Tanya frowned when she realized it was another spam call.After some thought, she decided to answer.She remained silent. If it was another scam call, she would just hang up. If it was Chiara, Chiara would speak first.The moment she answered, she heard the voice of a man using a voice changer. “Since it’s your grandfather’s birthday today, send my regards to him.”Tanya frowned. “What are you trying to say?”She was not interested in these formalities. They were unnecessary.The person on the other end chuckled. “You must be feeling pretty upset about what happened at the banquet earlier, right, Ms. Tanya?”Tanya’s expression immediately darkened. She subconsciously tightened her grip on her phone.Chiara did not attend the banquet today. How did she find out about it? She must have sent someone to attend on her behalf.Perhaps she had some leverage or connections with some businessmen who attended. Or maybe she bribed the waitstaff there.“What exactly are you trying to say
Tanya frowned. She knew Samuel had previously supported her relationship with Michael.However, Chiara’s reminder made her realize something was off. Samuel had always been the one in charge. Although Michael often made decisions, Samuel’s authority was unquestionable. Many people still followed his lead.The Barkworth Group’s stock could fluctuate at any time due to Michael and Ivanka’s frequent appearances and their trends on social media. Despite the potential impact on the company’s stock, Samuel remained indifferent. It was as if he had not noticed it. He had not taken any action to address or capitalize on the situation. What exactly was Samuel thinking now?Tanya would be at a total loss if Samuel stopped supporting her relationship with Michael.This realization made her heart race and her temples throb. Chiara’s words had truly hit her hard.Chiara smiled and said, “Back then, Samuel was fully supportive of Chiara and Michael. But when the Lane family fell, he didn’t care
Derek frowned and said, “Her anger is not strictly necessary. You have a tough task ahead of you. She might not be willing to cooperate with you. Besides, this is something you should handle yourself once you get your new identity.”“After I get my new identity, I doubt the new family will treat me like their own daughter. I’ll be highly tied down. It’s better to let Tanya handle it. She’s capable and smart. If she’s willing to cooperate, it’ll be much more effective for us.”Derek looked at her coldly and said in a serious tone, “Then you better keep quiet about what you had those waiters do today.”Chiara smiled and said confidently, “I trust you to get things done. I’m sure everything will go smoothly.”She put down her phone as her mood brightened. After this, a series of successes would surely follow. With Tanya taking action, she could direct and strategize from behind the scenes. Gradually, things would go according to her plan.At this thought, the malevolence in her eyes
Derek was puzzled when he saw Chiara suddenly approach him. She even spoke to him in a coquettish voice, saying, “Derekie…”Derek’s expression immediately darkened. He looked at Chiara coldly and asked, “What are you trying to do?”Chiara did not respond. She had made her intentions clear. Any man would have understood what she was trying to do.However, she was puzzled to see Derek’s apparent confusion. Did he not understand her intentions, or did he find her repulsive?Was it because he was Eleanor’s trusted person? After all, Eleanor sent him to keep an eye on her because she did not fully trust her.At that moment, Chiara suddenly felt unsure and even a little panicked inside.However, she refused to let her life be controlled by others. She felt miserable enough already!She took a deep breath and forced a stiff smile at Derek. “It’s just the two of us here. Why don’t we talk about something else?”Derek sneered. “Forget it if you have any filthy thoughts. If I want a woma
Tanya sucked in a deep breath. No. This time, she did not want to have any contact with Ivanka for no good reason. Tanya thought. “This woman is like poison. Nothing good happens whenever I run into her.” She glanced around. The next moment, she looked like a thought crossed her mind. She glanced around again in puzzlement. Still, she did not see him. She instantly waved at her assistant who was standing quite a distance away. Her assistant quickly went over to her. Tanya whispered to him, “Has Jonah arrived at the banquet?” “Yes. He has arrived. But he seemed to have gone upstairs. I’m not sure if he went to look for Master Cullen.” Tanya gave a nod and said nothing else. It did not take long before the banquet started. Hermes slowly walked down the staircase. Even though he was already in his seventies, he still looked strong and did not need a walking stick. He looked like a man in his fifties. The crowd instantly stopped exchanging pleasantries and stared at Hermes.
