My Pretty Sweetheart (Arianna)

The very mention of that issue gave me a headache. The day before, Michael had asked me to make a public bid, but he didn't specify any details.

Right now, the enemy was at an advantage since I had no idea who I was dealing with. After giving it some thought, I inquired, "How long will the auditing take?"

"Based on the previous years, it will take approximately half a month. Though, this year, we may need at least a month," Kelsey replied as she placed the previous years' auditing data on my desk.

I took a look at the documents, my head throbbing from the lack of ideas. I asked, "How much longer do we have for this year?" A listed company had to publish its auditing results to the public. Likewise, Roberts Group was a listed company, and many shareholders were waiting to see the auditing results.

"Not much. There is still one and a half months left, but Roberts Group has other branches in other provinces. Miss Reid, you don't have to go to every branch, but you still have to visit some of them. Otherwise, you won't know the specific situation."

I nodded and put away the documents. Looking at the time, it was already noon. I turned to Kelsey and said, "I need to meet Brilliant Audit's director. Please make an appointment for me as soon as possible." "Okay." After a pause, she asked, "Do you still want to meet with Alford Audit's director?"

Initially, I didn't want to meet this particular person. However, the thought about the events the night before made me wonder if Alford Audit was trying to compete for the business.

After pondering for a while, I responded, "I'll meet him. Are their representatives here today?"

"He's still in the guest room downstairs." After a pause, Kelsey continued reporting, "It's the director, Troy Lawson."

Had the director come in person? It seemed that most auditing companies wanted a piece of Roberts Group business.

"Help me book a restaurant nearby." I stood up, grabbed my bag and instructed, "Hurry up and make the arrangements. I'll go down and meet Mr. Lawson."

"Yes," Kelsey replied and left in a hurry.

I went out of the office and headed straight to Roberts Group's guest room. The company's office building was huge due to sufficient funds. Thus a luxurious and leisure guest room was set up in the lobby on the first floor for the convenience of guests and prospective clients.

When I reached the guest room, I saw a middle-aged man sitting on the black sofa. Not many people were there since it was noon and everyone was off for lunch break. Troy's face was thin and elegant. Although he was middle-aged, he looked quite lively.

When he spotted me, he stood up and walked towards me with a smile. Then, he stretched his hand out and shook hands with me, greeting, "Hello, Miss Reid. I'm Troy Lawson, the founder of Alford Audit. Nice to meet you!"

I smiled and greeted him, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lawson. I've been busy recently with no free time. Sorry to keep you waiting." Then, I checked the time on my watch and said to him, "It's lunchtime. Would you like to have lunch with me, Mr. Lawson?"

He smiled faintly and nodded. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Miss Reid."

We subtly avoided the topic of work and soon arrived at the restaurant which Kelsey had booked in advance. Along the way, Troy did not take the initiative to bring up the matter regarding auditing.

He simply told me some casual and interesting stories that had happened to him recently, making the two of us look like normal friends gossiping about small matters. He didn't talk about work, so neither did I didn't. I only listened to him quietly.

After a long time, he looked at me and said, "I heard that you will be responsible for the auditing of Roberts Group this year. Is that true?"

I nodded and affirmed, "There are too many things to deal with in the company because we are a listed company. Both Mr. Roberts and Mr. Shelley are occupied with work, so I can only take over this project for the time being."

Troy chuckled and said, "In previous years, Roberts Group would always let Alford Audit deal with their auditing. This year, however..."

He didn't finish his words, but I knew what he meant. With a shallow smile, I replied, "Roberts Group has been cooperating with Alford Audit for many years. In theory, Roberts Group should have let Alford Audi deal with our auditing as usual, but the contract between our company and yours has expired. According to previous practices, we will be arranging for an auction to let other companies have the chance to bid for this. Of course, I really hope that Alford Audit can have the chance to cooperate with Roberts Group again from this bid."