Ch. 691..700

Chapter 691: Making Things Difficult

Mrs. Lopez forced a smile and asked, “Can you let us wait inside now? We’ll just wait outside Adrian Zhekova’s office. Once his meeting is finished, we can personally ask him if he has time to listen to us for a few minutes.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” the receptionist said with a smile. “Without the CEO’s permission, I can’t let you in, even just to wait outside his office. I’m truly sorry.”

Mrs. Lopez tried again: “Then call Assistant Sheldon.”

“Assistant Sheldon has already made it clear that the three of you should wait in the lobby, meaning you can’t go upstairs. If Assistant Sheldon was able to let you go up, he would have taken the initiative to say so himself,” the receptionist maintained her smile. “The CEO is currently in a meeting, and Assistant Sheldon is taking notes. We shouldn’t disturb them repeatedly. If the CEO gets angry and looks into it, my job would be at risk. Please understand.”

“There are sofas and tea tables over there, and a vending machine nearby. If the three of you are thirsty, or want to eat something, you can go there to buy what you want. There’s also a café next to it where you can wait,” the receptionist added.

Mrs. Lopez wanted to say more, but Richard Lopez stopped her and said to the receptionist, “When will your CEO’s meeting be over? Is there a specific time?”

“Not sure,” the receptionist responded. “I’m just a lowly receptionist, and I don’t know the details of high-level matters. I don’t know exactly when the meeting will end, and I can’t tell you. Rest assured, as soon as the meeting is over, I will notify you right away.”

The receptionist’s attitude was very good, but she was utterly unyielding.

No matter what, she was firmly set on not letting them in.

Despite being extremely polite, she refused to allow them entry.

Richard Lopez had no choice but to give up and took Mrs. Lopez and Edward Lopez to sit on the sofas in the lobby.

Just a few steps away, Mrs. Lopez whispered to Richard Lopez, “Do you believe this is deliberate on Adrian Zhekova’s part? He says he’s too busy, but he might have plenty of time right now, just watching us and laughing at us!”

Richard Lopez whispered back, “Don’t you think I know that? But even if we know, what can we do about it? We have to beg him now and listen to whatever he says. If it weren’t for the trouble Edward caused, would we have to put up with people’s attitudes here? Even a small receptionist can block us like this.”

This comment silenced Mrs. Lopez, who couldn’t say anything else.

As the receptionist had said, there was indeed a café nearby, but the three of them didn’t dare to go in, fearing they would miss Adrian Zhekova’s meeting ending.

Although Richard Lopez also suspected that Adrian Zhekova might not actually be in a meeting and was probably just sitting idly in his office without anything to do,

They had no choice but to believe it.

In case it was true, once Adrian Zhekova’s meeting was over, they would have to wait for the receptionist to notify them. If they weren’t there when she tried to notify them, it could cause serious problems.

So, even if it was humiliating, they had to wait in the lobby.

There were quite a few people coming and going in the Pingla Group lobby. From time to time, people from subsidiary companies came to handle affairs, and Pingla employees went in and out discussing business.

Every time someone passed by them, they would be surprised to see Richard Lopez and his family there and whisper, “Why is the CEO of Wellingo Group here? And he’s just sitting on the sofa waiting without even going in?”

Chapter 692: Chapter 692: Cunning and Devious

“Who knows? Since they’re not letting him in, he must have offended someone. We shouldn’t voluntarily be the nice ones here. For now, Pingla’s people are not his company’s people, there’s no need to ingratiate ourselves with him.”

The employees of Pingla Group are very aware of this.

“Have people from other departments heard any news?” someone questioned.

“You know what, I heard that our CEO personally dealt with their company. They have now lost several business deals.”

“Wow!” Upon hearing this, a colleague couldn’t help but glance again at Richard Lopez’s family.

They whispered: “How did the Lopez family offend our CEO? This treatment is quite unique!”

The last one who was targeted personally by Adrian Zhekova was the Woods family.

But the Woods family was too small a player, Adrian Zhekova hardly had to make an effort to eliminate them.

The Woods family’s downfall was so subtle; there was not a ripple.

So much so, the employees at Pingla didn’t pay much attention to it.

Most of them didn’t even know that a small player like the Woods family had been targeted by Adrian Zhekova once.

“Who knows? Our company usually has no connection with the Lopez family. It’s unlikely that they offended us in business dealings. As for offending our CEO in private affairs… everybody knows about our CEO’s temperament. Isn’t it better to avoid him as much as possible? Who would dare to offend him!” someone speculated.

“If they didn’t offend the CEO, then they may have offended the CEO’s wife. In any case, offending the CEO’s Wife is even worse than offending the CEO himself,” another guessed.

“Let’s not make blind guesses. What if it’s not about the CEO’s Wife, and she hears that we were guessing about her? It could get us into trouble,” someone else reminded.

“Right, right, right, right!” Others quickly agreed to this reminder.

Anyway, the one in trouble is the Lopez family, not them.

They are quite assured of their jobs at Pingla and decide not to guess further.

After a while, Billy Houston, along with Manager Zhu, and others, arrived at Pingla Group.

They were there to discuss the planning of the special programs for the Spring Festival. They’ve made several proposals and Billy Houston thought they all were good and could select the most satisfactory one.

So, he brought all the proposals for Adrian Zhekova to make the final decision.

But as soon as he entered, he saw the Lopez family.

When Billy Houston saw Edward Lopez, he thought about the last competition, when Edward had sent someone backstage, saying he wanted to meet the 10 contestants.

Associating that with the events of the banquet that evening, Billy Houston wasn’t present at the banquet, but he had heard about it afterward.

If he thought about it, Edward probably wanted to meet Cindy Clarke during the last competition.

If Adrian Zhekova found out about Edward’s intentions, he wouldn’t let Edward get away with it.

Billy Houston normally played it safe, and although his suspicion was not confirmed, he would be very cautious and definitely not initiate contact with the Lopez family.

Thus, upon glimpsing Richard Lopez, Billy Houston pretended not to notice and quietly told Manager Zhu, “Let’s go, let’s go, we need to hurry.”

Manager Zhu wondered why Billy Houston was suddenly so anxious.

Just as they were about to reach the entrance gate to check in, they heard Richard Lopez call out, “Hey Billy!”

Billy Houston rolled his eyes but had no choice but to stop.

Although he wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard, Richard Lopez thick-skinnedly called out several times while running towards him.

This left Billy Houston with no choice but to stay put.

