The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1139

He’d asked Simone to steal trade secrets from Leonard, hoping to get revenge—a purely personal vendetta he’d kept from everyone else at the company.

Now that trouble had come knocking, his assistants and secretaries all assumed the problem was a cash flow issue.

In truth, he’d walked straight into Leonard’s trap.

Ray, however, thought The Richards Group had been dragged down because of Stella.

Foreman wanted to set the record straight, but when the words reached his lips, he found himself unable to speak.

What if… Stella believed The Richards Group’s problems were all because of her? Would she feel even more guilty, and as a result, trust him more? Maybe even grow fonder of him?

And if… Stella thought he’d raised that fifty billion by selling off his shares, she’d be far less likely to refuse any requests he made in the future.

But Foreman knew that admitting it would be risky—one wrong move and the whole charade could collapse if Mr. J ever showed up.

His thoughts raced, but outwardly, Foreman just offered a faint smile.

He neither confirmed nor denied anything; instead, he deftly changed the subject.

“Don’t worry, Star. The Richards Group will pull through this rough patch.”

…

Stella left Foreman’s office, still weighed down by worry.

She had barely stepped outside when she spotted Abigail, carrying a boxed lunch.

Abigail’s expression soured the moment she saw Stella.

With a frosty tone, she said, “You don’t have the means to take over the Pearce Group, but you expect others to clean up your mess. If it weren’t for you, Leonard wouldn’t have targeted The Richards Group. We wouldn’t be in this crisis if it wasn’t for the money tied up because of you.”

“Stella, it’s bad enough you got yourself tangled up with Leonard, but why drag The Richards Group into it, too?”

Joshua pressed, “Did he admit anything about Mr. J?”

Stella had already told Joshua her suspicions about Mr. J on the way to Foreman’s office.

Back then, Joshua had said, “If you have doubts, just ask him directly.”

Now Stella said, “He didn’t admit it, but he didn’t deny it either. He just changed the subject.”

Joshua smirked. “If he admitted to everything, he’d probably trip over his own tongue.”

He’d always been blunt about people like Haynes and Foreman, so Stella didn’t take his sarcasm to heart.

She added, “As I was leaving, I ran into Foreman’s secretary, Abigail.”

She recounted the confrontation, word for word.