Chapter 70 - Piece of the Pie
Baldie Lowe swore to the heavens that he would never speak a word about how Finn Taylor was Master Peregrine.
Finn Taylor didn’t push him either. He believed that Baldie Lowe was an intelligent man that knew what he could and couldn’t do.
Finn Taylor smiled as he glanced at Baldie Lowe. “Of course, I brought you here today because I have something for you. I guess you wouldn’t be loyal to me if I just gave you a title and let you join Peregrine Hall. Hence, I’m here to solve your problems.”
‘Problems.’ Baldie Lowe laughed self-deprecatingly. ‘There is a problem nobody will be able to resolve.’
“Have you heard of Jeremy Smith?”
‘Jeremy Smith?’ When Baldie Lowe heard this name, he was visibly shaken—so much so that his eyes immediately reddened.
“Your daughter is sick, or shall we say that she was poisoned. You exhausted all of your family’s resources to save her life, but she’s now in a vegetative state. Even after searching the whole world for the best doctors, you haven’t been able to cure her. Let me introduce you to someone today.” With that, Finn Taylor clapped gently.
An elder then walked in.
The moment Baldie Lowe’s eyes landed on that elder, he rushed forward emotionally. He kneeled before that elder, tugging on the latter’s hand as he begged, “Dr. Smith, I’m begging you. Please save my daughter; I’ll bow to you.”
With that, Baldie Lowe started kowtowing to the elder.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The room was filled with those heart-chilling thuds as he banged his head against the ground.
“You don’t have to beg me; I’m just a small pawn of Master Peregrine. If you want to, you should beg Master Peregrine instead. I definitely won’t refuse Master Peregrine’s orders.”
Baldie Lowe was utterly taken aback.
He had heard marvelous things about Jeremy Smith. In fact, he had spent a good amount of time and effort seeking out Jeremy Smith. Unfortunately, all his efforts had been in vain.
What he hadn’t expected was for this brilliant doctor to be Master Peregrine’s subordinate!
Baldie Lowe had good judgment, and of course, he knew exactly just who he needed to coax.
With Jeremy Smith’s reminder, Baldie Lowe rushed up to Master Peregrine. He didn’t say anything and simply kowtowed repeatedly.
He had already said enough; there was nothing more to say. What he needed to do now was prove himself through his actions.
Baldie Lowe hit the ground again and again, each overflowing with his love for his daughter.
To Finn Taylor, this was someone who was willing to put himself down for his loved ones.
Finn Taylor was no different. As such, he liked Baldie Lowe very much. “Get up. Jeremy Smith, go take a look at Baldie Lowe’s daughter.”
Jeremy Smith bowed. “I understand, Master Peregrine.”
Then, Finn Taylor turned his gaze to Wampus. “What’s your progress with that piece of jade?”
Wampus felt a little guilty. “I’m sorry, Master Peregrine. I haven’t found anything yet.”
‘I don’t want to hear excuses. All I need are results.’ Finn Taylor waved him off. “Okay. Get some people for me tomorrow. I need to do something.”
Wampus hurried off to arrange for that right away.
Finn Taylor stood up. ‘I’ve stayed here for long enough. It’s time for me to return home.’
As he walked out of Pacific Heights, he bumped into someone.
The sight of that person made Finn Taylor want to turn away to avoid her.
But she had already shouted, “Oi, Finn Taylor. Am I a man-eating tiger or a jinx? Why are you turning away from me?”
This person was none other than Quinn Larson’s mother, Hilary Stone.
“What do you want?” Since he couldn’t run from it, Finn Taylor turned around to face that woman.
“It’s my second time seeing you come out of Pacific Heights. Don’t tell me that you know someone here!”
Finn Taylor’s gaze hardened, and the urge to kill her surged in his heart. However, he suppressed it.
Hilary Stone didn’t notice anything amiss.
“I’m going home. I have no time for you.” Finn Taylor didn’t even bother trying to be respectful or polite to an elder.
“Don’t. I still want to treat you to a cup of coffee.”
“I’m not interested.” Finn Taylor didn’t want to have any contact with Hilary Stone. After all, there was a generational gap between them.
Finn Taylor could feel that Hilary Stone was plotting something against him.
“That won’t do. I’ve already made a reservation; you have to go with me.”
Finn Taylor was reluctant, but Hilary Stone walked up to pull him along. He wanted to dodge her, but the latter dragged him away.
Finn Taylor wanted to ignore her, but he was also scared that she would fall apart if he were to exert the slightest force.
‘Fine, I have no other choice. I’ll just have a meal with her.’ Finn Taylor thought that nothing would go wrong.
Hilary Stone had chosen a restaurant this time, but it wasn’t a high-class one. In fact, it was a roadside stall.
Finn Taylor quickly ordered a few dishes and paid upfront. He didn’t want to owe Hilary Stone anything.
Finn Taylor was rather guarded against the Larson family. It was only wise to do so.
“What do you want to tell me?” Finn Taylor immediately spoke up without waiting for her to do so.
“What, can’t I treat you to a meal as your elder?”
Finn Taylor sneered. “Elder?”
He very much wanted to laugh. ‘If anyone in the Larson family wants to say that they’re my elder, I would allow it. But I will never allow Hilary Stone to address herself as my elder. Which family’s elder is she? She had already left the Larson family the year that Freddie Larson passed away.’
‘But now that the Old Master is going to pass on and the Larson family’s assets are going to be distributed, she’s returned. It would be an insult to all other elders to address her as one.’
“I heard that Quinn Larson became the company’s CEO.” Hilary Stone seemed to be muttering to herself, but she was also talking to Finn Taylor. “Quinn is the CEO, and Yvette Larson is the Deputy CEO. How nice. In these 18 years, it’s been the Old Master helming the company, while Quince Larson and Eleanor Larson managed the company. I never thought that a day would come when Yvette Larson and Quinn Larson would get the chance to do that.”
Hilary Stone was speaking slowly. It was as though she was analyzing the Larson family’s situation, but it also seemed as if she was saying this to Finn Taylor on purpose.
“It’s such a pity that the Larson family’s second and third branches are so deeply rooted in the family’s management. It’s hard to get rid of them at once. If the eldest branch or the fourth branch tries to do it alone, they’ll definitely fail spectacularly.”
Finn Taylor understood what she was getting at—Hilary Stone wanted his family to join hands with Quinn Larson.
“An alliance?” Finn Taylor mumbled. It seemed as though he had said those words but also like he hadn’t.
Hilary Stone scooped up a slice of pie and placed it on Finn Taylor’s plate. “The fourth branch is willing to share a piece of the pie with the eldest family. I wonder if they’d be willing to have it.”