After Bianca sat down, Yanis swept her penetrating gaze around the office and said sternly, "Now that the urban reconstruction project has already begun, I hope that all of you can complete your tasks to the best of your abilities! Not only that, everyone here has to cooperate with each other. No one can attempt to sabotage another. If I discover it, your name will be instantly removed from the list!" "Yes." Everyone nodded, though a hint of disdain flashed past Bella's face. When it was almost time to go off work, Yanis told everyone that there would be a joint meeting between T Corporation and Vivi Group the next day. The main agenda would be about everyone's progress in the urban reconstruction project. She emphasized that higher management from both companies, including the CEO of T Corporation and chairman of Vivi Group, would be present at the meeting of unprecedented scale. Bianca felt immense pressure after hearing Yanis's announcement. Would she be able to maintain her
Anand looked at the gentle and quiet Bianca. The more he looked at her, the more he liked her. He might be half-Indian, but he was not interested in women of his race. Instead, he was drawn to Caucasian features like his father. He loved Bianca's petite and delicate features. Anand was not worried when he saw that Bianca was uninterested in him. He knew that it would not be that easy to win a woman's heart. He did not want a one-night stand; he was in for the long game. When he saw that the women were purposely ignoring him, he diverted the conversation topic and said courteously, "I've only arrived in the country not too long ago, Bianca, and I'm not too familiar with the local customs… Do you think that I'll blend in better if I have an English name? I can't think of a suitable one." Sue and Nina were eating peanuts while looking interestedly at Anand trying to hook up with Bianca. 'Haha! Our boss has a love rival now! 'Looks like Bianca's charm knows no bounds!'
Late in the night. Sue was in the critical stage of her pregnancy, and she could not move about that easily. That was why she left the venue first. Bianca and Nina also felt tired and said goodbye. Other than Michelle, the ones who remained in the private room were all men. After saying their superficial goodbyes, they continued having fun. Armand wanted to see Bianca off instead of staying in the boring room. He pretended to stumble and said that he was drunk and needed to go home and rest. The other male colleagues did not persuade him to stay. After all, those who remained had their own agendas. After most of the female colleagues were gone, the male colleagues that usually looked serious called for the manager of the karaoke bar, selected several escorts that had decent figures, and continued their merriment… The situation inside the room was warm and lively. Once they stepped out of Blue Honors, the biting cold wind froze their necks. Fortunately, Bianca, Sue, and
As Luke turned his head over, his face was illuminated by the street light and moonlight. That was the first time Anand saw his face clearly. The curves of the man's lips were elegant and graceful. He was noble and otherworldly. For a brief moment, Anand thought that the man was Prince Charming who had walked out of a book. His lofty demeanor was breathtaking, but he emitted an aura as serene and tranquil as the bright moonlight. Anand had to admit that he was impressed. The man whom he had recently classified as a "love rival" was noble and aloof, while Bianca in his arms was graceful and beautiful. As the couple hugged each other, it was extremely pleasing to the eye. Whoever looked at the man or the woman could have easily been charmed. His crush was as docile as a kitten in the man's arms. Anand felt uneasy. He wanted to say hi to Bianca, but the man escorted her to the car and opened the door like a gentleman. Bianca was smiling like a blooming flower. Anand stoo
As Bianca walked onto the podium, her gaze subconsciously turned to Luke. She saw that the man was looking at her encouragingly, and that had made her slightly at ease. She handed copies of the documents to the bosses of the two companies as well as the higher management… Then, she inserted the flash drive into the laptop, adjusted the microphone, and prepared to give her presentation. Quinton flipped through Bianca's document, and his expression instantly sank. "Ms. Rayne, are you mistaken about this meeting's agenda?" Bianca looked curiously at a copy of the document in her hand and was instantly shocked. 'How… how is this possible? This isn't the document that I prepared the day before, but the weekly report of our design department…' Slam! The chairman of Vivi Group slammed the document on the table. Quinton's authoritative expression became even gloomier because of his anger. "How could you possibly make this kind of mistake as a designer? Even a rookie employee wo
What a bold claim! Did she know what she was saying? Some people might meticulously prepare their presentations, and there would still be errors. Right now, she was going to improvise her presentation! Everyone cast suspicious glances on Bianca, which made her palms wet with sweat. Bianca's grip on the stack of documents in her hands became tighter. Earlier, while she was looking for her missing documents, she found some design sketches in her cabinet. Those were not floor plans or 3D renderings but colored pencil concept sketches done during her free time. Bianca was not professionally trained in illustration, but she possessed certain talents. Moreover, whenever inspiration struck her, she would draw her designs on paper with a sketching pen or colored pencils instead of drawing them on the computer. The thick stack of paper was all her concept sketches for the project. The department lead had commented that Bianca was old-fashioned for sketching on paper, but Bianca
