"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.
"There's no need for that," Tia declined.But upon seeing how determined Stanley looked, she hesitated for a moment and relented. "I understand."A hint of satisfaction flashed in Stanley's eyes, after which he advised Tia, "If you want to recover quickly, just listen to my instructions, stay home, and be good."Then, he turned around and exited the house.Tia was left to stare at his departing figure in confusion, her mind echoing his gentle words, 'Stay home and be good.'Overwhelmed by a feeling she could not even begin to describe, Tia blushed and her mind erupted into a whirlwind of thoughts once more.Meanwhile, Stanley had just stepped out of the courtyard and into the house when he bumped into Nicole and Jared, who had just returned."Is Tia okay?" Nicole asked with concern."She twisted her foot, so she might need a couple of days of rest," Stanley replied.This left Nicole surprised. "How did she twist her foot?""She had too much to drink and fell over," Stanley an
"Your mom is still fast asleep. I'll send you to school later," Jared explained."You will send us to kindergarten later?" Nolan asked, blinking his eyes in innocence."Oh yeah, where's Tia, by the way?" Lana asked, finding it confusing that Jared would be the one sending them to school."Tia hurt her ankle, so she won't be able to send you to kindergarten for the next two days," Stanley's voice blared out in reply."Tia got hurt? Is it serious? Is she alright? How did you know?" The two little ones asked, bombarding Stanley with question after question.They were both worried and curious. They also could not help but wonder how Stanley had gotten to know so much about what Tia was going through."Her injury is not a serious one, but she does need some rest. I was the one who brought her back home last night, so I'm aware of her condition," Stanley calmly explained as he headed to the dining room."Oh," Lana nodded, whereupon she turned to Jared. "Dad, can we go and visit Tia?"