Manager Zhu asked quietly, “Billy, you seem quite close with this Richard Lopez? He’s even calling you ‘Old Lu’.”

“What on earth is close!” Billy Houston was not pleased.

This was unfair.

He had only met Richard a few times face to face: “It’s just Richard Lopez trying to pretend we are close!”

He hoped that Richard Lopez’s claim of closeness wouldn’t reach the scumbag CEO’s ears, otherwise, he might mistakenly think that he and Richard Lopez were actually close, and that could be problematic!

This Richard Lopez was quite a troublemaker!

Billy Houston turned around and put on a look of surprise: “Mr. Lopez, what are you doing here?”

Richard Lopez replied cheerfully, “I came to meet Mr. Zhekova, but unfortunately, he’s in a meeting right now. Billy, what about you?”

Thinking on his feet, Billy Houston figured out that Adrian Zhekova probably didn’t want to meet Richard Lopez.

So Billy said, “I’m here to discuss the plans for our Cooking Competition with the planning department.”

Although Billy was there to meet Adrian Zhekova, seeing that Adrian was clearly avoiding Richard Lopez, he naturally wouldn’t say he was there to meet Adrian.

He didn’t want to give Richard Lopez any opportunity to ask him to accompany him inside.

Billy Houston, being a sharp man, wouldn’t give Richard Lopez such an opportunity at all.

However, he overlooked Richard Lopez’s thick skin. To Richard Lopez, especially given the current life-or-death situation of his company, what was a bit of shame?

Richard Lopez could not be bothered about such a thing.

“You’re not meeting Mr. Zhekova?” Richard Lopez asked.

Billy Houston hurriedly shook his head, “He’s quite busy today, and I didn’t manage to get an appointment. To discuss such planning matters, we must first finalize it before submitting it to the CEO for the final decision. We can’t just go and discuss directly with the CEO, can we?”

Seeing Richard Lopez waiting here, it was clear that Adrian Zhekova didn’t want to see them.

No matter what excuse Adrian Zhekova might have used, Billy Houston was just giving an alibi, absolutely not revealing anything incriminating.

Richard Lopez’s face showed a glimmer of disappointment, but he quickly resumed his cheerful demeanor and asked Billy, “Are you going to the planning department?”

Billy Houston nodded, “Yes.”

Richard Lopez then quickly asked, “So could we also get into the planning department with you?”

Billy Houston’s face changed and said, “No way! We can’t just bring people in, there are rules. You need to go to the front desk to register, only after approval can you…”

Only then did Billy Houston seemingly ask in surprise, “I was wondering, why are you guys waiting in the lobby?”

Richard Lopez awkwardly replied, “We came to see Mr. Zhekova, but he’s in a meeting right now, so we’re waiting here.”

Billy Houston made a sound as if he was exclaiming, “Oh, didn’t you have an appointment? Our CEO’s daily schedule is always full, if you don’t have an appointment, it’s difficult to see him. Even if we go to report to work, we must schedule it in advance.”

Mrs. Lopez, who stood aside, was mumbling to herself, questioning whether Adrian Zhekova was genuinely unwilling to meet them out of difficulty, or if he was doing this on purpose.

However, Richard Lopez wasn’t as gullible as Mrs. Lopez and thought to himself, ‘Pingla’s people are indeed well-trained and play along well with Adrian Zhekova.’

After seeing Billy Houston’s face filled with difficulty and regret, he said, “Mr. Lopez, I’m really sorry. You made a personal request to me but I cannot bring you in. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I can’t.”

Chapter 693: Chapter 693: That’s Adrian Zhekova’s Wife

“But don’t worry, our CEO is indeed very busy, he will definitely meet you if he has time, how can he just leave you hanging here?”

After that, Billy Houston, as if fearing that he would be taken advantage of by Richard Lopez, rushed to clock in, like a dog chasing after him, and hurried into the gate.

Without any shame, after he rushed through the gate, he waved to Richard Lopez: “Brother Liu, I’m leaving first!”

Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Manager Zhu and the others and left.

Richard Lopez: “…”

After entering the elevator, Billy Houston wiped his sweat and said with lingering fear: “Luckily we ran fast, otherwise it would be really troublesome if he wrapped us up. Although we definitely can’t bring him in, if the CEO finds out after being entangled for a long time, it’s easy to cause misunderstanding. What if the CEO thinks we have a good relationship with him? What will we do?”

Manager Zhu thought to himself that even if there was a misunderstanding, it would be between Billy and Richard, not him.

However, Billy was really cunning, and he quickly made his own judgment without knowing anything.

And judging from Richard’s reaction, Billy’s judgment seemed to be quite accurate.

No wonder Billy’s position was higher than his.

Upon realizing that he couldn’t count on Billy, Richard had to return to his seat with Mrs. Lopez and Edward Lopez.

Mrs. Lopez whispered, “Is Adrian Zhekova really busy?”

Richard said irritably, “Don’t listen to Billy’s nonsense, all the people from Pingla are very cunning and never tell the truth! I’m not sure if they are here to see the planning department or even to see Adrian Zhekova, but they just don’t want to take us in.”

Edward Lopez noticed that the Pingla employees who passed by would glance at them, and then whisper to each other after looking.

It was obvious that they were gossiping about them and laughing at them.

“What’s the matter with these people from Pingla? Do they have any rules? They are just a bunch of ordinary employees, and they dare to be so impolite!” Edward said, getting up and heading to the door.

Mrs. Lopez quickly grabbed him.

“What are you going to do?” Mrs. Lopez asked softly.

Seeing Edward’s angry look, it didn’t seem like he was going to do something nice.

Richard’s face darkened, and he scolded, “Sit down!”

“I want to teach them a lesson. What kind of people are they? How dare they laugh at us and make fun of us!” Edward said angrily.

Mrs. Lopez also looked back, but the Pingla people didn’t seem to be afraid of being discovered, and they left the company while talking, not showing any guilt.

Richard’s face also darkened, but he wasn’t as impulsive as Edward. He could endure and scolded Edward in a low voice, “Don’t you see where this is? This is not our territory, this is Pingla’s! If you discipline their employees here, what would Adrian Zhekova think?”

“Do you think you’ve given him enough handle, or do you want to make him angrier and continue against our family?”

Edward was choked and stopped talking.

With Richard watching, Edward didn’t dare to act rashly.

Seeing Edward’s frustration, Mrs. Lopez took the opportunity to educate him: “Look, now you know you can’t speak up, right? You didn’t enter the family company to work and don’t have any real power at hand, who cares who you are? To them, you’re just an ordinary trust-fund baby, unrelated to them!”

