"And how do you suggest we do that?" Nicholas Humphrey piped in, with a smug look on his face. "This may sound unconventional, but maybe we need to focus on the morals and ethics of the employees to boost productivity. When I first arrived here, it seemed like a very hostile work environment," Eden replied. "That's going to do nothing for the profits," Nicholas retorted. "Say, Mr. Humphrey, was it always like this or did the passing of my father change the company?" "Alfred was a very disciplined man, he always imposed strict rules and proper work principles here," Nicholas Humphrey replied, his tone suggesting that he was offended. "I see you knew my father well. So you agree that this environment was created after he died," Eden said as she intertwined her fingers and rested her arms on the table. "I had my differences with my father but I'm still his daughter. I want the same rules and principles to be followed by everyone here that my father promoted. We don't want employees
After the conference room was emptied out, Eden, Mr. Madden and Amanda stayed back. Eden felt horrible for how things had to happen but she knew that it was necessary. If she was going to have people in the company who openly opposed her, it would create an environment for the other employees that supported Harvey's opinions, and that was something she could not allow. Eden looked at Amanda, whom she had asked to stay back. "Amanda, thank you for backing me. I need to know how exactly Harvey has been a nuisance to the employees. He may file a suit against us for illegal termination, I need to understand what exactly he has been doing." Amanda scoffed in disbelief and said, "Do you really think that I care about you? I'm just as opposed to you being the CEO as everyone on the board. We're just not stupid enough to display it and get fired, seeing how you have the majority shares and you truly control the company now." Eden took a deep breath and said, "I just need to know what I can
"What?!" Eden exclaimed. "You haven't seen Giuseppe for three years? What the hell have you been doing there all this time?" "Well, we had a falling out. We didn't exactly share the same opinions and I decided to go solo. Started my own clothing line. It was rocky in the beginning, but it's been going good. I bought some dresses for you from my collection and I just know you'll love them," Grace rambled nervously. "Wait, wait. Slow down. So you're saying you weren't working with Giuseppe and you just decided to stay there? Didn't you even think about coming back and starting your business here?" Eden asked, she felt sad that Grace never talked about this with her "Yeah, we'll. Working with Giuseppe gave me some good contacts with models and vendors. I thought it would be for the best if I focused on my work there only," Grace replied, looking down at her fiddling fingers. Eden noticed it and remembered that she always does it when she lies. "That's not the whole truth, is it, Grace
"Woah, what the hell?! Are you alright?" Bennett yelled. Eden heard someone say in the background, "Did you say Grace is back?" "Yes, but, Theo, are you hurt?" Bennett asked. "What? Oh. Yes of course," Theo replied, he sounded nervous. "Uh- I have to go, I'll be back." "Jesus. Get yourself together," Bennett said. He got back to his phone and said to Eden, "I'm sorry about that, looks like someone is too excited to hear about Grace coming back." "Wow. That was some reaction," said Eden, chuckling at his surprise. "Well, enjoy your night. Call me if you want me to come and take you home, okay?" ______________________ "WE ARE NOT GOING HOME TONIGHT! THIS IS AMAZING!" Grace yelled, barely audible behind the loud music. Eden and Grace met for drinks at a bar but as they drank more, the urge to go dancing kept increasing too. Eden was too drunk to deny Grace and she secretly wanted to party too. She hadn't felt like herself for a long time and she needed to let loose with Grace.
Grace's PoV: "Can you believe it? I really just walked out on him. The man who groomed me and made me who I am today. Maybe one day I'll go to him in peace and apologize," said Grace. "Giuseppe is a great man. But I'm happy it didn't work out with him, it pushed me to give life to my own ideas and run a business according to what I want." "I'm happy for you, Grace. But you still haven't gotten to the part about Theo. What exactly happened with you two? His reaction was very….out of pocket when he heard you're back," Eden replied, feeling a little tipsy on the cocktails she had with Grace. Like they decided, Eden and Grace met for drinks at a bar after Eden got off work. There was so much to tell that neither of them could shut up. "Ugh, fine. I'll tell you but get me another drink first," Grace demanded. Grace told Eden everything that happened between Theo and her and how he hid from her the fact that he was in Italy for only six months when Grace was planning to stay with him for
Eden's POV Eden woke up the next morning with a hammering headache. She couldn't remember much about what happened last night but she was still worried about what Bennett was thinking. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 1:00 PM. She started panicking and got out of the bed to get ready for work, even though she was already five hours late. Eden stood up from the bed to go to the bathroom but a hand gripped her arm and pulled her back to the bed. Her back was pushed into a hard chest and a pair of strong arms gripped her tightly. "Oh no, you're not going anywhere today," Bennett's raspy voice whispered into Eden's ear. "Bennett I'm late for work," said Eden and tried to squirm out of Bennett's grip but her headache and his strength were working together against her wishes. "I already called Mr. Madden and told him you're sick today," said Bennett. Eden eased into his arm but not because she was relieved. She felt disappointed in herself. Disappointed that she fell back in
Grace paced around her penthouse worried about the party she was hosting. A lot of models and renowned fashion designers were coming to her party. Though she was excited to make more connections, she was nervous about one thing. She didn't know if Theo was coming to the party or not. She needed to know for sure so she could stop feeling whatever she was feeling in her stomach. Butterflies? she thought, but pushed the idea out of her head. She had more important matters to attend to. The guests had already started arriving and her nerves were getting the best of her. She quickly walked over to the bar and ordered a glass of champagne to get her to calm down. She hated how she was feeling even after what Theo did to her. She felt her self respect slowly depleting as she thought more and more about him. After downing a glass of champagne in one go, she instantly felt a lot calmer and decided to put on a charming smile and go socialize. She pushed Theo to the back of her brain and starte
Grace nervously stood at the door of her new store with a pair of scissors in her hand. Everything she had done up till now for her business, she had been confident about it, but opening this store meant something else. Having to stay in the same city as Theo was a new challenge for her. Eden stood next to Grace and squeezed her shoulder, making her switch back to reality. Grace smiled confidently and cut the ribbon in front of her, getting an applause from everyone present there. She opened the door and walked in, taking in everything about her new journey. The store had many of her designer clothing, shoes, jewelry, bags and other accessories. She took care of everything that her customers could want. She even hired professional stylists to help customers find the perfect combination of dresses and accessories to make them look gorgeous in her dresses. She felt happy that this was all her own. She didn't rely or take anything from anyone but built all of it from her own talent, she