Benjamin was pleasantly surprised. He said, “Sure! You can tell me the time and place, and I’ll pick you up. Dinner is on me tonight.”Ivanka smiled. “Then I’ll let you choose the restaurant, Mr. Lee. Send the location to Sandy once you’ve made your decision. Please excuse me as I still have some matters to attend to.”“Oh, that’s fine. I’ll leave you to it.”Benjamin’s attitude toward Ivanka was a thousand times better than his attitude toward Sandy.After Ivanka hung up, Sandy could not help but laugh. “That b*stard was so humble when he spoke to you. It was hilarious. Iv, thanks for making me feel better.”Ivanka simply smiled and remained silent.Sandy thought of something and looked at Ivanka. “Isn’t Mdm. Barkworth’s birthday banquet coming up soon? Are you going to humiliate Chiara?”Ivanka’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. She seemed to be in a dilemma.Sandy was perplexed. “Iv, what’s the matter?”Ivanka let out a small sigh. “I can humiliate Chiara, but I’m afraid I’
Ivanka arrived at the restaurant after about 30 minutes.She dialed Sandy’s number, and Sandy responded immediately, “I just arrived as well. Let’s meet at the entrance.”Ivanka answered the phone and hung up.As they approached the entrance, they noticed a fat middle-aged man standing there like an attendant. He, on the other hand, kept looking around. When he saw Sandy, his eyes lit up. He turned to look at Ivanka, who was standing next to Sandy. Then he hurried down the stairs, saying respectfully and politely, “Hello, Ms. Iris. My name is Benjamin Lee. We spoke on the phone today.”He had previously met Ivanka, but not Iris.Everyone now recognized them as the same individual.Ivanka simply smiled and nodded. “Hello, Mr. Lee. Let’s go in and have a chat.”Sandy sneered and thought. “What a snob.“The moment he saw Ivanka, he forgot all about me.”Benjamin smiled hurriedly at her as she thought of this. “Ms. McNeil, please come in as well.”Sandy was ecstatic. Everything
But then again, he would not have dared to try tripping Sandy up if he had known she was Iris’s friend.Iris was not your typical woman. Even though she was divorced, she maintained a relationship with the Barkworth family and had Mr. Sadler’s support. He could not afford to offend her.Benjamin instinctively raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. “Ms. Lane, this is a misunderstanding. I’ll tear up the contract with Ms. McNeil right now.”Ivanka cracked a small smile. “If I assist Sandy with her lawsuit, you may have to pay her 500 million in damages.”Benjamin’s face turned pale. “It’s all my fault!” he exclaimed quickly. “I’ve made a mistake, Ms. McNeil. I sincerely apologize. Please forgive me.”She thought. “Oh lord! I thought it was an irreversible situation. I didn’t expect her to not only save me from losing money, but to also force Mr. Lee to withdraw 200 million dollars!”Ivanka smiled. “Well, since it was a misunderstanding, I won’t take action against
“Click and watch it.” Lyla looked at her phone, and Chiara obediently clicked on it.At that moment, a reporter could not hold back and immediately spoke up.“Ms. Lane, I heard you got together with Mr. Sadler after you divorced Mr. Barkworth. Are you going to marry Mr. Sadler?”Chiara sneered. “Ivanka reaps what she sows. She’ll eventually ruin her reputation.”Lyla also sneered. “She is nothing without her father’s help. She is Iris, but so what? Mr. Barkworth didn’t even bat an eye at her.”Chiara’s smile froze, and she frowned. She thought. “He did the same to me.”Lyla noticed Chiara was sad, so she quickly diverted her attention. “Let’s watch the live broadcast first.”In the live broadcast, another reporter asked, “Ms. Lane, you dated Mr. Sadler secretly before the divorce. Is Mr. Sadler the reason for your divorce? Did you cheat on Mr. Barkworth?”Chiara’s mood immediately improved. She sneered and awaited the performance.Benjamin, who stood behind Ivanka, perspired e
Ivanka calmly said, “We don’t love each other anymore.”The reporter who asked the question was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, “Is it because of your cousin?”Chiara quickly gripped the phone tightly and stared at the person on the screen.Lyla also frowned slightly. “Will Ivanka seize this opportunity and talk bad about you?”Chiara’s expression darkened. “I’m not afraid of her badmouthing me. On the contrary, I’m afraid if she doesn’t do so.”Lyla’s eyes shot up to look at Chiara. “Why?”Chiara tightened her grip on the phone in annoyance. “If she slanders me, I can hire ghostwriters and have everyone scold Ivanka because I have an angelic image.”Lyla understood what she was saying and nodded in agreement. “You’re absolutely correct. But if she praises you, won’t it put you in a difficult position?”“Ivanka is much smarter than before!” Chiara gritted her teeth. “Let’s watch for now. I hope she can say I was mean to her.”Sandy stood behind Ivanka, perplexed. She thought. “
They heard that Chiara was well-educated and kind, but apparently…However, some people did not trust Ivanka. Was Ivanka possibly jealous of Michael’s kindness to his savior, so she was deliberately badmouthing her?While everyone had different speculations, Ivanka said in a low voice, “After we divorced, Chiara was sad because she thought we divorced because of her. She was sad and said several times that she should not have woken up and even contemplated suicide.”Everyone was a little surprised. “Ms. Lane is actually blaming herself for it!”“Yeah, I heard that Ms. Lane is a kind-hearted person.”Sandy was about to gag. However, she knew what Ivanka was doing and stepped forward. The reporters noticed she wanted to speak and immediately turned their cameras to her.Chiara was about to go crazy at this moment. When she saw Sandy, she angrily said, “What is Sandy trying to do?!”Sandy nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Chiara is a kind beauty. Since I’m Iv’s friend, I met Chia
