Outside the Sapphire Hotel, Leanna escorted Shelia inside."Come, have a seat," she said, finding a spot not far from where Juan was seated.Debra, hearing Leanna's voice, spoke to Juan. "I'm going to the restroom. I'll be back soon.""Okay," Juan replied, his eyes following her as she stood up and walked away.Leanna leaned in, her voice reassuring as she spoke to Shelia. "Today's gathering must have been overwhelming for you, right? You're just an intern. It's tough for you to join us for drinks." Despite her comforting tone, she kept a keen eye on Shelia's expression.Ever since Shelia entered the restaurant, her eyes had been scanning the hall, searching for Juan.It didn't take long for her to spot him, seated amidst a group of business bosses in the center of the room. A glint appeared in Shelia's eyes.These days, no matter what she did, she couldn't get through to Juan. Even Joe had stopped answering her calls. If Leanna hadn't mentioned the Sapphire Hotel often housed
Debra emerged from the restroom, her gaze sweeping over the tense scene before her."What happened? I stepped away for a moment, and everyone's on edge?" she asked, her eyes landing on Shelia.Shelia turned around, her expression souring as soon as she saw Debra.Debra was dressed to impress, exuding an air of grace that made Shelia's attire seem tacky and out of place. Shelia looked more like a nightclub girl trying too hard, lacking the refinement of a true socialite.Debra had always questioned Juan's taste in women. Shelia's looks were unremarkable, her figure nothing special. Her only redeeming quality was her innocence, but tonight, she had tried to dress more maturely, which only served to overshadow that one advantage.She appeared like a nouveau riche, lacking any sense of sophistication."Miss Miles, you're here too.""Debra...""I prefer you call me Mrs. Nichols," Debra interrupted.Shelia looked reluctant to acknowledge Debra's identity in front of so many people.
The waiter swiftly brought a new glass for Debra, but Shelia felt offended.She knew Debra was provoking her."Shelia, have you ordered?" Leanna emerged from the restroom, her voice slicing through the tension.Shelia shook her head. "Not yet."Leanna's eyebrows furrowed in disapproval. "What's going on? You can't even handle something as simple as ordering. Forget it! I'll take care of it."Her tone carried an air of authority. The people present realized that she was not Shelia's colleague but her supervisor.Shelia blushed with embarrassment and quickly returned to her seat. Juan knew that Debra had done that on purpose to give Shelia a hard time.He whispered, "Are you upset?""No," Debra replied, shaking her wine glass. "I just don't like people touching my things."Juan smiled wryly. "I thought you might be jealous. Seems I was overthinking."Before, Debra had never arbitrarily troubled Shelia. He had thought it was jealousy driving her actions, but now it seemed Debra
Debra caught a glimpse of Hester hovering outside the door.She had dressed up in a simple white dress that accentuated her youthfulness. She was younger than Shelia, and her pure appearance was quite endearing.She seemed to possess an allure that could captivate any man even more than Shelia had.As Hester entered the room, Shelia noticed her immediately.In terms of looks, Hester surpassed Shelia. In terms of demeanor, Hester exuded the aura of a refined lady. And in age, Hester was notably younger than Shelia.At first sight, Shelia felt that Hester was trying to imitate her, but it was clear that Hester had gone beyond mere imitation."Juan, Mrs. Nichols," Hester greeted. Her entrance caused everyone to pause and wonder about her identity.Debra smiled and introduced her to everyone. "This is Hester from the Vargas family, now caring for Mrs. Nichols Sr."Hester stood aside, smiling shyly. "Juan, your grandmother was worried you might drink too much, so she sent me to chec
Juan opened the car door, helping Debra inside before sliding into the driver's seat himself.Hester hurried after them, but by the time she exited the restaurant, Juan had already sped off with Debra.She was left behind and unhappy."Some people think copying my style will impress Juan," Shelia said smugly as she emerged behind Hester.Hester straightened herself, with confusion evident in her voice. "Do I know you?"Shelia scoffed, "Don't play dumb with me. Debra once tried to catch Juan's eye by imitating me. Now, you're just a worse copycat."Just a moment ago, she had come up with an excellent plan. The position of Mrs. Nichols was hers for the taking.No one could compete with her for it, not Debra or Hester."Is that so? But I don't think Juan takes you seriously either, so there's no point bringing up the past," Hester countered, flicking her hair. "After all, you're just a poor student sponsored by him, while I am a fair lady. I would never consider you a competitor b
Juan initially tried to deceive himself, thinking that Debra's actions were driven by jealousy. But as he looked into her eyes, he saw no signs of caring.Everything she did was calculated and designed to benefit herself."Juan, you're a businessman, and I am one too. You taught me all this," Debra said, her voice as icy as her gaze.He couldn't understand it. Even now, he couldn't fathom why the Debra who used to be devoted to him had suddenly changed.Debra, however, knew exactly why. Her old self, who had once revolved around Juan, hadn't ended well. She swore never to make the same mistakes again.In her last life, Juan had prioritized profit above all else, disregarding marital ties and even the child in her womb.In this life, she merely employed the same tactics and beat him in his own game.A smile touched Debra's lips, but her eyes held no warmth. "The three-month deadline isn't up yet. Do your best to impress me and see if I'll fall in love with you again."Juan looke
