Ch. 381..390
Chapter 381 Reminiscing the Past
Whitney clearly remembered the day when both of them were on a date in a restaurant. Although it was gloomy, it didn’t rain. She had poisoned Douglas and allowed him to sleep in the arms of a burly man while he was unconscious. When he woke up, he was faced with a swarm of reporters.
The next day, news about the heir of the Lane Family being a bottom spread like wildfire online and caused a frenzy. Because of that, the shares of the Lane Family crashed and Douglas’ mother was so exasperated that she was bedridden. Since then, her health worsened due to the long-term effects of stress. The Lane Family’s downfall had benefited the Campbell Family while they gained stature as the leader of the furniture industry.
After the Lane Family’s downfall, they slowly withdrew from the industry. The last time Whitney heard any news about Douglas was when she was at Aimee. He was said to have invested in Aimee with plans to venture into the clothing industry.
Up until today, Whitney could remember how helpless he looked as he tried his very best to explain things to her.
“Whitney, you have to believe me. I really don’t know how it happened. You have to believe that you’re the only one that I like. I-I…”
As he was trying to explain, she looked at him impassively and said, “Douglas, let’s break up.”
When he heard that, he felt as if his world was crumbling since he never expected that she would want to break up with him. He did everything he could, trying to save their relationship but to no avail.
As Whitney looked at how much pain Douglas was in, she didn’t have the heart to tell him that all of it was her doing and that she had no other choice.
After that, he somehow learned that she was the one that did it. One breezy night, he waited for her below her apartment unit while wearing a white shirt, but his attractive face was pale.
By the time she arrived downstairs, his body was cold. The moment he saw her, he pulled her into his arms and muttered, “Whitney, someone told me today that you were behind all the things that happened to me. I-I don’t believe it.”
His voice was shaking, and he was scared. When she was in his arms, she could even feel his body trembling.
Whitney wanted to console Douglas, but not a word came out of her mouth as the words were stuck in her throat. Finally, she told him softly, “Douglas, I was the one who did it.”
At that moment, he fell apart. The usually cheerful and gentle man cried profusely as if his heart had been ripped out. He was mumbling to himself, asking her why she did it. However, she couldn’t bring herself to explain it to him. She merely said, “Douglas, let’s break up. We are not a good fit.”
Those were the last words she told him.
From that day onward, it was as if Douglas had disappeared without a trace. Whitney, on the other hand, couldn’t overcome her past relationship and chose to leave the country to work at F&M Apparel.
It was a period where she felt incredibly lost, but after seeing how confident and headstrong Nicole was, she slowly overcame her grief. Since the incident was due to her negligence, she couldn’t let Nicole shoulder the blame for her.
After giving it some thought, Whitney finally called Douglas.
The ringing tone sounded for a long time. Each time it beeped, it felt as if her heart was being struck.
Not long later, the call was answered and Whitney felt her heart skip a beat.
She asked softly, “Douglas?”
There was a brief pause on the other side of the phone. Shortly after, a woman could be heard saying, “Do you want to speak to Douglas? He’s currently in the shower. Why don’t you wait for a while? I’ll get him to call you back once he’s out of the shower.”
Chapter 382 Alimony
Judging from her voice, the female seemed to be around Whitney’s age. Since she was surprised to hear a female voice coming from the other side of the phone, Whitney’s head went blank as she instantly hung up the call.
Right after that, tears started rolling down her cheeks. She broke down and sobbed like a child as she covered her mouth with her hands.
She didn’t know how she should face him after putting him through so much, and she never thought that he’d eventually meet someone else after so many years. Her eyes were filled with sorrow as she bit her lips and whimpered. Alas, she had brought this upon herself!
Meanwhile, in the Lane Family, Emily was puzzled as she looked at Douglas’ phone. His phone had been set to block calls from unknown numbers. However, the caller’s number wasn’t saved, but the call could still go through.
After Douglas came out of the bathroom, he saw Emily holding his phone. He dried his hair and asked, “What’s wrong?”
When she heard that, Emily pulled her gaze away from the phone and responded, “Someone called you just now, but the number wasn’t saved in your contacts. The call ended after I answered the phone. It just seemed odd.”
Douglas furrowed his brows when he heard that the number wasn’t in his contacts, but he subsequently put on a facade and remained calm.
When he looked at the phone number, his gaze darkened. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just someone I’ve known from before.”
He left the phone on the bed after that.
