"That's enough." Thomas was annoyed. If Joseph really were to approach Yvonne, things would become even more complicated. "Besides this, Xavier went to pester Yvonne at the office again today."He'd seen the two of them chatting earlier after emerging from the meeting room but hadn't greeted Xavier since he'd still been seething at the time. Monica was astonished. "Why?" This was Xavier's second visit to Yvonne!Thomas shook his head. "I'm not sure what he's up to either, but I don't think he's interested in Yvonne as a woman."Monica wasn't surprised. "Obviously not. Only a blind man would accept a face like hers. I'm sure Mr. Robinson has better taste. Only our Kayla is good enough for him."Thomas hesitated when he saw how excited Monica was. Monica's fervent wish for Kayla to marry into a wealthy family had never sat well with him. He believed that one should acquire their own power and status, regardless of gender. But since his wife and daughter refused to listen to him, he deci
Noticing where her focus was, he pulled the lapels of his robe tighter around him and frowned. "Is there something you need?""Yes." Yvonne shot her eyes toward his face and smiled sweetly. "My best friend wants to meet you. Do you have time?""She wants to meet me?""Mm-hmm. She overheard our call last time, so I had no choice but to lie and say that you're my boyfriend." Yvonne was nervous. Would someone like Stephen agree to act along? "If you find it troublesome, I can always talk to her—""I'll meet her." Stephen surprisingly agreed.Yvonne was stunned. "Huh?""Where did you two decide to meet up? Send me the location and time." Unless something unexpected were to happen, their current relationship would probably last for quite some time. Meeting her friends was unavoidable then, so he didn't bother turning her down. "Anything else?" asked Stephen. "N–no." Seeing how cooperative the man was, Yvonne instantly felt like all her worries had been for nothing. "Well, goodnight. I'll l
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the new face, and they demanded that Yvonne introduce herself. Just when Rachel managed to calm things enough for Yvonne to talk, the lady spoke out again. "We're all friends here, so why are you wearing a mask? Are you trying to keep a secret?"Rachel was upset. "What's it got to do with you, Beatrice?"Beatrice Lipsey grunted. "Did I say something wrong? Since we're here to enjoy ourselves, she should relax too. Right, guys?" Everyone else agreed with her.Just then, someone walked into the room, breaking the ice. Beatrice's eyes lit up. She rushed over with a beam. "What took you so long? I've been waiting for you for ages!"James explained. "An important friend is coming over tonight, so Stanley and I were busy getting things ready." He then waved to everyone in the room. "Tonight's on me. Have fun, everyone!"There was a burst of cheers. "Thanks, James!""As expected of Beatrice's boyfriend. How generous!"Beatrice nestled into James'
"Didn't you just say he'd already arrived?"Rachel was still confused when Yvonne pulled her back. "I want to pee. Where's the bathroom?"After five minutes in the bathroom, the two ladies returned to the lounge, which was now silent, the air seeming colder than before. The crowd had separated into two groups on the couch.Stephen sat by himself on one side, isolated from the others by an imperceptible wall. Yvonne was starting to get tired of this. It was difficult enough to have to avoid him, but now James had even brought him over.Rachel had never met Stephen before, but she was instantly drawn to his looks. She'd been working in the entertainment industry for years and had met countless Greek gods, but never had she seen anyone this handsome! "Hey, handsome. Did you walk into the wrong room?" Rachel greeted him flirtily. Yvonne's heart skipped a beat nervously, screaming internally. "Don't fuck anyone just because they're handsome!"Under the dim lighting, Stephen made out Yvonne
Stephen stood by the door. Despite his hazy vision, he could vaguely make out their silhouette. He forced his anger down and put on a blank face. "You should have approached me directly instead of harassing my people, Xavier."Xavier didn't disengage himself from Yvonne; instead, he studied Stephen's eyes. "Are you still unable to see?""Isn't it what you hoped for?" Stephen's grip on his cane tightened before he continued lazily. "I see that you've made quite a fortune during the years I've been gone." As far as Stephen knew, the Robinson family's business had expanded tremendously, even impeding some of the Andersons' business.Lacking modesty, Xavier laughed. "Nonsense! There's nothing I want more than for you to return. Otherwise," the man's eyes glinted eagerly, "it'll be quite miserable not to have an opponent. Things get boring."Ever since Xavier took over his family business when he was 20 years old, he'd only recognized Stephen as his opponent. Xavier respected Stephen but, a
Stephen and Yvonne didn't stay for long, but everyone in the room was still stupefied after they left.James and Stanley walked the couple to the door and watched the Panamera drive out of sight. Stanley stared in disbelief as the car drove away. Even though Tabitha had told him that Stephen was recovering rapidly, he'd never expected his friend to fall in love!"Do you know Ms. Miller?" Stanley asked."This is my first time meeting her," James replied dejectedly. "My girlfriend offended her. Oh, never mind. She's my ex now."Stanley came back to his senses and asked James, puzzled, "When did the two of you break up?" Hadn't they been hugging and singing moments ago?"I wouldn't dare keep in touch with her after she offended Stephen. That's suicidal. Besides, there are plenty of other women!" Stanley was used to hearing things like this from the philanderer and gave his friend a withering look. James threw one arm over Stanley's shoulders. "This is Stephen's second relationship, right?
The next morning, Yvonne woke up in her room alone. The only proof of the passionate night before was the messy carpet. She looked at the note and medication on the desk and snickered. Stephen sure was a heartless man, leaving as though nothing had happened after sleeping with her.She got out of bed and nearly tripped when her unsteady feet reached the floor. She cursed Stephen silently before heading to the shower. Afterward, she began to read Rachel's messages, which were all as she'd expected. Besides yelling at Yvonne for neglecting her after falling in love, Rachel also fawned over Stephen's looks but lamented his lack of vision.Yvonne only bothered to reply to one of the messages: "My brother's recovering well and wants to meet you. What do you say?"Yvonne didn't hesitate, sticking firmly to her principle of never meeting clients privately. "No need for that. Just tell him to rest well." Just like that, she pushed the matter to the back of her mind.All of a sudden, Yvonne's a
"This has nothing to do with money." Elliot turned Yvonne down.Judging from his firm attitude, Yvonne knew her trip had been in vain. Even though she'd insisted on knowing the reason why he refused to work with her at first, she wasn't interested anymore. Honestly, it wasn't a surprise to see others adding insult to injury in this kind of situation. After all, businessmen only cared about profits, which seemed bleak when it came to Miller Jewels.Elliot felt sorry for Yvonne, who remained silent, but couldn't bring himself to console her. Anything he said now would be pretentious. Besides, accepting rejection was the first lesson Yvonne needed to learn when it came to running a business. Elliot sighed. "Ms. Miller, I'll go back to work if that's all."After the man left, Yvonne remained seated for some time, processing what was happening. Suddenly, she felt like she'd gone back in time to when she'd just started exploring business. It had been a great struggle back then.While she'd t