“Without any conflict of interest, they don’t need to fear you or please you. If you can help in the family company, do a good job and have a say in the business, if there’s a chance to cooperate with Pingla in business, will these employees still laugh at you? They would just beg to please you!”

Edward remained silent, his face flushed.

Richard sneered, “Him? Help the company? I used to advise him. Now I’m afraid he’ll help the company! With his temperament and lack of brains, who knows if entering the company will help or harm it. Don’t let him ruin the company even more!”

“Dad, I’m not as useless as you say,” Edward said dissatisfiedly.

“You’re useful, you’re useful enough to bring trouble to the family as soon as you’re back. You’ve offended Adrian Zhekova the moment you returned! In Belfard, there are plenty of trust-fund babies and dandies, but none have offended Adrian Zhekova. Their families are all fine, unlike you, who wants to bring down the family!”

“And your cousin, Wyatt Kirk. Don’t you and your mother always look down on him?” Richard glanced at Mrs. Lopez, “You always say that Edward is no worse than Wyatt Kirk. You say Wyatt is ignorant, a through and through dandy, knowing only how to play all day with bad friends and not helping in their family’s company.”

Richard looked at Edward again, “Before, I asked you to help in the company, but every time I said that, you said that your cousin hadn’t gone to the company yet so you weren’t in a hurry. Recently I said you should go to the company after graduation, and again you said that your cousin graduated a long time ago and hasn’t gone to the company yet, so you weren’t in a hurry.”

“You always use your cousin as a stepping-stone, no matter how ignorant or how much of a dandy he is, he hasn’t offended Adrian Zhekova! He hasn’t caused any risk of bankruptcy for their family company!”

Richard’s words made Edward’s face even redder, and both he and his mother always looked down on Wyatt.

Edward felt that both of them had not helped their respective family companies. However, Wyatt’s education was not as high as his. At least he had gone abroad to study and returned with a doctorate degree, while Wyatt was only a college graduate, right?

Although it was also from a prestigious foreign school, it was just a matter of having enough money to get in.

Who knows how much money Wyatt had stuffed in there?

After graduation, he had been in Belfard all the time, partying and enjoying himself every day, so Edward always looked down on him.

He never thought there would be a day when Wyatt could surpass him.

While the Lopez family of three were talking, mainly Edward being scolded by Richard:

Suddenly they heard a very neat and uniform voice not far from the door: “Hello, CEO’s wife!”

Then they heard Pingla’s employees asking one after another: “Has the CEO’s wife come to deliver lunch for the CEO again?”

“The CEO is so lucky!”

“The CEO shows us pictures every day, letting us see the exquisite and beautiful lunch that the CEO’s wife makes for him, it looks delicious.”

The Lopez family could only hear all kinds of rainbow fart-like sounds rushing towards them like a tide.

The three of them looked towards the door.

Richard asked in a deep voice, “Is that Adrian Zhekova’s wife, Cindy Clarke?”

Richard looked far away, and saw a young girl walking through the door, holding a delicate and beautiful lunch box in her hand.

Chapter 694: Chapter 694: A Good CEO’s Wife

The employees of Pingla surrounded the young girl so tightly that they could only catch glimpses of her face through the gaps between them.

She looked quite young, her eyes squinting into crescent moons as she smiled.

Seemingly not much older, she should be easy to deal with.

Following Richard Lopez’s inquiry, Edward Lopez also saw Cindy Clarke.

His feelings toward Cindy were really conflicting at the moment.

Looking at her clearly in the bright daytime, he found her to be even prettier than at the party that night.

Although Cindy was only dressed casually and didn’t have the exquisite makeup from the party, she still looked better now.

She didn’t have much makeup on, her face light and clean, her skin naturally fair. It was hard to tell if her eyebrows were drawn on or not, but they were thick and well-shaped.

Her natural black eyebrows made her skin look even whiter.

There was a sense of the currently popular Japanese wild brow style, which was quite striking.

Whether or not her lips had lipstick, they were a natural rosy color.

Her whole face looked fresh and clean, making people feel comfortable at the bottom of their hearts when they saw her.

Even though his feelings towards her had changed, Edward still admired Cindy’s looks.

Did Edward regret what he did? He really did.

If he hadn’t tried to tease Cindy that night, he wouldn’t have provoked Adrian Zhekova and brought so much trouble to his family.

“Edward Lopez!”

Upon hearing Richard Lopez’s voice, Edward came back to reality and nodded, “It’s her.”

Richard Lopez immediately stood up, “Let’s go!”

“Where are we going?” Edward suddenly seemed very obedient.

His reactions were slow, as if his brain wasn’t working properly.

Richard said with frustration, “You offended her before you offended Adrian Zhekova. We can’t see Adrian now, but as long as Cindy forgives you, will there still be a problem on Adrian’s side? He was just avenging Cindy, so if she forgives you, what reason would he have for continuing his vengeance against our family?”

After saying this, Richard couldn’t help but get angry.

Thinking that Edward’s brain was really stupid for not understanding such a simple matter without explanation.

He no longer trusted leaving the company to Edward, his mood extremely heavy. Wondering what the company would become under Edward’s management in the future.

However, now was not the time to think about that, future matters would have to be put on hold until the current challenges were overcome.

He pulled Edward and walked towards Cindy, followed by Mrs. Lopez.

The employees who had surrounded Cindy gradually dispersed, not because they wanted to make room for Edward and Richard Lopez.

But because they didn’t dare to delay Cindy from delivering food to Adrian.

If they let the scumbag CEO know that they slowed the CEO’s Wife down, they wouldn’t know how he would seek revenge later.

So they all said to Cindy, “We won’t bother you, CEO’s Wife, please go upstairs quickly!”

Cindy was really at her wits’ end. She had told them not to call her that.

Being called the CEO’s Wife made her feel old.

But these employees didn’t listen and kept calling her that.

Cindy said, “You don’t need to call me the CEO’s Wife, just call me by my name.”

Employee: “Okay, CEO’s Wife.”

What was Cindy supposed to do?

She had no choice but to accept it, letting them call her whatever they wanted.

Chapter 695: Chapter 695: The Sudden Pot

Cindy Clarke was about to take the lunch box to Adrian Zhekova.

But just as she left the Pingla employees, she heard someone calling her, “Miss Clarke!”

Cindy was surprised.

