"Sorry, but I'm married."Pierce didn't even raise his head as he answered straight away."Huh? I won't tell your wife. I would never destroy your family.""You're already destroying it right now. Get out.""Mr. Atkinson…"Isabella still refused to give up as she threw herself at Pierce. With a counter-grappling move, Pierce pressed her onto the desk.With a crack, Isabella's arm was dislocated."Go get it fixed at a hospital."Isabella's face had already turned pale from the pain. If she foolishly tried to stay here, her arm might get broken for real.She couldn't believe how resistant Pierce was to seduction!Isabella felt both pissed and indignant. She sobbed as she ran off.Millie was so absorbed in the drama that she forgot to step aside. So, Isabella ran right into her.Isabella's face turned pale. She already felt ashamed enough, but now, she just found out that someone had witnessed the scene!She stormed away, and Millie left awkwardly as well. Unexpectedly, Isabe
Isabella patted Millie on the shoulder. "It's okay, he's out of our league, so let's not dream of winning his heart. Just getting to spend a night with him is a win."By the way, can I add you on WhatsApp? I'm in a group where we're all trying to get involved with… I mean, we all admire Mr. Atkinson there. We can share our experiences in the group."Millie felt that since she had to part with 50 thousand dollars anyway, it would be a huge loss if she didn't join the group and learn from the experiences there.So, she decisively joined the group.To her surprise, someone in the group had already nicknamed her "The 109th Fan Mr. Atkinson Rejected".She didn't expect Pierce to have rejected so many women already.But this wasn't the time to be delving into details. She had a score to settle with Pierce.Opening the door and entering the office, Millie questioned angrily, "Why did you drive me out?""I didn't want to fake it."Pierce crossed his arms as he leaned lazily against th
Millie was close to tears. She felt extremely indignant.Pierce didn't dare continue. He feared that he wouldn't be able to control his wild thoughts.He blamed it on Millie for having a youthful and beautiful body, which was filled with allure.He let go of Millie, who kept backing away. She even had a weird gait as she walked.She bit her lip, her eyes reddening a little. It made Pierce look like he had done something unforgivable."If you say that again, you'll regret it."Millie angrily turned around to leave, but he called out to her, stopping her."Take this."Pierce opened a bedside drawer and retrieved a box from within."Here, the emerald necklace your grandmother gave you.""The emerald necklace?"Millie couldn't be bothered with anything else. She hastily opened the box and peered in to see only half of the pendant attached to the necklace. The pendant was inlaid with gold, and the broken edges were smoothed out as well. There was also a carving of a little rabbit
Pierce should have behaved like that as well. After all, phones were the most private possessions people could have these days. Wasn't Pierce wary of Millie at all?"So… I'll take a look, then?""Sure."Pierce sounded nonchalant enough. Unable to suppress her curiosity, Millie unlocked his phone and took a look.Pierce had a contact on WhatsApp under the name "Sammy", and this contact was the one who had been sending him messages just now.When Millie tapped in, she saw several photos of a young lady in various clothes. The lady seemed to be trying them on.The lady looked nice in every photo. She seemed adorable and friendly, and she looked just like an exquisite porcelain doll.She didn't look much like Pierce. One of them must have taken after their father while the other took after their mother."Pierce, help me choose. Which one looks best on me?"Millie thought about it for a moment. The young lady had fair skin, so the purple dress complemented her very well. She would
Just then, someone suddenly opened the door to the lounge."Pierce, we have an emergency! A hacker breached the firewall and is trying to—"Tobias froze in bewilderment.Did he come in at the wrong time?"Sorry, I never saw anything!"Tobias slammed the door shut.Pierce was standing with his back to Tobias just now, and Millie was kneeling on the floor. Judging by the height…Tobias didn't think that Pierce would be capable of such things. Pierce had always been a serious person, and he was even sleeping in separate beds from Millie. Surprisingly… Pierce could be quite bold.Millie wished that she could just disappear into thin air.People would try to look busy when they felt awkward, and Millie was no exception.Pierce asked as he looked down at Millie, "What are you doing?""Um, shoelaces! I'm tying my shoelaces.""You're wearing slippers. There are no shoelaces to tie.""Huh? Really? I mean, I haven't measured your legs. I'll be done as soon as possible so that you ca
Millie felt something wet on her lips as if something was nibbling on her.She felt like someone was savoring and relishing her lips, treating her lips like their favorite toy. The person couldn't bear to bite in case it hurt her, but they couldn't bring themselves to let go, either."Mm…"Millie couldn't help but mumble a little.Then, the sensation disappeared completely. Millie wondered if she was just dreaming. She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids seemed to weigh a ton. She couldn't open her eyes at all.The night crawled on.When Millie woke up, Pierce was nowhere to be found in the office.After Millie washed up, she went out only to see a woman in secretary attire."You're awake. I'll get you breakfast."Soon, breakfast was served."Where's Pierce?""Mr. Atkinson is in a meeting, and it'll end at around 11:00 am. He said that you could do as you please. You're free to stay for lunch or leave right away.""Tell him that I'm going to work in the studio, then."
