Chiara nodded apologetically at Ivanka and Sandy before getting up to answer the phone and walking away.She did not take anything with her except for her phone. She even left the project bid proposal on the table.It seemed like Chiara had no idea Jonah was planning to give her the Westvale project. Was she purposely leaving it out and hoping Ivanka would tamper with it?If Ivanka wanted the project, she would get it the right way. She would not get it by doing anything shady.As soon as Chiara left, Sandy could not help but voice her uneasiness about Melanie. “Iv, why does Melanie give me such a weird vibe? Everything about her feels fake. Her voice changes all the time. Sometimes, she even sounds like a doll! And her face just makes me uncomfortable. I have no idea why, but even though it’s our first time meeting, something feels off! I think I’m losing it, seriously!”She just could not understand why Melanie seemed so fake!If there was nothing wrong, why would she feel like
Sandy grinned smugly. “Chiara cares most about her image. So, let’s make sure she loses it. Imagine how funny it would be if she made a fool of herself in front of everyone!”Ivanka snapped her fingers in agreement. She had the same idea.Meanwhile, Chiara used her phone call as an excuse to take an allergy pill.During her “death,” she had been trained by Katiana to change many of her habits. But one thing that had not changed was her mango allergy.To be cautious, she always carried allergy pills. Such was the perfect time to use them. Ivanka had ordered mango juice, but it did not seem intentional.Chiara had altered her habits and appearance. She had not crossed paths with Ivanka in a way that could give away her identity. There was no way Ivanka would recognize her.Still, she stayed cautious. While talking on the phone, she said, “You don’t have to call every time. Just text me if something comes up. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”Hearing her tone, Theodore frowne
“Melanie, that’s very polite of you. It’s only normal for you to have something else to handle. We’re friends. Don’t regard yourself as a stranger,” said Ivanka generously. Chiara smiled. She did not believe that Ivanka was not at all interested in the project at Willy suburbs. Chiara took the initiative to invite Ivanka to join her. “Iv, my mom wants me to learn and follow up about the company affairs. But I really know nothing about them. My mom said if I can nail down the contract for the project at Willy suburbs, I can gain a foothold in Levine’s Group and have the rest accept me. I don’t trust others to help me with this. Can you help me?” While saying this, Chiara grabbed Ivanka’s hand and stared at her eagerly. There was a hint of pleading in her misty eyes. Ivanka disliked others touching her, much less Chiara. However, Ivanka had no choice but to put up with her because of her plan. Ivanka smiled and replied to Chiara, “I’ve long known about the project in Willy su
Ivanka knew Chiara had keenly noticed something else. Despite her “comforting” words, Chiara actually felt very pleased. Even if the Sadler family refused to discuss the project at Willy suburbs, how could they terminate the previously set collaboration contract just like that? “There surely has to be a way. The Sadler family is angry because of the car accident. I’ll work out on this. Don’t worry,” said Ivanka with a smile while patting Chiara’s shoulder. She knew Chiara was sounding her out using the project at Willy suburbs. Since such was the case, Ivanka decided to put Chiara to shame using the project at Willy suburbs. Before Ivanka had time to proceed, Rosie called her. “Iv, my distant relative told me that they’ve set their wedding date ahead of the schedule. I already booked a flight for you and Michael early tomorrow morning. They will pick you up when you arrive at the destination.” Ivanka was stunned. Even though she had promised Rosie that she would attend
Fondli was a third-world country. Although it was less developed, it was clean and not heavily polluted. The moment Ivanka got off the plane, she keenly sensed this. “The air is very fresh. The environment is conducive for Grandma to recuperate over here. Unfortunately, her condition wouldn’t allow her body to be exposed to wind.” Michael did not expect Ivanka to care so much about Rosie. He gave her a profound look. It was rare to see him not snort at her. He wondered if he would have stood a better chance if he had used Rosie to make Ivanka spend the night in the Barkworth family’s mansion last night.But Michael was worried that Ivanka would be mad at this suggestion. Hence, he did not bring it up. Nonetheless, Rosie had specially given an account of what he needed to do during the Fondli trip, and Michael was full of confidence. Outside the airport, Michael’s cousin arranged for them a car. The wedding ceremony was located inside the bride’s mansion on the outskirts.
The only problem was, the bridegroom never showed up even once. During the first rehearsal, Candice was the only one who finished the whole course. Ivanka was curious, but she did not give it a second thought. She assumed the bridegroom was absent because he was tied up with something else. That night, Ivanka finally saw the so-called bridegroom. But their encounter was not a happy one. At midnight Ivanka could not fall asleep, so she planned to go out to take a walk. The moment she stepped out of the door, she ran into a drunkard. The man was in a formal suit, but his tie was hung crookedly around his neck. He occasionally hiccoughed and looked sloppy. A woman helped him by the side. They were very close, and the way they interacted with each other was flirty. They talked to each other very intimately. Ivanka saw the duo enter the room next to her. She wondered why they would drink so much during somebody else’s wedding eve. Ivanka thought they were just the wedding gues
Jennifer took the man to Candice in the middle of the night. Things did not seem good. Ivanka knew something bad was going to befall Candice. She was about to follow them when someone behind her abruptly stopped her. Ivanka’s eyes flew wide open. Her scream got stuck in her throat. The man’s large hand had covered her mouth. At the same time, a familiar smell entered her nostrils, and she gave up trying to let go of herself from the man’s grasp. “Why are you giving up so easily?” As expected, Ivanka heard a familiar voice. She turned around and saw Michael’s playful smile. “I know it’s you, so there’s no need to keep trying to free myself,” answered Ivanka truthfully. “How did you know it’s me?” Her answer piqued his interest. Ivanka was about to explain when a thought struck her mind. After that, she kept quiet. “It’s a secret.” Before Michael could continue the topic, Ivanka decided to skip and end it by asking, “You saw everything. What do you think about it?”
Bam! The room door was kicked open all of a sudden. Michael was the one who kicked the door open. The man in the formal suit had just taken off half of his pants when Michael entered the room. Michael exuded an air of standoffishness. The man looked dumbfounded. He did not know if he should put back on his pants or remove them. Ivanka was behind Michael. He did not let her enter the room. “On the count of three, put your pants on, or else—” Michael did not finish his sentence, but the man in the formal suit was so scared that his entire body trembled. The man knew that if he did not act as he was told, he would lose his d*ck. So the man quickly put his pants on comically. While Michael was entering the room, Ivanka followed him. She ignored the man in the formal suit and went to the bed where Candice was laying. They had made quite a commotion when they entered the room. Despite this, Candice laid motionlessly on the bed. Apparently, she had been drugged. It l
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