It was the first time she had heard a different title than the CEO’s wife within the Pingla Group. It caught her attention.

Cindy instinctively stopped and turned her head towards the source of the sound.

She saw an unfamiliar middle-aged couple approaching, followed by a young man.

She recognized the young man, though not an acquaintance, there was a connection.

It was undoubtedly Edward Lopez.

Cindy wondered what these three people wanted with her.

Edward’s face was slightly awkward, and his gaze on her was somewhat evasive.

“Miss Clarke,” Richard Lopez jogged to Cindy’s side and called again.

“Mr. Lopez!” Before Cindy could reply, she heard another voice.

Everyone turned and saw Manager Hertz from the public relations department, running over.

Manager Hertz’s figure was quite plump.

Watching him running, people couldn’t help but think of a giant boulder rather than a small mountain. He had a strong presence indeed.

“Manager Hertz,” Richard Lopez called patiently.

“Mr. Lopez, why did I just hear you calling our CEO’s wife ‘Miss Clarke’?” Manager Hertz asked, cunningly.

Richard Lopez: “…”

So he rushed over just because of that one title? Was it that necessary?

It just so happened that Manager Hertz went downstairs to buy a cup of coffee and saw Richard Lopez stopping Cindy.

Manager Hertz felt that something was wrong.

How could their CEO’s wife be entangled with Richard Lopez on Pingla’s premises?

The fact that Adrian Zhekova left the Lopez family in the Pingla company lobby was something that everyone in the company knew.

As a qualified Pingla employee, Manager Hertz decided that Cindy should not be bothered by Richard Lopez while at their company.

Richard Lopez knew the importance of understanding the situation and changed his title immediately, “Mrs. Zhekova.”

It was rare for someone to call her that. Cindy found it a bit uncomfortable but did not refute.

“What do you need me for?” Cindy asked, eager to hurry up and deliver lunch to Adrian.

She didn’t want to waste time here with them.

“I brought our unfilial son here to apologize to your husband. But the CEO has been busy in meetings and has not had time to see us,” Richard explained.

Richard continued, “We initially wanted to apologize to you as well, so when we unexpectedly encountered you here, we seized the opportunity. Our unfilial son has been so outrageous. He made a mistake and hid it from his family members. I only learned today that he was impolite to you before.”

Not only Manager Hertz witnessed this, but many Pingla employees passed by and saw Richard speaking to Cindy. They lowered their presence and watched from a distance.

On one hand, they wanted to enjoy the drama, but on the other hand, they wanted to ensure Cindy’s safety.

In case the Lopez family kept bothering Cindy, they could immediately appear and rescue her.

If the scumbag CEO were to find out that his wife had been bullied in their company, wouldn’t he lose his temper?

Apart from the spontaneous actions of the Pingla employees, the security guards also rushed over upon noticing the situation.

Someone quickly called Sheldon Rowland and informed him that Cindy was being bothered by Richard Lopez.

Poor Richard hadn’t even finished speaking to Cindy before being accused of pestering her.

As a result, with many eyes and ears suddenly appearing nearby, Richard did not dare to make his point too clear.

He did not dare to say that Edward had offended Cindy and Adrian because of his interest in her. He only said that Edward had been impolite to her.

As for how he was impolite, that was left to individual imagination.

If he dared to speak the truth about that night, his apologies would likely be futile.

Adrian would never let them off.

Richard had thought this through clearly and was much more tactful than Edward.

“As soon as I found out today, I immediately brought him over. Since we couldn’t contact you, we thought of contacting you through the CEO. We hope he can give us a chance for our unfilial son to apologize to you in person,” Richard said again.

Cindy asked in confusion, “Why didn’t Edward tell you before?”

Richard replied awkwardly, “He’s too timid. Even though he seems arrogant and boastful, he is actually quite cowardly. He hides whenever he faces problems and avoids responsibility. Fearing the consequences, he didn’t dare to tell us.”

Cindy nodded as if she understood, “I see. How come he suddenly has the courage now? Not scared anymore?”

Richard felt blocked and said awkwardly, “Because the CEO has made a move against our company. I know he wants to teach us a lesson, make us afraid, and stop this child from behaving wildly. I was trying to find the reason why our company was in trouble, not knowing where we had offended the CEO. Edward only told me when he couldn’t hide it anymore.”

“I was furious at that stinking kid for flaunting himself and being so arrogant and ignorant. Relying on his family background, he acted recklessly outside!”

“Sigh,” Richard sighed deeply. “It’s also my fault for being too busy with the company’s affairs since he was young. I didn’t have much time to accompany him and educate him properly, and that’s how he developed this character.”

“His mother spoiled him, and he behaves completely differently at home compared to outside. In front of us, he acts like a human being. We never knew he could cause so much trouble outside. We only learned of his recklessness when the incident happened.”

“So as soon as I found out about the situation, I brought him over immediately,” Richard explained clearly.

The reason for their lack of reaction the previous few days was not due to arrogance or thinking the matter wasn’t a big deal. It certainly wasn’t because they looked down on Cindy.

Chapter 696: Chapter 696: Not to be underestimated

It was just because they didn’t know that Edward Lopez had concealed the matter.

Now that he found out, he immediately came to apologize, which showed his sincerity.

It also showed the importance he placed on the Zhekova Family and Cindy Clarke.

Cindy simply responded, “Oh,” to indicate that she understood.

Richard Lopez then pulled Edward over and said, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and apologize to Mrs. Zhekova!”

Edward’s face turned red. That night, he had already begged for mercy in front of so many people and asked Cindy to put in a good word for him.

It was like he was begging his grandparents for help.

Now, he had to apologize again in front of so many Pingla employees.

Edward felt extremely embarrassed.

Looking at Cindy’s seemingly amused expression, he found it even more difficult.

After that, Edward comforted himself.

No matter what, it wouldn’t be more embarrassing than the party that night. At least now it was just apologizing to Cindy, not kneeling down for mercy.

So, Edward lowered his head, not daring to look up for fear of meeting those watching eyes.

Feeling that if he couldn’t see them, he could pretend they didn’t exist.

He then mumbled, “Cin… Cindy…”

“Call her what?” Richard interrupted before Cindy could respond, “Call her Mrs. Zhekova!”

Edward quickly corrected himself, “Mrs. Zhekova, I was rude to you, and I was too arrogant. That night, I thought about what you said, and I was wrong. No matter who the target was, I shouldn’t have acted like that, even if it wasn’t you, even if it wasn’t someone of high status, I shouldn’t have behaved like that.”

