Irene hurried toward her, calling out, "Lulu?"She felt that Lulu had been much colder to her ever since she lost her memory, so she was surprised that Lulu would come here on her own."Come in!" Irene smiled.Lulu was silent for a while, but she soon said, "Let's go to a restaurant. It's my treat.""Dinner should be ready—""I want to speak with you alone," Lulu insisted, holding her gaze.Sensing that, Irene nodded. "Alright, let's go. We can have my chauffeur drive us."Lulu nodded since she took a taxi here, and those would never come here, or it would take them a lot of time.With that, Irene had her chauffeur take them to a quiet restaurant, and the one her chauffeur brought them to was a good one.It had no main lobbies and consisted of all private rooms, while the furnishing was elaborate and exquisite.As they took their seats, Irene ordered the both of them, since she knew what Lulu liked.Food was served quickly, and Lulu pursed her lips when she saw what the wait
Irene quickly pushed the check back to Lulu, but Lulu caught her wrist."It's not for you. It's for Ricky."It only left Irene even more confused. "Why?""I owe him that much, and this won't even make up for what he lost," Lulu said. "You must have heard by now—Spencer Holdings went bankrupt because of me."It was all her savings and the money she got from selling her house in Sunny City. She had asked an ex-colleague to help her sell the house. It was not supposed to be done so quickly, but her ex-colleague just happened to be looking to buy a house and bought it off her hands directly after checking it out. The ex-colleague hence transferred the money first, and would wait until Lulu returned to finish the paperwork."It wasn't you. I know what happened, and it's the Slates and the Lindts—""Irene," Lulu said, cutting her short. "I need a clear conscience. You and I know that they wouldn't have done it to Ricky or Spencer Holdings if he and I weren't close. Don't turn me do
Even from behind the door, Irene could hear Dennis's frustration and fury."How could you be so stupid?!""It's all her fault, or Mr. Kitsch would have been—""No, that's Tobey's own damn fault, and he almost got Irene killed for it! She was only saved because her husband is Isaac Jefferson—if she ended up dead, things would be even worse for Tobey!" Dennis was utterly disappointed. "I know you owe Tobey, but you should also read the situation first! Trying to get even for Tobey when he's the one who messed up? Are you fucking crazy?!"Even though Dennis was losing it to the point of cursing, Finn Cook stayed obstinately silent, refusing to accept his mistake!Dennis glared at him, and he would have slapped Finn if he were his kid.Restraining himself, he said, "Irene Spencer will arrive for work soon. Apologize sincerely, and ask for her forgiveness—""No," Finn refused. "She did Mr. Kitsch dirty."Dennis almost slapped him right then.Still, he restrained himself again and l
Irene actually had an idea, but she just wanted Dennis to prove it."Tobey Kitsch, the former deputy director," Dennis said.Irene glowered—she was not surprised, but she was unhappy about it too.As she took a seat on the couch, Dennis asked, "Have you decided what to do about this?""You've been here for a while and you know the people here," Irene countered. "What do you think?"Dennis took the single-seat couch then, musing his words before saying, "It's not Finn Cook's fault. The boy is naive, and he's only sharp when it comes to academics. He made it here because he was the top of his class, and his score was much higher than the second-placer. Tobey instructed him after he arrived, though Tobey was still a head of department at the time, not deputy director.""He's from the sticks, but he got a state scholarship, so he's the type who's studious but not good with people. He's only being terrible partly because he was used, and because Tobey used to take good care of him. Yo
James said, "When Finn Cook first started to work at Hotmesh Research, it's Tobey Kitsch who mentored him."Isaac understood right then.Since things ended badly for Tobey, he must be aiming for revenge against Irene.So that was the reason for that phone call?Isaac sprang to his feet at the thought—Irene was in danger at Hotmesh."Get my car…" Isaac began as he put on his jacket, but changed his mind. "Forget it. I'm driving there myself."James wanted to say something, but Isaac already left his office.He simply shrugged and smiled, and mused to himself that people do change.He used to think that Isaac would never get worried. But these days……Meanwhile, Irene ran into yet another disgruntled colleague who wanted to mess with her soon after leaving Dennis's office.Yolanda King was in her forties, and also unhappy that Irene was airdropped as the next director. Still, she was pompous, and always pulled rank and threw her weight around just because she had seniority, an
Irene looked up when she heard the voice and saw him.His towering figure, and the presence he carried—honed after weathering trials and tribulations, seemed to strike like a powerful gust as he made his way towards her.But although Irene felt a moment of security from Isaac's arrival, she soon felt a headache—rumors that she slept her way to the top were all but proven now.She took a deep breath and asked, "What are you doing here?"Isaac remained silent, but he was leveling a sharp look at Yolanda.On the other hand, Dennis might be upset with Yolanda, but he did not want her fired.In fact, most of the employees there were quite competent. Knowing very well that Isaac was far less tender than Irene, he was really worried Isaac would want Yolanda fired!Smiling apologetically, he said, "Oh, it's just a little misunderstanding—""Really?" Isaac's lips curled up as he turned sharply toward Yolanda. "Was that a misunderstanding?"Utterly dwarfed in presence alone, Yolanda t
"Tobey Kitsch's wife," Irene answered flatly with a wane smile.She was the victim when it came to the research data leaks and was somehow targeted for relation. People were certainly as complicated as they were sinister."So? Have you thought about what you'd do?" Isaac asked, glowering. It was clear that he was very unhappy about this, especially after Irene suffered so much because of those leaks.And yet, they plotted revenge instead of being repentant, and the sheer inane attitude from that alone deserved no mercy. Seeing that Irene was silent, he quickly said, "I'll handle it."Irene looked up at him then, her dark eyelashes fluttering.After more silence, she said, "You can handle anything that happens outside this building. I'll handle what's within."Isaac became quiet, because he wanted to handle both for her.And judging from her look of hesitation, she was not going to be tough on them."Irene…""I never tell you what to do at work, so I would like you to not
Dennis was about to speak when Irene simply turned and left, while Yolanda caught his sleeve. "You've always been nice to Irene, Director. She would definitely listen if you asked."However, Dennis was smart enough to judge that the best option here was for Irene to handle this herself. Even if Irene was willing to spare Yolanda, Yolanda must first be direct with her."Do it yourself—you're not a child. Why can't you let go of your pride?"With those words, Dennis strode off.Yolanda was going to have to think through this herself, and anything anyone else would say was pointless.With that, Yolanda was left sitting on the stone bench with a major headache.It was not as if she did not know how to weigh a situation, and she certainly understood that her job was more important.She just could not put aside her pride.Moreover, she was the one who messed with Irene first, and with Irene being so much younger than she was, Yolanda knows that once she apologized, she would never