Emily nodded and didn’t probe further. She took his towel from him and dried his wet hair while saying gently, “You should blow dry your hair. Otherwise, you’d get a headache if you sleep with damp hair.”
Douglas merely nodded.
…
While Colton was working the next day, he received a notification about a transaction from his bank account. As he read the notification, he realized that three billion had been stolen from his account. The hacker left him a message that read, ‘You ignorant a*shole!’
Colton was exasperated since the hacker not only stole his money but even chastised him too. Although he found it funny, he was furious at the same time.
He gathered the programmers of this company to find the hacker’s address, for he wanted to know who was that brash to even dare pull something on him. However, the programmers couldn’t figure out the hacker’s IP address.
At the same time, Hayden was smirking with a gleam in his eyes as he tapped on the keyboard.
He scoffed, thinking that Colton had brought it upon himself since he dismissed his mother from work. As such, he wanted to teach that man a lesson.
As he looked at the additional three billion in his bank account, Hayden didn’t feel guilty at all. Instead, he thought that it was the alimony that his mother deserved since Colton never paid her a single cent.
While Nicole was at home, she received a call from a director of Gardner Corporation.
She wasn’t surprised to get the call. As she smiled, she asked, “How may I help you?”
Since the board of directors hoped that she would take responsibility for the issue that had happened, they tried to be friendly with her. “After some careful consideration, the management feels that the issue with Aimee International should be handled with care.”
They were trying to sound righteous, but Nicole knew what they were scheming; they merely wanted to get someone to carry the blame. “I see. Since I’ve left Gardner Corporation, it has nothing to do with me anymore. You will have to sort it out yourselves,” she replied nonchalantly.
When he heard that Nicole didn’t want to take responsibility for it, he got anxious and said, “This problem happened because of your negligence. No matter what, you’ll have to assume responsibility instead of pushing it away.”
Triggered by how rude they were, Nicole replied, “Please watch your words. I’m not the irresponsible one here, you know. You were the ones who suggested the termination of my employment.”
Chapter 383 I’m An Investor
“We hadn’t thought things through before this, and we have reflected on our poor decision making.”
Since this issue involved their self interest, they started to negotiate with Nicole, trying to come up with a compromise.
“Miss Nicole, if you can successfully resolve this issue, Gardner Corporation will re-employ you and let you take over Ann.”
When she heard their offer, Nicole couldn’t contain her laughter and chuckled. “Referring to the contract that I’ve signed with Gardner Corporation, I can still obtain a portion Ann’s profits even if I leave the company. What makes you think that I’d go back and shoulder the responsibility?”
The director never thought that Colton would agree to such a term with Nicole. “Miss Nicole, why not just ask for a price and let us know how much we have to pay you in order to come back and resolve this issue?”
However, Nicole didn’t answer his question. She simply said, “It depends on your sincerity. Let’s talk again another time since I have other things to take care of now.”
She hung up the call right after that.
Initially, the director wanted to say something but was interrupted when she ended the call. He was so pissed that he wanted to smash the phone. However, he could only swallow his anger since he was asking for a favor.
Over the next few days, Nicole received numerous calls from the directors of Gardner Corporation. She had been taking it easy, unlike the directors who had a lot on their plates since they had received a letter of demand from Aimee’s legal team.
If Nicole still refused to give in, once Aimee International filed the plagiarism case to the court, it would be detrimental to Gardner Corporation.
Finally, on the fourth day, Nicole agreed to have a discussion with the directors. “Alright, I shall meet you for a discussion tomorrow at 1.00PM at Gardner Corporation. If I’m satisfied with your offer, I shall resolve the issue for you.”
She hung up the phone after that.
When Whitney heard that the directors of Gardner Corporation had been calling Nicole daily, she got worried. “Nicole, since you’ve left Gardner Corporation, you should just leave them be.”
As Nicole propped her chin up with her hands, she stared at the table and slowly said, “I’ve agreed to meet them tomorrow to talk about it.”
Hearing that, Whitney was surprised as she never expected Nicole would agree to it. She tugged on Nicole’s sleeve anxiously and advised her, “Nicole, Aimee International is suing Gardner Corporation, and they are unrelated to you. You shouldn’t get yourself into trouble.”
When she saw how nervous Whitney looked, Nicole let out a sigh before saying, “Whitney, I know the president of Aimee International personally.”
Whitney was surprised after hearing Nicole’s words. However, she couldn’t make sense of the whole situation and asked again, “Nicole, if that’s the case, why would Aimee International want to sue you?”
