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.”
Lyla saw that Chiara had an incoming call and smiled. “Look. He’s calling you.”Chiara blushed. She whined in embarrassment, “Mom…”Lyla immediately chuckled. “Alright, I’ll stop. Answer the phone. I’ll leave you two to it.”She stood up with a smile and said nothing else. When the door swung shut, Chiara inhaled sharply and answered the phone nervously. Her nervousness was mainly due to her depleting contact with Michael and because Michael was no longer as patient as he was with her in the past. She did not dare act as willfully as before. “Mic? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”It was a little past 4 p.m., and it was a little more than one hour before he clocked off work. “How’s your recovery?” Michael’s voice remained as cool as before. Chiara smiled. “I’m about fully recovered. You don’t have to worry about me.”She always spoke considerately, just like this. It was all so that she could not give Michael any pressure. However, when they met, she would show him t
Another shareholder, Tom Ronson, hesitated for a moment and looked at everyone with a hint of resignation. He said, “Given the current situation, if Mr. Sadler refuses to budge, Ivanka is our only choice. I see no other options. Can you bear to give up such a lucrative business opportunity? Besides, we can only collaborate with Sadler’s Group on this project.Susan frowned and said disapprovingly, “Does it have to be Sadler’s Group? What about Barkworth’s Group? Couldn’t that be an option for us too?”Theodore was momentarily stunned before he turned to Susan, who looked at him with a serious expression. “Mr. Lane, our concern lies mainly in matters of interest. Currently, Ivanka clearly aims to take control of Lane’s Group. We cannot entrust the future of our group to a greenhorn like her.”Theodore nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Lane’s Group is in a delicate position now, and we are in a crucial period of expansion. We absolutely cannot afford any setbacks.”Susan nodded aga
Theodore paused momentarily before nodding. “Okay, I’ll talk to Chiara about this. If Mr. Barkworth needs us to contribute some funds, how much do you think we should contribute?”A heated discussion quickly erupted among the group.At that moment, Ivanka was still in her office. She was waiting for Aalto’s call.It was getting close to the end of the day.After a few minutes, Aalto sent her a message.Aalto: Ms. Ivanka, this is Aalto. Please meet me here after work.Ivanka texted back and put her phone down.Rebecca gazed at Ivanka with admiration. “Iv, are you working on the final project now?”Ivanka nodded. “Yes.”Rebecca’s lips curved into a smile. “How are you feeling this time? Are you confident?”Ivanka chuckled. “I don’t know. Let’s see how luck plays out.”“Don’t be modest. I’m looking forward to you creating another miracle. Everyone in our office is putting in extra effort because of your impressive achievements. Thanks to your influence, our team’s performance h
Chiara restrained her anger and smiled at Ivanka. “Iv, what are you doing here? And who is this?”Seeing Aalto’s face, Chiara was in a daze for a moment. It was as if her uncle had come back to life.Ivanka ignored the encounter. She simply turned to Aalto with a faint smile. “Sir, shall we go inside?”Aalto did not want to get involved in Ivanka’s personal affairs and simply nodded in agreement.The smile on Chiara’s face stiffened for a moment, but in the next instant, she could not help but sneer. Ivanka ignoring her was perfect. That would let Michael see how rude she really was.However, just as they took their first step, Michael suddenly spoke, “Mr. Aalto.”Chiara’s expression subtly changed. He...Aalto paused and turned to look at the person who spoke.“Mr. Barkworth, is there something you need?”Michael addressing Aalto as “Mr. Aalto” did not impose any pressure on Aalto.Aalto was a principled, headstrong man. Michael had previously gone to great lengths to recrui
Everyone knew that Michael only intervened on someone’s behalf when he had a reason.By assisting Aalto, Michael was essentially gaining a significant favor from him.His sharp and unique perspective could provide invaluable assistance to any company and eliminate any concerns.After Aalto rejected him several times, Ivanka finally felt a sense of relief.She wanted nothing to do with Michael.Michael glazed at Ivanka coldly but said nothing this time. Instead, he calmly suggested, “How about we talk about it after dinner?”Aalto was slightly surprised but after some consideration, he nodded, “All right, we’ll talk later then.”Chiara was speechless.She had originally planned to continue her date with Michael after dinner with a movie or something.Chiara felt like she was about to spit blood.Little did she know, Michael had never sincerely asked her out. He did everything with an ulterior motive. She was nothing more than his pawn.Aalto looked at Ivanka and smiled. “Youn
“Young lady, what do you want to eat?” Aalto showed a rare smile as he asked.Ivanka smiled back. “Anything is fine, sir. You decide.”“I’m buying you dinner. It’s not right for me to order. Look at the menu and tell me what you want.”With that, Aalto handed the menu to Ivanka, who, without further protest, chose a few dishes. Aalto added a couple more.The waiter noted their selections.Once the waiter left, Aalto got straight to the point. “So, you took the initiative to get close to me, and now you want me to treat you to a meal. I understand that you miss your father, but I assume there’s another motive?”Ivanka sighed. “There is a motive. I want to collaborate with you.”Aalto snorted and expressed an ‘I knew it’ expression.Ivanka smiled. “You might be more upset to know that you dislike this sort of project the most.”Aalto was speechless.Aalto squinted and looked at the young girl in front of him. He felt a little tongue-tied. “You’re joking with me, aren’t you?”“
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. If you were just an ordinary person, perhaps I’d chat with you casually. But who are you? You’re the elite lawyer, Iris. Every word I say might turn into evidence in your favor. What if you exploit it to your advantage?”Ivanka was speechless.Ivanka sighed resignedly. Aalto was on high alert. She sighed again. “Looks like no matter what I say, you won’t believe it.”Aalto responded briskly. “Just state your purpose. I won’t miss any of the five meals I promised you.”Ivanka sighed again. She was in no hurry and said, “Be a little patient. Let’s chat a bit more.”“Young lady, your approach is irritating me.”Since Aalto was being impatiently blunt, Ivanka shook her head. “I just want to discuss this proposal with you. If you refuse, I won’t bother you anymore. However, since you’ve invited me to five meals, that means you’ve given me a chance, right?”Aalto remained silent.Ivanka smiled. “Everyone has their own home and their own self-started