“After you said that last time, I realized you were right. I have decided never to make such mistakes again in the future and be a better person.” Edward was smart enough not to mention the specifics of his wrongdoing.

No one knew exactly how he had been rude to Cindy.

Even Manager Hertz and the Pingla employees were confused.

However, they speculated that since Cindy was beautiful and Edward had a reputation for being a womanizer, perhaps he had set his sights on her. Otherwise, why would Adrian Zhekova be so angry?

But as long as Edward didn’t explicitly reveal it, they couldn’t hold it against him.

Cindy wouldn’t suffer any harm to her reputation either.

No matter if Edward had thought of this or not, at least he seemed clever this time.

Edward earnestly said to Cindy, “Mrs. Zhekova, can you forgive me just this once? I promise I will never let this happen again! I will change my ways and be a better person, no matter who I’m dealing with!”

Cindy didn’t care if he was being genuine or not.

Even if Edward was just trying to get by with nice words, she couldn’t verify it, nor could she keep an eye on him forever.

Was she supposed to provide after-sales service for his transformation?

Anyway, whether he changed or not had nothing to do with her. It was the Lopez Family who would have to worry.

If Edward didn’t change and caused bigger trouble in the future, it would be the Lopez Family who would suffer.

It would be Richard Lopez and Mrs. Lopez’s problem if they needed to supervise him, and if they didn’t, no one else would step in.

Why should outsiders worry when the parents themselves weren’t concerned?

Cindy indifferently said, “Alright, then I forgive you.”

Richard’s face lit up with joy, and Edward looked at Cindy in astonishment.

He never thought this issue would be resolved so easily.

He apologized with just a few words, and the matter was settled.

Cindy forgave him so easily and wouldn’t bother them anymore.

Edward was very surprised, thinking about how he had begged so desperately that night, and Cindy hadn’t relented.

Now she agreed so easily, could it be so simple?

Could it be because they were at Pingla now, and many Pingla employees were around, Cindy said this to maintain her image?

After all, she was the CEO’s Wife at Pingla and had to maintain her image in front of her employees.

She couldn’t be as aggressive as she was that night.

No wonder she agreed so readily.

But this was good too, at least their family would be safe now.

Even Richard was thinking the same thing.

Richard, delighted, asked, “Since you’ve forgiven us, will our company be safe too?”

Cindy was surprised, “What happened to your company?”

Richard thought that he had already talked to Cindy about it earlier.

Now Cindy was acting like she had amnesia.

Seeing Cindy looking like she had no idea, he didn’t know if she had genuinely forgotten or was pretending.

He lowered his voice and whispered, “Because my son was disrespectful and impolite to you, CEO Zhekova got angry and took it out on our company. Mrs. Zhekova, if you can forgive my son and not be angry, can you… ask CEO Zhekova to forgive us as well, and not take action against our company?”

Cindy looked even more surprised this time, “What does the business conflict between Adrian and you have to do with me?”

Richard was taken aback by Cindy’s words. What did she mean by that?

Cindy continued, “Edward was rude to me, and now you have sincerely apologized, so I have forgiven you. If I didn’t forgive you, you would have to come to the company every day, or even go to our house. Is that how things should be?”

Richard realized that Cindy’s words made it sound like they had forced her to forgive them.

If she had not forgiven them today, they would still knock on her door every day, or even pester her to beg for forgiveness.

This was no longer asking for forgiveness; it was coercion.

Then Cindy added, “As for private matters, my forgiveness is my business. I don’t know why Adrian went after your company, but I assume it is because of business competition. I naturally cannot interfere in such matters or comment on them.”

“Besides, I don’t understand these things, so coming to me is useless.” Cindy said righteously.

It was as if their company’s troubles had nothing to do with her.

How good was Cindy at denying any involvement?

Richard couldn’t help but look at Cindy closely.

He thought he had underestimated her.

She was an ordinary girl without any background, yet she managed to marry into the Zhekova Family.

Not only that, she married no ordinary person, but Adrian Zhekova directly, the successor of the Zhekova Family.

Before that, Adrian had never had any romantic history, no scandals, and no girlfriends.

Yet, the iron tree bloomed in Cindy’s presence. Could it be said that she had no skills?

They still didn’t know what tactics Cindy had used to succeed.

But just by the fact that so many people had failed and only Cindy had succeeded, it was evidence that she was not to be underestimated.

Chapter 697: Chapter 697: Toothache

Richard Lopez thought to himself that he had been too careless this time.

He had been playing with the eagle all day and ended up getting pecked in the eye by it.

Seeing that Cindy Clarke was so young, he assumed she would be easy to fool, and he was deceived by her appearance.

Richard lowered his face and whispered, “Mrs. Zhekova, you and I both know that it was Mr. Zhekova who came after us to take revenge for you.”

Cindy quickly shook her head, “No, I don’t understand!”

“Don’t misunderstand him, Adrian is not the type to mix personal feelings with business. How could he use the Company’s power for taking revenge because of me? It must be because of the business competition between you!” Cindy said loudly.

Cindy straightened her face and said to Mr. Lopez, “This is not right of you. I respected you as an elder, and thought you were an upright person based on your appearance. I never expected you to directly slander my husband for the sake of competition!”

“In front of so many Pingla employees, you are causing people to misunderstand that he is abusing his power for personal gain. Mr. Lopez, can’t we just have fair competition without resorting to unscrupulous means?”

“What are you trying to do by accusing my husband of abusing his power in front of so many people from Pingla?” Cindy accused coldly.

Richard was stunned by this sudden accusation.

“Mr. Lopez, you brought your family to Pingla and forced me to forgive you. Fine, I don’t want to be bothered every day, so I’ll forgive you. It’s just a matter of words, after all. It won’t cost me anything.”

“But you came running to someone else’s company, in front of their employees, and slandered them. What’s that all about?” Cindy seemed really angry, her face full of rage.

“You’re really taking advantage of people!” Cindy complained.

Richard Lopez: “…”

He was stunned by Cindy’s counterattack!

Now, where would Richard still dare to think of Cindy as a young, easy-to-deceive girl!

This was clearly a demon!

They were clearly here to beg for mercy.

How come when it came to Cindy’s mouth, it turned out that they came to wrong Adrian Zhekova!

He felt wronged, okay?!

Who the hell came here to wrong Adrian Zhekova?!

Is it that they don’t think they’re dying fast enough?!

And yet Cindy acted as if they had forced their way into bullying them, what’s going on?!

