The next moment, Michael suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. His expression turned even grimmer.What was he thinking just now?Why did he keep thinking about Ivanka?“Mic...”Concerned, Chiara looked at him. “Are you feeling unwell? Should we go back?”Michael would see Ivanka again later. He was going to discuss something with Aalto. She did not want to give them any more opportunities to spend time together. She was getting scared.Michael restrained his emotions and looked at her indifferently. “Eat up. These are your favorite dishes.”Chiara was speechless.Even if the dishes were her favorites, she needed to be in a good mood to enjoy them. Why was he being like this?He was thinking about another woman while they were on a date. Who could stand that?After a pause, she sighed and said, “Mic, something has been off with you recently. Is it because I…”She bit her lip, lowered her head slightly, and acted nervously flustered.She acted like she could not finish her s
Michael merely nodded lightly, rose, and headed for the door.Chiara followed him immediately.Regardless of how resentful she felt, she still wanted to stay by his side for her ease of mind.They barely touched the food they had ordered.Because of Ivanka, Michael lost his appetite, and Chiara lost hers because of Michael.Soon, the two of them arrived at Aalto’s private dining room.However, Michael did not see Ivanka there.Chiara was surprised as well. She asked with confusion, “Mr. Aalto, my cousin… has left?”“Yeah,” Aalto answered casually.There was a slight, imperceivable furrow in Michael’s brows.Ivanka had already left. Chiara was in a terrible mood. She no longer wanted to stay. She immediately said to Michael, “If that’s the case, Mic, I shall head back too.”“Sure.” Michael did not even bother glancing at her.Chiara inhaled slightly and left.The night wind seemed to be stronger than during the day. Her hair fluttered wildly in the wind. Chiara combed it wi
Hanson’s voice was sorrowful.“Iv, are you going to say yes to him?”Ivanka was puzzled.“Hanson, are you drunk?”Hanson sounded quite different from his usual gentle and elegant self.“Iv, answer me. Do you… like Jonah?”Ivanka was startled. She neither liked Jonah nor planned to say yes to him.However…Seeing Hanson like this, Ivanka thought that she might have to lie.After a pause, she said hesitantly, “Yes.”Hanson’s heart throbbed with pain.When Hanson learned that Jonah was openly wooing Ivanka, he was rather upset. But he assumed that she was recently divorced and was still recovering from a broken heart. There was no way she would say yes to Jonah, so Hansan let it slide.But now, he watched Ivanka and Jonah interact and appear together before him again and again. He kept seeing them trending on Twitter, and everyone said that they were a match made in heaven. As Hanson witnessed all these, he started panicking.Presently, Ivanka had even agreed to work with Jon
The man stared at her with a small grin. His starry eyes were dazzling in the dark of the night.Ivanka’s eyes flew open.But she could not be bothered with him at the moment, because a gasp sounded from her phone speaker.“Iv… You always know how to upset me. How could you shatter my heart?”Ivanka looked guilty. She inhaled deeply and said in a rush, “I have something else to attend to, so I’ll have to hang up. Don’t drink too much. Head home early and get some rest.”With that, she hung up.The other man’s grin only grew wider.“Iv, I heard everything.”Ivanka went pale a little. “Please don’t get the wrong idea. I-I just used you as an excuse to turn him down.”Jonah’s starry eyes looked gleeful. He took a step closer to Ivanka. “Oh, is that right?”Terrified, Ivanka quickly backed away and changed the topic. “Why are you here? Are you here for business?”Jonah chuckled and stared at Ivanka gently. “I knew someone liked me, so I rushed here to hear it myself.”Ivanka se
Chiara blinked in disbelief. They had not eaten much during dinnertime. Now he was going to send her home?But it made sense. Had she not waited at the junction and suddenly intercepted him, they would have parted ways already. He would not even drive her home. She should not ask for too much.Chiara could only nod obediently. “Alright, but I have something to tell you. It’s about the company’s business.”Michael turned to her. She had not moved a step. He said flatly, “Are we going to talk here?”Chiara’s expression changed slightly. She snapped out of her reverie and sheepishly said, “Let’s… talk in the car.”Michael wordlessly walked on.Confused, Ivanka looked at Jonah. “Is this the show you are referring to?” But the two of them were already approaching the car. Ivanka and Jonah would not be able to see anything.Jonah smiled faintly. He spoke softly. “They are getting into Chiara’s car.”Ivanka blinked in astonishment. Jonah would not be able to install any bugs in Michae
Michael had not heard it, but it did not mean that he was oblivious.As he read through the entire proposal, he could tell that it was Ivanka’s style. She had written it herself.At that moment, he was shocked and filled with disbelief.After Chiara told him everything, she finally sighed in relief.She looked at Michael carefully and said in a low voice, “I… I have no other way. The company executives think that Iv is inexperienced and unable to handle this project. But Mr. Sadler… Perhaps he likes her too much and intends to pursue her through their partnership. There is no way our company will let Iv ruin her reputation or get embroiled in scandals, so… considering the current situation, I want to ask you…”Chiara could not continue.Why would her father make her approach Michael with this matter?Why would he give her the proposal?When she was heading out, she had planned to leave for good. But her father’s assistant came to her and handed over this proposal along with his
“So… everyone just left her be and let her handle the work herself. I didn’t expect her to be so impressive. She managed to make these plans work.”In spite of Chiara’s reluctance, she had no choice but to say it aloud at this point.Besides, it was an open secret. Michael would surely find out.Michael remained silent.Panicked, Chiara continued, “You can tell from the requirements on the contract that the executives were meant to put Ivanka at a disadvantage. They demanded Sadler’s Group to be the sole source of funding, and it wasn’t a small number either. Everyone thought it was impossible, but who would have thought that…”She could not continue.But she had said all these things on purpose, and it was all she could do.Now, she would see if Michael would accept this proposal and put someone more experienced in charge.Michael narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Chiara. “So, you want me to take over the project and remove Ivanka. Then replace her with someone more exp
“It’s up to you from now on, Iv. Both of us want you, but who will you choose?” The smile on Jonah’s lips was bewitching. There was even a hint of delight in his eyes, which she had not seen before. Ivanka had a faint smile on her face. “You already know the answer, Mr. Sadler.”Jonah laughed. “But I still want to hear more words of approval from you. Just like…”As he spoke, he suddenly leaned toward her and said in a gentle voice, “When you were on the phone with someone else just now.”Ivanka’s expression changed slightly, and she immediately backed away.She turned around. The lights in Chiara’s car had gone off. Michael had already driven off. Ivanka quickly said, “They left. I should be going too.”“I’ll drive you.”When Chiara’s car disappeared from view, Ivanka immediately opened the car door and said flatly, “That won’t be necessary. My car is right here.”With that, she got out of the car. Jonah did not stop her. As he watched her stride away quickly, he said in a so