“They probably don’t have anything better to do.” Nicole shrugged her shoulders.
Does it mean that what I did earlier was a waste of effort? Whitney thought to herself. She was so worried that Nicole would get into a lawsuit, but it turned out that she knew the president of Aimee International personally!
“You should have told me earlier,” Whitney grumbled.
As Nicole placed her hand on Whitney’s shoulder, she said earnestly, “Didn’t I tell you that I have a way to solve this? Don’t you believe my words?”
Hearing that, Whitney frowned and glanced at Nicole before looking away. “I thought you told me those words just to make me feel better,” she said with a sigh.
Nicole chuckled when she saw how dispirited Whitney was. “I invested some funds in Aimee International back when it was first established, so I’m considered one of its investors. Their current president is Emily Phoenix, who is also one of the first investors of the company.”
Chapter 384 What’s Up?
Whitney had heard of Emily’s name earlier on when she had a collaboration with Aimee International. She was a beautiful woman who seemed to have a daughter.
“In that case, why would she sue you?” Logically speaking, since Nicole was one of the backers of Aimee International, even if she committed a mistake, it could be resolved privately.
“They probably have too much free time on their hands,” said Nicole as she pouted.
In actual fact, when Nicole resigned from F&M Apparel, Emily had contacted her in hopes that she would re-join Aimee International. Although Aimee International was already doing well without Nicole, Emily still hoped that she could join them since she’d be free after she resigned. As expected, Nicole rejected the offer because she wanted to take a break from work.
However, right after Nicole rejected Emily’s offer, she joined Gardner Corporation and was in charge of Ann. When Emily found out about it, she gave Nicole a call and reprimanded her for being a traitor, and it was probably this incident that triggered Emily to sue Nicole. Even so, Nicole didn’t mind at all.
“Since I’m one of the investors of Aimee International, she won’t succeed even if she has the intention to sue me. I shall meet her after I’ve met those useless old things from Gardner Corporation.”
After listening to Nicole’s plan, Whitney wasn’t that worried anymore.
As the woman lowered her gaze and contemplated briefly, she wanted to ask Nicole about Douglas. However, she was hesitant to ask and decided not to do so after giving it some further thought. Who was she to mention Douglas? Even though Nicole and Douglas knew each other, it didn’t matter anymore.
When Nicole noticed how defeated Whitney looked, she thought that it was odd but didn’t ask her about it since she understood that everyone had their own issues to deal with.
The next afternoon, Nicole dressed up and went to Gardner Corporation. Even though no one discussed how she had been kicked out, everyone somehow heard the news about it and was surprised to see her in the company. Why would she be here when she was already kicked out?
As Nicole looked at how confused they were, she smirked and said, “I’m here today because your director wants to ask for a favor from me. I’m not that thick-skinned, you know.”
Right after that, she straightened her back and went upstairs while ignoring what the others were discussing behind her back.
At 1.00PM sharp, she entered the meeting room to find only one of the directors there. If she remembered correctly, he must be Director Kidman.
She slowly walked toward him and sat down opposite the director. Then, she glanced at him lazily and said, “Let’s get it done with. I’m very busy.”
Although Director Kidman was put in an awkward position, he was there as the representative of all the directors to ask for Nicole’s help to solve the issue with Aimee International. Initially, no one was willing to do it, but if no one stood out to ask for her help, Gardner Corporation would be losing money.
“Before this, the board of directors was displeased with the plagiarism issue and directed our anger at you. After thinking about it, we admit that it was a hasty decision. Miss Nicole, please let us know whether you have any requests, and we will do our best to fulfill them.”
After hearing that, she smirked with one hand under her chin and raised her gaze before saying, “Do you see me as a pushover?”
Director Kidman’s face was red with anger upon being provoked by Nicole’s words. She was being unforgiving even though he had lowered himself to ask her for a favor.
Once he thought of the unresolved issue, he suppressed his rage and asked softly, “Miss Nicole, do you have any requests?”
Chapter 385 This Is a Deal
Nicole pondered for a moment and said, “Hmm. Well, there is nothing in particular I’d like to wish for, but you should know that I resigned from my job in F&M Apparel…”
She fixed her gaze on Jaxton before her just as the director wondered what she was trying to tell him. Then, she calmly added, “To be honest, what I want is simple. Terminate your cooperation with F&M Apparel and kick Kylie out of here. I don’t like that lady very much.”