Millie replied, "It was a thousand dollars just now, wasn't it?""That's in the past now. It has nothing to do with the present! Are you interested or not?"Millie stared intently at the censored photo. Gritting her teeth, she replied, "Fine, five thousand dollars it is. You'd better guarantee that it's worth the money."Isabella didn't reply, so Millie immediately sensed that something was off. This might very well be fake advertising.Still, thanks to her curiosity, Millie gave Isabella the five thousand dollars. Soon, she received the uncensored version.Sure enough, it was fake advertising!Pierce's strong upper body was exposed to the air. Drops of sweat were rolling down his muscles, and his Adam's apple was well-defined.However, he was wearing pants that covered the lower half of his body!The photo seemed to be taken without Pierce's knowledge. Pierce usually had an unapproachable air to him, but in these photos, he was exposing either his abs or his shoulders, so he l
As if Millie had thrown two bombs into the ocean, the originally quiet group was instantly in an uproar."Damn, that's really high definition! Where did you get these from?""Is this a secret shot? Why do I feel like this was taken up close? 109, who exactly are you?""Do you have more? I can't get enough of them!"To avoid suspicion, Millie came up with a random excuse."I got it from someone at a high price, but I don't know who they are, either. If you want more, you can buy them from me."Someone immediately sent Millie a private message.Millie was quite smart. She told the group members that they should label it as a gift instead of a purchase when setting up the transaction. If not, it would be an illegal business.However, she was also infringing on Pierce's right of publicity. Still, Millie felt that Pierce probably wouldn't sue her.Isabella couldn't hold it in anymore."I need those photos! A thousand dollars, right?""Sorry, I'm charging you ten thousand dollars
"Thank you for stopping me from acting recklessly, Mr. Atkinson," John said, wincing from the pain."You need medical attention," Pierce reminded him. He didn't even spare Yulia a glance while she was lying unconscious on the ground.Soon, Yulia regained consciousness in the hospital. Only her mother, Helena, was by her bedside. She looked around but didn't see her beloved Pierce."Pierce… Is he away to get my medicine?" Yulia weakly asked, struggling to sit up.Helena wept and said, "That man you keep talking about never showed up—not even once.""Impossible!" Yulia gasped in disbelief, her eyes widening. She had been in such a dire state. How could he not come to visit her?Helena went on, "Not only that, but the club is holding you accountable, and Mr. Presta is also demanding compensation. We've received two court notices. The lawyer told me that we need to pay five million dollars in total!""Five million dollars is nothing. If I ask Pierce, he'll definitely give it to
As soon as Yulia walked in, her eyes were wet with tears. She looked pitifully at Pierce, acting as if the nightclub had forced her into selling her body and that she had suffered countless injustices.She walked straight toward Pierce. "Mr. Atkinson, I never expected us to meet again in a place like this."Pierce frowned because he wasn't exactly familiar with her.While the other hostesses were enthusiastically entertaining other men by pouring drinks and joking around, Yulia was the only one wearing a mournful expression. Clearly, she was dampening the mood."Mr. Atkinson, do you have any idea how miserable my life has been since Mrs. Atkinson kicked me out of Atkinson Group? My father went back to gambling, and those people even took my mother away. If I didn't return to this line of work, I wouldn't have any way to survive."They were originally willing to give me a one-month grace period because I had a stable salary at Atkinson Group. But now… Mrs. Atkinson has ruined me!"
