Ch. 281..290

Chapter 281 Pleasure Working With You

Nicole still continued to go to work normally every day without showing a trace of panic, even after knowing that F&M Apparel would soon fire her.

That afternoon, she was sitting in the cafe with a cup of coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, looking at the screen attentively.

Suddenly, a man who had slowly walked over appeared in front of her, standing in front of her.

When she looked up, she saw Mason, who wore a suit today and had a grin on his face. He directly sat across from her as soon as he came.

After he sat down, he put one hand on his chin and looked straight at Nicole.

“What can I do for you, beautiful? It must be important for you to specially invite me over for coffee today.”

She took a sip of her coffee, put it down, and put away her phone before she looked at him. When she saw the cheeky smile on his face, she slowly said, “I am keen on working with you, President Schumacher. I’m not sure if you’re interested.”

“Me? Work together?” Mason suddenly burst into laughter.

“Sweetheart, didn’t I tell you before? Although I am the president of the Pinnacle Group, I have no actual rights to it.”

Nicole nodded when she heard this and said, “I know that Olivia Gardner manages the Pinnacle Group.”

Mason was stunned to hear this. He probably did not expect her to investigate so thoroughly that he was momentarily struck dumb.

“I’m looking to work with you this time, not the Pinnacle Group,” she continued as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Finally, the smile on his face dropped as a serious expression replaced it. “Tell me, how do you want to cooperate with me?”

Once she saw that he was taking this seriously, she didn’t beat around the bush and immediately proposed her plan.

“It’s pretty straightforward. There is an upcoming international design competition, and I need someone from the Pinnacle Group to recommend me.”

“Are you talking about the Golden Brush Competition?” Mason narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Yes.” Nicole nodded.

He was a little puzzled when he heard her request. With Nicole’s identity, she could easily participate in the competition without the help of the Pinnacle Group. What was going on?

When she noticed his doubts, she immediately explained, “I’ll be resigning from F&M Apparel soon, and I will work with the Pinnacle Group as Lisa. I will unconditionally give the Golden Brush Competition’s winning works to the Pinnacle Group.”

“Miss Anderson, aren’t you working with the Gardner Corporation right now? Why don’t you directly ask them to recommend you instead of coming to me?”

Mason was not stupid; he knew there was a reason for her to do this.

She nodded and said, “I naturally have my reasons. I will ask the Gardner Corporation and the Pinnacle Group to recommend me at the same time, but I will participate under the Pinnacle Group.”

As he heard her plan, he merely looked at her deeply without saying a word.

Then, Nicole continued, “The project, Ann, that the Gardner Corporation and I had already kickstarted. But, if the Pinnacle Group does not take action, I’m afraid that someone will replace the head of the clothing industry. I’m sure that you are all discussing these internally all the time, am I right?”

This made Mason smile; she was right. Ever since the success of Ann, the people in the Pinnacle Group had been discussing their next move in the office every day, but to no avail.

If Nicole were to come into the Pinnacle Group as Lisa, she would solve this problem in a blink of an eye.

Right then, she took the opportunity to strike while the iron was still hot and continued, “Although a big part of the Pinnacle Group is under Olivia’s control, the clothing industry under the Gardners is growing. I’m sure shareholders are lining up for it. As long as you seize this opportunity, do you still have to be afraid that you’re powerless?”

In the face of Nicole’s words, Mason smiled. Her assumptions were correct, and her plan was solid; it didn’t hurt that this was the solution to his problem. So, it would be an understatement to say that she had expounded on precisely what he needed to hear.

“It would be a pleasure to work with you, Miss Anderson.” Mason grinned.

Chapter 282 A Warning

After discussing the cooperation with Mason, Nicole left the cafe. When she returned to the company, she found Joanna in her office.

Nicole’s initial thought was that she was here to look for trouble again. Instead, with a slight smile, she put her bag on the stool, looked at her, and said, “Director Schmidt, I haven’t done anything to offend you recently. If you’re here to argue, I won’t play along with you.”

When Joanna noticed that Nicole was back, Joanna stood up directly and stared at Nicole for a long time before calmly saying, “I was at a cafe today and saw that you were with Mason Schumacher of Pinnacle Group.”

However, Nicole did not feel weirded out for being spotted. After all, she had openly invited him to a cafe, and there was nothing shady about that.

“Oh? And, what?” She questioned with interest.

Joanna squinted her eyes and looked at the calm person in front of her. It was strange that Nicole could still remain so calm after being caught.

Nicole noticed how Joanna looked and immediately knew what she was thinking. She chuckled.