When Jaxton heard her firm tone, he was annoyed yet speechless. The next second, he gritted his teeth and replied, “Our cooperation with F&M Apparel is bound by a contract until a month later. Thus, any violation of the contracted terms will subject us to a heavy penalty.”
When Nicole heard the man’s words, she didn’t seem to panic. Instead, she played it cool and said, “In that case, it’s either you pay the penalty to Aimee International or F&M Apparel. Your choice.”
In the meantime, he was surprised by her adamant attitude after hearing her reply. However, he soon realized it wouldn’t cost much to terminate the deal with F&M Apparel either since the cooperation didn’t require a high sum of penalty for violation due to it being small-scale in nature.
Despite that thought, he was aware that Nicole had to take care of the problem with Aimee International first before the termination of the deal with F&M Apparel could take place or the organization could end up losing the deal with the two giant corporate entities while finding itself in huge financial trouble.
“Alright, you’ve got a deal, but you have to take care of the issue with Aimee International first.” Jaxton made up his mind after a brief contemplation. After all, he was merely hoping to cooperate with Lisa on the company’s behalf through the deal with F&M Apparel.
While that was something he was willing to give up, he was also ready to let go of Kylie whom he thought didn’t contribute much to the team anyway ever since she joined the company.
In the meantime, Nicole responded with a nod and a smile on her face before confidently saying, “Great. For now, you should prepare whatever you need to terminate the contract with F&M Apparel. Meanwhile, once Aimee International’s president arrives tomorrow, I’ll pay her a visit and have a word with her. However, I want you to know that nothing is guaranteed until I see your contract termination agreement with F&M Apparel.”
Jaxton’s face darkened when he heard that, for it was his first time being threatened by someone. He squinted and retorted in a low voice, “No. We will only terminate our deal with F&M Apparel after you make Aimee International drop the charges.”
She chuckled, stopping in her tracks as she turned around and smiled at the man. “I’m not discussing this matter with you. Instead, I’m making a deal with you, so it’s up to you to put your faith in me. If you don’t terminate your deal with F&M Apparel, you can brace yourself for what Aimee International is going to do to your company.” She walked away as soon as she finished her words.
On the other hand, he could only watch angrily as she walked out of the place, yet there was not a single word he could say to express his frustration. After all, he was the one who needed her help.
When Nicole came downstairs, she heard a familiar voice amidst a commotion, but when she took a closer look, she realized the voice came from none other than Joanna. At that moment, Joanna was seen with an irritable expression on her face while clenching her teeth. “I’m the director of the Design Department, and I’m here because I need to retrieve something. What reason do you have to stop me from going in?!”
The receptionist bitterly revealed the reason in response to Joanna’s intimidating reaction. “President Gardner said no outsider is allowed to enter Gardner Corporation’s building.”
When Joanna heard the receptionist’s answer, she was angry yet surprised, for she had never thought that she would be stopped at the door with her access to Gardner Corporation denied.
While she was still getting over her frustration, she saw Nicole stepping out of the building, and the sight of that made her even grumpier. She then pointed at the lady and asked the receptionist, “She is not someone from Gardner Corporation either. She is an outsider as well, but why was she allowed to go in?!”
Chapter 386 What Goes Around Comes Around
At the same time, the receptionist also noticed Nicole’s presence but was too intimidated to refute the exasperated Joanna. Fortunately, Nicole soon decided to step in and help defuse the situation. “That was because I was invited to be here. Do you have a problem with that?”
Glaring daggers at Nicole, Joanna held a strong grudge toward the former as she blamed her for her job termination. Thanks to you, I’m not even allowed to enter Gardner Corporation’s building! “Nicole, why did you tell the directors to lay me off?!” Joanna questioned Nicole irritably, wishing she could just beat her to death deep down.
Unlike Joanna’s agitation and anger, Nicole demonstrated total opposite emotions by reacting calmly. She then fixed her eyes on Joanna, glimpsing her as she teased, “Well, we all have to take responsibility for our actions, which is the case because you and I are responsible for what went wrong this time. Besides, you’re not the only one who got terminated. I suffered from the same fate as you did. Thus, you and I are not so different from each other, actually.”
Shaking from head to toe, Joanna struggled to keep her emotions from taking over her because they were still out in the open in the lobby of Gardner Corporation. Knowing she would be shown in a bad light if she succumbed to her temper right away, Joanna glared at Nicole without blinking before dragging her elsewhere without asking.
