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
Michael was losing his cool again. He became increasingly frustrated and inhaled sharply to school his emotions, but he was failing. As he worked, his mind kept wandering. Bam!Michael slammed his fist against the table. The meeting room instantly fell silent, and the person who had been reporting his department’s progress turned pale. His hands trembled. Documents scattered all over the table. The sound of the papers falling on the table also made Michael realize that he was in a meeting. The person doing the report was close to tears. His legs trembled so badly that he lost his footing. The meeting room had a ghastly, frigid atmosphere, and he was about to faint because of it. Michael scowled and said coldly, “Continue.”The person doing the report trembled. Continue?!Wasn’t Michael displeased with what he said?With his face pale with fright, he said with a quivering voice, “I’m… already done.”Michael’s scowl deepened. After a brief pause, he said, “Repeat it.”
Ivanka frowned deeply. Michael was in a horrible state. He had been poisoned and suffered gunshots. He had a strong tolerance to medicine and pain. But it was his mental condition that caused him to fall into this state. Not being fully recovered also added to the burden. Ivanka gave him a white pill which she had formulated by herself. After that, she had the security guard carry Michael into her car. Then, she sent him to the hospital. They arrived at the emergency department. Xavier had finished attending to his patients. When he walked out of his office, he saw Michael being carried into the hospital. He then saw Ivanka beside Michael. Xavier frowned. His expression became tense, and he asked solemnly, “What’s happened to him?” “He’s weak and had previously been poisoned. Since you’re around, you can look after him.” Ivanka summarized Michael’s condition. After hearing Ivanka’s brief explanation, Xavier gave Michael a checklist and put him on a drip. After that,
Since Jonah had come to this and Ivanka was not an ungrateful person, she nodded and gave her word. “Jonah, I’ll give this my all. Don’t worry. As long as it’s within my ability, I’ll help you.” Jonah had to be bound to the wheelchair at the moment. Since Ivanka had shared a similar experience when she took over Lane’s Group back then, she naturally figured out how wolfish and greedy his adversaries would be. Jonah was injured because of her. She swore to give her all to save him from whatever crisis he was facing. Jonah took advantage of this and asked, “What time are you coming tomorrow? I’ll have my assistant get ready.” Ivanka thought for a moment. “Tomorrow afternoon.” She needed to manage her company affairs during the first half of the day. Jonah was content upon hearing her answer. “Good. I’ll wait for you tomorrow.” “Okay.” Ivanka nodded before hanging up. When she returned to her office, she did not expect to see Michael sitting on the couch. She nearly jum
There was only one possibility. Ivanka was calling somebody else. Michael wondered who could strike up such a long conversation with her. Sandy and Ivan had returned to the country. Ivanka’s besties were around her. Even if Ivanka deliberately approached Chiara, she could not possibly have so much to chat with Chiara. If Ivanka’s phone call was business related, there was no need to chat this long. Michael eliminated the possible reasons one by one. In the end, he thought of Jonah. Michael’s expression instantly turned as dark as thunderclouds. His gaze was dull and cold. Evan noticed it. He also saw the call record on Michael’s phone. Evan quickly persuaded Michael, “Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane could be tied up with her work, so she couldn’t answer your call. We could go to her workplace now.” Michael said nothing. He gave a cold glance at Evan. Evan got a shock. The next second, Michael turned around and left his office. Looking at Michael’s fading silhouette, Evan wi
It was why Ivanka still came for Jonah in spite of her unpleasant experience with Margaret in the hospital last time. Jonah had been injured because of Ivanka. She came for him only. The other people did not matter to her. Jonah’s heart sank upon hearing her words. His expression tensed up. He could imagine the indifferent look on Ivanka’s face right at that moment. She had that expression on her face simply because he was never really important to her. Jonah was upset precisely because of her indifference to him. He wanted to say something to her but did not know how to begin. He was also not in the position to say that. It did not take long before Ivanka’s gentle but rather indifferent voice rang in his ears, “Jonah, don’t worry. I’ll treat your legs until they recover. Don’t run into any conflicts with your mom because of me.” Her words pulled Jonah’s wandering mind back into the present moment. He felt a heavy weight on his heart. “Iv, I trust you. You don’t need to