Isn’t this a case of a thief shouting “Catch the thief”?!

It was their Lopez family that was being bullied!

So how did it turn out that they were bullying Adrian now?

Thinking about Adrian Zhekova’s bad temper and gloomy face, Richard Lopez shuddered.

Even if you gave him an additional 100 doses of courage, he wouldn’t dare to bully Adrian Zhekova!

Even though Richard was cunning in the shopping mall and calculative, he stammered at this moment, “Mrs. Zhekova, don’t wrong me! You… you can’t just make things up like that!”

“I… I didn’t wrong Mr. Zhekova!” Richard said.

“Alright! You come to bully us and still insist that you didn’t wrong Adrian. So, you mean to say that Adrian has been abusing his power for personal gain, right?” Cindy said, seemingly trembling with anger, “Well done, you Lopez family!”

“Edward Lopez was rude to me in the past, and now you came here saying it’s to apologize and beg for my forgiveness, but in fact, you’re forcing me to forgive you!”

“That’s not all, you even want to bully my husband!” Cindy said loudly.

Even Manager Hertz, who was siding with Cindy, couldn’t help but frown like a bun when he heard her words.

His teeth hurt.

Chapter 698: Chapter 698: A Big Black Pot

“Mr. Lopez! Just because you’re older and an elder, you think you can bully us at our doorstep!” Cindy Clarke immediately put the blame on Richard Lopez’s head.

She made sure the pot was firmly attached on Richard Lopez’s head so that he couldn’t shake it off.

She wanted to make it difficult for Richard Lopez to breathe.

Manager Hertz, who stood next to Cindy, thought to himself, “No wonder she’s the CEO’s wife!”

There’s a reason why nobody else could become Mrs. Zhekova but her!

Her temper and her ability to turn the tables were quite remarkable.

Outstanding!

They were initially worried that Cindy might be at a disadvantage.

Little did they know she wouldn’t let others be at a disadvantage, let alone herself!

They had been worrying over nothing!

Richard Lopez’s mouth was twisted by the weight of the pot that Cindy had forced onto him.

They had come to apologize and seek forgiveness from Adrian Zhekova.

Why would anyone believe or even say that they had come to bully Adrian Zhekova?

Bully Adrian Zhekova?

As if anyone would dare to!

Now Richard Lopez understood why Edward Lopez couldn’t outsmart Cindy!

This woman is far from simple.

“Cindy.” At this moment, a sudden voice called out.

Looking up, Adrian Zhekova hurried over, followed by Sheldon Rowland.

Obviously, Sheldon had heard the security guard’s report and hurriedly informed Adrian Zhekova about the situation.

Adrian couldn’t feel at ease letting Sheldon handle this alone, so he personally came to pick up Cindy.

As Adrian approached, he saw that Cindy was unharmed, with Manager Hertz escorting her, and was relieved.

His cold eyes fixated on Richard and Edward Lopez.

Richard shuddered. What’s going on with this entire situation?

At this moment, Adrian had already reached Cindy’s side.

“What are you doing here?” Cindy asked with a smile upon seeing Adrian.

“I heard you were stopped here and hadn’t gone upstairs, so I came to see what’s going on.” As Adrian spoke, he took the food container from Cindy’s hand.

Since he’s here, he couldn’t let her carry it anymore.

Manager Hertz blinked and thought it was a mistake not to have taken the container from her earlier. He should have realized the CEO’s wife shouldn’t have to carry it herself!

There was finally an opportunity to please the scumbag CEO, and he missed it!

Fearing a misunderstanding, Richard Lopez quickly explained, “We’re sorry for holding up Mrs. Zhekova’s time. We didn’t do it deliberately.”

Cindy sneered and said while holding Adrian’s arm, “They actually said you’re targeting their company and whole Pingla City to avenge me. They even came here accusing you of abusing power for personal gain.”

“Isn’t this bullying? Even I know that business is about doing one’s best. Mr. Lopez is truly pushing it too far! First his son came to bully me, and now he runs here to bully you as the father. It’s as if our Zhekova family has no one to stand up for us!” Cindy yelled.

Richard Lopez never thought he would be falsely accused by a young girl like Cindy and was left speechless.

He couldn’t do anything to Cindy, and all he could do was hurriedly explain, “No, we didn’t! Adrian, this is all a misunderstanding! We…”

Richard didn’t know what to say at this point because there were too many people around. He wanted to say that there’s no business competition between their two companies.

They were in completely different industries with no overlap; so where would the business competition come from?

But saying this would confirm Cindy’s accusation of Adrian abusing power for personal gain, wouldn’t it?

It’s true that Adrian did it, but they couldn’t say that!

Ruffling Adrian’s feathers now would only make him angrier.

So their visit, which was intended to ask for mercy, would end up making more enemies instead. It would have been better if they didn’t come!

Richard couldn’t bring himself to say this in front of so many people.

Cindy actually wasn’t trying to complain about Richard to Adrian. She just wanted to make sure Adrian knew the situation since he’d just arrived and hadn’t spoken with the Lopez family yet. So that’s what she told him.

Adrian understood Cindy perfectly. Upon hearing her words, he immediately knew what was going on.

Adrian’s face turned cold, and he stepped back with Cindy, his gaze full of anger. He then pointed at Richard and said, “You dare to come to our doorstep to bully us? You really look down on our family!”

The Lopez family members: “…”

The crowd: “…”

You’re not fooling anyone with your acting skills, Adrian! You’re just pretending to be a victim!

Seeing Adrian’s face full of both outrage and pretended victimhood, even Pingla’s employees couldn’t help but roll their eyes inwardly.

They thought, “The scumbag CEO is really good at acting, but who would believe such a pitiful act?”

Would anyone even believe him? Including Adrian himself.

Regardless of whether they believed him or not, Adrian continued to act like a persecuted victim. Manager Hertz even had doubts if Adrian would go straight to the family mansion and complain to his parents.

“Let’s go!” Adrian said, taking Cindy’s hand.

Just as Richard Lopez was about to react, Adrian led Cindy away.

Richard immediately called out, “Adrian, Adrian! I have something to discuss with you!”

Adrian didn’t pretend not to hear, but stopped and turned to face Richard, saying indignantly, “Mr. Lopez, what else do you want to say? Do you think we’re easy targets because we’re young?”

“Do you really think the Zhekova family is without any support?”

Richard Lopez: “…”

Where’s this conversation going?

