Of course, Tanya did not intend to learn more. The question was perfunctory, and she simply wanted to start a topic with it.She nodded in reply. Seeing how calm and distant Ivanka was, Tanya knew that she was drawing boundaries between them and did not plan to make friends.Certainly, it would be awkward if they became friends.Everyone knew that she fancied Michael, and that Ivanka was his ex-wife. Also, the both of them were still involved with each other.Tanya suppressed the conflicting emotions in her heart. She looked at Ivanka and said, “Actually, I asked you over because I just wanted to chat. We won’t talk about work, so you don’t have to be so guarded.”Ivanka raised her brows. “Ms. Cullen, I trust that you won’t cross the line when it comes to business. I never intend to keep my guard up in front of you.”She did not know what Tanya wanted to do, but she did not trust her in the slightest. Naturally, she would be wary of her.Tanya sighed resignedly. “I actually just
Ivanka sat with her back facing that door’s direction, so she did not see the newly arrived customers. Meanwhile, Tanya kept her head down, as if she was pondering over something.Neither of them had noticed the two figures at the door.But those two people spotted Tanya and Ivanka seated opposite each other right away.Ivan was amused. He pointed to them. “Look who I’ve just seen?”Michael pressed his lips together. Naturally, he had seen what Ivan saw.Ivan smiled. “Why don’t we share a table with them?”Michael immediately frowned. He disliked butting in on the women’s conversation. It was ungentlemanly.But even with this thought in mind, he did not move. His instinct obeyed his desire, as if waited for Ivan to talk him into it.Ivan was speechless. He forced a faint smile. Michael always managed to drive him speechless. Ignoring his friend, Ivan made a beeline in Tanya and Ivanka’s direction.“Hey, what a coincidence. I didn’t think we’d run into each other here?”Ivan
When Ivan noticed Michael sulking again, he immediately said, “Why are you two here? I never saw you interacting with each other before. Are you going to collaborate?”A strange emotion glimmered in Tanya’s eyes, and she smiled. “If so, I would’ve booked a private room. I used to stay in another city, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to Ms. Lane. I admire her very much.”After all, Tanya was the heiress of the Cullen family. The Cullens’ influence could even rival that of Barkworth’s Group. Like Michael, she was the future head of the family. Therefore when she spoke, she would place herself in a higher position and put the other party down.She said she admired Ivanka. It did not mean that Tanya liked her and wanted to be her friend. Tanya was not buttering her up. She was patronizing Ivanka.Her status and influence allowed her to do this. As she spoke, her every word and expression had not implied that she was putting Ivanka down. She was composed and at ease.Ivanka smiled fa
Ivan was speechless.Meanwhile, the tense scowl on Michael’s face eased up a little.He picked up his spoon and ate silently.When he had not said a word all this while, Tanya felt like a clown for no reason. She finally managed to dine with him, yet it was all thanks to Ivanka.But she was never a schemer. As someone who ran a company for years, she always saw the bigger picture. Therefore, she hid her emotions and said with a chuckle, “Mr. Barkworth.”Michael eventually looked at her.He said nothing and waited for her to continue.Tanya paused and then said with a smile, “You and Ms. Lane are collaborating lately. I wonder if you can free up some time to collaborate with Cullen’s Group? There are two excellent projects I’d like you to have a look at.”Michael glanced at Ivanka from the periphery of his vision. Cold glints flashed in his eyes.Then, he nodded expressionlessly. “Sure.”Tanya was a little surprised. She did not think that Michael would agree to it so easily.
After a moment of hesitation, Tanya suddenly thought of something and smiled. “Why don’t you drive my car? I’ll get a lift from Ms. Lane. After all, I’m going to Barkworth’s Group as well.Ivan was speechless.Tanya was really something!With this suggestion, she could keep Michael away from Ivanka without forcing herself between them and painting herself in a bad light.However, Michael would not want this. Her suggestion might displease him.Ivan glanced at Michael from the corner of his eye and saw his friend’s face darken. Amused, Ivan grinned.“Hahaha… How could we do that? I’ll call the driver here instead.”Tanya was stunned.When it came to putting her in an awkward position, Ivan surely did it without hesitation.But she knew Michael would not want to take her offer.Oftentimes, Ivan spoke for him.Tanya smiled. “Alright then.”The men had turned down her offer. Considering that she and Michael were not even close, she should take a step back instead of pushing it.
One day, Michael would stay by her side and treat her gently.No one would ever take her place again!With that thought, Tanya got into her car with her eyes downcast. Soon, Ivanka also arrived in her car.As she approached the driver’s side, Ivan ran over and opened the car door. He smiled at Ivanka. “I’ll drive! It wouldn’t be right for you to drive when we’re carpooling with your car. Let me take care of that.”Ivanka was speechless. Since when did she let them carpool with her?However, Ivan did not give her a chance to say anything. He immediately got into the driver’s seat. Ivanka frowned and went to sit in the back seat.To her surprise, Michael walked over and joined her by sitting opposite her.Ivanka frowned. She had chosen the back seat for its proximity to the driver’s seat and had no intention of sitting in the passenger seat because she had noticed Michael heading in that direction earlier.However, he ended up taking the seat opposite her. She was annoy
Michael glared at her as he said coldly, “Ivanka, can you just think before you speak?”He was livid.Ivanka frowned and looked at him in puzzlement. “I didn’t say anything wrong, did I? Let me go!”He did not loosen his grip on her chin, but he did not hurt her too much either. He thought this slight discomfort would make her come back to her senses. She needed to realize what foolish things she had just said earlier.Ivan had been a chatterbox a while ago. At that very moment, he just wanted to drive in silence.There were only Ivanka and Michael in the backseat.Michael felt a strong urge to rip Ivanka’s heart out to see if she truly had one. How could she say something so ruthless?He huffed as he gritted his teeth, “You didn’t say anything wrong? What you said was way out of line!”“Who’s really out of line here?!”He disrupted her whole life and always found ways to interfere despite her repeated requests for him not to. Why did he hate her so much? She had moved on from
Ivan was shocked when he heard this.Was that lunatic out of his mind?How dare he say such things!He had feelings for Ivanka, yet he adamantly denied them and chose to utter such hurtful words instead!Why? Why would he do that?!Ivanka’s face turned pale. She was completely taken aback by Michael’s words.The next moment, she could not help but laugh, “Yeah, I don’t deserve it. I know that. That’s why I’ve been keeping my distance from you.”She no longer wanted to talk to him. Words could not express how annoyed she was at him.Michael’s expression changed as he spoke those words. It seemed as though they had slipped out without much thought.When he noticed Ivanka’s pale face, he pursed his lips and turned away without a word.Ivan, who was still driving, could feel the awkwardness in the air and couldn’t stand being there any longer.He cleared his throat and quickly intervened for Michael’s sake, “Come on, you two! What’s the big fuss about? It’s not that serious! Mic