Ch. 206..210: The Adorable Twins and Their CEO Daddy Chapter 206-210

Chapter 206

The moment Corbin heard that the company would soon deduct a part of his monthly wage as punishment, he immediately sprang up from the bed and started to sweat profusely.

“Mr. Moran, please don’t do this to me!”

He hadn’t even stepped foot inside the office in a long while, and his salary had already been docked. He felt wronged!

“Then you’d better put your head to good use and come up with bright ideas. I suggest you pray that things will work out for Eliana. If the plan fails, your salary will be reduced immediately.”

“But Mr. Moran, please hear me out…”

However, without listening to what Corbin had to say, Maurice abruptly ended the call.

Dropping his head in defeat, Corbin felt depressed at the string of unfortunate events that came his way.

He had been hospitalized due to his injuries from an accident at work. But even in his poor condition, he still had to give advice to Maurice on how to win Eliana’s heart. His boss made one thing very clear. If Corbin was unable to provide helpful and effective plans, he would be dealt with a harsh pay cut.

How unlucky he was to be in such a predicament!

Later that day, Eliana returned home exhausted. As soon as she sat down on the sofa, her phone suddenly vibrated.

She checked her notifications and saw a message from a local bank. Someone had just transferred a sum of money to her account.

After a few seconds, a text came in from Wyatt.

“Eliana, the restaurant will be closed indefinitely until further notice. You don’t have to report to work for the time being, but rest assured, you will still be compensated. I just wired you your salary for this month. Take care.”

With a deep frown, Eliana tossed her phone on the sofa and threw herself on the velvet sofa.

She wondered if she had just lost her job again.

As countless thoughts began to consume her, the peaceful silence in her home was interrupted by the shrill ringtone of her phone. Someone was calling her, but it was an unknown number.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Who would call her at this time?

After a moment of hesitation, Eliana finally answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Eliana. This is Nicole.”

“Nicole! How unexpected!” Eliana sat up as curiosity took over her. “Why did you call me?”

“I dropped by Moonlight earlier, but you weren’t there. Didn’t we make an agreement last time that if I wronged you, I would let you slap me back? Well, I’m here to live up to my part of the deal.”

Her reason caught Eliana by surprise.

She didn’t think that Nicole would take their agreement seriously. Unexpectedly, Nicole remembered it and wanted to keep her promise, which changed Eliana’s attitude towards her.

“No, you can forget about it. It’s good that our past misunderstanding had been cleared up. Besides, I don’t like hurting other people,” Eliana said graciously.

“Fair enough. But I still don’t like the feeling of owing you something. How about this? I heard that you are searching for a part-time job recently. Coincidentally, I’m actually looking for a stylist. The salary is twenty-five thousand a month. I’ll send you the rest of the details later. Be there at the interview tomorrow. You can’t refuse, or else you’ll have no other choice but to slap me back.”

Eliana was utterly speechless. She didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. No other employers would be so kind as to help her like this. Moreover, if she didn’t accept the invitation, she would have to slap Nicole.

“Well, alright then. I’ll be there,” Eliana agreed without hesitation.

She did need the money and welcomed any work to keep her mind distracted from all her emotional problems.

After exchanging farewells, Eliana soon fell asleep on the sofa. When she woke up in a daze a while later, she saw Foodie playfully licking her hand.

“Mommy, you’re finally awake!” Aileen trotted over with a big smile on her face.

Eliana was surprised to see them. She realized that Nana had already fetched the two kids from school for her.

“Oh, Nana. I’m sorry to trouble you again.”

Rubbing her eyes in exhaustion, Eliana slowly rose from the sofa to cook for her family.

Nana shook her head and said, “Eliana, you’d better get some rest. You’re in no shape to prepare meals for us. Let’s order take out instead. By the way, don’t worry about the money. I’ve found a job now, and I’ll help with the family expenses moving forward.”

“Really now?” Eliana couldn’t believe it.

Proudly patting her chest, Nana replied with a confident smile, “Of course, my dear.”

Taking a long look at her face, Eliana said, “Nana, please don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t force yourself to work odd jobs just for the money.”

Nana hurriedly explained, “No, I actually found a job that I love. Don’t worry about me.”

It was all a lie.

She hadn’t worked for a few years after she quit the entertainment business, and it was nearly impossible to find a good job now.

But she didn’t want Eliana to worry about her. It was for the best.

“Well, enough about me. How are you doing at the restaurant? Tell me more about your work. Is it tiring?” Nana suddenly changed the topic.

“Not at all. I enjoy working at the restaurant. Everything is going fine over there.”

Eliana lied too. She didn’t want Nana to know that the restaurant just closed down.

At this moment, the two women shared the same thought.

Chapter 207

Eliana woke up bright and early to send the two kids to school the following day.

Halfway through their drive, Aileen looked at her mom expectantly and asked, “Mommy, I love the cake we ate last time. When are you going to buy one again?”