"A leopard can't change its spots," Debra said.Juan's defense of her would only serve to fuel Melody's anger.Juan's phone rang, slicing through the tension. Debra glanced down and saw that it was a call from Joe.His urgent voice came through. "Sir, we have a problem.""What's wrong?""Miss Vargas is missing!""Have you contacted her family?""Yes, she hasn't returned home."Debra listened quietly, her mind racing. There was only one route back from the Sapphire Hotel. If Hester had returned, she would have encountered Joe's car. The fact that she hadn't meant something serious might have happened.'Could Shelia have done something to Hester?' Her brow furrowed lightly as she considered the possibilities.But it seemed unlikely that Shelia would act so quickly, just after meeting Hester for the first time.Juan ended the call and said, "Go ahead and take a shower. Don't worry about this."Before Debra could respond, a text message arrived on Juan's phone.[To save Miss V
Debra showed no signs of panic despite the ordeal.The kidnapper felt an invisible pressure radiating from her."Here is a check of ten million dollars," Juan said, presenting the check.The kidnapper's eyes lit up with greed. He rushed over, snatched the check, and dashed off.Neither Debra nor Juan made any move to chase after him. This entire kidnapping felt like a poorly planned charade.Juan's gaze fell on Debra's neck, where a small trickle of blood marred her otherwise unblemished skin. The kidnapper's nervousness had caused the blade to nick her.Juan stepped closer, concern etched on his face. "Let me examine your injury.""Go check on Miss Vargas first. Don't let her suffer any longer," she said, walking straight to the workshop and opening a metal box.Inside, Hester was bound and gagged, her eyes wide with fear and helplessness. Debra ripped the tape off Hester's mouth. Hester froze, not expecting Debra's arrival. As Juan came up, she threw herself into his arms and
Randy was amazed. "It hasn't even been a few days. Debra's plan works fast.""It's a mind game. They were nobodies, and in less than a month, they rose to stardom. Naturally, their egos are inflated. With all that pressure, it's no surprise they'd lose control of their emotions," Debra explained, hooking her arm around Marion's and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Marion taught me all this. Pretty impressive, right?"Both Erica and Randy were speechless.Garland came downstairs and greeted them. "What's the occasion today? You've prepared so much food."Erica replied, "We're celebrating our first victory. Buchan Group is going down.""Really?" Garland raised an eyebrow.Debra smiled, "It's just the start. There's more fun ahead."Far away at the Buchan Group Headquarters, Robert reported, "Today, the 17th advertiser has pulled out. Even the previous endorsers are terminating their contracts with Lester. We can afford the penalties, but it means all the money we made before is
Marion leaned down to kiss Debra. Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open, taking them aback.They turned to see Randy standing in the doorway.Realizing what he'd walked in on, Randy awkwardly cleared his throat and glanced upward. "Weird, huh? Where'd everyone go in the middle of the day? Guess I'll check downstairs."Before leaving, he added, "Oh, by the way, top trending news. Buchan Entertainment's A-lister Lester Ashford just assaulted a fan."Debra immediately grabbed her phone. Sure enough, the top trending topic was #LesterHitsFan, and the story had gone viral across the internet.She tapped into the headline and saw a video shot by a fan.In the video, fans greeted Lester at the airport as he got off the plane. A group of female fans held banners and chanted, "Lester, we love you."The airport wasn't overcrowded, and everything seemed orderly.But as soon as Lester heard the chant, he smashed his water bottle to the ground and yelled, "Idiots! Does no one want you at ho
Liza grinned cheekily, "My allowance has gone up every year, but don't lose heart. I'll tell Dad to raise your allowance too."She looked at Garland's sullen face and patted his shoulder. "Cheer up. I'm off shopping."She leisurely hummed a song and skipped away.Far away in Seamar City, Robert was reporting his duties to Theda."These past few days, most of the McKinney Group's clients have jumped ship and joined us. Now that their artists are on hiatus, we can grab their endorsement deals. Within a month, we'll swallow up all the resources they're holding onto," he said."Is Debra doing nothing about this?" Theda asked."She did," Robert replied. "Michael has been working around the clock. Debra's trying to use him to salvage the situation. But it's not working.""Michael may be their ace, and Debra's relying on him to secure only luxury brand endorsements. But if she doesn't care about the smaller deals, we'll take them," Theda said, tapping her chin. "Without clients or reso
