Eloise knew it would be difficult since Derrick and Stephanie were stubborn as a mule and would not budge easily. If even Arianna had failed to obtain the shares despite her various attempts, there was no way Derrick would give them to an outsider.However, she might as well visit them since she was already there. It had been a long time since she last saw the couple at the hospital, and she could hardly explain how she felt. Eloise walked toward the entrance, gave the door a gentle push, and it swung open.The air inside smelled of food. Derrick and his wife sat at the dining table and had their meals quietly. As if they had not heard anything, they did not even look up at the sound of someone entering.“Hi,” Eloise quietly said when she got near them.Derrick ignored her while his wife looked up. “El, it’s you.”“Steph.” Eloise felt a mix of emotions when Stephanie called her by her nickname.Although she had spent her whole life scheming and hoping her family could take over t
“He’s…”After a pause, Eloise heaved a heavy sigh. “With all that has happened, I guess he’s been generous, not leaving me for the sake of our marriage.”“With him keeping that woman for so many years, could he still hold it against you? Anyway, you two are quite alike in this aspect,” Derrick made fun of Eloise.Eloise was embarrassed and speechless. She had expected them to be hostile, even though she did not choose to be there.“All right, enough of your stories. What are you truly here for?” Derrick looked over at her as he spoke impatiently. Since Nathaniel was holding them as hostages, he knew Eloise had not come just to chat with them.‘I…” She hesitated for a moment, glanced toward the door, and whispered. “You haven’t transferred your shares to Nate, have you?”The couple shared a scornful look.“So that’s why you’re here!” Derrick snorted, “Eloise, you’ve married into the Tanner family for so many years. Have my wife and I ever mistreated you? How could you help your son
“Please leave,” Derrick said.“Derrick, I have no ill intentions. No one here wished for things to end up like this. How about this? If you sign the share transfer agreement, I’ll get Nate to promise not to rename Tanner Corporation. That way, the company could retain its name although managed by a different person. With Nate’s abilities, he can make Tanner Corporation greater than before.”“You truly know no shame!” Stephanie was not used to scolding people but uttered it despite herself, her face flushing.“Say no more. We wouldn’t sign it even if we were to die!”“Do you think I won’t be able to get the shares if you’re dead?” Nathaniel pushed open the door and swaggered in. “You’re so naive! Don’t you know that even if you don’t sign it, you can’t change the fact that the company has become mine?”“Oh, yeah?” Derrick snorted and looked askance at him. “Just wait.”“Nate…” Not expecting him to come in, Eloise wanted to say something, but he held up a hand to stop her. Nathan
“Ms. Christian, we look forward to working with you!” The other party put down the pen and picked up the two copies of the contracts, revealing a satisfied smile.Lily took the contract, carefully looked it over, and extended her hand. “Looking forward to working with you too!”She did not expect the collaboration discussion to go so smoothly as Grandeur readily accepted all of her terms with only slight amendments. In the next quarter, they would launch a co-branded series named “Grandeur de Lily,” which would be a win-win model for both parties.Of course, it was not without precedents. Some famous perfumers had worked with international brands to launch co-branded series, which were very popular among consumers who chose their perfumes based on who the creators were.As this was Lily’s first attempt to explore the international market, it would be challenging to achieve one-shot success through her alone effort. Therefore, she thought it was an excellent opportunity to collabora
“How am I still alive?” The young man widened his smile and now looked much more mature than the unruly youth he used to be.He dressed up like a businessperson with a white slim-fit shirt, hair combed neatly, and a briefcase in his hand. If he had not called Lily by her name, she could never be sure of who he was.“Don’t say that.” Lily frowned. Although the young man was referring to himself, she did not feel comfortable hearing it. “It’s just that I’ve not seen you for a long time.”Jenny looked on curiously as Lily interacted with the handsome young man sitting at the nearby table.“I’ve been occupied with something.” He nodded with a slight smile. “Why don’t we grab a coffee since we’ve run into each other? My treat.”Since it was unusual for Lily to bump into him, she nodded since she had completed her tasks here. “Sure.”“You’re…” Jenny hesitated whether or not to interrupt their conversation.“He’s a friend of mine.” Lily smiled. “Jen, would you like to join us for coffe
After listening to Lily for a while, Benedict shook his head and sighed, “I thought many would have felt saddened by the news of my death. I guess I don’t have such an influence over people, do I?”Lily knew he was teasing her, but she did not laugh—instead, she asked seriously, “Is it part of your game plan?”Benedict’s gaze wavered as he looked at her. “What?”“If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay. Everyone has secrets, so I guess you must do what you need to do.” Lily did not like to pry into others’ affairs, so she did not mind if he did not want to talk about it.Benedict smiled. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, but it’s not the time yet. Anyway, I never thought I’d bump into you here. Are you here on vacation?”“No, I came here to discuss a collaboration deal,” Lily answered frankly.Benedict raised his eyebrows and threw her a surprised look. “You used to busy yourself with conducting experiments and creating perfumes in the lab, and now you’re discus
“I used one of the pieces as an ingredient to make the essential oil, and the perfumes based on it became very popular.” Lily could not help but be proud of her creations.After some thought, Benedict asked, “Are you talking about the Four Seasons-themed series?”“You know about them?” Lily was surprised that he had heard about the perfumes.“Of course” He nodded with a smile. “I smelled the scent when I was with a team of models from Bryxton. I thought its scent was familiar, but I didn’t expect that it had something to do with those pieces of wood.”“That’s why I should thank you,” Lily chuckled, “Not just that. I’ve tried cultivating a few other pieces back at my farm, and they have begun germinating. Their shoots have an even more unique scent, and I’m thinking of observing them further.”“You have a cultivation farm too!” Seeing her spirited look, Benedict could not help but chuckle along.“Yes, I’ll bring you to visit it one day!”Lily remembered that he was still a “decea
Just as Nathaniel happily prepared to go to the meeting, his assistant hurried in, flustered. “Mr. Hall, bad news!”Thinking that she had jinxed him, Nathaniel grew stern. “What bad news? How could there be bad news with me around?” As the assistant ran over, she tried to catch her breath as she sputtered, “N-No, sir, it’s Mr. Tanner…he…”Nathaniel frowned. “Which Mr. Tanner are you talking about?”‘It doesn’t matter if there are too many Tanners here because I’ll get rid of them in a moment, and the company will soon have nothing to do with them.’“Mr. Tanner, the general manager!” She stomped her foot and gritted her teeth. “Joseph Tanner.”Nathaniel was unperturbed. ‘What could that old fool do?’He picked up his coffee cup from the desk and took a sip, saying slowly, “Oh, him! Didn’t I tell you he’s going to step down soon, and there’s no need to bother about him? What’s the matter?”“He…jumped off a building to kill himself!”…Nathaniel did not go to the hospital, as