“Director Schmidt, you must be thinking that I should panic after being caught meeting up with our competitor, right?”

Nicole had spoken Joanna’s mind, saying everything she wanted to say, so she could only purse her lips and did not make a sound as she continued to stare at Nicole.

Without missing a beat, Nicole continued, “Director Schmidt, you need to understand that I am working under F&M Apparel and not the Gardner Corporation. It’s my personal freedom to cooperate with any companies.”

Joanna naturally knew that and retorted, “But you’re still cooperating with Gardner Corporation now. You can’t be so half-hearted. Lisa, you’re not trying to sell your work with Gardner Corporation to Pinnacle Group, are you?”

“You’re unfairly judging me. Do you think there’s a need for me to sell it?” Nicole questioned.

“Don’t you know that Ann managed to achieve such great success because it was designed by Lisa and not because of the cooperation between Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel?” Nicole said truthfully with a smile.

Joanna initially came to warn Nicole not to betray Gardner Corporation by threatening her. Nevertheless, she did not expect Nicole to be so calm that it rendered Joanna speechless.

There was a fake smile on Joanna’s face. Since Wendy’s 18th birthday banquet, Joanna and Nicole seemed to have a feud. Hence, there was no need for Joanna to beat around the bush.

“Good for you, then,” Joanna sneered. She suddenly stopped in her footsteps and turned to look at Nicole.

“By the way, Lisa, there’s another thing. Mrs. Gardner announced at dinner that Mr. Gardner had a child. Do you know about this?”

Nicole raised her brows when she heard this because it was only natural for her to know about this. After all, this story involved herself. Nevertheless, she looked at Joanna with some confusion, acting as if she didn’t know what to say.

“What about it?”

Joanna answered gleefully, “So, now, you can’t cling to Mr. Gardner anymore. Once the child enters the Gardner Residence, the child’s mother would naturally be brought in as well. In conclusion, you don’t stand a chance anymore.”

As Nicole listened to Joanna’s warning, she couldn’t help but feel a little amused. Unfortunately, it seemed like Joanna still didn’t know the child’s mother.

Although Nicole had no romantic feelings toward Colton, she spoke in a low voice to poke at Joanna, “Who knows what will happen.”

Then, Joanna shot her one cold glance before turning around to leave.

Nicole leaned on the table as her hands laid on her chest. Although Joanna hated her, she still valued the company’s interests.

Nicole lowered her eyes slightly; there was a calculative gleam in her eyes.

The Golden Brush Award was the top award in the global design industry. Although she had won it once before, it would not stop her from trying to win it again. She discovered that Gardner Corporation had recommended Joanna for the competition last year.

Regardless, Joanna was not up to par and did not even make it through the primary election.

If Nicole managed to surpass her, Joanna would go mad. How entertaining!

 

Chapter 283 Dismissal

In the afternoon, Nicole headed over to Colton’s office.

He was a little taken aback by her arrival. After all, they now have an ambiguous relationship.

He raised his eyebrow and looked at her, asking with a smile, “Is everything alright, Nicole?”

However, Nicole did not beat around the bush and immediately dived straight into it.

“Well, it’s almost that time of the year for the Golden Brush Award. I want Gardner Corporation to recommend me as a participant in the competition, so I am here to ask for your opinion.”

Colton did not even question her and agreed, “Okay.”

This took her by surprise as she was ready to explain why he should recommend her. Unexpectedly, he did not even ask and just readily agreed to her demands.

Because of this, she lowered her gaze. She didn’t know how to react to his decisiveness.

Colton took the opportunity to study the woman in front of him. Nicole was beautiful, with her chubby cheeks. Although she might not have a stunning face at first glance, she was indeed still lovely.

She did not like using makeup except for important occasions. She would either put on lipstick or some light make-up. There were days when she would even go out bare-faced.

All of these could not deflect the confidence and beauty that she exuded.

After he discovered that Nicole was the woman he had slept with five years ago, he felt that his mood had changed significantly. He became eager to get the woman in front of him.

Nevertheless, he was good at concealing his feelings. After all, it was better to take things slow regarding things like these.

“If you have any other requests, just tell me. I owe them to you, after all,” Colton said generously.

Nicole remained silent. To be honest, he did not owe her anything at all. Although she had saved him by mistake, she would not have gone if Queenie did not give her the money…

At this moment, Nicole let out a sigh of relief. Whatever it was, there was nothing left for her to say now that she had achieved the goal.

“Thank you, President Gardner. There’s nothing else from me. I shall leave you be,” she said respectfully with a slight bow.

Colton smiled and said nothing, watching her walk away until she was out of sight.

