Elaine and her father were even more awkward. Nolan didn’t seem to want to hear what happened in college, so he cut straight to the point. “You can be blunt, Mr. Xavier. Even if we were coursemates, we weren’t that close, so there’s no need to pretend to be friends.”His intentions were clear. Trying to use their relationship as acquaintances to help Beyond Tech was pointless because they weren’t close, and Nolan couldn’t care less about that.Edward understood, so he changed his tune. “Beyond Tech is facing some financial issues, and I heard that you took computer science in college and you’re versed in technology, so we’d like to ask for your help.”Nolan crossed his legs and leaned back while crossing his arms. “I don’t waste time on failed ventures. There’s nothing about Beyond Tech that intrigues me.”Edward clenched his jaw because he didn’t know what to say. Elaine stood up. “Mr. Goldmann, I know that Beyond Tech is nothing in your eyes because the IT companies under Bla
Maisie smiled. “We have three big spenders at home. Of course I have to help you out.”Nolan looked toward the father and daughter. “My wife has asked me to think about it, so I will.”Edward was very surprised but smiled, “Thank you, Mrs. Goldmann, and thank you, Mr. Goldmann, for giving us a chance.”After Quincy walked them out, Maisie stood up. “I should leave—”Before she could finish, Nolan pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. “Leave to go where?”She cried, “Back to my office!”Nolan was in heat. “Don’t even think of going back today.”At Morwich…Tanner brought Noah to the zoo. Noah had his arms around his neck while he looked around excitedly. He was curious about all the animals because he had never been to a zoo. He asked question after question, but Tanner answered all of them patiently. Pearl followed behind them. It was the first time she saw her son so happy, so she didn’t want to interrupt them.The zoo was crowded, so she lost sight of T
Tanner slowly spoke. “Noah needs a complete family and me.”Pearl paused—her chest heaving—but pulled her hand out of his grasp. “I don’t want to get married.” She no longer had the courage to go through marriage. Tanner’s eyes lost hope, but he understood she didn’t want to forgive him.He said, “We won’t have to get married if you don’t want to. We’ll do it if or when you want to. Pearl, the decision is in your hands. I won’t force it.” Tanner touched her face, which looked cold because he wanted to warm her up.Pearl looked around and took a deep breath. “I’m not worth the effort.”“I think you are.” Tanner got closer and rubbed his hand on her cheek. “Pearl, you and Noah bring meaning to my life.”Pearl froze before looking into his eyes. “Tanner, if we got married and you had a tainted wife, you would need to hear people talking behind your back. Do you think that’s a marriage you want?”“I don’t care,” Tanner touched her face and stared into her eyes, “I don’t care what o
Nolan hadn’t planned to work with Beyond Tech, especially when they tried to use his relationship with Elaine. He didn’t want another situation like the Hannigans.Nathaniel had tried to introduce Maizie to him under the guise of a partnership when he lost his memories. If there were any underlying motives, he wouldn’t consider a partnership, even if it were with a great company.However, Beyond Tech was open and good at reading people. Since Maisie was interested, he had agreed on behalf of her.Maisie smiled. “I’ll go where my dear brings me.”Nolan smiled and agreed.After the call ended, Lucy slowly turned around. “Ms. Vanderbilt, which Mr. Xavier were you talking about?”Maisie smiled and answered, “From Beyond Tech.”Lucy’s expression slightly changed. Maisie noticed that and squinted. “What’s wrong?”Lucy snapped back to her senses, scratched her head, and smiled. “It’s nothing. I was just curious. I’m going back to work.”The moment she left the office and closed the
Jenna was surprised, then looked toward Edward and smiled.Edward made it lively during their dinner while Elaine had a few things to say when the food was served.Nolan rarely spoke when dining, and Maisie would usually be the one speaking. She noticed that Jenna had no interactions with Elaine. After dinner, Edward walked them to the door. Maisie said goodbye to them politely and got into the car with Nolan. The car slowly drove away while she looked into the side mirror. “I felt that Jenna didn’t really blend in.”Nolan casually unbuttoned his jacket, tilted his head, and smiled. “You were paying attention to that?”“I just found it odd.” Maisie leaned on his shoulder. “Jenna had to look at her husband before speaking and didn’t interact with her daughter as though she was an outsider.”When the driver heard that, he said, “I heard that this is Mr. Xavier’s second wife. Ms. Xavier was from the first wife who he divorced many years ago.”Maisie leaned forward with a curio
Elaine walked toward the car.The car drove into the car park. After Lucy parked the car, she came out and closed the door. As soon as she turned around, she saw Elaine walking toward her. “It has been a long time, Lucy. It seems like you’re leading a pretty good life. You even have a new car.”Lucy did not expect to run into Elaine here. The smile on her face disappeared. “So? It's not like I'm spending your family's money.”Just when she was about to leave, Elaine stopped her. “It has been three years. You don't even care about how your mother is living in our house?”When Elaine talked about her mother, Lucy averted her gaze and fell silent.When she turned 15, her mother remarried a businessman. Since then, she and her mother had been living with the Xaviers. She had also acknowledged her stepfather as her father and changed her surname. However, she knew that she and her mother had always been outsiders. Her mother was obedient to the man and tried her best to be a good
Elaine took a sip from the tea silently. Nobody could tell if she was listening or not. She had not wanted to go with her father to the Blackgold that day. Even though she graduated from the same college as Nolan, she was unfamiliar with him.Her father had wanted her to go because he wanted to take advantage of the "relationship" between her daughter and Nolan and hoped that he would give them a chance. However, he was obviously wrong.She was also well aware that her father wanted her to enter that circle solidly and gain a foothold in it. Many people wanted to work with Blackgold, but not all of them had the opportunity. When people wanted to cotton up to the Goldmanns, the first target they would go after was Nolan, and they would usually ignore Nolan's wife. Her father knew how much Nolan loved his wife, so he wanted her to form a good relationship with her instead.Everyone said Maisie was just lucky for marrying Nolan. Some of them even thought that she was just a woman,
Not only that, but Elaine did not take the chance and curry favor with Nolan when they were having dinner that night. Apparently, she was not interested in Nolan. Elaine put the gift on the table and said with a smile, “To express my gratitude, I hope you can keep this, Mrs. Goldmann.”Maisie knew it was expensive, judging from the gift box alone.She narrowed her eyes and seemed rather perplexed. “You’re welcome, Ms. Xavier. However, did you not already express it at dinner the other day? So don't you think it's a little inappropriate for me to accept your gift now?”There were two meanings when it came to gift-giving. The first one was to express something, while the second was to curry favor. When one wanted to express something, it could mean that they were asking for a favor. However, Elaine did not look like she was asking for a favor but was more inclined to the second one.In other words, Elaine was currying favor with her, but she did not show it explicitly. It was wit