The store manager went slightly pale. She immediately got in their way before they headed for the door. Her voice carried a note of panic. “Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane, you haven’t seen all the designs. Our current designers are quite talented as well. The situation is not as bad as you imagine, or else a big brand like us would’ve been done for.”Ivanka did not get up. She only stared at the store manager. “Then show me what you think is good. We don’t have time to go through the designs one by one.”The store manager quickly walked over. She picked some wedding gown designs and displayed them on the screen.Ivanka browsed through them. The disappointment in her eyes only grew.The store manager was so anxious that she almost broke out in a cold sweat. She quickly said, “We have also received some new designs today. Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane, please have another look at them!”Both Barkworth’s Group and Lane’s Group were big clients. If she missed the chance to work with them, her supe
Ivanka did not expect Michael to be such a jerk!After all, Michael could easily ostracize her and force her out of Lane’s Group if he wanted to.But she could not let this guy find and take advantage of her weakness!Michael looked mockingly. “You got me in trouble multiple times, but I let it slide for grandma’s sake. If you keep testing my patience, I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine!”Ivanka was at a loss for words.She gritted her teeth. “Fine, I’ll do it! But you’ll be the one reaching out to them, right?”Michael said nothing.But Ivanka knew that he had agreed, so she wordlessly drove to the hotel.Now, the most important thing was to track down those designers.If she could win them over, she would not have to work with another bridal house.However, Michael seemed to be messing with her. The moment she arrived at the hotel and parked the car, he had already forwarded her the phone numbers of those designers.“Talk to them yourself.”With that, Michael got
Ivanka vowed to get back at Michael for this one day!But she had not figured out Michael’s weakness.She could not bring herself to hurt his family, because she, too, cared about some of them.Otherwise, much to her immense frustration, he seemed invulnerable!Ivanka inhaled and thought about her relationship with Michael. They had been hanging out together way too often.After a pause, Ivanka said, “Give me a moment. I’m going to call him again.”Evan felt a migraine setting in. Why would Mr. Barkworth let him handle things like this? Must he act as a messenger between this couple—no, divorced couple?“Ms. Lane, please don’t bother. Mr. Barkworth was very insistent, and he is busy right now. He told me that he won’t answer any calls.”Ivanka was speechless.Michael had basically meant that he would not answer Ivanka’s call.Unable to suppress her frustration, Ivanka took a deep breath. But Evan continued, “Ms. Lane, you must attend this banquet. Besides, there is a potentia
Before she took her first step, Michael gripped her arm. By the time she realized what happened, her arm was already firmly hooked around his.Worse still, everything seemed to happen so smoothly, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.Everyone thought that they were still a close, perfect match. They would have assumed that Ivanka had put her arm around Michael’s.Ivanka wanted to retract her arm, but Michael tightened his clutch. She did not even have a chance to struggle and wrench herself free.She turned to look at him with a smile on her lips. However, Michael heard her low, angry voice through her clenched teeth, “Michael Barkworth, what are you up to?”Michael’s lips curved slightly into a seemingly mocking smile.But he also appeared to be in a good mood.He turned his gaze on Ivanka and answered patiently, which was uncharacteristic of him, “I’m attending the banquet.”Ivanka was speechless.What a jerk!She inhaled deeply and tried her best to remain calm.It
If they had met before Ivanka divorced Michael, this man would have called her Mrs. Barkworth. However, now…He dared not do that. These two were already divorcees. He had no idea how to address her.But he really wanted to get on Ivanka’s good side. That was why he blurted out that name.Iris.Michael immediately frowned.This name frustrated and angered him, but it mostly made him feel remorse.Ivanka nodded with a smile. “Hello, Mr. Lloyd.”The look on Mr. Lloyd’s face was tense and awkward. He had called her by the wrong name. He should have just addressed her by her maiden name.However…He only remembered that Ivanka was called Iris at that moment. He had, in fact, failed to recall her maiden name.Seeing Michael’s expression, Mr. Lloyd panicked a little. He quickly turned to Michael and chuckled. “Mr. Barkworth, why have you decided to attend the banquet today? Since you’ve visited Springvale, I ought to play my part and host you. Are you free tomorrow? I’ll treat you
Ivanka had enough!However, Michael looked at her mockingly. “You don’t have the right to rest just yet. We haven’t finalized our cooperation.”“You talk to everyone who approaches you! We can barely talk about our f*cking collaboration!” She gritted her teeth.“Ivanka! Who told you to curse like that?” Michael’s expression darkened.She was speechless. She suddenly realized the difficulty of communicating with someone whose opinions completely differed from hers.She was trying to tell him to speed up the discussion and wrap it up quickly.But he, on the other hand, was fixated on her cursing.He must be nuts! She continued cursing him in her heart.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to control herself!Michael seemed determined to be at odds with her. He continued to chat with everyone around him. He appeared particularly talkative today.With others present, she saw an opportunity rise.Looking at them, she said with a smile, “Sorry to interrupt.”
Ivanka looked up. She saw a dignified, elegant woman in a white gown. Her long, brown, curly hair rested on her shoulders. She lowered her head as she looked down at Ivanka. The woman was very polite. She gestured to Ivanka to finish her call before chatting with her. Ivanka immediately stopped chatting with Sandy. She said, “Sandy, I’m at a banquet now. Let’s continue when I go home.” Sandy was a little surprised, but she did not ask further. “Alright. We’ll chat after the banquet.” Ivanka hung up. She stared at the regal woman before her as she asked, “Are you Ms. Tanya?” Mr. Cullen was the president of the largest corporation in Springvale. Tanya Cullen was his beloved daughter. Tanya was not surprised that Ivanka recognized her. She sat opposite Ivanka and said calmly, “Ms. Ivanka, I didn’t expect to bump into you at this banquet.” Tanya did not expect to run into Ivanka in this manner. Ivanka sized Tanya up. “Ms. Tanya, do you have any business with me?” Tanya sm
“To be honest, I’m most surprised that you divorced because of your cousin.” Ivanka’s lips twitched. Not everyone was aware of how important Chiara was to Michael. Regardless of what Tanya said to her, Ivanka no longer cared about Michael. Thus, she did not pay attention to the hidden meaning in Tanya’s words. Ivanka smiled wordlessly. Tanya sized her up. A hint of surprise darted across her eyes. Ivanka differed completely from what she had expected. Tanya paused for a moment before saying with a smile, “I hope you’re not my love rival.” Ivanka nodded casually. “Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t disgrace myself anymore. If you’re smart, you should be able to speculate why he openly brought me to this banquet.” Tanya had high social status and power. She was also a scheming woman. She naturally knew what Michael cared about the most. She also knew well about his background. Even without Ivanka pointing it out, Tanya should know why. As expected, Tanya nod