Earlier on in the room, Ivanka had been clear about what she was really up to. She refused to believe that Michael did not catch the sign or understand what she meant!He wanted to follow her out of concern, and she let him.But what was he doing at the moment?Michael turned his dark eyes on Ivanka. His gaze was as sharp as icicles, and the rage in it grew.“What am I doing?” He thought.Did she seriously wonder what he wanted to do?If he had not exercised immense patience, he would not possibly allow Ivanka to meet with Alexander.Ivanka gazed at him without a word. She did not want to argue with Michael here, especially not in front of Alexander.But Michael understood the meaning behind her silence.At that moment, Michael felt the veins in his forehead about to pop.“Ivanka,” he said nothing other than her name.He pressed his lips into a thin line. There was anger in his eyes, and he pulled a long face.The cold glint in Alexander’s eyes gradually sharpened, and his
A moment ago, when Michael clashed with Alexander, they had attracted a bunch of onlookers.Worse still, Alexander had displayed a pitiful expression and spoke in an aggrieved manner.It made Ivanka look as if she went around seducing men and breaking hearts. She had had enough of Alexander’s nonsense and took out her pepper spray. When she was about to use it on him, he grabbed her hand.Alexander gave her a meaningful smile. “Iv, you can’t just comfort me whenever I get angry. This is embarrassing. After all, you’re a lady, I am a gentleman, not the other way round.”Ivanka refused to let him twist her intention like that, so she tossed the pepper spray into her free hand and charged at him again. As Alexander reached over, she leaned back to avoid him. But he stepped forward purposefully and leaned over her.At that critical moment, a pair of strong hands held her by the waist and propped her up.A faint whiff of cigarette and the familiar scent of medicine enveloped her.A
A strange emotion flickered in Ivanka’s eyes. She would be lying if she said that she was not moved.Alexander could tell what the two of them were up to. His expression darkened further.He looked at Michael with a faint smile. “Do you think you have any say in this matter?”With that, he suddenly raised a gun in his hand, put a finger on the trigger, and aimed at Michael’s forehead. Michael stared at him with arrogance and indifference. He did not seem to mind.Alexander immediately pulled a long face. He thought. “What’s with the look of disdain in his eyes? Does he think I won’t dare to fire the gun?”But just as he was about to pull the trigger, a rough voice tore through the air.“Back the hell down if you want to live!”Everyone looked at the source of the voice.They saw Lark charging toward them with bombs strapped to his waist.There was a determined look in his eyes, and he wore a fiendish grimace on his face.He was followed by all four of his comrades.Lark ch
“Are you alright, Ms. Lane?” This was the first thing Lark said as he walked up to Ivanka.Ivanka shook her head. “I’m fine, all thanks to you.”Lark grinned like a silly schoolboy. “Just doing my part.”Michael looked at the men who saved him and Ivanka expressionlessly. “You have been a great help this time. I’ll offer you additional pay as a token of gratitude.”Hearing this, all five men were secretly thrilled.But what they wanted the most was a permanent antidote for Cruciatus.Under his comrades’ meaningful gazes, Lark stated their intention. “Ms. Lane, what we want at the moment isn’t money.”Ivanka owed them everything for saving her life.She was not the kind of person who would shun those who helped her.But before she said anything, Michael said, “Since I’ve promised to reward you, I won’t go back on my word. Rest assured. Not only will she cure you, but I’ll also help you settle down somewhere safe once you receive the money.”Ivanka was rather surprised that Mic
A black van drove out of a junction nearby.The man who sat in the driver seat steered the vehicle in the direction Evan was heading. He parted his thin lips and said expressionlessly, “Your Highness, I’ve managed to track down Michael Barkworth’s assistant, Evan. Should I send the boys over?”“That won’t be necessary. I have figured out who those men used to work for. I prefer to sit back and watch him go after Michael and Ivanka.” Alexander gave an icy smile. The look in his eyes was cold and dangerous.There was also a hint of mockery in his smile.“Then should I just stop and come—” Seeing that Alexander did not give any more orders, his subordinate dared not stop following Evan. All he could do was ask for Alexander’s instruction.Just a moment ago, Alexander was in a good mood and was hoping to watch a disaster unfold. But as soon as he heard what his subordinate said, his expression darkened, and he yelled, “Did I tell you to come back?”“No, you didn’t. I’m still followin
Tanya was furious, but she was no fool.Blake’s words made her realize that she had been tricked!Worse still, Michael had sided with Ivanka and helped her trick Tanya and left her motionless for hours like a fool. Tanya dared not move the entire time.Thinking of that, she was enraged.She walked over to her subordinates, who were tied up, and kicked one of them several times.“I brought you here to do one job! But you useless pieces of sh*ts can’t even handle a woman. Bring Ivanka to me in three days!”Tanya said that with gritted teeth. Even though she was able to stay composed most of the time, she could not suppress her anger at this moment.Ivanka had fooled and humiliated her. Tanya would retaliate tenfold against her!Seeing her so furious because of what Ivanka had done, Blake walked over and tried to comfort Tanya in a gentle voice. “Rest assured. Whatever you want to do, I’ll…”Before he finished the sentence, Tanya walked off and left him behind.No matter who Bla
Evan knew that his excuse was very silly.But he refused to be the third wheel.Ivanka was puzzled.Lately, Evan had been acting strange, even though he was normally mature and composed.“You may go.” Ivanka stared at the bottles of medicine before her and did not question him.But Michael knew why Evan excused himself. He pulled a long face and said nothing.After Evan left, Michael and Ivanka did not interact with each other. The room was completely silent apart from the sound from the stove.“Why don’t you fly home with the Ganoderma nebula?” Michael’s tightly shut lips finally parted. Given that he had not spoken a word for a while, his voice was deep and hoarse.As he spoke, he turned to look at Ivanka, and his gaze was not as sharp and cold as it used to be. There was even a hint of concern and gentleness in it.He had suggested this because he was concerned about her safety.However, it was a difficult time for them both. If Ivanka left him alone in Mirvania, Alexander
Ivanka thought for a moment and said, “If everything goes as planned, we should be back in a day or two.”The next day was the casino’s banquet.The banquet had already been postponed once, and it was unlikely to be delayed again.As long as the event went smoothly and Alexander did not cause any trouble, she and Michael would be able to return home soon.When Sandy heard that it would take another day or two, she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, another day or two? I’m so done with this Mirvania trip!”She would have suspected that Michael was doing this deliberately if nothing had gone wrong and if Michael and Ivanka had not encountered any trouble.Sandy was not the only one feeling exasperated. Ivanka said exasperatedly, “There’s not much I can do right now. I’ve got a lot going on. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”She still remembered Ivan’s request for help.“Okay. I’ve got some things to discuss with you too. It’s pretty late, so you should get some rest.”“Alright,” I
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