"Patricia, shall we take you home?" Lulu offered."No need, I can manage on my own." Patricia guessed Nicole didn't stay for dinner because she had other matters, and she didn't want to delay them.Taking a deep breath, Patricia earnestly said to Nicole, "Ms. Riddle, I'll be fine. I'll come to the company tomorrow.""You could rest a bit longer," Nicole still seemed a bit concerned about Patricia's health."I'm okay, and I don't want to stay at home all day." Being alone made her prone to overthinking, so Patricia preferred to work.Moreover, she had heard about Everett's situation and felt it was important to be with Nicole to ensure her safety.Hearing this, Nicole thought for a moment and then agreed, "Alright, come to the company tomorrow.""Yes," Patricia said before hailing a taxi and leaving.Watching Patricia leave, Lulu mused, "Something seems off with Patricia's mood, doesn't it? And Ellar's absence is also unusual. Could there be some problem between them?"Nicole's
Curiously, Patricia hadn't seen Ellar in the past few days, and she found herself feeling a bit lost without his presence.Perhaps, she thought, returning to work at the company would improve her mood after being alone at home for so long.At the Riddle residence, after dropping Lulu off, Nicole returned home. There, she found Daniel and Gloria in the living room with Nolan and Lana, but Jared was nowhere to be seen.Guessing Jared was still busy with work, Nicole didn't inquire about his absence."Mommy," Nolan and Lana greeted her joyfully, opening their arms.Nicole smiled and sat down on the couch, hugging Nolan and Lana close."Mommy, why isn't Daddy back yet?" Lana asked, looking up."Your father is still working," Nicole gently explained, stroking Lana's head."Why is Daddy always so busy?" Lana frowned."He'll be back once he's done with his work," Nicole assured her with a smile.Just then, Jared's voice echoed from the entrance, "Who's missing me?"Lana, bright-eye
"In one month, we will get married," Jared said, giving Nicole a peck on the lips before carrying her towards the bed...The next day was bright and sunny.After breakfast, Jared dropped Nicole off at Riddle Corporation.As Nicole got out of the car, she waved at Jared.With a smile, Jared said, "I'll pick you up after work.""Okay," Nicole agreed, smiling as she turned to enter the company.Jared watched her for a moment before instructing Max, "Drive.""Yes," Max replied, starting the car.Leaning back in his seat, Jared spoke again, "Continue preparing for the wedding. It will be held in a month.""A wedding!" Max sounded excited, "Alright, I understand."Preparations had already been underway and were nearly complete, only delayed by recent events. Now, the plans were back on track.Jared and Nicole's wedding was a big event, eagerly anticipated by everyone.Meanwhile, Nicole had entered her office.Patricia, who was now delivering the documents, was greeted by Nicole
Nicole had called several raw material suppliers from different areas, but none of them had a good solution.Finally, Nicole turned on her computer and logged into an international supply website. She worked on this until nearly noon, eventually finding the right solution."It's done." Nicole closed her computer, stood up, and stretched her neck and arms.Lulu let out a sigh of relief. "Great, it's finally sorted out.""Today, some of the materials will be sent, and the rest will arrive over time. When they're here, we'll get them to work right away. It won't delay our project," Nicole explained."Got it." Lulu nodded, then asked Nicole, "Did you figure out who was behind this?"They were facing a serious threat, and whoever was behind it needed to be dealt with.Nicole shook her head. "Not yet, but I suspect it's Everett."Lulu muttered, "That sounds right. He's the only one who'd stoop so low.""Let's not focus on that now. Make sure someone keeps an eye on this new batch of
Everett's assistant, too, found it hard to believe that anyone could remain so calm in such a situation, yet Nicole appeared entirely unaffected. Additionally, there was no sign of any countermeasures from Riddle Corporation regarding the raw materials problem.The assistant was more inclined to believe that Nicole's team hadn't found a solution. After all, Everett's maneuvers had blocked all obvious paths.After thinking for a moment, Everett instructed, "Have someone dig deeper into this. We must be missing something." His tone was ice-cold. He was convinced, 'This isn't normal; Nicole isn't one to surrender easily.'"Yes, sir," the assistant responded and exited the room.Everett got up and walked over to the window, his gaze dark and thoughtful as he stared outside.'Nicole wouldn't just sit back and do nothing. There's something I'm not seeing...'As the day turned to evening, Nicole exited the company building to find Jared waiting for her.He greeted her with a smile. Nic
Nicole's expression showed her surprise as she asked, "Is this happening every day?" This was indeed unexpected to Nicole. Ellar assisting Patricia with her treatment shouldn't require such irregular hours. She thought to herself, 'What could he possibly be involved in?'Emma's worry deepened at Nicole's response, "You don't know about it either?"She felt that If Nicole was in the dark, it seemed unlikely anyone else knew. Ellar and Nicole had been close since childhood, and it was unusual for him to keep things from her.."I'll have my people look into it." Nicole assured Dexter and Emma. She could see Dexter and Emma's growing concern. "If Ellar is in trouble, I'll find a way to help.""Well... okay." Emma sighed, saying, "Thank you for doing this." She understood the desire for privacy, recognizing that if the younger generation chose not to share, they likely had their reasons."Try not to worry. I doubt it's anything serious. If there were a real issue, Ellar wouldn't be abl
Ellar's tired and downcast appearance immediately caught Dexter and Emma's attention, deepening their concern."Mom, Dad, why are you just getting back?" Ellar asked with a hint of confusion."We were visiting your Uncle Daniel," Dexter responded. He then turned the conversation towards Ellar's late arrival, "Why are you out so late again? What's keeping you?"Ellar gave a half-hearted response, "Just had to work some overtime."Dexter frowned, not convinced. "That's not true. You weren't at the office when it closed, and there wasn't any overtime scheduled."Ellar looked taken aback. "How did you know?" He had left the office early, using overtime as an excuse to avoid questions from his parents, not knowing how else to explain his actions.Emma gently explained their concern to Ellar, "We've noticed you're not yourself these days, and it's worrying us. That's why your dad went to check at your office. We just want to know if everything's alright."Ellar scrambled for an excuse
"I just wanted to check on Nicole," Ellar explained, trying to appear composed.Internally, his world wasn't calm at all. Observing Patricia from a distance in the past few days brought him comfort, and seeing her well added to that. Now, being so close and talking to her, he couldn't contain his emotions."Ms. Riddle should be here soon," Patricia said, quickly regaining her composure.After putting the papers on the desk, she turned and walked away. Ellar's sudden appearance had surprised her, stirring up different feelings. Right now, all she wanted was to get away.Coincidentally, Nicole arrived and encountered Patricia at the door."The documents are on the desk, Ms. Riddle. I'll handle other matters," Patricia reported."Sure." Nicole noticed Patricia leaving in a bit of a hurry but didn't pay it much mind and walked into the room.As soon as Nicole saw Ellar, a realization struck her. 'Oh, it's because he's here.'"What brings you here?" Nicole asked Ellar."Good mornin