"It's almost noon. Let's have lunch together before you go," Harvey stopped Nicole as she was about to leave.Indifferent to his advances, Nicole shot Harvey a glance and said, "I'm good. Please help yourself.""You need to eat too," Harvey said, not disappointed by the rejection as he continued to persuade Nicole.However, Nicole remained unmoved. She did not want to eat with him, fearing that the very sight of his face might cause her to experience indigestion."I have already made an appointment with your grandfather. If you're interested, you can join us," Nicole said before brushing past Harvey and hurrying off.Harvey grimaced as Nicole disappeared from sight. Only Nicole would come up with such an excuse to avoid having lunch with him. It seemed that she had made her mind up on giving him a glaring "no."Still, Nicole had made her way to Thomas Ellison's place after leaving."Are you here to show off to me?" Thomas looked at Nicole, amused."Just here for a meal with you
"He's put in so much effort, so he's obviously going to do his worst," Nicole snorted.She knew that Harvey had put on such a grand display to make things difficult for her. A simple ribbon-cutting ceremony was not all that he wanted."Are we just going to let things unfold like this?" Patricia asked in a low voice."Since he wants to publicize it, let him go ahead. Free advertising shouldn't be wasted." Nicole's eyes darkened. "Now that we're already working together, let's commence with the next stage of our plan.""Of course," Patricia eagerly agreed.She figured that Nicole had her own reasons for working together with Harvey. If anything, Nicole would never let Harvey keep that smirk on his face. All the measures taken would be temporary.Soon after, they returned to the headquarters of the Riddle Corporation, and during lunch break, Nicole leaned back against her couch in her office, lost in thought.The setting sun was already beginning to set when Nicole and Jared return
"That's good." Gloria issued a sigh of relief. "I can't believe they're capable of doing such things. It seems like they've lost their minds. You've got to be more careful in the future.""Don't worry, Mom," Nicole assured her. "I know."She did not want Gloria to worry about her. Deep down, however, she knew that Chloe would not stop there since she had gone to such lengths to defraud them. Though Miley had taken the blame for her this time, there was no telling what would come next. As such, Nicole would find a way to corner Chloe, to make her face the punishment she rightfully deserved.And now that Everett was still abroad, the only person who might have remained in contact with him was Chloe. If they arrested Chloe now, they might sever the only lead they had to him.Nicole's eyes darkened when she thought about Everett. Ever since Lawrence had rescued a fleeing Everett from San Joto, he had not shown up at all. This led her to wonder what sort of deal the two of them had made
"Did he mention anything else?" Nicole squinted her eyes, thinking that Lawrence would not usually be so nosy.Nolan shook his head and replied, "No, he only asked if you're back. Then, he asked about what Lana and I have been up to recently.""That's all?" Nicole raised a brow, doubtful. 'So he was genuinely missing the kids?'"Oh, Godpa also asked if you've been busy recently." Lana asked innocently.To that, Nolan added, "Yeah, I said you're not that busy. All you've got going for you is work.""Okay." Nicole said, and rested the case.She was worried that the kids might get suspicious if she prodded with more questions, so she changed the topic of conversation at once. "Is Leo still online?""Ye-" Nolan looked at the screen.Then, he frowned and said, "Now he's not."He was online just a few seconds ago, so it was strange that he logged off all of a sudden.Nicole stood beside the computer and stared at Lawrence's message to Nolan. [I have some urgent matters I need to ta
"It is exactly because of this very concern that he needs to use Nolan to achieve what he wants." Jared held Nicole's hands gently. "At the end of the day, none of us have seen the Water Crest before. No one knows what it looks like either. The only way he could crack it and not catch your attention is by enlisting Nolan's help."If Lawrence approached Nicole directly, the outcome would be predictable; Nicole would be able to tell that the object in question was the Water Crest. In addition to that, Lawrence would have to forego his right to own the Water Crest, hence he would not risk it.After hearing Jared's explanation, Nicole nodded. "You're right.""I'll get Max to verify it." Jared's eyes became frosty.If that was indeed the truth, Jared would never allow Lawrence within an inch of the Water Crest. For someone as evil as Lawrence to own the Water Crest would spell unimaginable disaster for everyone else.As Jared and Nicole were discussing the issue, they did not realize t
Stanley paused for a moment before replying, "Alright.""Please let me know if there are any updates," Nicole requested, and brought the kids into the car.Knowing that Stanley was going out to look for Tia, Nolan and Lana did not bother to follow him. Instead, they got into the car and went to school right away.Meanwhile, Stanley had just entered the house in the backyard, which was unusually quiet."Tia?" Stanley called out to her."Mr. Riddle, is that you?" Tia asked, her voice hoarse.Stanley could already tell that she was weak, and upon hearing Tia's voice emanating from the room, he rushed over.As soon as he opened the door, he saw Tia lying in bed, looking ill, causing him to frown and ask, "What happened?""I think I'm down with a co...."Before Tia could finish her sentence, she began to cough.Seeing that Tia was in such a terrible condition, Stanley walked over and placed his hand on Tia's forehead. She was indeed having a bad fever."Your body is very warm. I'
Her intentions of not wanting to interfere with his work were genuine. But there was another reason, and it was that his presence made her feel uncomfortable."You haven't had breakfast, right? I'll go and buy something." Stanley could sense that Tia was beginning to feel uncomfortable, so he got up and left.Tia quietly heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing Stanley leave, her energy seemed to improve."Tia!" a loud yell sounded.As Tia looked up, she was shocked by what she saw. "Sir, what are you doing here?""I've told you before, don't call me 'sir'," Martin said, sounding annoyed as he entered the room. "Just like how you call Nicole, you can call me Martin.""Martin." It sounded a bit forced, but Tia called him by his name.Martin scanned their surroundings and saw that no one was there. "Tia, you're sick. Are you here on your own?""It was Stanley who brought me here," Tia explained.Martin immediately understood the situation. "Oh, so it's Stanley. Where is he?"He could no
At Riddle Corporation, Nicole arrived at the company building and entered her office."Ms. Riddle, we've made some progress in our project with Ellison Group," said Patricia, placing a document in front of Nicole.Looking at the details on the document, Nicole seemed to be satisfied. "Great, it looks good.""Will Harvey follow our plan?" Patricia asked worriedly. After all, he was not a kind-hearted person if he could get his hands on the Ellison Group."It doesn't matter. If he notices it, we'll come up with another plan. If he doesn't realize it, we'll just act according to plan." Nicole smiled coldly.If Harvey wanted to create more problems for her, Nicole would let him make the first move. She wanted to see if Harvey still had the energy for that."Noted. I'll send someone to keep an eye on him," Patricia replied firmly. By keeping an eye on Riddle Corporation, it would ease their plan for what's to come.Nicole placed the document to one side and turned to look at Patricia