“No… I didn’t mean that at all. Adrian, I have a matter I want to discuss with you.” Richard quickly said.

Adrian was indignant, “There’s nothing for us to discuss.” He then left with Cindy.

As Richard watched them walk away, he let go of any pretense and directly chased after Adrian, attempting to grab him.

However, with so many people around, including security guards, there was no chance he would succeed.

It was clear Adrian didn’t want to see him. This time, Richard was stopped by both the security guards and Pingla employees before he could get far.

“Sir, please leave our company and don’t disrupt our order here,” the security guard firmly said.

Richard could swallow his pride in front of Adrian and Cindy, but not in front of others. He still had to maintain his dignity.

Chapter 699: Chapter 699: This is indeed a problem

Now that they were about to be escorted out of the company, Richard Lopez had no face to stay here any longer.

He had no choice but to leave first with Edward Lopez and Mrs. Lopez.

The day had not been going well, Richard Lopez had been holding in his anger. When they reached the parking lot and were about to get in the car, Richard suddenly turned around and slapped Edward in the face.

“This is all your fault!”

Mrs. Lopez wanted to intervene but dared not, because it was quite embarrassing to hit their son in front of so many people. Where could Edward hide his face?

But Richard was furious at the moment, and even Mrs. Lopez did not dare to appease him.

She was afraid it would have the opposite effect, making Richard even angrier.

How could Richard not be angry?

They had come to seek Adrian Zhekova, but they got nothing done and were instead counterattacked by Cindy Clarke.

“The longer this drags on, the greater the loss to our company. The loss for each day is immeasurable,” Richard said in a deep voice.

Mrs. Lopez immediately took the opportunity to say: “That Cindy Clarke is too cunning, turning black into white. We came to apologize in good faith, but she twisted it as if we are forcing her to forgive us. We ended up looking like the bullies against her and Adrian.”

“Who would believe us if we say that we bullied Adrian? Who dares to bully him?” Mrs. Lopez added discontentedly.

“Cindy Clarke is definitely not simple, otherwise why would she be chosen to marry Adrian?” Richard said in a low voice, “Even I misjudged her today. I underestimated her, and that’s why she managed to get one over me.”

Mrs. Lopez seized the opportunity to say: “We all misjudged her. Who would have thought that she, so young, could be so cunning? Even you fell for her tricks, let alone Edward who is less experienced.”

Richard said irritably: “He’s young and inexperienced, but Cindy is even younger than him. Can’t he handle a woman younger than himself? Is that reasonable?”

Edward muttered in protest: “Didn’t you also fail to handle Cindy? She’s not just a few years younger than you, but a few decades younger. You could even have a daughter her age with plenty of years to spare, aren’t you also played by her?”

“What did you say?!” Richard glared at Edward.

Edward then said: “If you’re not a match for Cindy, then it’s more understandable that I’m not.”

Afraid that the two would start fighting again, Mrs. Lopez hurriedly said: “Alright, let’s get in the car. It’s unlikely, but what if a reporter happens to take pictures of this?”

So, the three of them quickly got in the car.

“Where should we go now?” Mrs. Lopez asked.

“Back to the company first,” Richard started the car, “You two come back with me. No matter what, since we’ve found the cause of our problems, let’s collectively think of a solution at the company.”

Mrs. Lopez sighed and said, “It is really unexpected that Cindy is so challenging, looking so young yet being so manipulative.”

Saying that Cindy is manipulative is an understatement.

Being able to swiftly, within just a few seconds, turn the attention onto Richard, repositioning their visit from an apology to bullying someone, managing to refute their argument without suitable words, shows how sharp her reaction and manipulation skills are.

Can an ordinary person possess such skills?

Just think about what Cindy said.

They would certainly continue to apologise to Cindy at Pingla if she did not forgive them this time around, wouldn’t they?

They definitely would.

They would keep apologizing until Cindy forgave them.

So, was Cindy wrong when she said they were there to force her to forgive them?

Actually, she wasn’t wrong. To persist in getting her to forgive them becomes an imposition from her perspective.

Although they did not have such intentions, others might indeed interpret it that way.

They asked Adrian Zhekova to spare their company, but Adrian’s actions against their company could not have simply been his personal initiative. He must have utilized the resources and power of Pingla Group, the Zhekova family, and his friends.

They went directly to the company to find Adrian that day. Saying such things in front of so many people might indeed give rise to doubts of Adrian’s personal use of public resources, even if they didn’t mean to accuse him of doing so.

Therefore, when Cindy counterattacked, they had no means of defending themselves.

Others, too, were likely to misinterpret it in this way.

With Cindy’s ability to seize these two points against them in just a few seconds, pinpointing exactly where they could not argue back, it is clear how terrifyingly cunning she is.

How can the Lopez family not take it seriously?

Richard Lopez said irritably: “Did you think that an ordinary person could successfully marry into the Zhekova family, becoming Adrian’s wife? It’s already not easy for her to enter the Zhekova family, let alone becoming the wife of the next Family Head. How could Cindy compete and win against these competitors without any status or reputation? Could she do it without some skills?”

“Otherwise, how come she succeeded? Why did all those girls from big families fail? This mistake falls both on me for being careless and Edward for being thoughtless!”

“I didn’t know she was Adrian’s wife at the time. If I had known, I would have kept far away. How could I provoke her?” Edward explained.

Mrs. Lopez asked worryingly: “So what should we do next?”

Richard thought for a moment: “I just don’t know what Cindy’s situation is like in the Zhekova family. She entered the Zhekova family with nothing. Can the Zhekova family really accept her just like that, without any objections? Could they really be that satisfied with her?”

Mrs. Lopez said: “I have a son, and as a mother, I can’t imagine any family being 100% satisfied with their daughter-in-law. It would be good enough if they thought their daughter-in-law is passing grade. Even if someone like Cindy married into our family, I wouldn’t be satisfied. How can the Zhekova family be satisfied?”

Richard agreed and nodded: “You make a good point. I also suspect that the Zhekova family is not satisfied.”

Mrs. Lopez analyzed: “If they were satisfied, why hasn’t the Zhekova family made it public? Edward said he didn’t know Cindy was Adrian’s wife before. This could not necessarily mean Cindy intentionally hid it, it might be the Zhekova family who did not want her to disclose it. From this, we can see that the Zhekova family might not have a certain attitude towards Cindy.”

Edward frowned and said: “But if that’s the case, why are all the employees of Pingla so polite to Cindy? Plus, they all know that Cindy is Adrian’s wife, and they all seem really eager to please her.”