However, Nicole didn’t show any signs of resistance to Joanna at all and instead let her take her wherever she wanted. When both of them got to a place where there was no one else, Joanna finally let go of Nicole’s hand and asked, “Why did you do this to me, Nicole?!” After all, she learned from the directors that Nicole was the one who suggested that Colton should terminate her from her job.
Nevertheless, Nicole was amused when she heard Joanna’s unreasonable accusation. With an unconcerned smile on her face, she fixed her eyes on the lady in a casual manner. “What’re you talking about, Director Schmidt? You’d better be careful what comes out of your mouth. What did I do to you?”
Seeing how Nicole was playing dumb, Joanna was irked even more. “If you hadn’t plotted against me, President Gardner wouldn’t have fired me! I’m unemployed right now, all thanks to you! Should I be thanking you for dragging me down?”
Meanwhile, Nicole was speechless with Joanna’s unreasonable attitude, feeling sorry for her lack of shame in blaming her even though she was in the wrong herself. Soon, Nicole curled her lips upward and asked, “You were the one who collected the drafts, Joanna? So, don’t tell me you don’t know what’s going on. Did you really forget what you did back then? Or do I have to initiate an investigation and list all of them down for you?”
Joanna’s face changed, but at the same time, she knew she must keep her lips sealed. “I didn’t know the draft was plagiarized.”
However, Nicole didn’t bother to expose Joanna but reacted with a smile instead. “I don’t care if you were aware of it, but what’s done is done, and you can’t get away with the mistake you made. So, I don’t see anything wrong with you being responsible for the action you took.”
Joanna was tongue-tied upon hearing Nicole’s argument. Despite her reluctance to admit defeat, she had no choice but to yield to Nicole in silence. Although she initially thought she would be the winner in her infighting with Nicole, she was dismayed and embarrassed to find herself on the losing end, with nothing she could say to refute the lady.
On the other hand, Nicole merely wanted to teach Joanna a lesson instead of kicking her out of Gardner Corporation. After all, she was indebted to Colton, who once helped her and wouldn’t want to repay him the favor by doing something ungrateful.
Upon shooting a cold gaze at Joanna, Nicole continued to say, “Think twice before you act next time. Some actions are followed by serious consequences that may be far too much for you to bear, so unless you want to get yourself into trouble, you need to think before you act.” As soon as Nicole finished her sentence, she walked away before Joanna could even say anything.
Meanwhile, Joanna was left behind, with her anger gnawing at her mind while watching Nicole disappear from her sight. At the same time, she clenched her fists tightly, looking back at the sacrifices she had made for Colton in the past seven years.
In order to gain the man’s favor, she spent seven years staying in Gardner Corporation. While she initially thought Colton was finally hers after Queenie left, she was caught off guard by Nicole’s sudden appearance, as well as their two children.
Chapter 387 Worrying About It Later
In that instant, bigotry and hatred flashed across Joanna’s frantic gaze. With her eyes glued to Nicole’s silhouette, Joanna was overwhelmed by her exasperation and anger. I should have listened to Queenie and showed no mercy! Nicole, you have just made yourself an enemy from now on!
…
The next day, Nicole took Whitney to a high-end restaurant, where they saw a gorgeous lady there upon arrival. The lady was seen with long dark hair and heavy makeup on her face. At the same time, she appeared to be wearing a formal suit and a pair of black high-heels with red soles. With a teacup in her hand, she sat at the table and gracefully took a sip of her tea until she noticed Nicole’s arrival. As she waved at Nicole and beckoned her over, the latter walked closer to her and chuckled at the sight of how she looked like a successful and tough businesswoman.
Soon, Nicole seized Whitney’s arm and approached the table before taking a seat. “Shouldn’t a corporate president like you be busy? How come you could find time to fly all the way here?”
When Emily heard Nicole’s cheeky question, she coldly grunted and shot an annoyed gaze at her. “I came here to remind you that you still have a company to run.”
Nicole awkwardly rubbed her nose and smiled in embarrassment. “Well, I didn’t know I would have to stay in Gardner Corporation for so long. After all, I didn’t have a choice because I had a favor to repay.”
While Emily looked askance at Nicole without saying a single word, Whitney, who was sitting aside, found Emily’s voice somewhat familiar to her. With a frown on her face, she couldn’t help but wonder where she had heard Emily’s voice before.
“By the way, I’m absolutely sure that there is a snitch in Gardner Corporation now. It appears that whoever is behind this isn’t happy with you because anyone could just get to the bottom of this entire plagiarism scandal easily,” Emily said, seemingly thinking of something as she looked up. “Wait a minute. Even if there wasn’t anyone else who knew what was going on, couldn’t you have noticed something was fishy? After all, every single draft got through you.”