On a beach overseas, Debra lay on a lounge chair.In front of her was the blue sky, white clouds, and the endless ocean. The golden sand glittered in the sunlight.She wore sunglasses and flashed a peace sign for a picture before posting it on social media.In the picture, she showed half her face, while the other half captured their artists building a sandcastle.The caption read, [Blue skies, white clouds, the ocean, playful employees, and a boss you'll never have.]The comments section quickly exploded.[I know team building, but I've never heard of a boss taking their employees abroad for it. I want such a boss.][Girl, you just took away all my idols.][The McKinney Group's artists have all gone on break. My happiness is gone.]...In floral trunks, Garland was grumbling while digging in the sand with a shovel, "Your wedding hasn't even happened, and you're already on a honeymoon? You can have your honeymoon. Why let me arrange everything and foot the bills?"Liza heard
Erica chimed in, "Right now, with half the entertainment industry's resources in their hands, their artists are already strained. If they take our deals too, those artists will be run into the ground. Even if they worked 24/7, they wouldn't be able to handle that kind of workload.""To capitalists, artists are just tools to make money. They couldn't care less about how the tools feel. And since those artists are mostly rookies, their rates are relatively low. After layers of exploitation, the pay they take home won't match the work they're doing," Debra replied. "Meanwhile, our artists are enjoying paid vacations for two months, traveling and relaxing. Do you think the Buchan Group's artists will feel okay with that? These are skilled professionals, but they're stuck doing assembly-line work. With such intense workloads, their performance will inevitably suffer, and the quality of their work will drop. For artists, no good work means no staying power. Their popularity will fade, and a
"She's probably trying to catch us off guard with this move," Debra said, calming down. "She's pushing her artists to work nonstop, taking on every gig they can get. By marketing them so aggressively, she's maintaining a temporary buzz. Advertisers will shift their partnerships from our artists to hers. If we lose most of our clients all at once, it'll throw our company into chaos. That's when she will swoop in."Andrew muttered, "So, it's a mind game? Theda knows how to play dirty."But Erica still looked troubled. "Now we know what she's doing. What can we do? Just sit by when she steals our clients?"If they lost their clients, their artists' commercial value would plummet. That would be a heavy blow to their business. Their revenue would dive, and they would lose their standing in Seamar City.Debra smiled mysteriously, "If Theda wants to disrupt us, we'll meet changes with constancy.""What do you mean?" Erica was puzzled."Didn't Michael just say that artists aren't machine
Compared to those mass-produced artists, these people under Theda's management had been trained for years.They were different from those who debuted just because of their looks. These people were versatile and unique in their own ways.Randy mumbled, "I've tried my best, but every time we fight back, they come up with something new. The advertisers we worked with before saw the momentum behind their publicity. Plus, their new talents were cheaper, so they all switched sides. Our ad revenue has dropped significantly. Even our commercial street has to feature ads for those Buchan artists. It's like quenching a thirst with poison."Erica chimed in, "This is the least we can do. Their artists are riding the tide. It makes sense that advertisers would go for them. We can't just tell people not to run ads for them."Debra nodded. "Advertisers choose who's trending. And those newcomers are popular and affordable. Michael is better but beyond the average advertisers' reach."Erica got an
Soon, the interrogators came out of the room. It seemed they wouldn't get any answers today.Kale had been waiting outside the station.When Drake and Debra walked out, he quickly went up."Boss, the plane tickets are ready.""Good."Before getting into the car, Drake said, "I'll give you an answer within three days. Don't forget our bet."Debra shook her head, surprised that he took that lopsided deal so seriously.Her phone rang with a call from Erica. "Check the news!"Debra, sensing her urgency, opened the news app.The top headline was about Buchan Entertainment. The article showcased a lineup of attractive artists and members of popular bands.Randy's words resurfaced in her mind. When she had just returned to Seamar City, he mentioned that a surge of artists had become wildly popular, rivaling the fame of Michael back in the day.Since Oscar left the entertainment industry to take over the Odom Group, these artists had been gaining even more momentum, almost as if the
"You think I'm scared of being caught?" Drake tried to pull his arm away, but Debra held on tightly.In the end, Drake snapped, "Fine! I won't go."The police were already closing in. Running now would only make things worse. Being dragged back in cuffs wasn't exactly appealing.Debra let go of him and smiled cheerfully, "Thank you for your cooperation."Pedro personally led the operation. Within minutes, the officers subdued the six thugs and loaded them into the vans.Pedro glanced at Debra and pointed at Drake. "About Mr. Lowe..."Debra explained, "Mr. Lowe is a witness. He's cooperating with us to clear his name and assist in solving this case. Isn't that touching, Mr. Hardy?""Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Much appreciated," Pedro said gratefully.But then he scratched his head and added, "Well, since Mr. Lowe is a witness, he'll need to come to the station for a statement. I know it's inconvenient, but I'm sure a generous and upright person like Mr. Lowe won't mind, right?"Befor