Ivanka hesitated for a while before picking up. Before she said anything, Michael said in a bone-chilling voice, “Why did you see him during this period of time?” Ivanka’s eyes flickered with some emotions. She could not help but sigh to herself. “This was due to my negligence. I’ll be more careful next time.” Michael’s expression was extremely dark. Although Ivanka did not see his grim expression, she could guess it. “Everyone is suspecting you. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?” “You don’t trust me?” Ivanka did not sound as if she was in disbelief. Instead, she asked calmly. It was not like she had to make Michael believe in her. Michael’s expression darkened, and he scoffed. “Why should I?” Ivanka was speechless. He was right. It was only normal for everyone to suspect her in this case. If she had not been directly involved in this, she would probably suspect herself too. When Michael did not hear her response, he seethed in fury. Whether he trusted
The owner of the cute, young girl’s voice immediately sneered. Chiara frowned. She did not really like the laughter, but she did not question it. After all, Chiara knew just well just who was the boss here. Before she could dwell on it, the owner scoffed again. “If Michael was so easy to deal with, why would I still put so much energy and focus on him?” Chiara pursed her lips and went silent. After all, the other person was right. If they were suspicious just because of this one incident, their reasoning was flawed. She would also be spared the effort to sow discord among them. “So, what’s next?” “This time, everyone suspected Ivanka, but Michael’s trust did not waver. Still, if it could happen once, it’ll happen again.” Chiara immediately said in surprise, “You intend to crack it the second time?” Chiara was not questioning her methods with this, but she was surprised that the other party had someone so capable. They could even decode Barkworth’s Group’s secrets a
This current situation made her feel terrible. She felt very annoyed at being used. However, no matter what happened, they both wanted the same thing. There was no telling who was using who. When she thought of it this way, she felt a lot better. … For five consecutive days, everything was peaceful. However, on the sixth day, there was a ruckus in Barkworth’s Group. This time, everyone in the IT Department seemed even more panicked. Evan swiftly reported this matter to Michael. Michael’s expression immediately turned exceptionally chilling. However, this time, the other party did not seem to manage hacking through. The IT Department’s staff looked terrified. However, when Michael was not around, they still could not help but silently discuss it in places out of earshot. “I have a feeling something is not right,” a plump man said after looking around and scratching his ear. Those glowing, shifty eyes told of his hesitancy to participate in the gossip.
Barkworth’s Group’s fiasco had surprisingly spread again. The thin man was really good with his tongue. He simply added on to what the plump man said and repeated it multiple times over. The more he talked about it, the better he was at spreading it. He could recite the story like it was a love and grudge-filled epic. Everyone’s opinion of Ivanka was getting worse by the day. Everyone was talking about her. It almost seemed like the entire Barkworth’s Group could not tolerate Ivanka anymore. For these past few days, Ivanka had not once defended herself in regards to the ruckus at all. Seeing that the new program was about to get cracked, Michael wrote a new program to replace it. It was only then that the hacker stopped. The IT department had obviously come up with new deductions about Michael’s action as well. “Is Mr. Barkworth suspicious of Ivanka as well?” “I think so. Otherwise, why didn’t Mr. Barkworth write the program with Ivanka this time? Ivanka is also high
After being by Michael’s side for a long time, there were times when he could guess some of Michael’s reactions. At that moment, everyone looked at Ivanka. The woman who had just spoken said in a deep voice, “Ms. Ivanka, do you have anything to say for yourself in this matter?” Michael did not say a single word. In the past, Michael would definitely not allow these people to say anything. But Michael just looked at Ivanka indifferently. He wanted Ivanka to speak for herself. Since she did not want to offer an explanation, he was going to force her to give one. The conference room suddenly became silent. It was obvious that everyone was waiting for Ivanka’s response. Ivanka paid no attention to Michael’s actions. Her gaze fell on the attendees. “All of you are the executives of Barkworth’s Group. I imagine you’ve been heavily tested to be able to come in and work here. All of you should know individuals can’t just speak without any proof.” The attendees were dumbstruck
Ivanka’s expression was indifferent as she looked at the girl who spoke and said calmly, “You can speak, but you’ll have to bear the consequences of your words.” Many people looked at Ivanka with immense dissatisfaction. Did she think that being a lawyer made her superior to them all? She was even specifically threatening people with what she was good at. The nerve! Ms. Lynch glared at her. “Ms. Ivanka, we’re just discussing this matter within the company. There’s no need for talks of legal actions for this. We just want you to explain yourself about this. If you can’t defend yourself…” Ms. Lynch left her statement hanging. The attendees tensed, and some were inexplicably excited. They wanted her to say all these words. Ivanka’s relationship with Michael had already made some girls who liked Michael jealous. Although Michael was not a celebrity, people treated him as an object of affection. Sometimes, if their idol had a girlfriend, many girls would get very upset. Some m