The timing was perfect, for the Golden Brush Award was about a week away.

She wanted to resign before F&M Apparel could dismiss her. That way, she could leave with a flair to her name since she did not need the severance pay anyway.

When Nicole returned home, she got Whitney to release some rumors on the Internet. Unfortunately, it was nothing more than how the Pinnacle Group and Gardner Corporation were scrambling to fight for Lisa’s work.

Whitney did as Nicole instructed, and because of Nicole’s outstanding reputation, the little bit of news spread like wildfire.

That night at Wendy’s birthday party, it was rumored that Nicole had lost to Joanna and that the future Mrs. Gardner would wear the dress that Joanna had designed. Once the dress was shown, the unsuspecting audience immediately complimented Joanna.

Nonetheless, after hearing Gardner Corporation’s explanation of how Nicole designed the dress, the audience was once again impressed by her talent.

As a great designer would always come up on top, no piece of clothing would not be sold. Any designs would be a highlight.

With Nicole’s reputation, its popularity in the country grew even more popular than F&M Apparel.

Because of this, some shareholders of F&M Apparel were reluctant to fire her and wanted her to continue as the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel.

After all, she had the capability and the fame; these were all excellent attributes for F&M Apparel.

Regardless, without Zachary’s obstruction, those shareholders would have no way to compete with Benjamin. Compared to the Gardner Corporation, F&M Apparel was the size of an ant next to an elephant, so there was no hope for her continued presence in F&M Apparel.

The internal executives could not do anything to stop it. They could only go through layers after layers of procedures and began Nicole’s dismissal.

 

Chapter 284 Resignation

However, the leaders of F&M Apparel couldn’t believe that a day before they dismissed Nicole, they received a letter of resignation from her!

In general, people in major positions like her would not be able to take up the same job for five years if they were to resign. Of course, it would be a different story if they were fired.

Yet, here was Nicole, unexpectedly resigning from her job. Was it that she wasn’t ready to continue to develop in the clothing industry?

Nevertheless, the answer was quickly revealed; Nicole’s contract was signed five years ago and had already expired at the beginning of this year. Later, the renewal contract was drafted by Zachary, and this clause was not marked on the contract.

In other words, her resignation would only result in the loss of a few months’ worth of compensation salary.

Zachary had already thought ahead about Nicole’s resignation and drafted this contract for her.

As the executive president of F&M Apparel, no one looked into the contract he drafted. Because of that, Nicole could resign without taking any severe repercussions.

On the other end, the shareholders couldn’t bear the pressure from Benjamin for long. There was not much difference between Nicole getting dismissed, or if she resigned anyway, so they agreed directly.

Zachary did not say anything as he signed the resignation approval.

‘Lisa left F&M Apparel.’

Nicole had deliberately hyped up the news; she acknowledged it immediately once the turmoil started.

Zachary had initially also wanted to leave F&M Apparel as F&M Apparel was nothing to him without her. So, there was no need for him to continue staying there.

Despite that, he was stopped by Nicole.

“You enjoy being in this industry. There’s no need for you to give it up for anyone. Maybe I can cooperate with F&M Apparel personally in the future, and I’d have to rely on you more then.”

After he listened to her advice, he felt that what she said made sense. If he were to resign from F&M Apparel, he would no longer be able to help her in the future.

As the news of Nicole’s resignation from F&M Apparel blew up, the news that was released before started to show up as well.

Gardner Corporation and Pinnacle Group were fighting over Lisa’s work.

Everyone began to think that she had resigned because she was poached by the two companies.

Now, because of Ann’s great success, Nicole was still a star in the clothing industry, even without her title in F&M Apparel.

The Pinnacle Group was buzzing with excitement after the news of Lisa’s departure, alongside all sorts of gossip, was released on the internet. They were discussing the recruitment of Lisa as the Chief Designer of Pinnacle Group.

Naturally, this request was rejected by Olivia.

“Absolutely not! A woman with such a bad character can not be allowed to join the Pinnacle Group!”

Although the shareholders had long been dissatisfied with her strong opposition, Bradley Schumacher, Mason’s biological father, had long given his rights to Olivia. It was no use, even if they were unhappy.

Mason, who was usually quiet during board meetings, suddenly spoke up, “We know how high Lisa’s net worth is right now. So, if you think it’s risky, I suggest that we use the Pinnacle Group’s spot to participate in the Golden Brush Award as an offer to collaborate with Lisa once and see how the outcome will be.”

Olivia shot him an angry glare as soon as he spoke, sneered, and said sarcastically, “When did you get the rights to speak here?!”

