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
But there was no way Michael would ditch Ivanka and leave alone. Besides, he was never one to back down from a confrontation.He even stepped forward and put Ivanka behind him protectively.Ivanka felt tightness in her chest, and her heart ached a little.Michael still had injuries on his body. If Mr. George attacked him, he could easily knock Michael to the ground. Even so, Michael insisted on protecting her in his poor condition. She would be lying if she said that she was unmoved by this gesture.Ivanka recalled how he had put himself in front of her courageously and took two bullets for her in Kingzillion Casino.At that moment, she could not describe how she felt about him.Certainly, she hoped that Michael would not get injured because of her again.She held his arm. Even though she said nothing to him, her actions spoke louder than words.In the next second, she locked eyes with Mr. George and chuckled. “I barely know you, so just cut the useless pleasantries and get str
Mr. George did not take Michael seriously at all. Every word he said tested Michael’s limit and patience.As Mr. George spoke, his smile had a hint of mockery, and his eyes were cold and taunting.Michael was enraged. He stepped forward and attempted to attack Mr. George, but Ivanka held him back and shook her head. She deliberately lowered her voice and said, “Don’t act impulsively!”There were only two of them. Although Mr. George had shown up alone, who knew if his men were hiding somewhere and ready to strike?If they clashed, Michael and Ivanka would be outnumbered.Michael had not recovered from his old injuries. Ivanka could not let him get injured again!Michael turned and looked at Ivanka. His eyes were filled with concern. He was signaling her to leave first.But there was no way Ivanka would do as he said and run away on her own.If she wanted to go, she would go with Michael. She would not leave him behind and let him deal with Mr. George alone!“We couldn’t be bot
Michael swung his elbow at George. It was fast and sharp, just like his usual style.Before making his move, he had glanced at Ivanka. She understood the message immediately and discreetly took out her phone.Michael trusted Ivanka to have his back. They had built such a level of trust over time. But his injury slowed him down. His movements were not as smooth as before and left an opening.George was no novice. He stepped back to dodge, grabbed Michael’s wrist with one hand, and aimed an elbow strike at the joint of his arm with the other. The strike was powerful and vicious, as if he wanted to break Michael’s arm.Michael frowned. Pulling his hand back was not an option. He might dislocate his shoulder if he tried.Instead, he raised his leg to force some space between them. Then, with his free hand, he aimed for George’s neck. George had to back off to avoid being taken down.“Mr. Barkworth, you’ve still got it,” George said. He was slightly out of breath but stared at Michael
Ivanka did not know how he found out. But she certainly had to be very careful.She and Michael exchanged a glance. Both of them wore the same cautious expression.George did not give them much time. He got into an attack stance and was ready to pounce at any second.Michael subtly stepped in front of Ivanka to shield her.She was caught off guard by his actions and stared at him.This was not the first time. He always stood in front of her without a word, no matter how bad his condition was.They were standing so close that she could hear his uneven breathing.She knew he must be in extreme pain. Otherwise, he would not let it show.She did not know how to feel at that moment.They had just discussed things and decided to go their separate ways. She did not want to be entangled with him anymore.Yet, at that moment, she could not deny that she was moved.“It’s alright. I’ll protect you.”His voice was a little raspy, perhaps because of his injury. Instead of sounding unple
“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