Chapter 5

Liesel looked at Jacob. Her tone was calm as she said, "I don't owe Natalie anything, nor do I owe you. Work-wise, I'm only her senior. Regarding my personal life, my mother didn't owe her anything.

"Natalie came knocking on our door when her mother chose to marry another. No woman can accept her husband's illegitimate daughter. She might have had Natalie sent to the countryside, but Natalie was also given more than enough money to survive there.

"I don't owe her, whether professionally or personally. Why should I be more accommodating and tolerant of her? Why should I back down when facing off against her?"

When she finished her speech, silence descended upon the car. Jacob looked at her. She wore a simple dress that clung to her curves, and her delicate features were arranged into her usual mask of aloofness.

There was something cold and tenacious about her. She was so brilliant that one could almost neglect her beauty.

His gaze flitted over her eyes. After a moment of silence, he said gently, "I'm sorry. I didn't handle this matter appropriately."

Liesel didn't say anything. He looked her in the eye and said, "I shouldn't have made you suppress yourself and back down for Natalie's sake. You're a wonderful woman, Liesel. Even though we're divorced now, I still hope you'll live your own life."

She clenched her fists and tried to keep her tears at bay. She couldn't deny that she really, really liked Jacob. However, certain things just couldn't be forced.

…

Liesel headed home. She had someone ask around about the doctor Jacob was going to arrange to examine her. Meanwhile, Chelsea was worried. "Can't you just tell him the truth? He might not be that cruel. You two were together for three years, after all."

"I'd rather not." Liesel caressed her belly. She was silent for a while before saying, "Since I can't abort the child, there's no need to let Jacob know about this. We're already divorced, and this child is part of my life now. I'll need your help dealing with the doctor."

Whatever it was, she couldn't let Jacob find out about the baby.

Chelsea didn't object. She seemed to think of something and said, "Natalie used to intern at Shifter Corporation. Do you think it's just a coincidence, or does she know something?"

This came as a surprise to Liesel. Natalie had interned at Shifter Corporation? Did she know it belonged to Liesel, or…

It piqued Liesel's suspicions, but she didn't dwell on the matter. "It's probably just a coincidence. She graduated from Alden University, and Shifter Corporation does campus recruitments there, too."

Chelsea had only brought it up since it had occurred to her. She smiled and said, "Mr. Shifter and Neal should be back soon, right? I'm sure you'll feel more secure with them around."

Neal Shifter was Jonathan's son, and the Shifter family had been managing Shifter Corporation on Liesel's behalf all these years. Since Heather's passing, the Shifters had become like family to Liesel.

She smiled, and a rare hint of relief flashed in her eyes.

…

The following day, news of Uriah's downfall broke out. Elijah looked like a dandy playboy but had surprisingly ruthless methods.

He'd gotten someone to leak information on the dirty tricks Uriah had pulled to the paparazzi. Coincidentally, Uriah had recently killed someone while driving under the influence and had gotten a scapegoat to take the fall. Thanks to everything being lumped together, he was soon arrested.

Elijah had proper quality stocks delivered to Ford Corporation in exchange for the subpar stocks. When Liesel went to handle the handover, he watched her with interest.

"Don't you trust me, Ms. Sharp?" He raised an eyebrow and eyed the light sheen of sweat at her temples. His gaze turned pointed.

She smiled and blinked at him. "I wouldn't put it that way. Better safe than sorry, right?"

Her smile and rare moment of slyness made her glow. Her eyes were so bright.

Elijah smirked at the sight. It looked like the rumors about her couldn't be trusted at all. She was much more interesting than those naive young women.

Jacob and Natalie happened to see this. Natalie approached with a smile and said, "You and Ms. Liesel seem to get along very well, Mr. Hardin. It looks like this matter was a blessing in disguise."

Her tone was light-hearted and lively, which carried a hint of a young woman's naivety and cheer. Her words made one's imagination wander, though. It was as if Liesel and Elijah were more involved than they seemed.

Jacob's expression darkened when he took in the smile on Liesel's face. Then, he said coolly, "Sorry to have troubled you over this, Mr. Hardin."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all." Elijah smiled meaningfully. "Nothing is considered troublesome when I have someone as gorgeous as Ms. Liesel attending to me."

"Ms. Liesel has always drawn a clear line between work and pleasure. You might have gotten the wrong idea, Mr. Hardin." Jacob's gaze flitted over Liesel.

Elijah's smile widened. "Drawing a clear line between work and pleasure isn't the same as being heartless. One has to be thick-skinned when pursuing a woman, right? Or are you interfering in your employee's personal life, Mr. Ford?"

Jacob faltered. Then, he said, "I'll leave you to it, Mr. Hardin."

He turned and left with Natalie in tow. Liesel watched them. Her gaze was aloof. However, Elijah saw the glumness deep inside. He said, "Your precious Mr. Ford isn't all that great. Why don't you consider other fish in the sea?"

There was a hint of amorosity to his words. Liesel returned to her senses and chuckled. "I remember you saying that I'm not your type, Mr. Hardin. Have you changed your mind?"

Elijah looked at her. If he had to be honest, she was too stubborn and inflexible for his tastes. She was indeed not his type. Yet she was pretty and intelligent enough to mask her inflexibility.

"Not really." He leaned closer. "But I'll make an exception for you. You should really consider my proposal."

Liesel didn't take his words to heart. She was just glad she'd managed to resolve the stock problem and prevent Ford Corporation from suffering any losses.

Jacob punished Natalie by docking three months of her pay and bonuses. Then, he paid Liesel double her salary.

The colleagues in Liesel's department were pleased when she returned.

"I'll admit it—I can't stand those who got in here because of their connections. Anyone else would've been fired ages ago."

"I know, right? She's supposed to have graduated from Alden University, yet she made such a huge mistake immediately after taking over as Mr. Ford's secretary. Even if we were to talk about looks alone, it's not like she can compare with Ms. Sharp! I wonder what Mr. Ford sees in her…"

Ford Corporation was one of the biggest in the industry, so it was harder for rookies to find their footing there compared to other companies. Their situation would only be worse if they didn't have the skills to back themselves up.

It wasn't appropriate for Liesel to comment on the subject, but she knew it wasn't right to pick on Natalie like that.

"Stop." She could feel a headache coming on as she stopped the gossip. "She's just a young woman who's new to this. You guys should focus on your work. I'll treat everyone to a nice meal in a couple of days, okay?"

Only then did the crowd zip their lips and get back to work.

Liesel needed to hand a contract to Jacob now that she was done with the matter with Hardin Corporation. She headed to his office and was about to knock when she heard Natalie's voice.

Inside the room, Natalie bit her lip. Her eyes were red as she said, "I'm too useless, aren't I, Jake? Everyone says I can't compare to Ms. Liesel."

Jacob frowned, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes. He wiped her tears and said, "What's the point of comparing yourself to her? You two aren't the same."

Liesel faltered outside the door. She only pushed it open after a beat.