Margaret became frustrated and grabbed Ivanka. She could not understand why Ivanka was fine while Jonah ended up in such a bad situation after the accident.Then, Jonah defended Ivanka. There was also all the talk about Ivanka’s treatment. Margaret was curious to see what kind of miracle medicine Ivanka could develop.In the end, Ivanka’s treatment did not work. Moreover, her relationship with Jonah, which had finally started to improve, was once again ruined because of Ivanka.Jonah scoffed. “Mom, I’m not an eight-year-old anymore. You’re saying all this because you want me to go along with your plans for an arranged date, right?”Margaret had not expected Jonah to guess her thoughts. She was about to insist on her point when Jonah spoke first. With a mocking smile, he said sarcastically, “Do you think anyone would date someone like me?”He had a point. But Laura might be one such person.However, Margaret did not like her. She would do anything to keep Laura from becoming her d
“That’s because you want him to fall in love with you!” Margaret snapped.Ivanka chuckled softly. Her tone was edged with sarcasm. “Love? Does it really matter that much?”Margaret felt humiliated and furious. She pointed a finger at Ivanka’s face with a hostile expression. “If it doesn’t matter, why are you doing all this? Stop pretending, Ivanka!”Ivanka let out a bitter laugh. “Pretending? What am I pretending for? Is being divorced a crime? Margaret, you’re a woman too. How would you feel if someone accused you like this?”She hoped Margaret would take a moment to reflect. After all, she was Jonah’s mother, and Ivanka did not want their conflict to escalate.But Margaret was unmoved. Her glare turned colder, sharper, and filled with hatred.“You think I’ll just let this go?” Margaret said sharply. “If it weren’t for you, Jonah wouldn’t be in this mess! I meant every word I said, and nothing will change that.”To her, Ivanka was nothing more than someone scheming to use Jonah
“Ivanka,” Margaret took a deep breath while trying to compose herself. When she looked at Ivanka again, her expression was calm. She said, “I don’t know how deep Jonah’s feelings for you run. What I fear most is that once he becomes fixated on you, that’s it. When he falls for someone, his heart won’t make room for anyone else. In that way, he’s just like his father.”Ivanka’s gaze wavered. She bit her lip and was unsure of what to say.“I beg you, don’t hurt Jonah anymore!” Margaret’s voice carried a note of desperation.Ivanka’s expression turned extremely complicated.There was a time when Jonah came to her only to use her. Back then, they were both using each other. It made things simple.But later, Jonah unexpectedly started talking about marriage. Perhaps it was to provoke Michael, or perhaps he simply wanted to keep her close because she was useful to him.At some point, though, it seemed Jonah had become serious about her. She could not pinpoint when it happened. Perhaps
Jonah frowned in clear disagreement, but he stayed silent. Ivanka’s confident smile reassured him and made him trust her.Eventually, he let go of her wrist.Ivanka noticed Margaret putting on her shoes. She quickly followed, stepping outside just as Margaret was about to get into her car“Margaret,” she called out.Margaret frowned slightly and stood still.Since Jonah had not come out with Ivanka, she decided she could spare a moment to speak with her.She turned and looked at Ivanka coldly.Ivanka softened her tone. “Let’s take a walk.”Margaret did not respond, but her silence was enough of an agreement.They walked slowly around the edge of the mansion. The surrounding area was all part of the Sadler family estate.Margaret suppressed her anger and glanced at Ivanka before speaking in a composed tone, “Alright. What do you want to say?”Ivanka met her gaze briefly before looking ahead and said, “Do you know what will happen if Jonah’s coughing continues?”Margaret’s he
Margaret glared at Ivanka and scoffed, “If there’s an issue, I’ll get another doctor to handle it. It’ll be anyone but you, Ivanka. Haven’t I made myself clear enough? I’ve told you this before.”She hated how Ivanka ignored her warnings and kept coming back to visit Jonah time and again. What if Jonah got too close to her and ended up ruining his reputation? If Jonah had not been here, Margaret would have been even harsher.Ivanka frowned as she met Margaret’s sharp gaze. “I’ve never tried to get close to Jonah like that. We’re just friends. I know I’m not good enough for him, so I’ve never even thought about it.”“You might not have, but he has!” Margaret snapped, raising her voice.“Mom!” Jonah’s expression darkened.Jonah was usually calm and polite. This was the first time Ivanka saw him looking so upset and was about to lose his temper.Ivanka’s eyes flickered with hesitation. She was unsure of what to say.Explaining Jonah’s coughing would do no good. Margaret would not