Ch. 2716..2720: My Wife Is A Hacker Chapter 2716-2720

Chapter 2716

Nicole opened her eyes and slowly sat up. Out of nowhere, Jared grabbed her and kissed right at the temple.

Blushing, Nicole playfully frowned at Jared. “Get up already, would you?”

With a gentle gaze, Jared planted a kiss on Nicole’s forehead before releasing her for her morning shower.

Nicole hurried off to the bathroom after she had gotten off the bed.

She then calmed herself with a splash of cold water on the face. ‘Will that jerk just chill in the morning? His appetite is almost too much for me to handle.’ After washing up and preparing to make her way downstairs for breakfast, Nolan and Lana approached Nicole just as she was leaving her room.

“Mommy,” the kids called out.

With each of them clinging to Nicole’s arms, the kids’ faces lit up with delight as they headed to the first floor with their mother.

“Oh, you’re all awake. Let’s have breakfast then,” Gloria greeted once she had seen them.

As they were sitting at the dining table, Nicole noticed Stanley’s pale complexion and asked, “Did you sleep well last night? You don’t look so good.” ”Oh really?” Stanley touched his face. “Well, I had an alright sleep.”

Nicole raised her eyebrows, knowing that something on his mind had kept him awake during the night prior. However, Stanley seemed determined to not dwell on it, so Nicole decided not to press him for more answers.

After breakfast, Tia came over to send the children to school.

Upon getting into the house, Tia greeted everyone, including Stanley. She then snuck a brief glance at Stanley before averting her gaze and taking the kids away with her.

Stanley watched as Tia departed. He could not help but feel that there was something alienating about the way she was behaving right in front of her.

“Mom, Dad, I’ll get going,” Nicole informed.

She could sense some kind of change in Stanley, but as she did not wish to say anything about it, she packed her stuff and left the house with Jared.

Stanley quickly withdrew his gaze. Even though he found the breakfast in front of him unappealing, he quickly cleaned his plate and left for work as well.

“Why are these few acting so weirdly today?” Daniel wondered out loud.

Gloria agreed, “I had the same feeling. What’s going on?”

Barring Chloe’s stunt, nothing significant had happened last night, so they did not understand why the kids looked as if they had a cloud of gloom hovering over them.

Meanwhile, Nicole and Jared had both strolled off to the courtyard where their car was parked.

“Patricia has arranged for someone to keep an eye on Damien. She’ll inform me if there’s any news,” Nicole said, believing that Damien would no doubt make a move.

At this rate, it was just a matter of time.

“You can always ask Charlie if you need him,” Jared suggested.

“Sure thing,” Nicole agreed.

She would ask Charlie to assist Patricia if additional backup was needed.

After a while, their car stopped at the entrance of Riddle Corporation. Nicole got out of the car and watched as it drove off before she entered the company building.

“Your gown for Ellison’s Group’s annual celebration has arrived,” her secretary informed her.

Frowning, Nicole waved her hands and said, “There’s no need for a gown.”

After all, Nicole was just showing up as the partner for the joint venture. She figured that it would be more suitable for her to wear a formal dress.

“I won’t change my attire then,” Lulu said while approaching Nicole.

Lulu overheard Nicole’s comment as she was walking up to her, and she felt it was more appropriate for her to dress up formally as well.

Nicole smirked at the sight of Lulu coming up to her. “So, I see you are ready to join us today.”

“Yep. What you said made sense, so I’ve been making preparations for the past two days,” Lulu said.

Then, she clenched her hand as a gesture of diligence and said, “Just you wait for the fruits of my effort, Nicole.”

 

Chapter 2717

Nicole chuckled and went on to encourage Lulu. “I sure will. Waiting for your good news.”

“The banquet is in the evening. Let’s head there after lunch,” Lulu suggested.

“I’m fine with that,” Nicole agreed, as she was not planning to go on an empty stomach.

Events such as these would usually provide wine and finger food instead of proper meals in large quantities.

“Nice, let’s go grab lunch together.” Lulu smiled.

Nicole nodded and walked into her office, while Lulu returned to hers.

Soon, it was lunchtime, and the two met up before heading out together.

