"I am the interim secretary assigned to help you out. I will be replacing Patricia until she returns," the secretary explained.Upon hearing this, Nicole understood that Jared must have assigned this secretary to help her out with the tasks that Patricia had always handled. The fact that she had shown up to sort through the documents was the reason as to why Nicole had thought for a second that Patricia was back.As it turned out, Jared had hired someone who mirrored her and Patricia's work habits and patterns. Everything was set up exactly like when Patricia was still here, which in turn made things easier for her.Feeling a sense of warmth and appreciation in her heart, Nicole smiled.She then instructed the secretary, "Alright. There's nothing here for now. You may leave.""Yes," the secretary said, and left the room thereafter.Nicole walked to her desk, grabbed the stack of files with a look of amusement, and began working in a good mood. With Jared's arrangements, Nicole fe
"Yeah, they won't stay mad at you for long once they know that you're happy and doing well for yourself," June chimed in.After all, most parents had only one wish for their children – for them to be happy and successful."Yes, I will," Cherry nodded.She knew her parents wanted nothing but the best for her, and she was willing to make concessions with everything except for her relationship. Once she had set her mind to being committed to one particular, she would absolutely not settle with others. Unlike other people, this was a compromise she would never make."Alright, here's to your happiness," Lulu said, raising her glass first."Thank you," Cherry responded, and lifted her glass as well.Others then followed suit, toasting to Cherry and wishing her well for the years to come. But like every farewell toast, this one carried a tinge of sadness too, and the atmosphere soon became less festive.After putting their glasses down, Cherry motioned for everyone to start digging in.
"No thank you," Tia rejected Lulu's suggestion, after which she grabbed her glass and chugged her drink down again.She did not want to answer anything, even if the questions Lulu had offered to ask her were simple. It was obvious that this game revolved around topics of personal gossip, making it hard for her to predict what was coming."Let me help you with that, " Stanley said, before taking Tia's wine glass away and chugging it down on her behalf.Tia looked at Stanley in surprise. She wanted to say something, but silence was all she could muster. She just could not find the words."Alright, let's continue," Lulu immediately called everyone back to the game, and they continued playing.From that point onward, Stanley went on to handle all the drinks, regardless of whether the turn was his or Tia's. Not only did he drink on Tia's behalf in all of the subsequent rounds, but he also gave all of his turns up."Lulu, that's enough. Don't get him hammered," June pulled Lulu aside a
Ultimately, Cherry felt that her family was so upset with her that they might even consider disowning her.Sensing Cherry's sadness, Stanley hesitated for a moment and said, "After you leave, I think your father will approach me. I'll try to talk him out of it."For a moment, Cherry's eyes lit up. "Thank you for that."She knew her father had a very favorable impression of Stanley. If Stanley spoke well of her, there was a chance that her father would not be as angry and saddened by what she had done.As they shared this sympathetic farewell, the others chatted away. No one was aware that Tia had been gone for quite some time."Where's Tia?" Nicole frowned and asked after everyone had eaten their fill."She said she went to the restroom," Cherry answered.She then frowned and pursed her lips as she suddenly realized, "She has been gone for quite a long time, hasn't she?""I'll go check on her," Stanley abruptly stood up and headed toward the exit.With that, Cherry followed su
After leaving the restaurant, Lulu burst into laughter. "Did you see that, Nicole? The expression on Harvey's face was absolutely priceless.""Those executives didn't look too pleased either," June added.Though she did not know the specifics, she knew enough to infer that Harvey was trying to make things difficult for Nicole."They were just feeling very awkward. It's fine. It won't affect our partnerships with them," Lulu explained.Upon hearing this, June nodded in understanding and smiled. "That's good, then."June understood the situation. Nicole and her team were collaborating with the executives, and coincidentally, Harvey had also invited them out, wanting to work with them. Hence, the meeting had taken a very awkward turn."Alright, let's all go home and get some sleep.""Goodbye everyone."After bidding each other their round of farewells, everyone got into their cars and left the restaurant.Just as Nicole and Jared were about to leave, the car suddenly came to a ha
Helpless, Harvey's assistant explained, "I was about to leave but I saw you kicking someone's car. I was concerned that you might get in trouble, so I came back."If Harvey got caught at the moment, his assistant would be the one left to bear the brunt of it."Hmm," Harvey snorted. "I could always throw money in his face.""If the owner insists on calling on the cops, you'll definitely get in hot soup." His assistant sighed.Those who had nothing to lose do not fear those in power. However, Harvey was the one with power in this case.Harvey then kept mum and stopped arguing with his assistant. If he ever got caught, there would indeed be another embarrassing situation to top the list for him. Moreover, the consequences would be disastrous if he allowed his personal issues to affect the company's image.After calming down, Harvey sat in silence, his gloomy eyes staring out the car window at the passing trees. The humiliation he had suffered today would be avenged. He would do his
"So, this is the reason why you're so determined to teach Harvey a lesson?" Jared asked as he shot Nicole a glance.Following a short pause, Nicole admitted, "Yes. We can only enjoy our peace of mind once he has been completely subdued."A glint of amusement crossed Jared's eyes when he heard those words. He knew that the current situation with Ellison Group and the executives was already a massive blow dealt to Harvey, but it seemed to him that Nicole and the others had no plans to stop at that just yet. If anything, there was more in store for Harvey. She was far from done with him.Nicole smiled, embraced Jared's arm, and leaned on his shoulder. As far as her feud with Harvey was concerned, she just hoped it would end soon and consider it another one of her issues settled.Meanwhile, Stanley and Tia had already returned home. After getting out of the car, Stanley accompanied Tia as she staggered her way to the house at the back.Tia's hands and feet were wobbly and flailing aft
However, Tia's legs were still a little wonky and unsteady from all the heavy drinking. She simply stood there, swaying for a moment, before nearly tipping over again."Ah!" Tia cried out as a sharp pain shot up her ankle.Catching this in a split second, he quickly reached out and grabbed her before she could fall. "What's wrong?""I think I twisted my ankle," Tia said.The sudden pang of pain soon sobered her up, and Stanley was left to crouch down and examine the injury in Tia's foot."Ouch!" Tia flinched in pain."You've sprained it," Stanley informed.Feeling sorry for her, he stood up and proposed, "Let's get you back to your place. I'll apply some medicine for you.""Thanks," Tia thanked softly.As Tia attempted to limp her way back home, Stanley decided to pick her up.Instinctively holding onto Stanley's neck, Tia looked at him in surprise and asked, "What are you doing?""You shouldn't move when you're injured," Stanley reminded Tia, and held onto her even tighter.