Despite her demeaning words, his expression remained indifferent, and he showed no signs of anger. Instead, he smiled gently in the face of her arrogance and explained, “Although Lisa has resigned from F&M Apparel, she is still working with Gardner Corporation. Gardner Apparel is getting increasingly more popular by the day. If Lisa continues working with them, they will surpass Pinnacle Group within a year. So, I’m suggesting that we strive and pull Lisa into the Pinnacle Group and allow her to be the Chief Designer of Pinnacle Group.”

Mason paused a moment before continuing, “But if President Gardner does not have his trust in Lisa, we can recommend her to participate in the Golden Brush Award first. If Lisa successfully wins the award, it’s not too late for us to hire her.”

 

Chapter 285 Pinnacle Group

Olivia was about to burst into flames as her eyes darted back and forth angrily from Mason before saying with disdain, “You are just an illegitimate child of a mistress. When did you have the right to speak here?”

Once she was done provoking him, she raised her head and continued, “Do you know what kind of person Lisa is? How can we rush to cooperate with her? It will only drag Pinnacle Group down if she has a tainted reputation!”

Mason’s eyes darkened when he heard this. Although he knew that Olivia would continue to object, he still calmly said, “President Gardner, if we don’t fight for Lisa, she would definitely go and work with the Gardner Corporation. By then, it will definitely be a loss for us.”

As soon as he was done speaking, Olivia went directly in front of him and slapped him across the face mercilessly.

The slap was so hard that the sound echoed in the office, and a red mark immediately appeared on his face.

“I said, this is no place for you to speak!”

At this point, her irrationality was getting out of hand for the shareholders to tolerate. After all, Olivia was of Gardner descent; she wasn’t a Schumacher. If they let Lisa slip past them this time, the Gardner Corporation would greatly benefit from it. Instead, Olivia’s actions would make them suffer!

The Pinnacle Group had started out as an apparel company, unlike Gardner Corporation, which mainly engaged in network technology.

“Olivia, as a Gardner, you must still be prioritizing the Gardners! I agree with Mason on Lisa’s case.”

“Exactly! Lisa’s collaboration with Gardner Corporation for Ann had been a success. If she continues working with them, our Pinnacle Group will suffer.”

“I agree!”

As the commotion arose, Mason lowered his head with a slight smile on his face. Sure enough, he knew that as long as he mentioned Gardner Corporation and Olivia, the old geezers would feel uneasy.

Although he was a little upset after being slapped, it was not uncommon for him to get injured during his fights back in the days when he was working underground. This was nothing he couldn’t bear.

As Olivia listened to what the shareholders were saying, her cheeks flushed with anger, and she was at a loss for words for a while.

“Y-you…” She fumed as she stood up and looked at the people standing up for Mason and supporting Nicole.

When Mason saw that Olivia had become increasingly irritable, his smile curved up even more as he raised his head, the handprint on his face was very obvious.

“President Gardner, why don’t you just listen to everyone’s opinion and give it a try?”

There was a sneer on her face when she heard this, and she couldn’t help but ask coldly, “What is your motive for wanting to bring her into the Pinnacle Group so badly?”

With an innocent look on his face, he answered, “President Gardner, everyone knows Lisa’s net worth right now. I’m just concerned that it would be detrimental for Pinnacle Group if she were taken under the wings of Gardner Corporation. On the other hand, if we manage to get her, we might have a fighting chance.”

Rage was flowing through Olivia like lava at this point. She hated illegitimate children, so not only did she hate Mason, but she also hated Nicole and that b*stard of hers.

“As long as I am in the Pinnacle Group, I will not allow her to join us!” She roared before she turned to leave directly.

This immediately provoked all the shareholders, who were already dissatisfied in the first place.

“She’s clearly paving the way for Gardner Corporation. Lisa is now in the limelight. As long as she agrees to join the Pinnacle Group, it would be a win-win situation for both parties!”

“Exactly! Since her two children died, she has never truly been invested in Pinnacle Group.”

Mason could only smile as the shareholders expressed their unhappiness and said warmly, “Maybe President Gardner has her own concerns. So, let’s be considerate of her as well.”

There was a sharp contrast between Mason’s gentleness and Olivia’s arrogance.

In addition to that, the clear handprint on his face riled up the shareholders even more.

“Mr. Schumacher is now the president of Pinnacle Group. How vile of her to say such a thing!”

“Yeah, let us go and tell the chairman that Olivia’s overbearing character will bring Pinnacle Group down sooner or later.”

All this while, Mason remained quiet as his plans came to fruition, one dissatisfied shareholder at the time.