“Ellison Group’s annual celebration this year must be exceptionally grand, am I right? I heard many influential figures in San Joto are coming over,” Lulu asked.

Lulu had been to annual banquets before, but this was her first time attending one considered to be grand and high- budget.

“It should be.” Nicole snorted.

Regardless of how elaborate and grand it would be, she still had very little interest in it.

“Well, with Harvey requesting your absolute presence, do you think he has other plans in mind?” Lulu wondered with a frown.

“We’ll find out when we reach.” Nicole continued eating her lunch without a tinge of anxiety.

Nicole had already promised to attend the celebration. She figured that Harvey would not have the temerity to do anything embarrassing to the both of them at the annual banquet. She also believed that he would know her personality and style of doing things if he was not a complete imbecile.

After another few minutes of chit-chatting, the two leisurely finished their lunch and left for the banquet.

Then, they took a cab to the banquet venue, and upon reaching, they saw that some of the guests had already arrived and were going to the ball.

“I think we’re early,” Lulu complained, looking at how sparse the crowd was.

If she knew that this was going to be the case, they would have stayed at the restaurant a little longer, since showing up early would be a boring waste of time.

“Don’t forget what you’re here for,” Nicole smirked as she reminded her.

“Oh yeah, you’re right,” Lulu nodded. “Let’s get in then.”

Lulu linked her arm with Nicole’s, and together, they entered the venue.

The venue was stunningly decorated, with the hall exuding an air of elegance and grandeur. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful, with everyone mingling and socializing. There, the waiters moved gracefully through the crowd, offering drinks and snacks to each and every single one of the guests.

As the waiters passed by Nicole and Lulu, they both took a glass of wine each and walked up to the crowd.

“Do you know any of them?” Nicole asked.

“Yep, I read and memorized their personal information beforehand.” Lulu nodded in response.

Hearing that, Nicole chuckled. “In that case, I won’t steal your spotlight.”

“Don’t worry. Just wait for my good news.” Lulu smiled.

Then, they laughed and went on their merry way, with Lulu heading toward her targeted crowd, while Nicole socialized with some of her business partners.

As the crowd grew, the scene got even livelier. However, there were no signs of Harvey, which puzzled everyone.

They were wondering why Harvey had not shown up at such an important event.

“What’s that?” Someone screamed, capturing everyone’s attention.

It was then that a few individuals entered the venue carrying with them a large bouquet of flowers. The bouquet in question was so massive that it covered the faces of those carrying it.

Chapter 2718

“Are these for Mr. Ellison?’ “Who would send so many flowers to him?”

While everyone was busy discussing the flowers, the men carrying the bouquets unexpectedly stopped in front of Nicole and handed them to her.

As Nicole could not hold all the flower bouquets on her own, she asked Lulu for help.

“What’s going on?” Lulu whispered.

Nicole shook her head, saying, “I have no clue.”

Then, a thought crossed Nicole’s mind. ‘Could it be from Harvey? Since everyone is here to congratulate Ellison Group, nobody else would dare to send me flowers on this occasion. Such frivolous extravaganza is something only Harvey would typically do.’ “Thank you for coming to our annual celebration, Nicole. Your presence truly graces our celebration, so here is a little token of my appreciation. I hope you like it,” Harvey announced as he sauntered into the venue.

“So it is Harvey’s gift to Nicole.”

But why did Harvey give Nicole presents?”

As expected, the murmurs and whispers among the guests reached Nicole and Lulu’s ears in short order.

“Harvey is such a bastard. He insisted that you show up, and here he is, doing this on purpose,” Lulu grumbled.

Nicole snorted. “Clearly, that’s what he is doing.”

“That damn Harvey. He is actually making a mockery of his own company’s annual event.” Lulu muttered in frustration under her breath.

“The fact that you’re silent must mean that you like the flowers,” Harvey gloated as he approached Nicole.

Nicole’s eyes flashed with a hint of cold fury as she responded, “If I said I do not like it, will you get someone to take the flowers back?”

‘How could I possibly like this? He’s clearly asking a question he has the answer to,’ she fumed.

Harvey froze for a moment, but he maintained his smile. “It’s a token of appreciation for you, so it’s up to you to decide what to do with them.”

