Sonia clasped her arms together and said matter-of-factly, "Strand Real Estate's CEO, of course. Mr. Strand may have appointed you as project manager, but he didn't exclude anyone else from being part of the team. I'm just trying to help.""This is your definition of help?" Willow glanced at the house. The entrance was strewn with things. Someone had clearly tried knocking down the wooden front door. It was now hanging off its hinges.Sonia didn't care at all. "Did you lose touch with reality, Willow? We've already paid the old lady, but she refuses to move out. It's clear she's trying to scam more money out of us. Therefore, we can only resort to these tactics. Do you want to be responsible for delaying the project's progress?"Sonia then instructed, "Tear the place down.""Let's see you try!" Willow snapped."You don't need to go all out, Willow. Aren't you happy with me being the bad guy right now?""Sonia Sutton, as this project's manager, I hereby declare that you have been
Willow waited outside the hospital's entrance with her phone in hand.The August morning was somewhat cold, especially with the rainfall earlier. Willow was only wearing a thin knit blouse. She couldn't withstand the cold after some time and turned to go back to the hospital ward."Willow."Just then, a male voice rang out from behind her.Willow instinctively turned around. Before she could further react, she was pulled into someone's arms.Willow could hear the pounding heartbeat underneath the man's thick coat. It was as if the person had run the way over."I thought something happened to you."The voice that rumbled from above Willow's head made her stop struggling.It was impossible to fake worry over someone.Willow was so taken aback that she forgot to push him away. She was held by him out in public while passersby watched. It took a while before she returned to her senses."Let me go first."Only then did Theodore release Willow.The wind stirred her hair up, revea
Willow hadn't been cared for by someone in a long time. It was a strange warmth indeed.Later that afternoon, Hailey brought some foreign snacks to the Bassett Residence. All of them were Sara's favorites.Sara beamed at her, saying, "Stay for dinner tonight, Hailey. I need to thank you properly for bringing me so many treats.""No, thank you, Grandma. I still have errands to run later.""What sort of important errands could you possibly have? I'll ask Theodore to come and join us for dinner later.""I really can't, Grandma." Hailey looked troubled. "Grandma, it's best I don't show up too much around Theo. He's about to get married, after all. I still know my ethics."Sara's brows knit together."Anyway, I'll come see you again when I'm free. Bye now." Hailey then got up to leave.Sara exchanged some courteous words with her but didn't stop her from leaving.Ellie sighed after Hailey left. "Hailey knows what her limits are, Mom. She won't be coming to visit often now that Theo
Willow returned to the company to host a meeting the next morning.Her plan was to take precautionary action against Sonia for what she had done to the old woman the day before. But the moment she reached the office, she felt something off about its atmosphere."Good morning, Ms. Jett.""Good morning.""Ms. Jett.""Good morning."On the way to the conference room, Willow met several subordinates who seemed to be gossiping amongst themselves. All of them had their phones in hand.Abraham arrived right when she was wondering why. "Good morning, Ms. Jett.""Good morning, Mr. Yarrow. Did something happen in the company?""What happened?" Abraham was just as confused. "Nothing, as far as I can recall."Willow didn't spend any more time wondering. "Let's just get the meeting over with first."The project team had already arrived in the conference room when they arrived. Willow first gave a short opening statement, "The funds have largely reached our budget goals. Some of the mat
Quentin's eyes swept across everyone's faces as he said coldly, "This meeting is over. The company will be hosting a press conference later this afternoon to apologize to the public for the matter at hand. Willow is officially deposed from her position as project manager."Quentin then shot Willow a look before walking away.The meeting had ended just like that before it had even begun. The team members all looked at one another.Abraham said, "All of you can go now."He then asked Willow, "Why didn't you clarify the situation with Mr. Strand, Ms. Jett?""What's there to clarify? Do you think Mr. Strand wanted to hear my explanation? He's dying to find a mistake I made so he can kick me off my position as project manager. That way, Bassett Corporation will have nothing to complain about since it'd be in the public interest.""What do you mean?"Willow's hands balled into fists. "If it all goes according to plan, Sonia is going to frame me for everything during the press conferen
Willow's assistant, who had been standing behind her mere moments ago, was now gone. Luckily, Willow managed to stabilize herself by holding onto the wall.Her mind was a mess from the pressing questions the reporters shoved at her.Sonia had deliberately orchestrated this entire matter from start to finish. She had used those photos and twisted the truth with false statements. The photos were genuine, but the truth drastically differed from what was reported. It was pointless for Willow to try and tell the truth."You're the project manager for the Oldtown development project, aren't you? You're the one in the photos?""You're the person who threatened the old lady to relocate, didn't you?""Was this an individual decision on your end, or did your superiors instruct you?""Is this Strand Real Estate's internal decision, or was Bassett Corporation involved?"The questions fired at Willow like rockets, not even giving her a chance to answer. She felt suffocated amidst the flurry
Sonia's face flushed a myriad of shades. "Who says I'm leaving? I was going to go take something.""You should let your assistant do that. It's best to sit down and watch the livestream with everyone else, Ms. Sutton." Willow then turned to the reporters. "Please take a seat, everybody."The reporters dissipated, returning to their seats. Theodore marched over and sat facing Willow on the first row in front of the stage. His calm, distant gaze made her feel secure.Willow looked at Theodore, thinking about how this distant and proud man always seemed to show up to support her when she had none. Her eyes suddenly stung with tears.The livestream was still going on. Phoenix News was Emperia's most trustworthy media source. All the news they reported were results from thorough investigation and research. It was never subjective; rather, they had an objective standard for their news.One could say that Phoenix News was the media world's flagship."What instructions were you given
The scene was chaotic.Someone spotted Quentin backstage and said, "Strand Real Estate's CEO is right over there. He must know what's going on."The reporters swarmed Quentin in the blink of an eye. "Sonia Sutton is your girlfriend, isn't she? Did you permit her actions?""Please answer our questions, Mr. Strand.""Apologies, but I'm not taking any questions right now," Quentin answered.The security team arrived just in time to escort him away. Willow was the only one left behind to take care of the company's mess."Strand Real Estate will update all of you on this matter. As for whether this was Sonia's own actions or …"Before Willow could finish speaking, her microphone was taken away. A strong, clear voice said from beside her, "Bassett Corporation will hereby terminate the joint venture with Strand Real Estate."The reporters were shocked to silence.Willow stared at Theodore in shock as well.Terminate the joint venture? The project had just started. There was nothin