Everyone could not forget what Ivanka said next.Ivanka sighed and said, “But Chiara had made up her mind. She stated unequivocally that she will not be the source of contention. She would rather not marry and die alone than marry Mr. Barkworth. She stated that she will not play the villain and have people believe she is a mistress who becomes the legal wife.”Chiara was shocked.“Oh lord, Chiara is indeed a smart woman! She knows that if she marries Mr. Barkworth, it’ll hurt Ivanka, and everyone will think that she has done something wrong.”“That’s right. I admire Chiara for having such generosity. If I were Chiara, I might not have been able to be as open-minded as her. In fact, it’s best not to get married. People would only belittle her if she marries Mr. Barkworth. After all, Mr. Barkworth had been taking care of her when she was in a coma, and he would spend time with her before the divorce. If she marries Mr. Barkworth, she’ll be the mistress who becomes the legal wife.”“
Chiara was furious.“She has ruined my chances! How am I going to marry Michael?”Lyla seemed agitated. She had not expected Ivanka to act in this manner. At that moment, she understood how terrible it was to shoot oneself in the foot.Chiara had created a selfless image in order to make others like her, but she had never expected this to happen.Ivanka told reporters right afterward that if Chiara married Michael, she would be the mistress who became the legal wife.“What’s done is done. Chiara, calm down. We still have alternative options.”Chiara clenched her hands in frustration. She was nervous for the first time in a long while.“She must have done it on purpose! She purposefully drew the attention of the reporters!” said Lyla.Chiara turned to face Lyla. “Did you say we still have other options, Mom?”Lyla let out a sigh. “The only way forward is for the Barkworth family to find a way to clarify that you will marry Michael for a good reason. You must uphold the image th
“One more thing, these are my team members. They’ve seen firsthand how you’ve tried to suppress me all the time. A little payback from them isn’t exactly unjustified, don’t you think?”Before Mandy could say anything, Candice turned to the employee and instructed firmly, “Call security. Have them escort her out of the building. Make sure she doesn’t take anything that doesn’t belong to her. Thoroughly check her devices for any company files.”Mandy completely lost her composure and started yelling.“Who do you think you are to treat me like this? You’re just riding on Ivanka’s coattails! Everyone knows how someone so young became CEO. And you? Are you sticking by her? You’re no better than… Argh!”Before Mandy could finish her tirade, Candice delivered a resounding slap across her face.Not far away, Ivanka, who had come out after hearing the commotion to see if she needed to step in, slowed her steps. While leaning casually against a nearby column, she watched Candice handle the
“I understand what you mean now.” Candice’s cheeks flushed with excitement. The gloom that had previously clouded her was swept away.Her joy was genuine. She said, “In three months’ time, I’ll secure this position and prove to you and the board that your decision was the right one.”With that, Candice stood, gave Ivanka a respectful bow, and left the office.Ivanka watched her leave with a smile.All was good.While the two of them were in good spirits, someone else’s mood was far from pleasant.Mandy returned to her office, humiliated, to pack her belongings.If she could turn back time, she might have chosen not to come at all. The shame she endured was beyond anything she could have imagined.Somehow, word of what happened in the conference room had leaked. Perhaps Ivanka had orchestrated it.When she arrived at her office, she was not surprised to see all her belongings stuffed into a tattered, broken box.The box had been placed right outside her office door. It was a
“Mr. Clarke, if you don’t like my decision and want to change it, you’ll have to take my position first to do so. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”With those words, Ivanka coolly left the meeting room.Candice, though initially taken aback by the sudden turn of events, quickly adjusted to her new role. Turning to Mandy, she said, “Ms. Cruella, please ensure your office is cleared in three days, as I will be moving in.”With that, she too left the room.After they left, the meeting room erupted into chaos, with arguments flying back and forth. However, the outcome was already sealed. Ferris was powerless to change it.Though he still had cards to play, he was not about to waste them on Mandy.Sure enough, by the afternoon, employees spotted Mandy packing her belongings and leaving in disgrace.Candice, though initially satisfied, could not help but feel uneasy. After thinking it over, she decided to speak with Ivanka. And so, at that moment, she was standing in front of the door to t