Nicole smiled helplessly, curling her lips upward in response. “Well, I wasn’t around at that time; otherwise, you wouldn’t have gotten the goods on me.”
Emily nodded. “Well, whoever did this to you chose to strike when you were away. That move seemed personal if you ask me.”
Nicole heaved a sigh of relief without explaining further. Instead, she asked, “What’re you going to do then? Don’t tell me you’re really going to press charges.”
Emily appeared unconcerned, curling her lips upward. “Why not? The litigation will help us secure a sum of money from Gardner Corporation, which is a good thing for Aimee International.”
Meanwhile, Nicole let out a sigh in the face of Emily’s unfazed attitude. “Let’s just put this behind us and move on. After all, now that I’m the ‘person in charge’ of the company’s brand, Ann, its future could be at risk if it’s compelled to pay such a huge sum of money.”
While Emily had no intention of suing Gardner Corporation as well, she kept her head down slightly and said, “This time, I knew someone in Gardner Corporation was probably up to something against you. After all, it was your name that was signed on the contract. That was the reason I decided to take this opportunity to teach them a lesson for you.” Emily paused for a second and added, “In fact, I’m trying to warn Gardner Corporation with the litigation and let them have a taste of their own medicine.”
Meanwhile, the reason Nicole was so confident that she could take care of the problem with Aimee International was because she knew how things would likely turn out before she met up with Emily. “Alright, now that we almost had them, I suppose it is time for us to stop,” she said.
Emily nodded her head, fixing her gaze upon Nicole for a moment before she asked, “Nicole, are you seriously going to stay in Gardner Corporation instead of going back to Aimee International?”
Nicole looked down, setting her eyes on her teacup while fiddling with it. Then, a helpless smile showed on her face. “Emily, there’s still a lot I have to deal with here. So, now that I’m here, I’m planning to take care of all of them once and for all before I start worrying about something else.”
Chapter 388 Bothered by Something Mentally
When Emily looked at Nicole and noticed the bitter look on her face, she gave up the idea of persuading Nicole to return. She then nodded and pursed her lips in an indifferent manner. Meanwhile, Nicole pulled herself together and seized Whitney’s arm to introduce her to Emily. “Em, meet my assistant, Whitney Campbell. Whitney, this is Aimee International’s president, Emily Phoenix.”
While Emily had long noticed Whitney’s presence, she couldn’t help but find the latter’s face familiar like she had seen her before. Nevertheless, she quickly disagreed with that idea, thinking her good memory would have allowed her to recall their last encounter if they had met before. In spite of that, Emily still reacted politely to Whitney out of respect for Nicole. “Nice to meet you.”
Whitney nodded and replied with an affirmative hum. “Nice to meet you too.”
“By the way, how is Lucy doing?” After talking about business, the ladies began to discuss their personal lives.
When Emily heard her daughter’s name mentioned, a heartwarming smile appeared on her face. She then nodded and replied, “She is fine. It’s just that she always catches a cold when the seasons change, but fortunately, Douglas took care of her well this time when the weather turned cold in the past few days. So, she is in good health.”
“Yeah, as the kid grows older, her immunity system gets stronger too. So, don’t worry about it too much.”
In the meantime, Whitney felt as if her blood froze around her body when she heard the other two ladies talk about Douglas. At that moment, she finally understood why Emily’s voice sounded so familiar because she was the one who answered Douglas’ call back then.
“I’m not worried about Lucy. After all, Douglas said he would take good care of her so she won’t fall sick later.” Emily looked as if her heart melted when she talked about Douglas.
On the other hand, Nicole praised Douglas for his thoughtfulness after hearing what he had done for Lucy from Emily. “Douglas is such a kind and thoughtful man. I have no doubt he will treat you right and make you the luckiest woman in the world.”
Emily responded with a smile when she heard the way Nicole complimented Douglas. She then grinned and said, “Well, actually, I didn’t think I’d meet such a good man like him ever.”
Meanwhile, Whitney, who was listening to their conversation, felt chills running down her spine, her blood freezing in every vessel within her body. As Nicole was about to say something, she caught a glimpse of Whitney’s unusual expression from the corner of her eye. Thus, she seized her hand before she was shocked to find how cold it was, asking her in a concerned manner, “Are you alright, Whitney?”
Upon hearing Nicole’s voice, Whitney began to pull herself together from her disturbing thoughts. She then blinked and reacted with a brittle smile. “I-I’m fine.”