 

Chapter 286 Call Me Dad

Mason did not say anything more. Anyway, the more Olivia was dissatisfied with him, the more she targeted him, the better.

That afternoon, Bradley suddenly showed up at Mason’s office.

Mason pretended to be surprised and stepped forward. “Chairman Bradley, to whom do I owe the pleasure?”

As Bradley studied his respectful appearance, Bradley’s glance fell onto Mason’s face. The handprint left on his face was still very obvious and red.

Then, Bradley walked to the sofa and sat down slowly. “I heard that you want the Pinnacle Group to cooperate with Lisa?”

Mason lowered his gaze politely and said, “Yes. Lisa has left F&M Apparel. I think that if we could get her to cooperate with Pinnacle Group, it would certainly bring us many benefits.”

When Bradley heard this, he stared inquiringly for a long time with his sharp gaze before finally retracting it.

“I heard from some shareholders that Olivia slapped you at the meeting. Does it hurt?”

Bradley’s sudden concern flattered Mason as he replied, “No, I’m fine. It was me who had overstepped during the meeting.”

Satisfaction flashed across Bradley’s face when he heard this. This boy was a result of his own affair when he was abroad. After his two legitimate children had died, he would not allow a family business as big as the Pinnacle Group to fall into the hands of outsiders. Thus, he decided to reconnect with this son of his.

Back then, he did not have a good impression of Mason as he would hang with gangsters when he was abroad. Later, Bradley heard the gossip around the office that Mason was a gentle and orderly man. He would even go out of his way to study whatever he did not understand about the company’s affairs.

And the most important thing was that he was neither arrogant nor impetuous. He did not show any motives of wanting to fight for power at all.

Overall, Bradley was delighted with Mason.

“You’re right. Lisa is really worth the fight,” Bradley said approvingly. Then, he looked at Mason and continued, “Is there any way you can recruit Lisa to work with us?”

Mason naturally wouldn’t admit that he had already discussed it with Lisa and instead just said, “Back in the days when I was still working in the underground garage, I saved Lisa. I didn’t know who she was before this and only found out after I read the news. I have an idea of using this as Lisa’s repayment to get her to represent the Pinnacle Group in the Golden Brush Award.”

Bradley felt satisfied when he heard Mason’s plan, which showed him that Mason had honestly thought things through. This wasn’t a big request either, and they would be able to see how capable Lisa was.

Bradley nodded as he narrowed his eyes slightly before saying with satisfaction, “Then, you may proceed with your plan.”

There was a bit of hesitation on Mason’s face, and it took him a while to say, “But, President Gardner…”

Bradley knew what Mason was afraid of. After all, he was just slapped by Olivia in public. Then, Bradley reached out and patted Mason on his shoulder.

“You’re the president of Pinnacle Group. You have the right to make these decisions. So, don’t worry about anything else. If something goes wrong, I’ll back you up.”

Mason still showed no expression when he heard this as he answered solemnly, “I understand. Thank you, Chairman Bradley.”

Nevertheless, Bradley loudly proclaimed, “Call me dad.”

This made Mason pause as a strange expression flashed across his eyes. But in the end, he still called out, “Dad.”

With a sigh, Bradley did not say anything more and turned to leave.

Once he left, Mason dropped the modest act on his face, and his dark eyes followed Bradley’s silhouette out the door.

Then, a sneer appeared on Mason’s face.

Be it the Pinnacle Group or the Schumacher Family, they owed this to him!

Back in the day, Bradley was out fooling around with other women, although he had a family. That was when he managed to knock Mason’s mother up and abandoned her after.

His mother became ill after giving birth to him and died when he was 12 years old. He had always known who his biological father was and slowly climbed his way up here.

Anyhow, since he had yet to fully control the Pinnacle Group, he couldn’t relax.

Chapter 287 Visiting Old Mr. Benedict

Nicole had officially terminated her contract with F&M Apparel.

Her reason for resignation was due to the rapid development of the domestic clothing industry. She wanted to return to her home country to further develop the industry and improve the market of the fashion industry.

Because of this, many netizens bought into her reasoning.

In the previous contract between Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel, Colton had specially signed another agreement with Nicole due to the establishment of the Ann. Still, the contract did not mention F&M Apparel.

This time, F&M Apparel would not benefit from the Gardner Corporation.

The cooperation between Nicole and Gardner Corporation would continue, and it would take almost two months to complete the promotion of the entire brand.

For Nicole’s sake, Zachary had stayed in the country and had begun to take over F&M Apparel.

With the support of Bradley, Pinnacle Group directly invited Nicole to participate in the Golden Brush Competition under Pinnacle Group, and she naturally agreed without any objections.