Samuel looked at Ivanka and smiled. “It’s very late now. It’s unsafe for you to go back on your own. Let Michael send you home.” Ivanka was stunned. She did not expect Samuel to say that before the crowd. Before she replied to Samuel, Nick said, “No. Michael has been very busy throughout the whole day. He needs to rest. Jonah, on the other hand, has been very free today. Let him send her home.” Ivanka fell speechless. Jonah looked at Ivanka and chuckled. “It’s my pleasure.” Samuel instantly shook his head and smiled. “There’s no need to trouble Jonah to send her back. Michael hasn’t been doing much today either. Let him send her home. Jonah has signed a business contract today. He also has many projects to follow up on recently. I don’t want to make him exhausted.” While saying this, Samuel deliberately put on a long face at Michael. “Grab the chance and send her back now." Michael fell silent. Nick said to Samuel, “Jonah is used to working that much. Why would he fee
Ivanka walked away in a hurry. Samuel turned to Michael. “It’s unsafe at night. Quick, send her back now. If not, Rosie will be very worried when she finds out.” Michael pursed his lips and said nothing else. He headed outside. Nick sneered, “Samuel, you’re really good at this!” Samuel grinned. “It’s true. After all, they were husband and wife. No matter what, the original husband and wife are still the best for each other. What do you think?” Nick smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “It depends on whether they are the right ones for each other. Since they’ve divorced, this shows that they are not the right ones for each other. Even though she didn’t say it, she already hinted at it through her actions.” Samuel parted his lips and inhaled deeply. He pretended to look angry as he stared at Nick. “Nick, how dare you say that in front of me?! If you refuse to admit defeat, let’s go out and fight!” “Do it! After all, I’ve been exercising my fists and kicks daily at home. N
Tanya sat beside Hermes. Her expression was equally dark. She looked down aimlessly. If this were the past, they would usually have a chit chat after the birthday banquet. At that moment, the atmosphere was gloomy. Hermes looked at Tanya. “You’ve seen how Master Barkworth treated us. He doesn’t have the intention to have you marry Michael. Do you still want to persist in this relationship?” Tanya’s eyes flickered with some emotions. She refused to accept the fact that she could not be together with Michael. She refused to accept the fact that Michael would get together with Ivanka in the future. Tanya did not respond to Hermes after some time. Hermes was furious with her for still refusing to give up on Michael. “As you could see for yourself from today’s incident, both Master Barkworth and Master Sadler fought for Ivanka for their grandsons in front of me. They never mentioned anything about you. Couldn’t you already see that you’re no longer a candidate to be their granddau
Instead, she remained standing in front of Jimothy and studied the group of men with a smile.“He works at our company. Since I’ve run into him, I’m obligated to come over and check on him. Pray tell, what has happened between you and why do you feel the need to resolve it with violence?”Jimothy stared at Candice while she stood with her back facing him. The look in his eyes was conflicted.The men exchanged glances with each other and saw a hint of astonishment in one another’s eyes.The man at the front of the group, who was likely their leader, said, “We just get paid to do this, lady. You should stay out of it.”When Candice heard his advice which also sounded like a threat, she did not intend to back down at all. Instead, she asked him, “Oh? How much did you get for this? I’ll pay you double. I just told you that this guy works for us, so I have to intervene.”The leader started laughing, and so did the men behind him. They did not even bother to hide the mockery in their t
Candice ordered some food she liked, and the dishes arrived soon after.Sandy suggested that they all took a picture together.The others did not object.Sandy gave her phone to the waiter.Then the five of them moved their chairs to sit in a row.Michael and Ivan each took the outermost seats.Naturally, Ivanka was seated next to Michael while Sandy, who paid for the dinner, was right beside her.Next to Sandy was Candice, who sat awkwardly in her chair. Ivan was beside Candice.The second the waiter took the picture, Ivanka and Michael exchanged glances inadvertently. Meanwhile, Ivan stared past Candice, and his eyes fell on Sandy.Sandy and Candice were the only people who looked into the camera.But each and every one of them had a genuine smile on their face.Once they had taken a picture, they started eating together.It was a nice, relaxing dinner. They did not talk about work or how annoying Coco had been.They mostly chatted about the fun anecdotes they had he
The call was soon answered, but the person who picked up was not Rosie. It was Mrs. Ruth.“Ms. Lane, you finally called! Mdm. Barkworth will be over the moon when she wakes up!” Mrs. Ruth sounded quite excited as she spoke.Ivanka smiled and asked, “Is Grandma resting now?”“Yeah, she hasn’t had a good rest after learning that you’d be kidnapped. Once you were safe, she finally allowed herself to rest.”Ivanka nodded and told Mrs. Ruth to take good care of Rosie. She later said that she and Micheal would visit Rosie soon.With that, she hung up the phone.Meanwhile, she also reflected upon herself.Rosie had gotten old, yet Ivanka always made her worry. From that moment on, Ivanka would consider the consequences before making any decision. It was not only for the sake of herself, but the important people in her life, who also cared about her.As she contemplated this, Ivanka inevitably thought of the gathering. It would be quite fun.Before they were about to get off work, San
Coco practically ran out crying.Candice glanced at Ivanka worriedly and asked, “Will something bad happen to her?”Ivanka was not concerned at all. “What could possibly happen? She is an adult. Even if something bad happens, she has to bear the consequences of her own action.”Hearing that, Candice no longer fretted over the matter.She was not really worried about Coco. She was just afraid that something would happen to Coco, and Ivanka would be blamed for it.But Ivanka had made a good point. Candice did not want to trouble herself with Coco’s matters. It would only be an unnecessary emotional burden to her.Everyone in the office began discussing the progress of their project.Perhaps it was because Ivanka had made an example of Coco, the other employees became especially energized and diligent during their discussion.They were even more focused than before, since they were all afraid that Ivanka would treat them harshly as well.Hence, they were particularly efficient.