However, having known Whitney for a long time, Nicole was able to instantly tell that something was wrong with her assistant. Staring at the former’s pale face, she asked, “Are you feeling unwell or something?”
Needless to say, Whitney could tell that her pale expression must have given her away, so she decided that she might as well make the best out of Nicole’s concern to cover up her actual feelings. “Yeah, I’m having a gastric condition, which I believe must have been something I ate earlier.” She then stood up and said, “Miss Nicole, please enjoy your time with Miss Phoenix without me. I’m afraid I need to excuse myself right now.”
Sensing something very wrong with Whitney, Nicole was bewildered by her reaction. She then paused and took a second to think before making a suggestion. “Perhaps I could give you a ride back home.”
Nevertheless, Whitney immediately rejected Nicole’s offer. “It’s okay, I’m good. I’ll find my own transport back, and I’ll be fine after some rest.” She turned around and walked away as soon as she finished her words, giving Nicole no chance to offer her help.
At the same time, Emily couldn’t help but find it strange to see Whitney leaving in a hurry as she knitted her eyebrows and gazed at Nicole. “It seems to me that she is bothered by something mentally rather than her gastric condition.”
Chapter 389 Stand Up for a Friend
It was only when Whitney disappeared from sight that Nicole took her eyes off the former. In fact, she noticed the same strange thing about Whitney as Emily did. At the same time, Whitney’s strange behavior reminded Nicole of the exact same way she behaved when she first joined F&M Apparel three years ago.
However, Nicole didn’t ask Whitney about that, thinking she should respect her wish to keep her secret. “I think she’ll be fine. She is probably just not feeling well now,” Nicole said as she didn’t expose Whitney. In the meantime, Emily didn’t press on with any more questions regarding Whitney because she wasn’t close with her after all.
On the other hand, Whitney could no longer fight back her tears when she left the café in a hurry. Her eyes and nose began to turn red as she wiped her tears off with her hands and continued to make her way outside.
Soon, her vision became blurred by the tears shortly before she bumped herself onto someone while making her way out of the café. Reactively, she quickly apologized, with her head kept down. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking.”
“Beauty Whitney?” Whitney heard a magnetic voice from above her head. Finding it familiar, she looked up and saw Mason. She then wiped off the tears on her face in a panicky manner and looked down slightly. “President Schumacher…”
Meanwhile, Mason reacted as if his heart melted when he noticed the tears on Whitney’s face. He then fixed his gaze upon her and caressed her cheek, sympathetically saying, “You shouldn’t be crying, beauty. Your tears are going to ruin how you look.”
Despite hearing Mason’s cheeky reply, Whitney gave a rather rigid response, taking a few steps back while blinking. “I’m fine. Thanks for your concern, President Schumacher.”
Hearing Whitney’s indifferent response, Mason decided not to ask her about that. Instead, he looked down and showed his concern in a euphemistic way. “Why are you crying? Is there something that’s bothering you?”
Whitney took a step back, seemingly unwilling to interact any further with Mason. “President Schumacher, I’m just feeling unwell now, so please don’t worry about me. I called the cab, which is currently on the way, so I should probably excuse myself and get ready.” She finished her words and walked away without a single thought of hesitation. In the meantime, Mason watched the lady slowly disappear from his sight, his smile fading from his face before he walked away as well.
When Whitney flagged down a cab and got it, she finally had all the privacy she wanted for herself. Sitting in the backseat, she then allowed her emotions to take over her while her tears gushed down her eyes like a waterfall.
Deep down, she was overwhelmed by a stab of pain in her heart at the thought of her past with Douglas. After all, she was the one who wronged him and suggested that they broke up; but when she learned he was already married to another woman with whom he had a child, she somehow struggled to embrace the truth, feeling suffocated by the pain.
Soon, she sobbed and sniffled, berating herself for her selfishness and coyness. After all the suffering I put Douglas through, he is finally enjoying his new life now. So, shouldn’t I feel happy for him? She looked outside the window, allowing her tears to continue trickling from her eyes.
Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Nicole and Emily went on to talk about their work. In fact, the idea of building Aimee International first came from Douglas and Emily, but since they didn’t know well about the industry, neither of them deemed themselves fit to run the company.
However, Emily happened to know Nicole, whom she later approached to invest in the company so that they could both watch Aimee International grow together.
Since Nicole was already the chief designer in F&M Apparel at that time, she didn’t think she would lose anything by accepting Emily’s offer either.
