Chapter 3

Liesel's heart twinged slightly, but she said calmly, "I reminded Ms. Natalie about the stock handover. The office has surveillance cameras. You can check the footage if you don't believe me, Mr. Ford."

Natalie paled. Tears welled in her eyes, and she said pitifully, "I-I probably didn't hear you because my mind wandered. That's why I made such a mistake."

Liesel ignored her. "We can't let Hardin Group manipulate us for stocks worth millions of dollars. I'll handle this, but the company also has rules to uphold. Natalie will need to be reprimanded accordingly."

She turned and left the office to check on the stocks. Now that they'd already been accepted, from a legal perspective, Ford Corporation had no choice but to swallow its woes and live with the situation.

Still, there was hope for this. Uriah Hardin, the third son of the Hardin family, managed Hardin Group. However, his brother, Elijah Hardin, was the second son and favored by his family. He also wanted to usurp Uriah's position.

If she could turn this matter into a power play, she could turn the tables on Hardin Group.

At 8:00 pm, Liesel and Elijah met at a restaurant. His roguish, flippant look landed on her. "Have you invited the wrong man, Ms. Sharp? I'm not the one who calls the shots at Hardin Group, nor am I interested in you."

Liesel was beautiful but too boring in his eyes. He liked his women obedient and gentle. They were cuter that way.

Liesel ignored his words and placed a document before him. "These are some of the tracks Mr. Uriah has left in the industry over the years, Mr. Elijah. I won't beat around the bush—I don't believe you're uninterested in Hardin Group. Take him down, and this deal with Ford Corporation will be yours."

The flippant look in Elijah's eyes faded away. He narrowed his eyes and appraised her with interest. His mother wasn't his father, Richard Hardin's first wife, and Richard favored Uriah over him. But was there anyone in the Hardin family who didn't want to have something to do with the company?

After a long silence, he drawled, "What's in it for you if I take him down?"

"I need you to switch out the subpar products Hardin Group has just supplied to Ford Corporation. Cooperating with you is also good for us because you don't pull dirty tricks."

Liesel didn't mind pulling a few tricks when doing business, but Uriah's methods were too lowbrow. She was scornful of him.

Elijah looked at her. Then, he raised his glass and said meaningfully, "I hope things will work out the way you wish, Ms. Sharp."

A few tables away, Jacob's assistant, Jesse Lane, noticed Liesel. In a low voice, he told Jacob, "Ms. Sharp is here, too, Mr. Ford."

Jacob followed his line of sight and frowned slightly. Elijah had a reputation for being a playboy—what was Liesel doing with him?

Liesel didn't notice Jacob. She and Elijah soon ended their discussion; Jesse approached her then. He said, "Mr. Ford is waiting for you, Ms. Sharp."

Elijah glanced at him before turning back to Liesel. "You should consider joining Hardin Group if you ever get sick of being at Ford Corporation, Ms. Sharp. We always know a good thing when we see it."

A woman with nothing but good looks would quickly become boring, but she would be a valuable resource if she were beautiful and brainy.

Liesel didn't respond to Elijah's words. Instead, she politely bid him farewell before following Jesse to Jacob's car.

It was 11:00 pm, and the night breeze was rather chilly. Liesel's lips were a little pale as she got into the car. She lowered her eyes, and her wrists were briefly exposed underneath her suit jacket. It made her seem rather weak and pitiful.

Jacob frowned. He'd never noticed her being this skinny. "Have you settled the problem with Hardin Group?"

She nodded, looking tired. "Yeah. Elijah is harder to deal with than Uriah, but he's already agreed to switch out the subpar products. We'll just need to send someone to handle the handover."

Jacob's gaze flitted past her. "Natalie is young and naive. You can't completely blame her for this."

Liesel paused before saying softly, "You're Ford Corporation's CEO. It's up to you how you want to handle her."

Natalie was young, huh? She'd been even younger than Natalie when joining Ford Corporation, but Jacob had never cut her any slack.

"I've yet to tell Grandpa about the divorce," he said, switching the subject.

Vincent Ford had been recuperating at home these past years and couldn't be aggravated. Even if Liesel and Jacob had never been the most loving couple, Vincent probably still couldn't handle the news of their divorce.

Liesel looked down. "Got it. I'll tell him about this when the time is right."

Jacob didn't say anything else.

Liesel had had a bit to drink without eating anything. After a while, she curled up in her seat and drifted off. Her face was pale.

When Jacob noticed something was wrong with her, he frowned. He was about to instruct Jesse to take them to the hospital when she woke up.

"Where are we?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

He said, "I'm taking you to the hospital."

Liesel's heart skipped a beat as she thought of something. However, she kept her tone nonchalant and said, "There's no need for that. My stomach just feels a little upset. I'll be fine after resting at home."

Jacob looked at her. His gaze was deep and sharp. It was as if he could read her thoughts. After a while, he said, "Fine."

She relaxed. Back home, she called Chelsea and said a little grimly, "Buy me a pregnancy test."

…

The following day, Liesel was supposed to attend a welcome-back party for Alex Stone, one of her and Jacob's mutual friends. Alex had called her before his return to invite her to the party. Perhaps it was because he'd heard about the divorce and wanted to help them reconcile.

The party was already in full swing when Liesel arrived. She heard Alex's voice through the door. "Have you and Liesel really divorced? Was it because of Natalie?"

Liesel faltered, her hand on the doorknob. After a pause, Jacob said, "It has nothing to do with Natalie. Liesel and I aren't a good match."

"Tsk. How are you two not a good match?" Alex asked. "I think Liesel is fantastic. She's pretty, intelligent, and has won many people's recognition at Ford Corporation. Why are you so obsessed with Natalie? Don't forget that Liesel saved you in the past. Sometimes, some things are just too little, too late."

He'd met Natalie before and could tell she was nothing but a young woman with a few tricks up her sleeve. She couldn't compare to Liesel.

Liesel had managed to save Jacob from the hands of his abductors. How could someone like Natalie compare to her bravery and determination?

Jacob would have much to regret if he and Liesel really were to divorce.

This time, Jacob remained silent for a longer time. Then he said, "You can't force matters of the heart."

Liesel lowered her eyes and slowly clenched her fists. Alex stopped trying to change Jacob's mind. Instead, he said, "You'd better think this through. You may not like her, but plenty of others do."

Liesel didn't linger. She texted Alex on WhatsApp and told him she wasn't attending the party because she had to attend to something else. Then, she asked Chelsea out.

Chelsea gave her the pregnancy test and asked hesitantly, "You're not really pregnant, are you, Lili?"