This riled Olivia up as she was against it from the start. Regardless, she did not expect that Pinnacle Group would really cooperate with Nicole. Because of this, Olivia immediately went to look for Mason to get even with him.

Anna knew that Nicole had terminated the cooperative relationship with F&M Apparel and had directly indicated that as long as she was willing to stay in Gardner Apparel, Nicole could be the executive president of Gardner Apparel.

This would mean that she would skip the chief designer role and directly be in charge of Gardner Apparel.

Anyway, Nicole knew Anna’s motive behind this and immediately declined.

Regardless, Anna continued to discuss with her about Hayden. “Nicole, what are you going to do about Hayden?” She sat on the sofa and asked hesitantly.

Ever since Sasha’s disappearance, Colton was never spotted with a woman by his side. In the past few years, he had been very reserved. It was rare for him to be interested in a woman again. In addition to that, this woman was the mother of his child. Hence, Anna naturally treated Nicole nicely.

Nicole smiled slightly as she looked at Anna and said, “Mrs. Gardner, you are very kind, but Olivia is against it, and I don’t want to cause any trouble to the Gardner Family. If you want to see Hayden, I’ll bring him to visit you. But about coming into the family… I think we can forget about that.”

Anna knew that Nicole cared about what Olivia had said before, so she quickly jumped in and said, “You don’t have to worry about her, as long as you are willing to reunite with us.”

“I’d have to reject you on this, then, ” Nicole said firmly. She pursed her lips and looked at Anna before continuing, “Mrs. Gardner, Hayden, and I have lived together for four years. I don’t want to part with him.”

Anna was a little embarrassed upon hearing that before she finally sighed. “I’ll tell you what, Nicole. Old Mr. Benedict will be returning home in a few days. Unfortunately, he has a brain tumor, and his time is running out. If it’s convenient for you, would it be possible for you to bring Hayden here to visit him?”

When Nicole saw the sincere look on Anna’s face, she couldn’t bear to refuse.

Then, she seemed to recall what Olivia mentioned and hesitated before saying, “I can’t afford to anger Old Mr. Benedict. As for Hayden—”

Anna immediately interrupted and said, “Old Mr. Benedict isn’t someone who minds the family status of his in-laws. He returned home this time because the doctor had told him that his time was short. At most, he would only have half a year left.”

Her face was filled with despair as she sighed.

“If he were to go through an operation, he might get a few more years. But, the risk of the operation is too high. He might die on the operating table if they are not careful. So instead, he decided not to take the risk and come back to enjoy his last few months.”

Since Anna had already said all that, Nicole couldn’t refuse. She hesitated for a moment longer before nodding.

“Okay, I understand. I will bring Hayden to visit Old Mr. Benedict when he’s here.”

When Anna heard this, she gleamed. “Thank you, Nicole.”

Nicole did not say much, and Anna soon left after a few short exchanges.

As for Benedict’s situation, Nicole had overheard Julia discussing it. Julia came from a family of doctors, and her parents were among the most famous doctors in the world. Thus, the Gardners had been seeking their help all this while.

Nevertheless, Benedict’s prognosis did not seem optimistic, and even her family couldn’t do anything about it.

 

Chapter 288 White Nicholson

Julia was surprised to hear that Nicole would visit Old Mr. Benedict at the Gardner Residence.

“What’s going on? Are you going to make a comeback?”

In the face of Julia’s ridicule, Nicole’s eyes darkened as she pursed her lips with a bit of grimness on her face.

Because of that, Julia knew that she must have said something wrong and quickly apologized, “Okay, I know it’s my fault. I won’t bring this up again.”

Nicole’s mood lightened after she heard this. Then, she lowered her gaze and glanced at the ground before looking up at Julia, whispering, “My mentor’s last wish is for me not to be involved in this again. Julia, you know this.”

Julia quickly nodded and admitted her mistake. “I know, Nicole. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Back then, the number one surgeon in the world was White Nicholson. He had only taken in one apprentice throughout his life, but no one knew what this apprentice of his looked like.

Only Julia knew that his apprentice was Nicole and White was her mentor. When White was alive, he was known to be a jolly person. However, no one knew why he had not gotten married, hence having nobody to pass his medical skills down to.

Later, as his fame grew, many people came to seek mentorship from him. Yet, they were all rejected.

After Nicole became a designer, Julia took Nicole to White’s place, telling Nicole that she would be designing a dress for White. As White watched the way Nicole tended to her pieces, he immediately asked her on the spot if Nicole would like to be his apprentice.

At that time, Nicole wasn’t the only one that was surprised. Julia was taken aback as well. The reason for this was that White saw a talent in Nicole.

