Theodore fell speechless. Ivanka was quick to deflect accountability. After all, Theodore and his group had long claimed Serene was more capable than Ivanka by multiple folds. Hence, if Serene failed, it was only normal for Ivanka to fail the task as well. Theodore seethed in fury. In the end, he held back his anger and nodded. “It’s okay as long as you give your best.” Ivanka nodded with a smile. “Okay.” With that, the meeting ended. Next, Ivanka headed to Sadler’s Group with a young, beautiful, and mature lady. At that moment, Serene drove the car while Ivanka sat in the passenger’s seat. Serene turned around and cast a glance at Ivanka. She faked a smile and said, “Ms. Lane, thank you for mediating between us.” Ivanka nodded. “I’m just doing my job. It’s all up to you whether you succeed.” Serene nodded in resignation. “Got it. I’ll do my best.” Serene knew that Ivanka would always have her guard up around her. Thus, Serene gave up on giving her any advice. M
Serene fell speechless. Judging from Jonah’s tone alone, she knew her presence was unnecessary. Jonah only had his eyes on Ivanka. He did not bother to glance at Serene. Serene had self-awareness. Even though she did not feel any sense of oppression surrounding Jonah, her breathing hitched. Before she came, she was rather confident of herself. At that moment, her knees shook in his regal presence. Meanwhile, Ivanka nodded and sat opposite him. Serene was stupefied. The duo got along very naturally. Serene sat beside Ivanka awkwardly. She looked at Jonah and said respectfully, “Hi, Mr. Sadler.” Jonah glanced at her coldly and nodded. After that, he turned to Ivanka. “What do you want for lunch? Do you want to have lunch together?” Ivanka fell speechless. Serene thought. “He’s ignoring me. Didn’t he notice me sitting right beside Ivanka?!” Ivanka’s lips twitched. “Let’s talk business first.” Jonah raised one of his eyebrows as he turned to Serene. “If Ivanka
Regardless, Jonah refused to listen to everything Serene said. He only wanted to date Ivanka. Ivanka tried to persuade him many times. Clearly, Jonah refused to agree to them. Instead, Serene thought that Jonah was a good-for-nothing b*stard who only wanted to collaborate with Ivanka. He did not seem to care about the profits. In the end, Serene gave up. It was noon. Ivanka took her bag and was about to leave. Jonah swiftly grabbed her wrist. “We agreed to have lunch together. Where are you going?” “I need to—” Before Ivanka finished speaking, Serene was no longer in the mood to stay around. She interrupted Ivanka. “I still have work to do. I’m leaving. Take your time.” This time, Jonah seemed content. He said to Serene pleasantly, “Safe journey.” Serene was speechless. This was Jonah’s first time looking at her squarely because she finally had some “sense”. Serene forced a smile as she nodded and turned around. Right after she turned around, her smile disappeared
Ivanka felt defeated. She nodded haltingly. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”Again, things ended up this way. Even so, they would form many partnerships in the future and would definitely spend several months together. It would not be odd to be seen with him.Jonah’s smile widened. “Let’s go check out the restaurant first, and we can go eat somewhere else if you don’t like it.”Ivanka remained silent. They walked out together. Jonah took her to the restaurant, which he had reserved as usual. When they ate together, he was a polite and considerate gentleman.Ivanka wondered for a split second if she was in a relationship with this man. If not, why would they always hang out like this?She knew that they might end up trending on Twitter again. So long as she continued keeping in contact with Jonah, things would never be simple.Also, she seemed to be used to this kind of life. Jonah figured she had something on her mind when he looked at her. He raised his eyebrows slightly, and he
“I won’t be going back yet. I have other things to do.”She needed to secure one last business partner. In any case, she had always intended to look for that person in the afternoon. Honestly, Scarlet was really “amazing” to have found so many cunning and tough people-in-charge. Naila was easier to negotiate with because she liked the proposal and it was to her tastes. She could even help her son with it, so they could negotiate about it. But the other business partner, Aalto Virtanen, was famously stubborn. He was already fifty years old and was part of the senior management in his company. He was famous for having good judgment, so he had countless business achievements and was headhunted by many companies, but he was never tempted and continued working for Hans Corporation. If he liked the proposal, then they did not need to negotiate any further. But if he did not, then Ivanka would not even have the chance to negotiate by saying that they could just look out for their
Aalto did not find anything strange with the sudden appearance of someone else beside him, nor did he check out who the person was. This was a recreational place. Plenty of people were willing to watch something fun to be entertained. Clearly, Aalto just treated Ivanka as someone who was here for some entertainment. Ivanka stood beside him in silence.Aalto seemed to be in high spirits. However, he did not win anything over the next eight rounds. The number of coins he had left was also only enough for him to play one last round. At the sight of Aalto’s stormy expression, Ivanka smiled. “Sir, should I help you play once? If I win, it’s your win. If I don’t, I’ll play for you another ten times. And I say I’m going to win. Do you believe me?”Ivanka’s confident and clear voice made Aalto turn around. When he saw Ivanka, he was amused. “You’re young, but you’re pretty arrogant, huh?”Ivanka smiled. “Want to let me try it?”Aalto shifted to the right and said in a relaxed man