After Ivanka finished talking, she had no intention to say anything else. Her implications were clear. Michael frowned. His expression grew increasingly sullen. He stared at Ivanka. Then, he finally spoke in front of everyone. “Why do you think I should believe you?” Ms. Lynch was a bit shocked. The employees in the conference room were also surprised. But the next moment, everyone was happy! If Michael questioned Ivanka like this, then it proved that Michael was also suspicious of Ivanka. It would be even harder for Ivanka to stay in this company! That was good for them!Ms. Lynch’s mood was so much better. Her confidence was no longer faltering like before. Instead, she looked at Ivanka and sneered. “Ms. Ivanka, the best thing to do now is to explain yourself properly. If you continue to keep being stubborn and acting holier-than-thou, then this might not end well for you.” If not for the fact that this was not the right place to do so, she wanted to just say, “Stop
All the previous efforts to ease tensions were completely shattered by Ivanka’s words.Yet, Ivanka remained unaware of what was in Michael’s mind. She simply said calmly, “Do you all accept this explanation?”The crowd remained silent.The explanation was utterly flawless. It left no room for rebuttal.Michael gave off such a grim and bone-chilling glare that it sent shivers down the spines of everyone in the conference room.To whom was Michael’s fury directed toward?Was he displeased with Ivanka, or enraged by their targeting of her?As everyone squirmed in anxiety, Michael suddenly spoke in a deep voice, “Carry on with the meeting.”The crowd felt speechless.They finally realized at the moment. Michael believed Ivanka and chose to keep her.Their prior words were like waving a red cloth in front of a raging bull. Michael was upset!They remained on edge until the end of the meeting. It was not until Michael had left for quite some time that they were able to breathe a s
Instead, she remained standing in front of Jimothy and studied the group of men with a smile.“He works at our company. Since I’ve run into him, I’m obligated to come over and check on him. Pray tell, what has happened between you and why do you feel the need to resolve it with violence?”Jimothy stared at Candice while she stood with her back facing him. The look in his eyes was conflicted.The men exchanged glances with each other and saw a hint of astonishment in one another’s eyes.The man at the front of the group, who was likely their leader, said, “We just get paid to do this, lady. You should stay out of it.”When Candice heard his advice which also sounded like a threat, she did not intend to back down at all. Instead, she asked him, “Oh? How much did you get for this? I’ll pay you double. I just told you that this guy works for us, so I have to intervene.”The leader started laughing, and so did the men behind him. They did not even bother to hide the mockery in their t
Candice ordered some food she liked, and the dishes arrived soon after.Sandy suggested that they all took a picture together.The others did not object.Sandy gave her phone to the waiter.Then the five of them moved their chairs to sit in a row.Michael and Ivan each took the outermost seats.Naturally, Ivanka was seated next to Michael while Sandy, who paid for the dinner, was right beside her.Next to Sandy was Candice, who sat awkwardly in her chair. Ivan was beside Candice.The second the waiter took the picture, Ivanka and Michael exchanged glances inadvertently. Meanwhile, Ivan stared past Candice, and his eyes fell on Sandy.Sandy and Candice were the only people who looked into the camera.But each and every one of them had a genuine smile on their face.Once they had taken a picture, they started eating together.It was a nice, relaxing dinner. They did not talk about work or how annoying Coco had been.They mostly chatted about the fun anecdotes they had he
The call was soon answered, but the person who picked up was not Rosie. It was Mrs. Ruth.“Ms. Lane, you finally called! Mdm. Barkworth will be over the moon when she wakes up!” Mrs. Ruth sounded quite excited as she spoke.Ivanka smiled and asked, “Is Grandma resting now?”“Yeah, she hasn’t had a good rest after learning that you’d be kidnapped. Once you were safe, she finally allowed herself to rest.”Ivanka nodded and told Mrs. Ruth to take good care of Rosie. She later said that she and Micheal would visit Rosie soon.With that, she hung up the phone.Meanwhile, she also reflected upon herself.Rosie had gotten old, yet Ivanka always made her worry. From that moment on, Ivanka would consider the consequences before making any decision. It was not only for the sake of herself, but the important people in her life, who also cared about her.As she contemplated this, Ivanka inevitably thought of the gathering. It would be quite fun.Before they were about to get off work, San
Coco practically ran out crying.Candice glanced at Ivanka worriedly and asked, “Will something bad happen to her?”Ivanka was not concerned at all. “What could possibly happen? She is an adult. Even if something bad happens, she has to bear the consequences of her own action.”Hearing that, Candice no longer fretted over the matter.She was not really worried about Coco. She was just afraid that something would happen to Coco, and Ivanka would be blamed for it.But Ivanka had made a good point. Candice did not want to trouble herself with Coco’s matters. It would only be an unnecessary emotional burden to her.Everyone in the office began discussing the progress of their project.Perhaps it was because Ivanka had made an example of Coco, the other employees became especially energized and diligent during their discussion.They were even more focused than before, since they were all afraid that Ivanka would treat them harshly as well.Hence, they were particularly efficient.