Thus, she agreed with her friend, only to be surprised at how well Aimee International had grown over the next three years. In fact, the company had expanded so well that Nicole could just quit her job while still making money.
“I’ll swing by the office for a negotiation. After that, I’ll give you a call when I need you to drop charges,” Nicole said.
Emily had no objection to Nicole’s idea. After all, the reason she attempted to sue the Gardner Corporation was that she wanted to stand up for Nicole, knowing someone was trying to mess with her friend there.
Chapter 390 Her Greed Knows No Bounds
Queenie had spent five years staying by Colton’s side, which the latter allowed because he thought she was the person who had saved him earlier. For that, he arranged a position for her to work in middle management.
Nonetheless, the fact that she was Colton’s fiancée enabled her to access many classified documents despite her limited authority and power. Because of that, she was able to help the Anderson Family gain a lot of profit. Although Colton was aware of what she had been doing, he closed both eyes about it, thinking that was how he could repay her for saving his life back then.
Bryan was rich, but despite his wealth, he was nowhere near as handsome as Colton was. Nonetheless, the Kohlberg Group was among the few biggest corporations in the country, so he was a powerful and influential man whom many women would dream of being with. However, he chose Queenie because she used to be Colton’s woman, merely wanting to get over his insecurities as his company was far outmatched by Colton’s.
Due to his belligerence and ego, Bryan felt a strong desire to surpass Colton in any aspect possible to satisfy his superiority complex, including dating his woman. Secondly, he deemed Queenie his valuable asset, considering her history of working in Gardner Corporation, which could be useful for the Kohlberg Group.
“I heard that F&R Enterprise is recently looking for companies to work with. While word about that started circulating around town six months ago, Gardner Corporation didn’t seem to take any action about it. What do you know about that?” Bryan sat on the couch, asking casually.
Although F&R Enterprise was not a huge corporation, the technology it possessed was unparalleled around the globe. Thus, Bryan was hoping that the Kohlberg Group could work with F&R Enterprise so that his company could outperform Gardner Corporation by the end of the year.
After all, Gardner Corporation had shifted its focus to the fashion industry despite its impressive internet technology. For that, it seemed to Bryan that the company was now in a state of stagnation.
“I saw this in the files earlier. It appears that Colton isn’t going to rest until he gets his hands on F&R Enterprise.”
As soon as Bryan heard Queenie’s words, his eyes lit up. “Tell me more about it, baby. What does Gardner Corporation plan to do about that?” He placed his arm around the lady and pulled her closer to him, thinking she was about to make herself useful to him.
On the other hand, Quennie knew what was on Bryan’s mind, which was why she didn’t reveal what she knew right away. Instead, she winked at him ambiguously and said, “Don’t worry about it, Mr. Kohlberg. Now that I’m on your side, I’ll be sure to help you all I can. If anyone from Gardner Corporation finds out that I’m a snitch here, Colton will be sure to come after me.”
Sensing Queenie’s wariness, Bryan pinched her chin and rubbed her lips with his while speaking in a deep voice. “I’ll pay you five million if you can show me the result. When it’s done, I’ll pay you another twenty million. What do you say? I bet that kind of money is enough for you, isn’t it?”
Nevertheless, Queenie looked away, as she didn’t seem to be satisfied with what she had been offered. “I’ll give you a proposal to help you get in touch with the people from F&R Enterprise. After that, I want a payment of ten million before I go on and tell you everything about Gardner Corporation’s plan, which will cost another ten million. Then, when everything is over, I want five million.”
In response to Queenie’s greed, Bryan chuckled and asked, “What makes you think you’re worth this much?”
However, Queenie didn’t flinch in the face of Bryan’s intimidating doubt. After all, there was no turning back for her ever since she got on the wrong side of Colton.
Deep down, she needed money very badly in order to survive. “Well, think about the deal you’re going to get with F&R Enterprise. Don’t you think it’s worth it?”
She squinted, straightening her body as she added, “If F&R Enterprise works with Gardner Corporation, the Kohlberg Group is going to lag behind by a lot.
More importantly, an opportunity like this may never come again, so the money I want is actually a small price to pay, considering what you’re going to get in the grand scheme of things; but if you won’t pay me the money, why would I risk rubbing Colton the wrong way to help you?”
With his eyes fixed on the lady before him, Bryan realized he was wrong about her when he thought he could take advantage of her. Well, this lady’s greed knows no bounds. I bet she learned a lot from Colton back then.