As soon as they arrived at the Riddle residence, Nicole found that her expectations were met. The house was indeed very lively.Sally Kane had also shown up with a bloated belly and to Nicole's surprise, Cherry Jean was also present."Everyone's here now so let's head over to the dining room. We'll begin our dinner shortly," Gloria announced.Everyone nodded, made a beeline for the dining room, and took their seats next to each other. In no time, the dining room was filled with chatter and laughter again.Gloria and Daniel sat on the opposite ends of the long dining table across one another while the rest sat facing each other.As for Lulu, she took a seat next to Nicole and whispered, "What's up with her voice? Is Stanley really going out with her?"As obvious as it was to everyone, it was a family dinner. Therefore, it was surprise that Stanley had brought Cherry Jean over for dinner.'Is this a way of telling everyone that they're now official?' Nicole wondered."I'm not so
"Gloria, there's really no need to," Tia, who was helpless, pleaded.Everyone in the Riddle family really cared about Tia and was doing this for her sake. On top of that, Tia had been with the family for a really long time and had taken care of Mrs. Wallace Sr. for nearly a decade now. Something about leaving her to be single for the rest of her life just did not sit well with them.Stanley narrowed his eyes at Tia as a heart wrenching feeling gripped his heart."I know you have feelings toward her," Cherry whispered to Stanley.Everyone in the room could sense that Stanley had reserved a soft spot for Tia in spite of the fact that he had announced Cherry as his official girlfriend now.At a loss for words now, Stanley turned to Cherry and frowned.'Why do I feel like I have done something wrong?' Stanley wondered.Cherry saw right through him and patted his arm to comfort him. "Hey, hey. Pipe down, would you? You don't want to let all of your previous efforts go to waste now, d
"It's nothing," Jane replied with a smile."Your workload isn't heavy, so we'll be able to manage," Sean added."That's because you're capable enough to juggle between your tasks and my own, not because of how little work there is," Steve said.He knew that everyone already had their own share of assignments, so having them shoulder his burden would definitely add to the amount of tasks they had to complete."We are all family, and being able to help each other is a good thing," Daniel said, and looked at Sean. "But you need to take good care of yourself too. Just get another secretary to help you out if it's too much for you to handle.""Yeah, I'll think about it," Sean said.He knew that Daniel did not want him to sacrifice his and Jane's well-being for work, even though it was for the good of the company.Jane knew this all too well, so she smiled as a surge of warmth filled her from within.After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to have a chat as a family. It wa
"Forget it. There's nothing more that I can say about it now," Tia finished.After all, Stanley was already together with Cherry.Mrs. Wallace Sr. looked at Tia and comforted her as she patted her hand. "You should go out there and make more friends in the future."Perhaps things would be different for Tia if she were in a different environment with new friends and a new life."I actually prefer staying at home," Tia told her truthfully. "I only agreed to go out because I saw everyone caring about me so much."She thought she should not let them down, so she would hang out with the others a couple of times and return to not doing so gradually.Mrs. Wallace Sr. patted her hand again, as she was still feeling sorry for her. "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore.""Let me help you up, Grandma." Tia lifted her up and sat her down on the bed.Then, she left the room after ensuring that Mr. Wallace Sr. was lying down comfortably.Tia sighed after closing the door. Now that she wa
"Okay!"Before Nicole could respond, both Nolan and Lana were already cheering and jumping up and down in excitement."Hey Tia. We're done eating. Let's go!" Lana ran over and grabbed Tia's hand."Let's go." Tia said, and proceeded to walk out of the house with Nolan and Lana.Nicole stared at Tia with her eyes narrowed.Then she looked at Stanley, confirming her assumptions. 'Something's going on between these two.'"Let's go," Jared said, whereupon Nicole averted her gaze and left with him."I'm done eating. I'm going to work." Stanley also got up, preparing to leave.However, Gloria was a little worried. "Shouldn't you rest for a few more days?"Stanley had just gotten discharged from the hospital. His injuries had not fully recovered yet, so she wondered if it would be advisable for him to leave."It's fine. I've already rested for a few days," Stanley replied.The seminar was nearing its end, and he had already delayed it for a few days, so he had to be present for the
As the saying went, "The best defense is a good offense." This meant that they should strike back while kiboshing Harvey's tricks successfully.Lulu's eyes widened. "So, can we really do that?"Although this idea was a rather ridiculous one, it would be great if they could seize the entirety of Ellison Group.Nicole smiled when she saw that Lulu finally understood what she was thinking. "We don't have the power to do so right now, and I don't have the intention to pull that off anyway.""Oh, what do you want to do, then?" Lulu raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. 'Wasn't that what Nicole meant just now? Did I misunderstand her or something?'"I mean, even if we do end up seizing a large percentage of Ellison Group's shares, we should just return them to Mr. Ellison. I don't want them."All she wanted to do was to teach Harvey a lesson, not wrest the entirety of Ellison Group for herself. She just wanted to get Harvey off her back, and permanently if possible. After all, with Thomas s
Feeling helpless, Harvey went on to say, "You don't have to turn me down so coldly, you know. After all, my grandfather is still in your hands."Upon hearing those words, Nicole glared at him. "Please watch your words, Mr. Ellison."'What is he saying? He's making it sound like I'm controlling Thomas and turning his grandfather against him,' she thought."Isn't that the truth?" Harvey shrugged. "It's very clear that my grandfather listens to you more than he listens to me now.""Pfft, so you finally admit that Mr. Ellison is your grandfather now, huh. You were so cruel to him. How is it that you did not bother to acknowledge that you're his grandson before this?" Lulu sneered with disdain.Nicole's lips twitched as she attempted to restrain herself from giving him a verbal lashing. She was annoyed because Harvey was still there.'Lulu sure is bold. So is it better to acknowledge him as a grandson or not?'Harvey looked upset as he glanced at Lulu coldly. "Although you are in cha
Feeling defeated, Lulu said, "He's basically using social coercion, isn't he?"Although Harvey said that everyone was going, that did not mean that Nicole must be there too."It's okay." Nicole smiled and looked at Lulu. "Perhaps there's something for me to gain out of showing up. You should come with me too.""Me?!" Lulu asked in surprise. "Are you sure it wouldn't be better for you to find a male companion?"Even if she did not wish to go to the event with Jared, Sean as her plus one would also be fine. Lulu believed her presence would not be of much help anyway."With so many shareholders and partners present, are you sure there's no one you'd like to get to know?" Nicole asked.Lulu blinked, starting to understand what Nicole was coming from.Then, she gritted her teeth and replied, "I guess that works too.""Hehe, alright. Gather some information when you're back," Nicole suggested.Knowing some background information about those people beforehand might prove to be handy