“Why don’t we leave now so that you can deal with this matter, Ms. Ivanka?”The director of the project department, who was perceptive and shrewd, planned to leave right then. Ivanka shook her head and signaled everyone to sit down.They were all uneasy, and they kept giving Coco weird looks.Two people had dared speak to Ivanka like that in the past—Ferris and Mandy.But those two were no longer with the company.At the thought of those people, the project department staff began looking at Coco with pity.However, Coco could not care less. All she wanted was to make a fuss.She wanted to see how shameless Ivanka could be.Unruffled, Ivanka stared at her. She did not get angry and seemed rather affable as she asked, “Tell me what upset you. Have we falsely accused you of something you didn’t do?”Before Coco said anything, Ivanka added cruelly, “Oh, I forgot that you aren’t familiar with the protocol here, so you have no idea what you did wrong, right?”Coco paled. Undoubte
Candice was momentarily stunned by his answer. She was a little offended.“Then why did you come to my office for this conversation?” Jimothy’s grin was mischievous. “To prove your company’s HR is blind, and you just lost a great talent. That’s all.”With that, Jimothy stood up, dusted off his sleeves dramatically, and turned to leave.“Your resume!” Candice called after him.Jimothy waved dismissively without looking back. “Keep it. Enjoy reading it. And don’t let an incompetent HR handle your interviews again.”Candice stood there for a moment and processed the scene before an involuntary chuckle escaped her lips. This one had personality.Regardless, the incident served as a wake-up call for Candice.It became glaringly clear that Coco was not only incompetent but also prone to overestimating her abilities.Before the task was assigned, she had the chance to decline. Candice had given her the opportunity and explicitly asked if she could handle it. Yet, Coco confidentl
The college student finally believed her and walked toward Candice.On the other hand, Coco seemed guilty and was desperate to prevent it. “He has no respect for our company! Are you really going to hire someone like him who won’t follow orders?” Coco’s tone was sharp. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the young man.She scanned the room for backup in hopes that the people who had been flattering her earlier would speak up in her defense.Unfortunately, no one stepped forward.Those who flattered Coco only did so out of respect for Ivanka. Yet Candice had a close relationship with Ivanka and was the company’s vice president.The gap between a vice president versus an intern was as vast as night and day.Anyone with common sense knew where to align themselves.Coco felt a mix of despair and resentment.Candice ignored her entirely. Why Ivanka was so wary of someone as clueless as this was beyond her comprehension.Coco was simply dumb.Without wasting another thought o
However, reality proved she had worried for nothing.Candice had called her over merely to ask if she had the most basic professional knowledge and whether she could handle the afternoon’s interview.Coco let out a deep sigh of relief before patting her chest confidently and assuring Candice she was more than capable.Knowing Coco came from the mountains, Candice was naturally skeptical, so she asked again, “Are you sure?”Coco thought to herself that it was just an interview. All she needed to do was just ask the candidates some questions. They could just choose someone who wrote the resume well.Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Michael’s cousin, Coco pretended to be confident and accepted the task.Candice was half-doubtful, yet she still gave her instructions and let her go.However, Coco’s firm assurance eventually led to trouble....“Your company must be a joke to hire someone like you for HR. You’re offended? You’re not even a real professional. What? You ca
Word quickly spread within the HR department. After learning about Coco’s connection to Ivanka, some colleagues were vying to curry favor with her.Although some observant individuals noticed that the relationship between Coco and Ivanka was not as harmonious as it seemed, it did not deter the opportunists. Relentless flattery and attention poured in.One moment, a male coworker would offer to grab her food while placing his own lunch order. Next, a female coworker would ask if she wanted to order some coffee too.At first, Coco was caught off guard and politely declined. However, as she realized their intentions were purely self-serving, she began to accept their gestures without hesitation.By midday, Coco had become the department’s little queen. Ironically, as an intern, she should have been the one fetching coffee, running errands and collecting mail. Instead, she had colleagues practically lining up to do those tasks for her.Coco quickly assembled her own little e