"Ms. Shaw, if you don't leave now, someone will have to escort you out," Tobias said.So, Yulia slunk downstairs in embarrassment. She even got to see Tobias harshly reprimanding the receptionist."Are you out of your mind? How dare you bring just anyone to the CEO's office? You're fired!" Tobias sternly said.The receptionist argued, "But, Mr. Shaw, this isn't my fault. She's someone Mr. Atkinson seems take special care of—""That was nothing more than a few minor favors. You failed to do your job properly, so don't make excuses. Pack your things and leave," Tobias stated indifferently.The receptionist felt deeply wronged, and her gaze toward Yulia turned resentful.Yulia didn't understand where things had gone wrong. Pierce had seemed to be so concerned about her previously, so why was he being so cold to her now? Had Millie discovered something? Was that why he wanted to cut ties with her completely?Feeling lost and dejected, Yulia left the company, only to run into Carlo
After that, Millie went upstairs to look for Pierce and told him the story of her firing Carlos and Yulia."Okay," Pierce nonchalantly said. He didn't even look up once, and his tone sounded very calm as well."I've been laying off employees without your consent. Don't you have anything to say about that?"Pierce laughed after hearing what Millie said. "You're my wife, so you also have a say in Atkinson Group. You're just exercising your authority, so why would I say anything about it? I know you're not a reckless person. If you fired them, you must have had your own reasonings." Pierce didn't even question why Millie had fired two employees or the reason behind their layoffs.What's done was already done. He couldn't care less about the two employees who got fired."Does this mean that I can do whatever I want as long as I'm here?" Millie asked."Of course! Whatever I own is also yours. I'll even let you sit on my lap if you want." Pierce sounded exactly like a king back in th
While some people chose to stay away from Yulia to avoid getting into trouble, there were still a few who sided with her. Then again, these people were just going to use her as a stepping stone to climb the corporate ladder with less effort."You're firing me? What did I even do wrong?" Yulia confronted the HR Department."The case that you messed up here has cost Atkinson Group millions of dollars. This big of a screw-up is enough to get you fired."Even if Yulia filed for labor arbitration, she would not receive any compensation. But of course, she couldn't be bothered by that small amount of money anyway. As long as she managed to keep her job in Atkinson Group, she would still be working under Pierce's leadership and was bound to see him again eventually. Unfortunately, she was about to leave the company for good. Now how was she supposed to see Pierce again?"I have to go find Mr. Reyes," she said.However, when she came to Carlos' office, he seemed to be in a gloomy
Millie had the distinct feeling that Yulia and her colleague were talking about her, but she had no proof. All she could see were their furtive glances.She became annoyed by their persistent glances and said, "If you two have something to say, why don't you say it out loud? Are you gossiping about me?""Of course not! I have no idea why you'd say that, Mrs. Atkinson," Yulia replied with a smile."You better not be lying."Yulia and her colleague left the elevator when they reached their floor, leaving Millie standing there with a frown.Millie just couldn't bring herself to like Yulia. It led to her pondering whether she should just fire Yulia. That way, she wouldn't have to see her every time she visited Atkinson Group.The strange thing was that Millie had never seen Yulia before when she was still working here. But now, she ran into Yulia almost every single time she came to Atkinson Group.In the end, Millie made up her mind to just fire Yulia.Instead of heading to the CE
When Yulia tried returning the cleaned clothes, she ran into Tobias downstairs. "Mr. Shaw," she greeted."Who are you?" Tobias didn't even remember Yulia."We met before at the CEO's office.""Oh, I remember you now. Is there something you need?" Tobias curiously looked at Yulia.Yulia showed him the bag in her hand. "Is Mrs. Atkinson coming in today? I accidentally stained her clothes last time, so she told me to have them dry cleaned. They're cleaned now, so I wanted to return them to her. "If she's not here, I can hand them over to Mr. Atkinson instead.""Give the clothes to me then. I'll handle it." Tobias extended his hand.However, Yulia shook her head. "These clothes are very expensive. It's better for me to return them in person. It's going to be troublesome in case something goes missing."Women's clothing tended to have accessories, and some were not cheap either.Tobias was not Millie, so naturally, he didn't know what the clothes originally looked like. If somet
Millie couldn't help but share with Pierce who she'd met earlier on."Who?" Pierce asked."Do you still remember the young lady who tried to hit on you while we were waiting in line to buy cake last time? She's currently working at Atkinson Group—as a permanent employee, no less! She's probably been working here for a while."Since interns had a three-month probation period, Yulia must have worked for the company for quite some time now if she was already a permanent employee. "Really?" Pierce didn't know this, but neither did he care about it. He simply continued, "By the way, I have something to tell you too. I met her not long ago—she was being forced to work at a nightclub. Apparently, her family was declared bankrupt, and loan sharks were looking for her to collect debt."When I saw her, I couldn't help but think of you. If I had not been sent on a mission and stayed at Arbelton back then, maybe you wouldn't have been forced to a dead end. And in turn, maybe you wouldn't hav
"Are you all done with your work? Why are you slacking off during working hours? "Yulia, your proposal is terrible. Fix it!" It was Isabella. She just could not stand the arrogant look on Yulia's face.Yulia pouted, but she didn't dare get on Isabella's nerves. After all, she was the top performer in the sales department.When she got the chance to see Pierce, she was definitely going to talk about how Isabella was bullying her.When Isabella walked away, someone immediately took the proposal from Yulia. "I've done something similar before. Let me do it. It won't take me too much effort anyway.""Thank you so much.""Yulia, I bought an extra cup of coffee. Here you go.""Thanks, Wady."So, Yulia sat leisurely at her workstation. The only eyesore was that paper bag. If only it was really Pierce who'd sent it.…Besides getting her clothes dirtied, Millie's body was also sticky, so she decided to take a shower.Once she was done, she got out of the shower wrapped in just a