Loving You Is Not An Accident: It's Destiny 227 It's High Time. . .

She saw that Clifford walked slowly to where she stood. He stopped a few inches from her and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Do you want to live here… again…?"

Instead of answering him, Ingrid laughed so loud. 'Live here, again? He is kidding, right?' she thought for a moment.

"What are you bluffing, dearest husband?"

"I'm not bluffing. I'm serious. Dead serious." Ingrid couldn't deny that her husband is indeed serious with what he's saying. But she's still suspicious of him.

'There's no way he would do it. This husband of mine is at times mindboggling. This is simply impossible.' She thought when she stared at him.

As soon as Clifford noticed that Ingrid is stunned, he then took her hands and led her to the sofa. He looked at her while still holding her hands, and spoke.

"What I'm about to tell you may or may not be convenient or practical as of the moment but, I'll try to risk it."

"Clifford–"

Right away, Clifford placed his point finger on Ingrid's lips.

"Listen to me first, okay?" she nodded. "It's like this, when father was still unconscious I did an investigation on the Howard's companies and all my queries are answered."

"That is?" Erratic heart beats starts to take over Ingrid

"The companies' status seems okay and there's nothing wrong however, it has been stagnant for years. There are no new strategies or new developments to make it more productive and effective. The employees are stagnant, too. Their performance over the years never improved. They've become laissez-faire and a few deteriorated on their work performance. This becomes the problem now. As what I've heard, many compet.i.tors are now pirating some of the potential employees since they feel that they're no longer innovating and that they feel that their talents and skills are wasted."

"What? But why? My father isn't like that… as what I could remember he's the most innovative businessman here in Vienna."

"Yes, he WAS. But I don't know what happened that he became like that. I suspect that maybe because of his deteriorating health."

"But I thought Lance helped him run the business?"

"Yes, he does, however, he's not the CEO, he just acts what father wanted if he's not around, the subst.i.tute for your father's heir. On the other hand, Lance has put up his own architectural company just recently."

"Gosh... if this never happened, I wouldn't know these things… so what are you suggesting?"

"I suggest that we both live here temporarily and see how things work out, or I'll buy these companies but still its name, employees and everything in it will be the same, unless of course if a need rise to change that we should."

She laughed again at the suggestion of her husband which seems ridiculous and impossible in her hearing.

"It seems that you've been planning this all along, huh?" she teased nevertheless Clifford is dead serious.

"Of course! You've been serving my father's company for many years now. It's high time that I should now serve yours in return, love. Besides, I won't allow it that you and I be separated. For whatever its worth, I'll do it."

"Did I just marry a billionaire?! How on earth can you afford these?"

He chuckled and then shrugged like it's no big deal.

"I'm just a businessman, love, married to a sought-after woman of whom I have the hardest time to let go and the only one I loved and will I ever love. So I've rack my brain on what to do and I've came up to these suggestions."

"If I agree to any of those, it means that for the time being we'll be spending here, but for how long? How about the company in Vienna? How about acquiring the company, will dad and the elders agree with it?"

"For how long, I don't know? It depends. For my businesses, well… I've been leading these companies for many years and for all those years I was and still is fortunate that I've met lots of people whom I could trust even my very life. They've been managing these businesses and not a single one of them failed me. Oh well, they should since they've been paid handsomely. As for the companies' acquisition, is still yet to be decided by the elders, I've had a partial conference with them already." He winked at her.

"WHAT???? When did that happen, you're with me all this time."

"Hahahahahaha I did it after you told me that you have plans to manage your family's business in the future. I was alarmed and that doubled when father told me about his plans on you and now, this."

"This is simply… unbelievable!"

"Yeah, believe it or not."