Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law-Chapter 673: Noah Reyes Takes Action (2)_1

His sisters just spent money and messed around all day. It was precisely because the women around him led such profligate lives that he was biased against Adele Horne.

Even if he had taken that woman’s virginity, and even if she conceived and bore his child, that child would still be considered illegitimate. However, he believed that if he were to return for her, grant her an official status, provide her a home, and ensure their child had a complete family, then he wouldn’t be acting irresponsibly.

Pedestrian Street was always bustling with customers, day or night.

Many wealthy young ladies and high-society matrons enjoyed shopping on Pedestrian Street, as it was a place that underscored their distinguished status.

Noah Reyes waited and waited, right through to midday, with no intention of leaving. He had a strong feeling she would appear here again.

「Meanwhile, in the General Manager’s Office of Cosmos Toy Industry Company.」

Julia was organizing the documents she had processed. She arranged them neatly at the corner of her desk for Anne Jones to deliver to the various department heads that afternoon.

Notably, Anne Jones had once been Hansen Ruiz’s most trusted and capable secretary at Valence Group, but she hadn’t met anyone special there. After joining Cosmos, however, she sparked a romance with a client’s son. They married after a year of dating and already had a son. Although she could have stayed home to live a pampered life, and her husband hoped she would become a full-time housewife, she refused.

Firstly, she enjoyed working; she only felt fulfilled when she had a job. Secondly, she hadn’t forgotten her mission for coming to Cosmos.

Her husband was understanding. Since she was unwilling to be a full-time housewife, he silently supported her career.

Thanks to Anne Jones, her husband’s family had always maintained a cooperative relationship with Cosmos. This partnership grew in importance, eventually making them one of Cosmos’ largest clients.

"Sister-in-law," Adele Horne called out urgently, pushing the door open. She was dressed in a black women’s business suit, just like Julia.

"What’s wrong?" Julia asked calmly. Hearing the urgency in her sister-in-law’s voice, she picked up her wallet and walked around her desk to meet Adele.

"Sister-in-law, the six shipping containers of goods we sent out today were stopped at customs! They still haven’t been cleared."

"What happened?" Julia raised an eyebrow. Cosmos Toy Industry Company produced toys for children, so customs inspections were always strict. If toys had flashing, improperly trimmed molding points, or lacked the required safety warning labels, customs could impound the shipment.

Cosmos’s toys had always met regulations and had never been stopped by customs before.

Today’s shipment was substantial: six containers valued at several million yuan. Delivery was scheduled for tomorrow morning, and any delay would incur penalties. The container trucks had departed the company after 9:00 AM and were now still held up at customs. This is going to delay the entire journey, isn’t it?

As Adele followed Julia out, she explained, "They found that our products have flashing—sharp enough that it even scratched the customs officers’ hands. That’s why they’ve been stopped."

Hearing this, Julia stopped in her tracks. She turned her head, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing as she stared at Adele, one eyebrow arched. "Flashing on our products?" she repeated.

What on earth was the production department thinking? How could they let products with flashing be shipped out?

"Yes. Customs is now demanding that we recall the shipment to the company, remove all the flashing from the products, and then re-declare them. Otherwise, they won’t grant clearance. But, Sister-in-law," Adele said, her beautiful face etched with anxiety, "there are so many products, and we’re completely out of time! It’s six containers’ worth of goods! Even if the entire company mobilized to inspect them and remove the flashing, it would take several hours. By the time we finished, re-declared, cleared customs, got them to the port, and back on the road, the earliest they’d reach the client would be tomorrow night or the morning of the day after. And we’re supposed to deliver by 10:00 AM tomorrow!"

The contract explicitly stipulated on-time, to-the-minute delivery, with penalties for any delay.

Cosmos was now facing a setback eerily similar to the one Glades Horne had once inflicted on Cosmos Group. Is this karma? Or is someone deliberately orchestrating this?

"Sister-in-law, why don’t you call my brother?" Adele suggested, the thought of potential compensation prompting her. "If he intervenes, the customs officials will surely show him some deference and won’t hold up our shipment any longer."

"Absolutely not!" Julia objected firmly. Glades Horne had promised her that she would resolve any issues with her companies herself, without interference from Valence Group. Besides, products shipped with unresolved flashing posed a genuine hazard to customers. What if children get hurt?

"Adele, notify everyone immediately. After lunch, they are all to return to the company to help inspect the products and deal with the flashing. Also, inform the customs brokers and the six drivers to bring the shipment back to the company," Julia instructed, already heading towards Vice President Li’s office.

Adele nodded and hurried off to carry out her instructions.

Vice President Li had also learned of the situation. She was just about to find Julia to report it and discuss solutions when Julia walked in. Vice President Li quickly came forward, greeting her, "President Lan."

The two women sat down on the sofa.

Vice President Li looked apologetic and guilty. She had always been in charge of the production department, and Julia trusted her immensely. Yet, this major problem had originated in her department. Vice President Li felt that a lapse in her management had allowed someone to exploit a loophole, leading to this significant issue.

"President Lan, this is a problem stemming from the production department," Vice President Li said, readily admitting the mistake and taking responsibility.

"Vice President Li, I’m not here to assign blame," Julia said, looking thoughtfully at her. "I just find this very strange. Most of our employees are long-term staff members with good work ethics and dedication. We’ve never encountered an issue like this before. I suspect this might be a conspiracy—that someone deliberately did this to make the company suffer losses."

Glades Horne’s previous warning echoed in her mind once more.

Could Noah Reyes be behind this?

Vice President Li’s expression turned grim. If what President Lan said is true, then who could it be?

Cosmos had spun off from Valence Group, and its senior management had all transferred from there. There was a strong sense of corporate loyalty, which, under such leadership, extended to all employees. It was unlikely anyone would deliberately harm the company. Could it be one of the recently hired new workers?

"Vice President Li, you’re best suited to investigate this. Please do so discreetly." If there was any suspicion, Julia needed to know the truth.

An incident like this could also severely damage the company’s reputation.