Mrs. Lopez paused: “That’s a problem.”

After thinking for a while, she said, “Could it be possible that this is because Adrian currently has control over Pingla Group? Although the elder members of the Zhekova family disapprove, Adrian is satisfied.”

Chapter 700: Chapter 700: Our CEO’s Wife is Awesome

“In order to please Adrian Zhekova, the employees of Pingla Group naturally have to please Cindy Clarke. However, this is only within the scope of the Pingla Group. Once they leave the Group, who would know that Cindy is Adrian Zhekova’s wife?”

Mrs. Lopez’s analysis seemed pretty reasonable, and both Richard Lopez and Edward Lopez couldn’t find any flaws to refute her.

Richard thought for a moment and said, “In that case, maybe we can start with the Zhekova Family elders.”

“Going straight to the Zhekova elders and pressuring Adrian, aren’t you afraid of causing his backlash?” Mrs. Lopez asked.

They had decided to come directly to Pingla to find Adrian because they were worried that if they went to the Zhekova elders, Adrian would become even more angry. So, they decided to come directly to talk to Adrian.

“Looking at the situation today, it’s impossible for Adrian to back down. Moreover, with Cindy instigating, her attitude clearly doesn’t intend to let us off. So, even if we find them again, even kneeling might not be useful,” Richard said. “In that case, we can only go to the Zhekova elders.”

“If we go to the Zhekova elders, should we go to Adrian’s parents or directly to the higher-ups in the Zhekova Family?”

Richard thought for a while, then said, “Since we’re already looking for the Zhekova elders, we might as well go directly to the higher-ups. We’ll have to find the right approach. We can’t just barge in like we did today. If we block all the avenues with the Zhekova elders, our family will have no options left.”

Edward finally spoke up, “Dad, I know Cindy’s sister.”

“Hm?” Richard’s attention was caught by this, “Why didn’t you mention this earlier!”

“Since we know Cindy’s sister, we can try to approach her. Ask her family to persuade Cindy, and the effect might be even better,” Richard said.

“I’ve never heard that Cindy comes from a big family; her family’s financial situation is ordinary. That’s much easier to deal with than Adrian’s side. As long as their financial situation is ordinary, we can offer them some benefits. Let them persuade Cindy a little, and can she not listen to her family members?”

“Dad, I haven’t met Cindy’s parents; I’ve only met her sister. But from her sister’s words, the two don’t have a good relationship,” Edward said.

“Her family runs a restaurant. The restaurant does well in Nork City, and they recently want to open a branch in Belfard,” Edward continued. “However, Cindy has never mentioned it.”

“Cindy received a lot of attention because of her participation in the Cooking Competition. Though I am not aware of all the details about her, I do have some basic information.”

“For example, she has been struggling in Belfard for five years, she never mentions her family, and she dropped out of college. Though Nork City is a small place, the Clarke Family’s restaurant is the best in the city and they’ve made a lot of money.”

“It’s not enough for their daughter to drop out of college, give up her studies, and struggle alone in Belfard,” Edward analyzed, as if he had suddenly become enlightened and his mind became more capable.

“It seems that Cindy does have a mediocre relationship with her family, or at least she’s not close to them,” Mrs. Lopez said.

Edward nodded, “Moreover, this is what Wendy Clarke, the sister, told me herself: she has a general relationship with Cindy and even some misunderstandings. The relationship between the two sisters isn’t very good.”

“Wendy is very favored in the family. I was in Nork City for some time and knew that her relationship with her parents was very close. If Wendy’s relationship with Cindy is not good, then, most likely, Cindy’s relationship with her parents is not good either.”

“After all, when there are multiple children in a family, there are always favorites and not so favorites. And once the differences in treatment appear, the disfavored ones will always be dissatisfied,” Mrs. Lopez understood this point very well.

“So, approaching the Clarke Family might not be useful either,” Edward said.

“Then what’s the point of mentioning Cindy’s sister?” Richard asked impatiently.

If it wasn’t going to be of any use, why mention it at all?

“I think Wendy doesn’t want Cindy to succeed, and it seems she has some leverage on Cindy,” Edward said.

“Oh?” Richard’s interest was piqued, “What kind of leverage?”

“How would I know?” Edward replied, “I didn’t know that Cindy was Adrian’s wife at the time, and I hadn’t provoked her yet. In my eyes, it was purely a conflict between the two sisters, so I didn’t ask.”

“But Wendy’s attitude seems to show more than just a conflict with Cindy, even appearing to have a grudge. Moreover, she is very confident in the leverage she holds, as if just using it would make Cindy submit,” Edward said.

“I think that if there really is such a leverage, it might be worth trying to get it from Wendy, whether by purchasing it, promising benefits or cooperating with her. We could negotiate with her,” Edward suggested.

“I didn’t expect that you would finally grow some brains!” Richard finally felt a little relief.

At least, there was a way now.

As long as there was a way, it would be enough.

This method was more reliable than finding the Zhekova elders.

They were all members of the Zhekova Family, and the Zhekova elders would certainly side with Adrian.

So even if they went to find the Zhekova elders, the odds of success were not high, to be honest.

Besides, their family was insignificant in the eyes of the Zhekova Family.

It wouldn’t take much for the Zhekova Family to deal with them.

It would basically only take a little effort.

As there would be very little loss, letting them stay or go wouldn’t make much difference to the Zhekova Family.

There was a high probability that the Zhekova elders would not intervene.

It would be better to contact Wendy directly.

Whether giving benefits to Wendy or cooperating with her.

As long as they could get their hands on Cindy’s leverage, they wouldn’t have to worry about being unable to threaten her.

At that time, wouldn’t Cindy have to agree to their demands?

“You said the Clarke Family is coming to Belfard to open a restaurant branch?” Richard asked.

“Yes, Wendy approached me because she wanted to establish a good relationship with us, as she sees our connections in Belfard and thinks it would make it more convenient for her restaurant to open here,” Edward said.

“Well, if she’s willing to share the leverage with us, I don’t mind helping her establish herself in Belfard,” Richard confidently said.

Although he couldn’t raise his head in front of Adrian, he felt more than capable when faced with a newcomer from a small area.

***

At Pingla, Adrian took Cindy into the elevator.

Manager Hertz and the Pingla employees didn’t follow them.

They left the elevator for the couple.

Once Adrian and Cindy were gone and their voices couldn’t be heard, the employees of Pingla discussed in relief.

“Our CEO’s wife is really something!”