Ferris was panicking at the moment. He shot Mandy a disappointing and furious glare.It was one thing for her to embezzle funds, it was another for her to get caught.How foolish!Feeling the weight of Ferris’s gaze, Mandy instinctively lowered her head.That only made Ferris more enraged.She had caused all this trouble, and he had to clean up the mess.Ivanka ignored them and turned to the other shareholders. She sharply said, “Tell me, how can someone like her hold the position of project director in our company, yet Candice can’t even be promoted to team leader?”Mandy had been personally hired by Ferris, so Ivanka criticizing her in front of everyone was effectively a direct slap to his face.That naturally made Ferris extremely uncomfortable.His expression turned even darker.“In my opinion, it’s true Mandy shouldn’t have done that, but she’s been in this position for so long. While she doesn’t have achievements, she’s at least put in the effort. How about this, let’s
However, her smile did not reach her eyes.Mandy stood frozen. She was too scared to drink the water or take a seat. Just like that, she was ignored. The atmosphere was awkward. She could only cast a pleading glance toward Ferris for support.Ferris, who was standing near her, cleared his throat and said, “That’s right. Ms. Ivanka, Ms. Cruella is right. This isn’t in line with proper procedures.”Ivanka maintained her enigmatic smile. Her index finger tapped lightly on the table. It was impossible to guess what was going through her mind.She glanced around the room. “What do the rest of you think?”She sounded like she was seeking opinions, but the weight of her presence was intimidating. No one dared to answer.Just as Ferris was about to say something, Ivanka picked up Mandy’s report and tossed it onto the floor.It happened too fast. Everyone was stunned by her action. Even Ferris was caught off guard.Mandy’s face turned pale.“Rules are made by people. Besides, Cand
“Please start.” Ivanka nodded. Mandy glanced at Ferris and then at Ivanka. She did not dare to speak.It was obvious that she did not want to offend either side.But she had received a lot of favors being under Ferris over the years, so naturally she did not dare to disobey him.Ferris felt like he was getting the upper hand again, and he was a lot more cheerful. His expression seemed to say, “Look, this is my staff. Look at how they listen to me and not you. You’re nothing much as the chairman. Who are you here, Ivanka?”The anger from before had completely disappeared. He said calmly, “You really don’t get the hint. If Ms. Lane lets you speak, you should just speak.”Although he sounded like he was scolding her, anyone could hear from Ferris’s tone that he was not complaining. He was gloating.Some shareholders did not want to be caught up in the mess and lowered their heads.Others wanted to see where things went.In a way, he was asserting dominance over Ivanka. Everyone wa
Ivanka suggested to Candice to go home and rest.But Candice still refused.She said, “The contract will be done soon. I’ll be able to rest properly and have peace of mind sooner when it’s finalized.”Ivanka relented. She only said that if she felt discomfort in any way, she must tell her immediately.Candice nodded her head and took note.Ivanka gripped the steering wheel tightly. She felt guilty.Candice was already in such a state, but she still insisted on working. Her reason there was not only to repay Ivanka but also to realize her own self-worth.But Ferris kept getting in the way of that report.It was really upsetting.Ivanka also secretly made it a point to get the report passed on that day.The car reached the company. Ivanka went upstairs with Candice together. Ivanka also personally helped Candice to her workstation.Despite Candice’s repeated refusals, Ivanka was very insistent.She wanted to demonstrate to everyone that she had Candice’s back. If anyone wante
Ivanka noticed that the distance between the both of them were a little too close. She moved a little to the side as a form of silent resistance to Micheal’s behavior.Michael only felt lonely for a moment. But he then quickly returned to normal as if nothing had happened.“Candice hasn’t finished giving her statement yet. I know you have to keep her company today, but I don’t agree that you should just sleep here. I’ve booked a hotel in the neighborhood. In a moment, I’ll explain to the people from the police station and send the two of you there.” Ivanka seemed to be a little hesitant.Michael said, “It’s just nearby. It’s about a kilometre away. I’ve reserved two rooms. So, if we need to rush over at night, we can just come over together again. Besides, if you sleep in the lounge for the night, both of you will catch a cold.”Ivanka hesitated and finally nodded.She thanked him and turned to go into the lounge to wake Candice up.Michael’s voice called out from behind her.
The two looked at each other and spoke a name. “Ferris Clark.”“Ferris Clark.” Michael laughed first. Ivanka followed suit. “Speaking of which, it actually has something to do with me. When Candice came, everyone knew I brought her in. When she first came in because she did not have any experience, she was only offered a position as an intern team leader. She thought that she would be transferred to a permanent position after she did a good job. But her report never passed after that. It was stuck in Ferris’s hands. “I will go to the board of directors tomorrow and continue to submit the report. This time it will have to be passed no matter what. I will also take the opportunity to find an excuse to test Ferris. If it’s really him…” Ivanka did not finish speaking, but the ferocity in her eyes made Michael silently pray for Ferris in his heart.Ivanka changed her tone. “But if it’s not someone from Bostone, then we have to consider someone else.”The tacit understanding betwe