The urban reconstruction project involved funds of over a hundred billion dollars. The reason behind T Corporation and Vivi Group's collaboration was not only because of the astronomical sum of money involved, but also because it was impossible for a single corporation to gain sole development rights over the entire area. In an attempt to regulate the economy, the local government did not want to give the entire pie to one corporation, even if the company could do so. Even a single percentage point of profits from this project was a huge sum of money. Vivi Group was not going to go down without a fight. The two parties were caught in a stalemate. All of Vivi Group's higher management was furious. They were planning to fight tooth and nail for one or two percentage points. Now that Luke wanted a whole ten percentage points, they were definitely angry. After all, all civilities were already off the table. There was no point in courtesies, and therefore the boards of directors f
Quinton nearly popped a vein when he heard that! He was not expecting that Luke had several other partners waiting in line. However, he hesitated when he considered Luke's massive network. If he did not agree to Luke's offer, Luke might really go and look for another partner. Moreover, those companies were no pushovers either… Quinton clutched his chest that was starting to become painful and waved his other hand. "I'll discuss this with the other members of high management, and I'll give you a reply!" "Help yourselves with any of the conference rooms here, Mr. Lamarr," Luke said generously as he stubbed out his cigarette. The meeting was paused. The higher management of Vivi Group went into a smaller conference room next door. Bianca and her colleagues returned to the design department. Bianca wanted to spend some private time with Luke. After all, Luke must be tired from the intense negotiations earlier. She wanted nothing more than to hug him. However, their rela
Abel chuckled. His voice was low and gravelly.“Hera, let’s agree on something. Don’t use threats of leaving to manipulate me anymore, or I won’t be happy,” said Abel in a low voice.What might have sounded like a plea or a compromise came across to Hera as a veiled threat.The cool sensation of his fingers brushed against her eyelids, and she could not help but shiver. His touch felt as cold as death itself. She could not feel a trace of warmth.Her hands clenched tightly together. The tension in her grip was the only thing keeping her from trembling further.“Alright,” Hera murmured obediently.Abel withdrew his hand. Hera opened her eyes. A strange unease stirred within her. For reasons she could not quite explain, Abel’s behavior filled her with an unsettling dread…“Will you stay at the hospital with me tonight?” Hera could not help but crave some semblance of comfort.Abel frowned slightly. “Stay here with you? And what about Luca?”“You could just send her home. I onl
Luca's expression was serious, and Hera realized she was not just trying to scare her. Ignoring her warnings had already caused her to suffer once.Unwillingly, Hera sipped on the cereal. Her resentment was evident in every movement.Luca noticed it was not difficult for her to handle. She quietly sat down and ate her own bowl of cereal.Hera did not have much of an appetite.Hera took a couple of bites before growing bored. She glanced at Luca and asked, “How did you end up working for Abel?”Luca did not respond. She calmly blew on her cereal and ate in silence, showing no intention of engaging in conversation.“I’m talking to you. Are you deaf?” snapped Hera.Luca lifted her gaze briefly and replied, “You should finish your cereal before it gets cold.”“I’m not even hungry.” Hera really had no appetite and was not planning to eat the cereal.“It’s still better if you eat something. Otherwise, when hunger strikes later, don’t expect me to help you,” said Luca, “I’m only he
Luke had never taken the medicine that could speed up healing, so his recovery was nowhere near as fast as the others from the Island of Despair.Luca did not respond to Gerald’s comment. Her gaze fixed on him with intensity.“No stitches,” said Luke, “I trust you.”Luca bit her lower lip.“But if you don’t stitch it, it might tear open,” insisted Gerald, staring at Luke’s wounds.Luke glanced at his injuries and shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, as though the wounds had nothing to do with Luca.“Stitches will leave scars.”“Are you afraid of scars? What kind of man doesn’t have a few scars on him? Scars are a symbol of manhood,” teased Gerald with a playful tone, “Scars show you’re reliable, that you can protect a woman.”Luke gave him a look as though he were an idiot, then his gaze shifted to Luca. “I don’t want too many scars. I’m worried my future wife might dislike them.”Luca’s heart sank at his words, but his lighthearted remark eased her sadness. Despite the severity
