Ivanka heaved a sigh. “She’s in the same group as Ferris. I’m not very sure about their connections. She’s just a pretty woman with an empty head.” “A pretty woman with an empty head?” Michael sneered. “Why is your standard of beauty so low?” Ivanka laughed. Meanwhile, Candice returned to her workstation. Unbeknownst to her, a bouquet of flowers was on her desk. It was a bouquet of baby’s-breath flowers. It was her favorite flower. But she had just come to Bostone not long ago. Aside from Michael and Ivanka, not many people knew that baby’s-breath flowers were her favorite. She did not think it was them who gave her the bouquet. Candice took the bouquet of flowers skeptically. She searched around the flowers and found an anonymous greeting card. The words “I miss you” were stated on the card. Candice wondered who would miss her. It was simply an inexplicable statement. With a frown, Candice put the bouquet aside. She treated it as if it had been sent by mistake, but s
Rosie was over the moon, especially because Michael visited her with Ivanka after they went through so many hardships. But she was about to get an even more pleasant surprise. Rosie saw a silhouette show up behind Michael. She fixed her gaze on that person, and it was Candice. Rosie froze in place. Her eyes teared up. Candice walked over to Rosie and hugged her. “How many years have we not seen each other? When you were getting married, I was too weak and couldn’t board an airplane. That’s why I was absent from your wedding and had Iv to attend it on my behalf. Later, I learned that your fiance was a scoundrel.” Rosie sobbed. She had watched Candice grow up. Upon learning the news, Rosie’s heart ached for Candice. Candice patted Rosie’s shoulder to comfort her. “Grandma, it’s okay. The past is the past.” Rosie nodded. “What took you so long to visit me?” Rosie appeared angry on the surface, but her expression was filled with tenderness. She did not mean to blame Candice
Upon hearing Rosie’s statement, Ivanka knew it would be extremely difficult for her to turn down her offer. Meanwhile, Candice turned down Rosie’s offer. Candice said sheepishly, “Grandma, I still need to perfect my proposal. I came in a rush today, so I forgot to bring it over. I’m sorry to disappoint you.” Rosie’s smile faded. Seeing this, Candice patted her chest and promised that she would visit her more often in the future. Although Rosie was reluctant to say goodbye, she was not an unreasonable woman. She pretended to look angry and said, “Are you giving me an excuse simply because you don’t want to accompany an old lady like me?” Candice looked incredulous. “Grandma, how could you think like that?” Then, she smiled. “After I finish my work, I’ll come and bother you every two to three days. I may even stay around permanently. By then, you can’t complain about my annoying presence.” Rosie and Candice laughed. Rosie did not insist Candice stay around. But Rosie kept
Ivanka looked reluctant. Michael glanced at her. Then he pretended to ask Mrs. Ruth if there were other available rooms. Ivanka shot him a glance. She had a hunch about what was going on. Mrs. Ruth knew both Rosie and Michael very well. She said apologetically, “Mdm. Barkworth only asked me to get these two rooms ready. I’m worried that it’s too late to get the other rooms ready. What is it? Are there any problems with the rooms?” Ivanka shook her head. It was already late. She did not want to cause more trouble. After all, she would only spend one night in the Barkworth family’s mansion. Besides, there was nothing wrong with two rooms sitting right next to each other and sharing a balcony. All she needed to do was to lock the door. Ivanka agreed to stay in her room. Michael said nothing more. She thanked Mrs. Ruth and asked her to take her rest. Mrs. Ruth never once stopped smiling. Since “Mrs. Barkworth” had asked her to take a rest, she smiled and left. Ivanka and Mi
“You’d better give me a good reason for why you are up awake in my room in the dead of night. I even locked the balcony door!” Michael realized that he had been in the wrong. He shook the “instruments of crime” in his hands and cleared his throat. Then only did he explain. “About that… I didn’t expect you to come out of the shower without clothes.” Ivanka laughed in exasperation. “Are you saying it’s still my fault?” “No, it’s my fault.” Michael shook his head and answered the question seriously. “Get out!” Ivanka pointed at the door and said in a huff. Michael sensed that she might be utterly furious and explained, “I definitely did not intend to see you naked. “I just thought I’d come and ask when I’d drop you off at the office tomorrow. You were showering, so I just sat outside for a while. I didn’t expect that… But don’t worry, since this happened, I’ll definitely take responsibility for you to the end.” Ivanka scoffed in exasperation at his declaration for wanting to
To make things worse, she had no idea if the stranger was in her room before the police arrived. It felt terrible to have your life feeling threatened at all times.Ivanka could empathize with that kind of fear as a lady. So, she was extremely anxious to rush to Candice’s side as soon as she could. She had no idea how she was doing mentally, either.Besides, she doted on her. Michael knew that whatever he said would not work as well as showing Ivanka that Candice was fine herself. So, he stopped pestering her. He stepped onto the gas pedal and accelerated. The black Mercedes sped on the highway. Less than ten minutes later, the two arrived at the police station.Ivanka pushed open the car door and headed for the police station. But Michael stopped her.Ivanka turned back. Before she could see anyone, she felt a warmth on her back. Michael draped a coat over her shoulders. Her nose was filled with a scent that belonged exclusively to him. She felt like he was enveloping him.
Perhaps because she was reliving that traumatic moment, Candice began to shiver again.The police officer brought her a thin blanket to cover her. She still shivered. “Did that person ever speak?” Ivanka inquired.Candice shook her head. “I kept warning the other party. I said I had already called the police and they would be here soon. I also asked who the hell he was, but the only response I got was the door being banged on more and more violently.” When Candice said this, she paused. She did not continue to speak. It seemed like she was caught up in the bad memories and could only hold her head helplessly. Her voice also sounded weak and powerless.A police officer on the side took over. “Eventually, he ran off when he heard our sirens. The person was using a hammer to open the door. When we arrived on the scene, we figured that they would have opened the restroom door in another five or six blows.”Ivanka felt her heart ache and clench in fear for her. She hurriedly hugged Ca
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
“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