Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 80

“Well, well, Ms. Norwood, I have to apologize for not coming down to greet you. Things have been so hectic lately, I completely forgot,”

Parker walked over with a wide smile, holding out his hand for a handshake.

Lydia pretended not to see his greasy paw and just nodded politely. “That’s not necessary.”

She turned to Josef beside her, “Find me a clean, tidy office. I want to get up to speed on the company’s performance over the last two years.”

Josef glanced at Parker without thinking.

Parker slapped his thigh and let out a dramatic sigh. “Would you look at that, I had no idea you’d be stopping by today, Ms. Norwood. I haven’t had a chance to clear out the president’s office yet.”

He’d been running the company since the beginning as the vice president, so he’d always kept the biggest, nicest office for himself.

Lydia saw right through him. She had zero interest in using a space he’d already claimed. It just felt dirty to her.

“It isn’t about how big the office is. It’s about what gets done there,” she replied, her words carrying a quiet weight.

Parker’s smile froze for a second, then he forced it back. “Of course.”

Lydia didn’t bother responding to that. She turned back to Josef. “Just make sure it’s clean.”

Josef nodded quickly. “Ms. Norwood, actually, the vice president’s office has been empty. I’ll get someone to clean it right away.”

Since Parker had been hogging the president’s office, no one would take the VP’s, so it had just been sitting there.

Lydia nodded. “That works.”

Ten minutes later, Lydia was seated in a nearly eighty-square-meter office. It was bright, spotless, and more than enough for what she needed.

Once Parker left, Josef shut the door and walked over to her. “Ms. Norwood, why didn’t you ask Mr. Ragain to swap offices with you?”

Lydia answered with just two words. “It’s dirty.”

“Go ahead.”

“Greenward Power isn’t a big company, but headquarters pours in over a hundred million every year. It keeps losing money, though, so they sent me to quietly look into what’s going on.”

Lydia frowned. “Greenward Power isn’t important to Norwood Enterprises. If it’s losing money every year, why keep it open?”

Josef looked surprised. “Ms. Norwood, didn’t you know? Mr. Ragain’s wife and Mrs. Norwood are best friends. Mrs. Norwood didn’t want the Ragain family to have nowhere to go, so she kept the company running just in case they could turn it around.”

That actually surprised Lydia. She hadn’t known Rose was her mom’s best friend. So her dad hadn’t been lying. This company really was just something for her to play with. It didn’t matter if it went under, as long as she was happy. Turning a profit wasn’t the point.

“Ms. Norwood?” Josef called when he noticed she’d gone quiet.

She snapped back to the present and looked at him. “You’ve been here two months. What have you found?”

Josef hesitated, then spoke like he’d finally made up his mind. “Mr. Ragain is bribing senior managers, faking expenses, forging invoices, and there are problems with the materials in the warehouse too. But they’re really careful around me. I haven’t been allowed near anything important, so I don’t have solid evidence yet.”