In other words, Harvey was saying that he would not take back the gifts he had given.

Recognizing Harvey’s intention, Nicole nodded and said,” Alright then.”

Nicole swept her gaze across the crowd and landed on a group of young women, who were seemingly employees of Ellison Group.

“Lulu, please hand them the flowers,” Nicole said.

Though she was not loud, everyone had heard what she just said.

“Sure thing,” Lulu replied promptly, and went off to do as Nicole had instructed.

Within moments, Lulu handed the bouquets over to the young employees.

However, the employees’ expressions became complex as they received the flowers.

The flowers were lovely, but the fact remained that they were supposed to be Harvey’s gift to Nicole. They were afraid that they would be fired after receiving them. As they held the flowers, the women had no idea what to do with them.

“There’s no need to thank me. You should thank Mr. Ellison instead,” Nicole said, her tone casual after she had noticed the unease on the women’s faces.

“Don’t mention it,” Harvey said dismissively.

After that, the women breathed a sigh of relief and said,” Thank you, Mr. Ellison and Ms. Riddle.”

They did not dare to pass the flowers they were holding to someone else.

Thanks to Nicole, however, Harvey would not be able to hold them responsible for it.

Chapter 2719

With everything said and done, she turned around and left the crowd of screaming women. ‘This is way too scary, even for me.’ Nicole turned to look at Harvey after she had thrown the bouquet of flowers to the crowd of hormonal teenage girls, and in a monotonous voice, she said, “Mr.

Ellison, I assume that everyone from your family is already here for the annual dinner. Shall we start? It’s getting quite late.”

‘I would like to see you try. You have the nerve for tricking me into coming. I’ll show you how it’s done. I can’t believe he had the temerity to waste so many people’s time.’ Nicole sneered.

Harvey smirked and gritted his teeth, trying to maintain his composure before making his way up to the stage to give an opening speech.

“He’s flirting with you in front of so many people. Is he out of his mind?” Lulu asked in hushed whispers with a look of disgust plastered on her face.

‘I can’t believe he really did that in front of everyone here. Come to think of it, I’m really starting to believe that he really had taken Ellison Group over with ease. Of course, Thomas might’ve given in due to guilt,’ Lulu thought.

“Maybe he’s got nothing to do and he’s just bored. How’s things on your side?”

Nicole asked Lulu.

“Things are going well on my side. A few companies are interested in my proposal. I’ve set up meetings with them to further discuss it. I think I’m going to bag them,” Lulu bragged.

“Nice job! Since this fella doesn’t seem to be interested in staying in his lane, we might as well give him a surprise of a lifetime,” Nicole replied as she turned to look at Harvey, who was now on stage.

“Huh? What are you going on about?” Lulu asked as she inched closer to Nicole.

In turn, Nicole leaned over and whispered into Lulu’s ear.

Soon after, the host of the annual dinner went on to announce on the microphone, “Alright everyone, the next thing on our agenda is one of the highlights of the night.

Come grab your plus ones, step onto the dance floor and dance your heart away!” Everyone got up from their seats and began making their way to their partners.

Meanwhile, Harvey scanned the room, his eyes ranging over anyone and everyone until they fell on the pair he was looking for: Nicole and Lulu. Then, he took confident strides toward them with a smug look on his face.

“Ms. Riddle, care for a dance?” Harvey asked in a posh accent as he extended his hand.

“Oh, my goodness! Me?!” an unfamiliar voice suddenly responded.

This took Harvey aback, who whipped his head up and took a good look at the person who was standing in front of him.

‘This is not Nicole, but she’s wearing the same clothes Nicole was wearing earlier!’ Harvey seethed.

“Who are you?” Harvey spat.

“We’re the outstanding staff who were invited to the annual dinner,” the woman replied in a soft, timid voice.

The woman was completely flabbergasted. She had no idea what was happening and why Harvey had approached her with an invitation to be his dance partner.

Harvey quickly spun around and scanned the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of Nicole, but to no avail.

It was then he came to his senses and realized what had happened. ‘I wanted to invite Nicole for a dance but she has left without saying a word. I’m such a schmuck! How the hell did I ask the wrong person!? God damn it! How could I be such a dumbss!? Everyone else was wearing suits and Nicole was the only one wearing a dress, but how could two employees…’ ‘That sneaky btch! Wow, I really can’t believe her!’ And just like that, Harvey was left fuming in the middle of the ballroom.

