Ivanka playfully winked at Jonah.Jonah instantly understood. She was not upset by his questioning or bothered by what might have seemed like meddling. The wink served as a reminder that they were friends, but it was also a subtle call for his help.Her business was his business. There was no way he would not help.Jonah quickly composed himself and nodded. “Since you’re meeting his cousin, I won’t insist you stay for a meal. Ms. Levine, we still have a collaboration to discuss. You should stay. Unless, of course, you have something else pressing to attend to?”Before Chiara could answer, Jonah had already shut down any excuses she could offer.Chiara was more than happy to stay. Jonah’s words made it even easier for her, but she knew better than to skip the pleasantries. “It’s not that I have something else to do. I just don’t want to impose. I wouldn’t want anyone to misunderstand us.”Jonah dismissed her concerns. “We’re discussing business, Ms. Levine. We’re just having a m
“Just grab any shirt.” Jonah gestured toward the walk-in closet in front of them.Immediately, Chiara stepped inside and picked a black shirt. When she returned, she noticed Jonah’s gaze fixed steadily on her.“Mr. Sadler, why are you looking at me like that?” His intense stare made her grip the shirt nervously.Jonah quickly averted his gaze. His voice was calm and unhurried as he said, “I just thought your silhouette resembled hers.”Chiara asked in puzzlement, “You mean Iv?”“Yes,” Jonah admitted without hesitation.Of course, he had said it on purpose.Chiara had chosen to stay behind and taken the initiative to offer him help. She was clearly signaling her interest in him. Since she had such thoughts, why could he not play along a little?Chiara lowered her head and feigned a shy demeanor. “Maybe it’s because we’re close in age, and also perhaps because you’re so deeply in love with Iv.” Jonah’s unwavering devotion to Ivanka was undeniable.It made her jealous.Why
Chiara looked up at Jonah with tears in her eyes. “But given the Levine family’s situation, I don’t have much time left…”She sobbed and tried to earn sympathy from Jonah.He did not even spare her a look. Instead, he roared at her angrily, “Get out—”Jonah only had eyes for Ivanka and absolutely despised Chiara’s cheap tricks. Initially, he had wanted to toy with her and string her along just as Ivanka had told him to.But as it seemed, he should not have allowed someone like Chiara to approach him.Chiara inhaled deeply as if she was aggrieved. She cried so hard that she choked on her breath. “Sorry for upsetting you, Mr. Sadler. But I just want you to help me out…”“It’s a shame that I’m no savior,” Jonah said coldly. Meanwhile, he directed his icy gaze toward the door and signaled her to leave.Chiara dared not say anything lest she infuriated him further.As long as Jonah was willing to collaborate with her, she would have the chance to win him over!She inhaled deeply ag
Since Jonah had said so, Margaret knew better than to press the issue. Her son was grown. She could no longer control certain matters. However, before leaving, she deliberately brought up Ivanka. “You’re an adult. I can’t interfere with your plans. But let me be clear, whatever those plans are, I hope they don’t include Ivanka.”With that, Margaret turned and walked out without waiting for Jonah to respond.Chiara, who was still reveling in smug satisfaction over her earlier calculated words, lit up when she saw Margaret approach. Her face broke into a bright smile as she prepared to greet her.However, Margaret did not even glance in her direction. She ignored her completely. Chiara was a little embarrassed but knew better than to chase after Margaret.Not long after, Jonah emerged from the room in his wheelchair. Hearing the sound, Chiara quickly stepped forward and positioned herself behind him. She greeted him politely. “Mr. Sadler.”Jonah felt nothing but disdain for he
Candice was very friendly toward Ivanka.Ivanka walked over to her and took her hand. “Your gift is good enough for me. I’m just happy that you’re doing fine. Are you here for vacation or business this time?”But Candice was not convinced. “You haven’t even seen what I bought for you, Iv. How is it good enough? Are you trying to fool me?”“No.” Ivanka shook her head seriously. She said, “I know you must have put a lot of thought into it. A well-prepared gift is the best gift. Of course I would be pleased to have it.”Hearing that, Candice was finally relieved. “Phew, I’m glad you like it. I don’t know what brand you use for skincare, so I bought every one of them. As for the clothes, I shopped according to your size. I might stay here for a while this time. You’re the only person I want to hang out with.”As she spoke, she tugged at Ivanka’s hand lightly like a child. Ivanka wore a smile on her face. She genuinely saw Candice as a little sister. “What a sweet talker. You’ve come
Ivanka thought. “Hah, look what this jerk is saying.”He claimed that he would leave her house once he recovered. If that was the case, why would he pretend to be ill?Ivanka rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, right. It would be great if your words truly reflect what’s on your mind!”But Michael was astonished. “Do you know what’s on my mind?”Ivanka was speechless.Of course she knew what he was up to. His words were the exact opposite of his actions. She had not kicked him out for lying, yet he had the guts to question her. What did he want from her?She felt as if she knew him like the back of her hand.The thought of that made her uncomfortable.She shot him a derisive glance. “How would I know what’s really on your mind? Your promises don’t instill my confidence. Will you really move out of my house once you recover?”Unaffected by her cold expression and tone, Michael questioned her back, “If I refuse you, will you allow me to stay?”Ivanka tossed him a glare. “Are you defl
Michael sighed. He sounded rather sad. “Do you loathe me that much?”“I loathe you because you lied to me about your health condition. Will you be happy or upset when someone you no longer fancy deliberately shows up in front of you every day?”Ivanka tried to put him in her shoes.Michael found the words “no longer fancy” extremely hurtful. He was upset. But no matter how upset he felt, he had lost the right to argue with her. It was no longer his place to say anything else.He pressed his lips together and said hoarsely, “I didn’t do it on purpose. I just want to… I think you still hold prejudice against me. Why do you treat me and Jonah differently? Is it because he is still in a wheelchair?”Ivanka was speechless.He had spoken these words before.Why was he so obsessed with this topic?Ivanka furrowed her brows and felt frustrated. “At least Jonah won’t repeatedly do something I hate. He won’t hold anything against me…”“Is that true?”Before Ivanka even finished, Michae
It was the truth, but Michael disliked hearing it.However, things were no longer the same between them. No matter how much he hated the truth or how unhappy he was, he could not bring himself to go ballistic in front of her.He had wanted to persuade her with logic and hoped that his sincerity would move her.But recalling Ivanka’s attitude, Michael decided to back down and leave it for the time being.He asked hoarsely, “Are we dining out or at home? If we’re going out, I’ll tell Evan to book a table in a restaurant. If we stay home, I’ll tell him to bring the food over.”Evan would take about one or two hours to deliver the food.With that in mind, Ivanka shook her head. “I’ll get some ingredients at the supermarket downstairs.”“I’ll go with you.” Michael was quick to offer to keep her company.Ivanka glanced at him and saw that he was insistent, so she said, “If you don’t feel unwell, let’s go then.”“Sure,” Michael responded in a low voice and followed Ivanka out of the
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