Later, Nicole accepted his apprenticeship and took White as her mentor as she studied for nearly three years. She did multiple operations alongside White. Down the road, there was someone that wanted to learn from White but was rejected. That was when everything went downhill as the person convinced others who White had operated to start a riot.

At that time, the hospital was in chaos as family members of the patients were shouting and arguing every day. In the face of money, their morals began to turn fuzzy as they slandered the medical ethics of White, tainting his name.

Although White had saved countless lives, he suffered a loss of fame and fortune at the end of the day.

In the end, he passed away from heart disease, and his last words were, “Nicole, don’t continue to practice medicine. Don’t inherit my mantle. Just go ahead and do whatever you like.”

Regardless, Nicole knew that her mentor was just afraid that if she were to inherit White’s mantle, she would be abused and slandered.

On the white-clothed hospital bed, Nicole agreed with tears in her eyes, and she had never practiced medicine since then.

Half a year after White’s death, some of the family members couldn’t stand the condemnation of their conscience and brought up the truth of the event to the public. But there was no use, as White had already left the world, and justice never prevailed.

From then on, practicing medicine was like a thorn in Nicole’s heart.

She lowered her gaze again and looked down at the floor. Perhaps it was the thought of her mentor that made her feel a little uncomfortable.

When Julia noticed this, she quickly comforted, “Nicole, it’s okay. It’s over now. You’re a famous designer now, and that is so much better than being a doctor.”

“You’re right,” Nicole replied lightly. She still didn’t understand why people would turn against White like that after he had saved their lives.

Perhaps the human heart was really sinister after all.

Julia changed the subject and said, “Old Mr. Benedict is well-tempered and is kind to everyone. You and Hayden will be fine.”

Nicole nodded when she heard this. “I know. After all, Hayden is his grandson. I’m not that heartless.”

Julia smiled as she nodded and said, “Just go and have a look. Maybe the old man might actually like Hayden. Then, you would’ve killed two birds with one stone.”

“Mrs. Gardner has already come knocking at my door. I don’t have a choice.”

Nicole had a wry smile on her face. It seemed that no matter how unwilling she was, she would still be connected to the Gardners either way.

 

Chapter 289 Indirect Insult

The next day, Nicole took Hayden to the Gardner Residence.

Unfortunately, just as they reached the gates of the Gardner Residence, they bumped into Olivia.

Olivia’s demeanor changed as soon as she saw Nicole and her son and thereafter used her body to block the door.

“Why did you bring this b*stard to the Gardner Residence?”

When Nicole heard what Olivia called her son in front of his face, her face darkened. “Olivia, you’re from such a well-known family. Is your upbringing this bad that the first thing that comes out of your mouth is calling a child a b*stard?”

Nicole’s calmness was mixed with a hint of anger; she had never been a pushover that could be bullied.

However, Olivia snorted coldly and sneered. “What is he if not a b*stard? Back then, you just had a one-night stand with Colton and fell pregnant with his child. You can’t just claim to be a Gardner because of this!”

This sparked a fire in Nicole’s heart, but seeing that Hayden was there, she held herself back from lashing out.

Just as she was about to bring the child away, he stood his ground and did not move.

Then, he raised his head and stared at Olivia fearlessly. Then, with a tight grip on Nicole’s hand, he spoke loudly, “Mommy, is this the kind of nosy aunties that the TV always talks about? Is she the one with the loud voice and is always impolite, looking like she could swallow people up?”

Although the child sounded somewhat innocent, his words were laced with poison.

Olivia’s face darkened when she heard this. “This b*stard really lives up to his name! He is so rude!”

Nicole couldn’t hold herself back any longer when she heard how Olivia had slandered her son and retorted, “It seems like you weren’t brought up very well either, Olivia, since you are arguing with a child.”

This seemed to tick Olivia off as she shut her eyes; she was done bickering with Nicole as she yelled, “Where’s everyone? Help! An outsider is bullying me. How can you all just stand and watch? Kick her out!”

When the Gardners Residence’s bodyguard heard Olivia’s voice, they all immediately rushed over. Although she was already married, her words were still dignified as the first daughter of the Gardner Family.

Olivia saw the bodyguards running over, after which the smile on her face grew. Then, she pointed at Nicole and her son as she shrieked, “Throw these two out of there! The next time you see them, you can beat them up!”

Although the bodyguards heard her orders, they did not dare to react. After all, Nicole was personally invited by Anna. She had also treated Nicole very kindly back when she was over at the Gardner Residence.

