After wrapping up the phone call, the coordinator anxiously approached the man in a suit and spoke in a careful voice, “Mr. Roland, Miss Houston’s secretary just called me and asked why we chose Isabel to represent our brand in this exhibition. She’s threatening to restrict us from the Southboro market.” Even after hearing this, Roland’s expression barely changed. After a moment, he said with complete disinterest, "Tell her that she’s free to leave if she’s not enjoying the show.” The coordinator was just as irked by Clarice's attitude, but he was in a delicate position. “Well, she’s still Miss Houston at the end of the day. Is there any way we can handle this better?” "No, tell her exactly what I said.” The coordinator said in a giddy voice, “Sure, I'll get back to her secretary right now." Roland had built up the brand from the ground up and set up branches all over the world. Without exaggeration, their brand was a world-class brand. The Houstons may be very infl
The coordinator said generously, “Give them to me. I’ll pack them up for you. You don’t have to pay for them.” Isabel smiled appreciatively. "Thank you for the offer, but it’s alright. I don’t mind buying them.” There was no clause stating that they would be giving her free jewelry in the contract they had signed. Besides, the pay was already more than generous. The coordinator would not have it. “You’re very kind, Miss Isabel, but please let us do this for you. You’ve done a terrific job for us, and it’s only right we give you some gifts as a nice gesture.” Isabel stood her ground. "You’re just an employee like everyone else here. What if your boss finds out that you’re giving away freebies? It would not be a good look for you.” The coordinator made a look and promptly responded, “Thank you for your concern, but it was our boss who insisted on inviting you here. You might not know this, but our boss is a big fan of yours and loves your work. He will be more than happy t
Isabel cringed. Had he been stalking behind her the entire time? What was the meaning of this? He was toying with her! She felt a swell of fury rise up in her chest. “Then, why didn’t you say anything?!” Roland looked like he wanted to say something, but he decided against it. He wanted to explain, but he realized that he did not know how to explain it in concise terms and gave up on the idea. Besides, they had already broken up, so there was no point explaining anyway. Isabel grunted and folded her arms across her body. She asked sharply, "What are you doing here?" Roland said nonchalantly, “I came here with a client to see the exhibition." He came to see the exhibition with a client? Isabel eyed him suspiciously. Then again, most of the attendees were rich folks, so it did make sense that his clients would want to attend a jewelry exhibition. She dropped the subject and continued interrogating him, "Why did you hide when you saw me?" He remained si
Isabel remarked casually, “I’m heading to the beach for a quick walk. You don’t have to come with me.” She only wanted some alone time to clear her head. Besides, she did not want to interrupt Carla who was immersed in watching her favorite show. After she threw on her usual disguise of a mask and a hat, she made her way to the beach. Most of the people at the beach at this hour were young people, many of them in pairs. Isabel felt a little self-conscious when she saw all the lovebirds around her. She strolled along the beach for a while until she reached a distant part where there was nobody around. Then, she proceeded to sit on the sand. While she was losing herself in the gentle sea breeze, a black sack was suddenly thrown over her head, catching her completely off guard. She felt her arms seized from behind as well, immobilizing her within seconds. She was frightened by the sudden assault, and her first instinct was to resist. Soon, she felt herself carried in
Creak. The door opened, inviting a gentle gust of sea breeze into the car. Isabel shivered from the cold and yelped, "I'm not involved with Decker. He kidnapped me.” There was no response. Soon, she felt the gentle touch of two hands placed on her. One of the man’s arms wrapped around the back of her neck and gently tugged her upward. The other arm wrapped around from under her legs. She held her breath. Just like that, she was swiftly and gently carried out of the car. She could hear the sound of the sea breeze and traffic passing through the highway. Soon, she could even hear the voices of beach-goers talking and laughing. She asked nervously, "Who are you? Where are you taking me?" Still, there was no response. Over time, she could sense there were more people in the vicinity. At one point, she heard a random beach-goer pointing out, "Huh? Why does that girl over there have a sack thrown over her head?” “She’s not being kidnapped, is she?” “It
The next morning, Isabel went to pull the curtains open after she woke up and was immediately blinded by a scorching ray of sunlight. She showered and changed into something casual before heading out of the room. She took Carla with her to someplace nearby for breakfast. Then, she went to Rockwell Corporation Tower with Carla. Carla asked inexplicably, “What are we doing here?” Isabel put on her sunglasses and said stoically, “We’re here to see someone." Carla stopped asking questions. The car parked by the roadside, and Isabel promptly got out of the car. Carla followed behind her. The duo walked into the building through the main entrance. A security guard stopped them. “Credentials?” Isabel took off his sunglasses and smiled cordially. "I'm Isabel Ross. I’m here to see President Rockwell.” The security led her to the reception. Isabel repeated the same thing to the reception. The clerk asked politely, "Which President Rockwell are you looking for?"
Decker grimaced. He was expecting her to ask something of a different nature. He admitted quite bluntly, “I saw a picture of you attending a jewelry exhibition at Southboro yesterday, so I sent my men there to spy on you. After the event, I had them tail you, and that’s when they found out you were staying at a hotel nearby. When I went to find you, they told me that you had gone to the beach by yourself.” At this point, he said with a prolonged sigh, "Isabel, I just miss you too much, and you’re not giving me many options. I knew you would refuse to see me, so I had to resort to other methods.” Isabel ignored him and was entirely not in the mood to bicker with him over this. She was wondering how Roland happened to show up and managed to time his appearance so well, just in time to save her from Decker’s evil ploys. She was not convinced that he just happened to be in the area. Such coincidences were barely possible. Besides, she remembered seeing a host of bodyguard
The security guards almost caught up to her. Isabel did not have the time to turn around. She climbed up the stairs and went straight up to the third floor, which was empty. The third floor was for meetings and all the doors were closed at the moment. Isabel panted heavily as she continued running forward. She was trying the doors and wanted to hide inside one of the meeting rooms. Unfortunately, all the doors were locked. The footsteps of the security guards came closer. Would this be the end for her? Exhausted, Isabel took a few steps forward to reach the next door. She did not hold any hope left but she tried to reach for the doorknob nevertheless. However, before she could reach it, the door opened. Isabel was shocked. A hand came out from inside, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the room. When the security guards arrived, the door was locked tight. Everything returned to peace. Isabel stared at the man before her behind the door. She was pressed a