Meanwhile, Nicole and Lulu had already left the hall after pulling a successful Irish Exit on him.

“I feel much better out here than when I was back there. The air’s fresher too,”

Lulu said, and drew a deep breath.

The invitation Nicole had received from Harvey was not one given from a place of courtesy. Instead, it was all a part of his scheme to cast Nicole in a negative light.

“Listen. About the things you’ve told me earlier, I just want you to know that if you need my help on anything, you can always call me or Patricia,” Nicole informed Lulu.

“I know.” Lulu nodded in agreement.

Back at the headquarters of Riddle Corporation, Patricia stood up in shock as she saw Nicole and Lulu walking into the office.

“Ms. Riddle? Why are you back so soon?” she asked.

Chapter 2720

“Don’t even bring it up. Harvey Ellison really is a piece of shit! He was up to no good from the very beginning!” Lulu ranted.

Patricia frowned, “He really was pushing his luck, wasn’t he? And in front of such a huge crowd too. He really wasn’t afraid of any backlash, it seems.”

“I’d rather think that he’s simply too thick skinned to be bothered by any sort of significant backlash,” Lulu grumbled as a grimace crossed her face.

Patricia nodded in agreement, “Fair point.”

As Lulu did not expect Patricia to nod along to her angry rants, she busted out into fits of laughter as she maintained her stare on Patricia’s expression.

Patricia, on the other hand, looked serious and unamused.

Patricia then turned to Nicole, “Ms. Riddle, I would advise you to avoid any further interaction with Mr. Ellison in the future.”

“Don’t worry about that, Patricia. I will make sure that he will be avoiding Nicole in every way possible,” Lulu said with a smug smile plastered on her face.

However, what surprised Patricia was how expressionless Nicole was. ‘Nicole must’ve got something up her sleeves.1 “If there’s anything you need help with, you can always ask me,” Patricia said to Lulu.

“I will. Thanks Patricia,” Lulu beamed.

Patricia proceeded to return the smile. “You are most welcome.”

“I’ll head back to my office now if there isn’t anything else,” Lulu announced as she turned around and made her way back to her office.

After a long period of silence, Nicole shot Patricia a glance.” We can speak in the office.”

“Yes, Ms. Riddle,” Patricia replied, and followed Nicole into her office.

Upon reaching Nicole’s office, Nicole cut straight to the chase. “So tell me, what seems to be the matter?”

“I’ve managed to dig up a few things about Damien. He has been holed up in his residence recently. On top of that, he has been firing everyone from his place.

His cook is the only one who is left. I think it’s very suspicious,” Patricia reported.

In response, Nicole furrowed her eyebrows. “He doesn’t even leave his own house anymore?”

‘I wonder how long he can stay indoors for,’ Nicole pondered.

Patricia wore a solemn look as she replied, “Yes, apparently so. I’m not sure if he is planning something or not.”

“Are you sure he’s inside?” Nicole asked.

The situation in question was raising a large number of alarm bells for her, as it was not normal for Damien to stay inside his house for extended periods of time.

Patricia nodded. “Yes, he is in his residence. He hasn’t stepped a foot out since Chloe was detained.”

Nicole’s expression darkened the instant she had heard Patricia’s answer. “It seems that he is just sitting at home, waiting for something to happen.”

“Hold on…are you saying that he doesn’t have any influence over anything anymore, so he’s sitting around waiting for Everett?” Patricia interrupted.

“It’s definitely possible that he is. Look into this matter immediately, and see if he has been contacting Everett, or if Everett has been paying any visits to him,”

Nicole ordered.

“Yes, Ms. Riddle.” Patricia nodded.

“Keep your eyes peeled. Everett might be using a fake identity to travel to and navigate around San Joto,” Nicole advised.

Patricia nodded again. “Yes, I’ll make sure of it.”

Patricia left Nicole’s office shortly after, leaving Nicole to lean back against her seat as she gazed out of the window.1 If Damien really is waiting for someone or something, my guess is that he is waiting for Everett.’