Aalto was stunned. But after some thinking, he found that she made sense. If she was that skilled, those coins were meaningless to her. He looked at her. “What sort of bet do you want?”Ivanka thought about it for a moment before she smiled. “If I win, you owe me five meals.”Aalto was flabbergasted.He gave her a puzzled look. “Are you going to ask for a fancy meal?”Ivanka smiled. “That’s right. I haven’t had dinner yet. Do you have time for a meal later?”At that moment, Aalto finally observed Ivanka properly. Something was off about Ivanka. She had approached him with a goal in mind. “Girl, why are you here?”Ivanka smiled. “Sir, I just want you to treat me to five meals. Are you scared?”Based on what she understood of Aalto, he was easily provoked. Just as she expected, Aalto scoffed. “What a joke! Why should I be scared?”Ivanka smiled. “Good, then. If I lose, what do you want me to do?”Aalto narrowed his eyes. “If you lose, tell me why you approached me.”Ivank
Aalto instinctively looked down. When he saw the name on the business card, he was stunned. He looked at Ivanka. “You’re Ivanka Lane?!”Ivanka smiled. “The one and only.”“You’re the elite lawyer, Ivanka Lane?”Aalto regarded Ivanka with even more surprise. Knowing who she was now, Aalto grew certain that Ivanka had not lied. He did know that he resembled Ivanka’s father. “Since you came to me, then you should be here for that business cooperation.” Aalto exposed her goal. Ivanka smiled. “Sir, let’s eat first. We can talk about the business cooperation later.”Aalto did not know what Ivanka was planning, but he did pity her for losing her father at such a young age, so he nodded. “Alright. I’m going back to work now. I’ll call you once I clock off work.”“Alright. Thank you, Sir.” Ivanka looked grateful. However, when she looked at him, Ivanka felt her mind wander. She did not even know how she managed to stop herself from calling Aalto her father just now. At that m
“I deserve everything that’s happening to me now. But please don’t involve my family in my mistakes…” Ethan clasped his hands together and sincerely begged everyone to spare his family. Ivanka spared him a brief glance before turning off her cell phone. Although she was helping herself to some meat, Michael could see how she felt at the moment. “Why don’t we…” Michael asked for her opinion. But before he finished speaking, Ivanka interrupted him. “Now that he’s released a video like that, if I continue to hold him accountable, I’d be the one in the wrong.” Michael immediately replied, “I can step in—” “You? It’s better if you don’t. Everyone knows your relationship with me now.” Before Michael could finish his sentence, Ivanka immediately interrupted him. Although they were not officially remarried, Michael often went out with her. If anyone else were to see this, what difference did it make? Michael understood, but he really could not bear to see Ivanka getting bulli
After they finished taking pictures, Ivanka greeted everyone politely. “After finishing your meal, go home early. It’s snowing, so drive safely. Bye…” Ivanka subconsciously reminded them. She belatedly realized she had been acting as though she was really an idol. Nonetheless, she treated them with sincerity. She had not done this for Michael’s sake. She did this mostly for the sake of the innocent, inexperienced young ladies who had yet entered the society. These young ladies raised their phones warily and asked, “Could we take a picture together?” They were so worried that their invitation would be turned down, so much so that when they talked, they almost bit the skin off their lips. Ivanka could not bear to reject them. It had not been easy for her to finally reach the private room. Michael teased her, “Our celebrity finally arrived. It looks like you’d best wear shades wherever you go in the future.” Ivanka glared at him and said gruffly, “Stop teasing me.” She paused
After that, Ivanka politely bowed to the people who had been watching the drama in the main hall. She smiled at them. “Sorry for making a fool of ourselves. We encountered two tricksters who wanted to eat the meals for free by calling themselves the friends of the restaurant owners. It happened that I know the restaurant owner, so we easily uncovered their tricks.” By saying that, Ivanka was able to save the hot pot restaurant’s and the Barkworth family’s reputation. Her statement could result in a win-win situation, and the reason was acceptable. Ivanka continued, “Sorry for causing a stir and affecting your dining mood. I’ll foot the bill for everyone who dined on the first floor. How does that sound?” She was not trying to curry favor with the people or to show off her wealth. She simply did not want the people to hate the wealthy. One could not deny that this method worked. Right after Ivanka made her statement, the crowd thanked her. The commotion was no more than ju