Luca could not help but tremble with heartache. She fought hard to resist the urge to rush forward.Everyone in the room had survived brutal training to make it out of the Island of Despair, and they could not help but shudder when they saw the scene. The sound of the whip felt like it was landing on their own bodies.Gerald closed his eyes, unable to watch any longer. It was too cruel for him to watch.The ten lashes felt like an eternity, stretching on for what seemed like a century.Luca looked at the drenched clothes on Luke. His eyes were red, and his shirt was so soaked that you could wring out the blood from it. Her hands were clenched so tightly into fists that the veins were bulging.Abel tossed the whip aside, looking at Luke’s disheveled state with satisfaction. He enjoyed the thrill of this bloody scene.He turned to Luca, noticing her reddened eyes, and smiled even more devilishly. “Hera is in the hospital now. You’ll go take care of her for the next few da
Luca instantly understood the situation. It was about Hera.Hera was someone Abel valued, possibly as a future corneal donor for Kassy. While Abel might not love Hera now, he certainly took her health seriously.In a calm tone, Luca explained, “She was hospitalized due to inflammation that caused a fever.”Abel furiously flung his half-smoked cigar at her. The glowing embers singed her clothes, leaving a small burn mark.She instinctively stepped aside.Abel roared, “What kind of care is this?! I told you to look after her! Is this how you handle things?”Luca was perplexed. When did he ever tell her to look after Hera?Besides, she did take care of her.”When Ms. Sanchez fainted last night, she already had a low-grade fever. I diagnosed her condition as inflammation and prescribed anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing medication. I also emphasized that she needed to take oral anti-inflammatory drugs. She didn’t trust me and threw out Mr. Shanks’ medication, which led to her con
Luca placed her hand on Hera’s other wrist, checking her pulse. “Her condition is worsening. The inflammation in her body has intensified.“I prescribed her medication. Those are Mr. Shanks’ formulations, and they're highly effective for reducing inflammation. It shouldn’t be getting worse.” Gerald pursed his lips before finally speaking up. “Luca, when I was cleaning yesterday, I saw that Ms. Sanchez had thrown all the medication you prescribed into the trash. She didn’t take any of it.”Luca was speechless.She had been questioning whether the medicine was ineffective or if she had made an error in diagnosis. It turned out that it was Hera herself who had sabotaged her treatment.“What should we do now?” asked Gerald.“There’s no other option. She needs to go to a hospital,” Luca decided firmly. “Her condition is serious, and since she doesn’t trust my treatment, the hospital is her best choice.”“Can’t you help her just this once?” pleaded Gerald, “I mean, she looks really b
Luke stayed silent, letting the chilled beer cool him down, washing away some of the lingering heat.Gerald glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before leaning in and speaking softly to Luke. “Actually, I’ve seen it.”“Seen what?” Luke could not be bothered.Lowering his voice even further, Gerald whispered just loud enough for the two of them to hear, “I’ve seen you going into Ms. Craw’s room quite often.”Luke’s expression sharpened instantly. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.He had been so cautious. How had Gerald noticed? Was he bluffing?Luke narrowed his eyes and said nothing.His aura grew colder by the second.Gerald, sensing the rising tension, shrank back slightly and quickly added, “Relax, I’m not going to tell anyone. If I wanted to report you, I would’ve done it already.”Luke’s expression eased slightly.Gerald continued to reassure him, “I’m not one to meddle. Look, I haven’t said a word about you, and I even stood up for you during that whole thing
“Sure.” Luca was unsure why he was suddenly interested in the volunteers. She led him into the room where the volunteers were.Luke noticed that the volunteer’s legs were covered in needles.If Johann saw this, he would probably make a big fuss about it.Luke watched as Luca carefully removed each needle, checked some of the volunteer’s nerve functions, and offered a few reassuring words before picking up a tray filled with medical waste and leaving the room.Once they were outside, Luke, not having seen the volunteer's previous condition, asked, “Were his legs completely immobile before?”“Yes. He said it was an injury caused by a machine malfunction at the factory. It hadn’t been treated properly for years. By the time he was sent here, his family didn’t have time to help with massages, and his calves had atrophied. But now, as you can see, the muscles are gradually recovering, and he’s starting to regain sensation. In another week or two, his legs should be able to move.” Luca
“Yes.” Luca nodded. “You have a mild fever and some inflammation in your body.”Hera was surprised. “Inflammation? Where?”She often mingled with men, so every few months, she made sure to get a check-up to avoid picking up any unwanted diseases. Her previous check-ups had all been normal, with no signs of any illness.“You've been getting along well with the boss these days, haven't you?” Luca did not say it outright but hinted at it. She then glanced at the thermometer, seeing that her temperature had returned to normal.Hera understood and widened her eyes. “You're saying I have inflammation there? That's impossible.”“Your body can't handle too much.” Luca did not want to go into too much detail. She looked up and saw that the IV was nearly done. She rose to her feet, removed the needle, and pointed at the medicine on the side. “Your body won't have any major issues. Don't worry. Here are the anti-inflammatory pills for the next three days. Take them, and you should be fine.”