He glared at Michelle, slammed the table, and angrily said, "Where did you find this pretentious woman, Michelle? How dare she come here and act all high and mighty? Why is she acting like she's something special?"Michelle's face turned pale immediately. She bit her lips and said nothing for a moment before she averted her gaze to me. I wanted to get up, but Michelle's hands pressed on my shoulders, making me unable to move.Nervously, Michelle looked at Benedict, "Calm down please, Mr. Benedict. My friend here is always like this. She’s always been aloof, but once you get to know her, she's fine. She just doesn’t really know you yet.”Then, she pinched me hard. “Right, Chloe? We’ll make sure Mr. Benedict has a great time tonight, okay?" Her words clearly had a hidden meaning.I felt anxious. It wasn’t that I was afraid of them, but this might make me late for my 7 o'clock appointment. I could also sense that these people weren’t going to let this go easily. As I sat there wit
Not a drop was wasted. The whole glass of wine landed right in Benedict’s face.After slamming the empty glass on the table with a sharp sound, I glared at him and said, "Who do you think you are? Do you think you’re someone important just because you surround yourself with a few sycophants? Hmph... they’re just flies buzzing around dung!”Benedict’s face was covered in wine, and he choked on the spicy sting. He quickly wiped his face, then slammed the table, pointing at me, "Y-You little bitch! You asked for this."Tyler had been shocked by my actions, but he quickly snapped out of it and stood up. He pointed at me and berated, "Look what your friend has done, Michelle. Teach her a lesson!"It seemed like Michelle was genuinely scared, and she was desperately eager to make me submit.Michelle raised a hand to strike me. I swiftly dodged her hand, stood up, and delivered a firm slap in return. The sound echoed as my palm landed on her face.She stood there dumbfounded. I stared a
Michelle was left stunned in such an unpredictable situation.Suddenly hearing her name from Atlas, her face lit up, and she nodded frantically. "Yes, I'm Michelle. Chloe and I were college roommates and very close friends. It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Atlas. Actually... we've met before."As she spoke, her face was adorned with a coy smile, her eyes full of affection as she gazed at Atlas.Ignoring her nauseating expression, Atlas turned to look at Tyler.Tyler approached him with a flattering smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Atlas."Atlas cast a cold glance at him. His thin lips curled into a smile that was hard to decipher."Earlier, were you trying to force my wife to drink with you?" Atlas sounded mad. He reached into his pocket, took out a handkerchief, and grabbed a bottle of clear water from the table. With a swift pour onto the handkerchief, he walked over to me. He was delicately wiping my wrist that had been grabbed earlier. I allowed him to tend to me while Michell
Atlas completely ignored her cries, still focused on Tyler. "You want more? Go on.”In this manner, three bottles were emptied in succession. Tyler, with a 'gulp,' knelt on the ground. He looked like he was about to bow down to Atlas, but he passed out drunk.Then, Atlas glanced meaningfully at Benedict, asking, "Benedict, care for a taste too?"Benedict had already been frightened, retreating without the arrogance he displayed toward me earlier.Seeing Atlas asking if he wanted to drink, he retreated further, nervously mumbling and not knowing what to say. Atlas said indifferently, "Cheers to Benedict.”The attendant quickly opened another bottle of vodka. Benedict stammered, "I-I'll drink myself.”After saying that, he took the bottle and poured its contents down his throat. He was spilling it everywhere, but we wouldn’t know if it was because he was nervous or doing it deliberately.Atlas sneered, "How wasteful. Continue. Drink as much as you spilled.”Benedict reluctantly
Everyone exchanged pleasantries and walked together to the table to take their seats.I carefully scrutinized Cameron.He appeared to be in his forties, exuding an intellectual aura. His grip was firm when we shook hands earlier, and his fingers had faint calluses. It showed that he was heavily involved in hands-on tasks.The dinner was delightful, and Atlas behaved modestly. Initially, the other people were nervous, but seeing that Atlas was down-to-earth, they relaxed. Our conversations mostly revolved around doors during the dinner.Atlas was very satisfied with Jaxford. The dinner concluded with a formal agreement to sign the contract the next day.On the way home, Atlas said, "This is how business should be done. This person is good.""It's all thanks to Eleanor. She's outstanding." My phone rang, and seeing it was from my parents, I glanced at the time and then at Atlas. I stuck out my tongue, and he chuckled, ruffling my hair. "Answer it."Reluctantly, I answered the c
While showering, my mind wandered. There had been no news from Johnson regarding Matthew's current situation, and I wondered if they had met with Adrian. Then there was Liora. Despite the constant online buzz about her misdeeds and Melvern coming to discuss cooperation, she seemed to have disappeared.However, I knew she was doing something in the dark.After I came out of the shower, I dried my hair and sent a message to Ivanna.Ivanna had been quite elusive ever since Jared returned. They seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving things calm. Still, I worried about Trinity.I couldn't find any information about Trinity’s situation in Yare. After contemplating for a long time, I realized I wasn't sure what I was thinking about. It was just a chaotic mess.As I pondered these issues, Ivanna called."Why aren't you asleep yet?" she asked bluntly."Why ask me? Aren't you the one who should be getting more rest? I only sent a message to avoid disturbing your rest. It looks l
After waiting several days, I finally received news about Matthew.But what surprised me was his astonishing decision, which truly made me see him in a new light.He decided to abandon Ardora and filed for bankruptcy.All ongoing construction projects would enter the auction process to alleviate the burden of high debts, helping him eliminate this baggage. I had not expected him to be so decisive in letting go of Ardora.This meant he was giving up everything from the past, returning to square one. It didn't seem like his usual style—he always wanted to be successful.However, his haste often led to failure, and this time he dug himself into a pit.Having lived with him for over a decade, I knew him too well. Since the day he first put on a suit, he had sworn to me that he would become successful in the future.But now, by giving up Ardora and returning to the starting point, he was even worse off than before.Back then, the Murphy family was still together and had a house for
"If I were interested, I could have taken over Ardora long ago," I scoffed. "I have better things to do."Atticus chuckled. "Looks like Matthew has woken up. This is a good thing, at least for you.""Yes, you're right,” I said calmly, suddenly remembering something. I smiled and told Atticus, "I want to tell you something. The follow-up design for San Cosbech is in progress!”Atticus laughed. "I was right.""It seems you understand your opponent well. I can rest easy now."After chatting for a while, we hung up. Carol walked in again and poured me a cup of coffee."Don't forget about the cocktail party today, Chloe.""What cocktail party?""The business networking event for the second half of the year," Carol reminded me."Oh," I replied unenthusiastically. "I won't go. It won’t benefit us. It's a waste of time, and I need to go home and spend time with Ava tonight.""But I have news that Liora will be attending," Carol said.I suddenly perked up. "She's going?""Yes," Caro