“Why don’t we leave now so that you can deal with this matter, Ms. Ivanka?”The director of the project department, who was perceptive and shrewd, planned to leave right then. Ivanka shook her head and signaled everyone to sit down.They were all uneasy, and they kept giving Coco weird looks.Two people had dared speak to Ivanka like that in the past—Ferris and Mandy.But those two were no longer with the company.At the thought of those people, the project department staff began looking at Coco with pity.However, Coco could not care less. All she wanted was to make a fuss.She wanted to see how shameless Ivanka could be.Unruffled, Ivanka stared at her. She did not get angry and seemed rather affable as she asked, “Tell me what upset you. Have we falsely accused you of something you didn’t do?”Before Coco said anything, Ivanka added cruelly, “Oh, I forgot that you aren’t familiar with the protocol here, so you have no idea what you did wrong, right?”Coco paled. Undoubte
Candice was momentarily stunned by his answer. She was a little offended.“Then why did you come to my office for this conversation?” Jimothy’s grin was mischievous. “To prove your company’s HR is blind, and you just lost a great talent. That’s all.”With that, Jimothy stood up, dusted off his sleeves dramatically, and turned to leave.“Your resume!” Candice called after him.Jimothy waved dismissively without looking back. “Keep it. Enjoy reading it. And don’t let an incompetent HR handle your interviews again.”Candice stood there for a moment and processed the scene before an involuntary chuckle escaped her lips. This one had personality.Regardless, the incident served as a wake-up call for Candice.It became glaringly clear that Coco was not only incompetent but also prone to overestimating her abilities.Before the task was assigned, she had the chance to decline. Candice had given her the opportunity and explicitly asked if she could handle it. Yet, Coco confidentl
The college student finally believed her and walked toward Candice.On the other hand, Coco seemed guilty and was desperate to prevent it. “He has no respect for our company! Are you really going to hire someone like him who won’t follow orders?” Coco’s tone was sharp. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the young man.She scanned the room for backup in hopes that the people who had been flattering her earlier would speak up in her defense.Unfortunately, no one stepped forward.Those who flattered Coco only did so out of respect for Ivanka. Yet Candice had a close relationship with Ivanka and was the company’s vice president.The gap between a vice president versus an intern was as vast as night and day.Anyone with common sense knew where to align themselves.Coco felt a mix of despair and resentment.Candice ignored her entirely. Why Ivanka was so wary of someone as clueless as this was beyond her comprehension.Coco was simply dumb.Without wasting another thought o
However, reality proved she had worried for nothing.Candice had called her over merely to ask if she had the most basic professional knowledge and whether she could handle the afternoon’s interview.Coco let out a deep sigh of relief before patting her chest confidently and assuring Candice she was more than capable.Knowing Coco came from the mountains, Candice was naturally skeptical, so she asked again, “Are you sure?”Coco thought to herself that it was just an interview. All she needed to do was just ask the candidates some questions. They could just choose someone who wrote the resume well.Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Michael’s cousin, Coco pretended to be confident and accepted the task.Candice was half-doubtful, yet she still gave her instructions and let her go.However, Coco’s firm assurance eventually led to trouble....“Your company must be a joke to hire someone like you for HR. You’re offended? You’re not even a real professional. What? You ca
Word quickly spread within the HR department. After learning about Coco’s connection to Ivanka, some colleagues were vying to curry favor with her.Although some observant individuals noticed that the relationship between Coco and Ivanka was not as harmonious as it seemed, it did not deter the opportunists. Relentless flattery and attention poured in.One moment, a male coworker would offer to grab her food while placing his own lunch order. Next, a female coworker would ask if she wanted to order some coffee too.At first, Coco was caught off guard and politely declined. However, as she realized their intentions were purely self-serving, she began to accept their gestures without hesitation.By midday, Coco had become the department’s little queen. Ironically, as an intern, she should have been the one fetching coffee, running errands and collecting mail. Instead, she had colleagues practically lining up to do those tasks for her.Coco quickly assembled her own little e