s lips. In a world changing so fast, the golden age of opportunity was long gone. Starting over wasn’t as easy as Jonathan made it sound.

Jonathan glanced at Coleman. “Coleman, talk some sense into him, will you?”

Coleman nodded. “I will.”

—

Meanwhile, Aurora was in Leonard’s office.

“She’s got at least half a billion at her disposal.”

His eyes darkened. If it hadn’t been for Stella’s injection of that $200 million, he and Israel wouldn't have let their guard down. That miscalculation let Stella swoop in and buy out Israel’s company at rock-bottom price.

This time, Stella had played them brilliantly.

Aurora shook her head, puzzled. “But why would Joshua help Stella? Are they working together?”

Leonard gave a derisive laugh. “Joshua’s as ruthless as they come—possibly even more than me. He’s a born predator, not the type to team up with someone as naïve as Stella.”

Once he’d figured out who Joshua really was, Leonard had people look into him. The Gardner family was shrouded in mystery, rarely interacting with outsiders. On top of that, they changed family heads so frequently that almost no one bothered to keep track of their affairs anymore.