The young lady did not know what to do, so she turned to the restaurant manager. The restaurant manager nodded in approval. It was only then that the young lady left the restaurant. Before she left, she glared at Coco. Coco glared back at the young lady and pointed at her viciously. Coco shouted, “Come back! I’m not done with you yet! Who permitted you to leave now?!” The young lady’s body shivered a little. Still, she gnashed her teeth and left. Ivanka watched the young lady’s back as she drifted away. Ivanka stood in Coco’s way because she did not want Coco to chase after the young lady. Ivanka did not want to make a big deal out of the situation. Otherwise, the Barkworth family would be the one who suffered disgrace. After all, Coco stayed in the Barkworth family’s mansion, and everyone knew that Rosie doted on her. If it continued, Ivanka was worried about Rosie’s later years… Ivanka rubbed her temples in resignation. It looked like she needed to resolve the issue as
The restaurant manager thought for a moment before saying, “Ms. Fishbourne, the restaurant has its own rules. Only three types of VIPs could reserve our private rooms while the rest could only enjoy normal seats. I have reasons to believe that our front desk told you the same when you called. We may not have empty seats now, but we’ll have one shortly after.” Coco recalled the situation and remembered that it was exactly like what the restaurant manager had mentioned. So what? Things have changed these days. Coco was no longer an ordinary woman. Her words could even move the earth. With that thought in her mind, Coco chuckled. She kept her tyranny and mockery to herself before locking her little finger with the young lady’s at the front desk. The young lady at the front desk looked down at her finger before glancing at the restaurant manager helplessly. The restaurant manager himself, too, was caught in trouble, so he could not do anything else to defend the young lady. C
Little did Coco know that her behavior was no more like a clown in the crowd’s eyes. Ivanka felt disgusted. Although she could not put herself in Coco’s shoes, she could understand the thoughts of a sensitive person. Ivanka could sympathize with a sensitive and cowardly person. But she could not find herself sympathizing with Coco. Coco’s low self-esteem should not be the reason for her to behave like a crook. Michael, on the other hand, already finished discussing with the restaurant manager and entering the private room. Ivanka lagged behind him. She had no intention of entertaining Coco, much less inviting her to eat together. No doubt that the private room was able to accommodate four people. But based on their relationship, Ivanka thought she had been kind enough to not find fault in Coco, much less eating together. Meanwhile, Coco continued to argue with the restaurant manager. She argued until her face reddened. Although the restaurant manager already made hims
The temperature was above freezing point, so the snowflakes melted before they even reached the ground. The trees were covered in snow. At a glance, they looked like a blanket of pristine snow. The big trees looked as if they had been covered in snow-white new clothes. Ivanka was a little surprised at such a scenery. Even though she often went for business trips in the north and had experienced snow, skied, and various other experiences, it was a rare sight to experience snow in their city. Instead of snow, they looked more like an ice sheet. The snow there was different from the cities in the north. They easily fell on their hair. In just a while, their hair turned snowy white. Ivanka took out her phone and took a photo. Then she shared it with her friends in her WhatsApp group. Meanwhile, Michael took photos of Ivanka. Michael hardly posted anything on Twitter. After a moment, he uploaded a photo of Ivanka taking photos of the scenery.The caption was: Experiencing
Michael glanced at Ivanka.Ivanka kept her eyes lowered and focused on nothing in particular. Both of them tacitly agreed not to bring it up.“Let’s go out to eat,” Michael said. Ivanka agreed without hesitation.If they got ready and left at this time, they would be just in time for lunch.She went upstairs to freshen up. Michael did not rush her. He just smiled, as if he was telling her to take her time.Ivanka felt a little embarrassed and touched the tip of her nose. Truthfully, she was the one in a hurry because she was the one starving.Five minutes later, she came back down.She had changed into a long black down coat that reached her ankles. It was practical and warm.But the weather was still unbearably cold. This winter was harsher than usual.“Let’s go.” She rubbed her hands together and looked at Michael.Michael was on his phone. He was smiling and looked relaxed. With just a glance, Ivanka could tell he was probably making a reservation.Their long-standing
Ivanka slept in the next day. By the time she woke up, the sun was already streaming through the window, casting light across her bed and face.In a way, the sunlight had forced her awake.She frowned slightly before slowly opening her eyes. The brightness left spots in her vision, so she instinctively raised a hand to shield herself before getting out of bed.It was already past 10 a.m.She had no idea how she managed to sleep so much, especially after napping all afternoon the day before.Then again, maybe she was just that exhausted. So much had been going on lately.Fortunately, it was Saturday, so she did not have to go to the office.That was probably why her internal clock had not woken her at seven as usual.Come to think of it, her body’s internal clock was quite accommodating.On workdays, no matter how tired she was, she always woke up at seven sharp. But on weekends, that never happened. She could sleep in as much as she wanted, which was pretty great.She lay in