Seeing that the bodyguards refused to do anything, Olivia was furious. She turned her head and glared at them angrily. “What’s wrong? Are my words weightless now? I’m telling you, although I am married, I am still the first daughter of the Gardner Family!”

In the face of her arrogance, the bodyguards had no choice but to listen. They gave Nicole an apologetic look as they stepped forward with the intention to kick her out.

She knew that they had no choice, so she wanted to take the initiative to bring her son away herself.

However, everyone heard a cold male voice before she could react, “What is going on?”

When the bodyguards saw that it was Colton, they breathed out a sigh of relief and one of them quickly said, “Mr. Gardner, Ms. Gardner told us to kick them out.”

Colton shot them a cold glance. Then, he exuded a hostile aura with his hands in his pockets. “Ms. Nicole and her son were invited here by my mother. Is that how you treat your guests? Is this what the Gardners had taught you? Do you not even have the most basic form of respect?”

His voice was cold as he spoke. Although he did not direct his words at Olivia, it was said as an indirect insult to her.

She was stunned by his words that she did not know what to say. After all, if she were to speak, it was tantamount to admitting that he was lecturing her.

The bodyguards naturally understood the meaning of his words and stood aside silently, allowing themselves to be reprimanded.

Chapter 290 Protected

Once Colton was done reprimanding the bodyguards, he waved them off without saying much. “You’re dismissed.”

The bodyguards left without much fanfare.

After being insulted by Colton like that, Olivia’s face twisted into an ugly expression. However, she held back and looked at him calmly as she asked with squinted eyes, “What are you trying to do? Are you trying to piss Grandpa off?”

As Colton turned to face her, he pursed his lips and said, “Aunt, because you are older than me, I don’t mean any disrespect. However, Nicole and Hayden are my mother’s guests. Therefore, I don’t think it’s acceptable for you to do this.”

Her face changed as soon as she heard what he said. Then, she curled up her hand and pointed at Nicole accusingly, “Could it be that you really want to accept this child as your own, Colton? You’re the heir to the Gardner Family, and she is nothing! You should find a woman that is on par with you!”

This made Colton’s face turn dark; his following sentence was filled with displeasure as he spoke coldly, “Aunt, for the sake of Grandpa, if you want to stay in the Gardner Residence any longer, I’d advise you to keep quiet.”

Immediately, Olivia’s eyes widened in disbelief. Did he mean that she would be kicked out if she did not accept Nicole and her son?

How absurd!

This was ridiculous!

Was he choosing an outsider over her?!

At this moment, Anna had also come out. So, when she saw the scene in front of her, she could guess what was happening.

Thus, she stepped forward and stood in front of Olivia.

“I’ve told dad about Hayden and Nicole, and he has no objections. So, I think it’s best that you leave our family affairs alone now.”

After she said this, she motioned Colton to bring both Nicole and Hayden in.

Colton nodded and quickly ushered the two into the house.

At this point, Olivia’s face was burning with anger. She initially wanted to step forward to stop them, but Anna blocked her.

By now, her eyes were bloodshot as she looked at Anna with gritted teeth and said, “Anna, what the hell are you doing? Although he is of Colton’s flesh and blood, he has been living outside for years! Who knows what he has become? Yet, you just allowed them into the Gardner Family like this?!”

Olivia’s questioning didn’t provoke Anna as she answered with a polite smile, “That is Colton’s personal business. We shouldn’t interfere.”

“Do you know what that woman has in mind? What if she’s here to use her son to rob us of our properties?” Olivia exclaimed aloud.

Finally, Anna’s face darkened as she warned in a low voice, “Olivia, that’s enough. Not everyone is as bad as you make them out to be.”

Once she was done speaking, she did not want to argue with Olivia any longer, so she turned around and left.

Inside, Colton held Hayden in one hand as he led the two into Benedict’s ward.

All this while, Hayden’s eyes were opened wide as he looked at Colton; his eyes were filled with expectations. Finally, after a while, he muttered, “Uncle, are you really my father?”

This stupefied Colton as he did not expect Nicole to tell Hayden about this. He paused for a moment before he nodded and agreed.

When Hayden saw this, he lowered his gaze, and his face looked slightly upset. He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Uncle, although I would love for you to be my father, the woman just now is too fierce. She also tried to attack my mommy. Because of that, I will not accept you as my dad!”

Although Nicole was amused by what she heard, she did not expect her son to be so protective. He knew how to fend for himself at such a young age!

Colton did not expect these words to come out from Hayden as well, and he smirked.

“If your mommy marries me, I will protect her and protect you as well.”

As his low, husky voice rang in the air, it somehow made Nicole blush!