Chapter 213: Brooke York Wins Over People’s Hearts

“Morgan, let’s exchange contact information. I’ll probably be coming to the company often since I need to slowly start taking over the business. If I go home and think of something I don’t understand, I can message you.”

Remembering something, Brooke York added, “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t bother you for free. If I message you, I’ll compensate you.”

“You’re too polite, Miss York. Working for the company is my duty, and Mr. York pays me quite well. Answering your questions at night is perfectly fine.”

“What my dad pays you is from my dad. If I want to ask questions, it’s only right that I pay you myself. So, how about we just exchange contacts?”

Seeing Brooke so persistent, Keith Morgan agreed, “All right, then!”

Joy lighting up her face, Brooke quickly brought up her QR code for Keith Morgan to scan.

She wasn’t actually doing this to ask questions. She knew perfectly well how annoying it was for an employee to receive work messages late at night. But if the money was right, an employee could be fast asleep and still wake up instantly to reply the moment the notification chimed. Her sole purpose in adding Keith Morgan on WeChat was to buy her loyalty in advance. It was a stepping stone for her future entry into the company—so that when she officially started, people would already know and welcome her.

After helping Keith Morgan sort the partners’ documents by date, the two of them headed to the CEO’s office. Because they were both carrying stacks of files, the employees who saw them along the way assumed Brooke had already started working and that Keith Morgan was showing her the ropes.

“Is Mr. York’s daughter coming to learn the ropes? Isn’t she only a freshman in college?”

“Kids from poor families grow up fast, but it looks like the kids of the rich take charge early, too.”

“Is Miss York outshining Miss Chloe? I was kind of hoping Miss Chloe would be the one to take over the company.”

“I thought so, too. Even though Miss Chloe used to be bossy and willful, she wasn’t a bad person at heart. This Miss York, though… she feels two-faced.”

“Who knows, maybe Brooke is just afraid Miss Chloe will steal the CEO position. After all, Miss Chloe is incredibly talented and so famous now. That’s probably why Brooke is coming to the company so early.”

This last statement earned everyone’s unanimous agreement.

Completely oblivious to all of this, Brooke thought that walking around with Keith Morgan had successfully familiarized her with the staff. She figured they must all know by now that she was their future boss—the next CEO of the York Group.

The two eventually stopped in front of the CEO’s office. Keith Morgan freed up one hand to knock. Upon hearing a response to enter from inside, she pushed the door open and stepped aside to let Brooke go in first. Keith Morgan’s gesture made Brooke feel extremely comfortable and respected. She decided that once she took office, she would definitely put Secretary Morgan in a position of great importance.

After entering, they piled all the documents in the lounge area. “Mrs. York, everything is here.”

“All right! Brooke, read these with me,” Alice Cole called out. It was obvious she wanted Brooke to study the materials so she could take over the company sooner.

Brooke nodded. “Okay, Mom!”

Miles York knew exactly what Alice was planning, but he didn’t interfere. He still had work to do today, so he took Keith Morgan with him to attend a few meetings.

After Miles left, Brooke and Alice began reviewing the documents.

“Mom, I don’t really understand these!” Brooke said after staring at them for over ten minutes. She had always thought of herself as quite smart, considering she excelled in school. But looking at these files now, she found much of it completely incomprehensible.

“It’s normal that you don’t understand. You’re only a freshman. You haven’t learned anything about corporate management yet; all you have is high school knowledge. I’ll teach you in a bit. I’m sure you’ll get it as soon as I explain,” Alice said, not at all surprised by Brooke’s confusion. She hadn’t been exposed to it and hadn’t studied it yet. This kind of thing was meant to be taken step by step.

“Okay!”

Brooke put down the contract, waiting for Alice to finish reading so she could teach her.

But soon, as Alice continued reading, her expression shifted, something seeming off.

“Mom, is something wrong?” Brooke asked.

“How could this be? It’s already losing this much money?” Alice muttered in disbelief. She flipped back and forth through the documents in her hand, as if unable to accept what she was seeing.

Alice’s reaction unsettled Brooke. Her initial composure faded into panic. She wondered if it was really just as Miles had said, and if the company had only started making money again because of Chloe York.

“Mom, was everything Dad said true?”

“Brooke, don’t speak for now,” Alice threw out before setting down the document and picking up another to read.

The more Alice acted this way, the more panicked Brooke became. Alice’s expression, movements, and tone were all confirming that Miles had been telling the truth. If what he said was true, then she had no chance of winning.

By the time Alice finished the last document, Miles had returned from his meetings.

Seeing Alice’s state, he wasn’t the least bit surprised. He let out a cold snort and sat down on the sofa. “That expression… you must be done reading. Well? I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

“How could this happen? The company used to be entirely profitable. How did it end up losing so much later on?” Recalling the data she had just seen, Alice’s feelings could only be described as absolute disbelief. She never expected that such a lucrative company would end up in this state. As she pondered, her gaze fell on Miles, full of suspicion. Had he manipulated something behind the scenes?

Miles had anticipated her skeptical glare. “Put away those suspicious eyes. Even you said ‘used to.’ That’s in the past. Society changes, people change, and everyone is moving forward, chasing after the new era. If you don’t innovate and just stick to the old ways, it naturally won’t work out. It’s an easy path to bankruptcy!”

“Then show me the data for this recent period, where collaborations increased because of Chloe York,” Alice demanded, stubbornly skeptical.

Miles gave a look to Keith Morgan. “Mrs. York,” Keith Morgan said, “I need to get them from the Vice President. Please wait a moment.”

Alice nodded, and Keith Morgan turned to leave the office to retrieve the data.

Listening to this, Brooke was now one hundred percent certain: the company was currently running entirely on Chloe’s momentum. Without Chloe, this company might have gone bankrupt any day now. She had thought she was returning to a wealthy, elite family, but it was all an illusion. It was a failing dynasty on the brink of collapse.

Keith Morgan quickly returned with the data from the Vice President. Alice snatched the contracts and flipped through them rapidly. The more she read, the uglier her expression became. By the end, she looked as if her soul had left her body. Slumping heavily onto the sofa, she muttered, “How could this be?”