Aileen had been craving the sweet and flavorful taste of the cake that Eliana had brought back from the restaurant since the last time she had eaten it.

“What a foodie,” Adrian murmured upon hearing his sister’s question.

Even though Eliana didn’t want to burst her daughter’s bubbles, she could only be honest with her. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I am afraid that cake is no longer available,” she said, shaking her head helplessly.

Unable to conceal her disappointment, Aileen’s deep sigh echoed inside the car.

Traces of sadness were all over the latter and Adrian’s faces because of what their mom said. Even though Adrian hadn’t said a single word about it, he was also silently looking forward to eating the cake.

Sensing the displeasure in her children’s moods, Eliana faked a cough and said, “Hey, cheer up, okay? Don’t worry. I will take you guys to the mall and buy you some toys after school.”

“Really?! You’re really the best, Mommy!” Aileen exclaimed in delight before kissing Eliana in the cheek.

“You really know how to flatter Mommy,” Adrian commented.

Of course, Aileen wasn’t the only one who felt ecstatic about the situation. Even Adrian’s eyes were brimming with excitement, but he didn’t bother to express his joy.

After safely sending her kids to the kindergarten, Eliana wasted no time and headed straight to the part-time interview location, which Nicole gave.

Surprisingly, it was a large shopping mall. Eliana then hurriedly walked over and saw a bunch of people crowding around the center. ‘It seems like the crew has already started shooting,’ she inwardly concluded.

Just when she was about to get too absorbed watching the shooting, Esteban approached her.

“I was looking for you, Miss Pierce. Please follow me, and I’ll take you to Nicole. She has been waiting for you since she arrived,” Esteban said and smiled warmly.

“I see,” Eliana replied softly.

Esteban then accompanied Eliana to the backstage without saying a word.

Nicole, on the other hand, had already lost her cool at the backstage. She kept throwing a fit at her stylist, saying, “Tania, do you really know what you are doing? Look at these combinations of clothes that you’ve prepared! They look so bad! My image would be ruined because of this. No wonder my bashers keep saying that I look ugly. It turns out that you’re not taking your job seriously.”

After saying that, Nicole threw the dress in her hand on the sofa, looking utterly disgusted. Her intense glare somehow gave the impression that she would never consider wearing it.

In the face of Nicole’s anger, her stylist, Tania Wilson, did not dare say anything or breathe loudly, afraid to enrage her boss even more.

“What made you angry again?” Esteban asked as he hurried over toward Nicole’s direction.

The latter didn’t respond, but her expression softened when she saw Eliana followed behind Esteban. Nicole’s lips automatically curved upward as she said, “You’re finally here, Eliana! Come here.”

Eliana roamed her eyes around briefly, somehow reading the situation. After that, she faced Nicole and asked directly, “What can I do for you, Nicole?”

Hints of surprise and admiration instantly filled Nicole’s face upon hearing Eliana’s question. She didn’t expect the latter to be in work mode as soon as she arrived at all.

“I have successive photo shoots today for the shopping mall posters, which I would do with other models. As much as I didn’t want to stress you out on your first day, I need you to put together a set of clothes and jewelry that would match each other. You can ask Tania for help in the meantime,” Nicole explained.

Hearing that, Eliana nodded and reached out her hand to Tania. She then greeted, “Nice to meet you. My name is Eliana Pierce.”

However, in contrast to Eliana’s delight, Tania felt like she had been bypassed. ‘Who the hell is this girl, and where did she come from?’ she thought.

Signs of displeasure were pretty evident on Tania’s face. After all, she had been working for Nicole for so long. Even though Tania had already grown accustomed to the latter’s sudden burst of demands, she felt like Nicole had gone too far by asking someone to help her out with her job without consulting her first.

Nevertheless, Tania didn’t dare show her unwillingness to cooperate in front of Nicole. Not wanting to appear rude, she shook hands with Eliana perfunctorily.

“Hello, I’m Tania Wilson, and I am Nicole’s exclusive stylist,” Tania introduced, heavily emphasizing the word “exclusive” to flaunt her position.

However, Eliana couldn’t care any less about that. Thus, she just nodded, turned to Nicole, and asked, “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I am baffled right now. Why did you choose me for this job?”

“Well, I just thought you have a better taste than Tania when it comes to jewelry since you were able to design an exquisite pink diamond necklace. There is no harm in trying, you know?” Nicole reasoned.

Needless to say, only Nicole could make Eliana a stylist for such a shallow reason.

Eliana bit her bottom lip as she pondered for a while.

Nicole, on the other hand, yawned and said, “Well, you and Tania can discuss the style first while I take a short nap.”

Of course, someone like her, who had been busy shooting for consecutive days, would undoubtedly feel worn out. Her eyelids were already heavy, and she could no longer hold on.

When Nicole left, Eliana immediately began styling her clothes.

She meticulously took out several dresses and pieces of jewelry before trying to match them. Once she arrived with complete styles, which she thought would suit Nicole, she showed them to Tania.

Tania, on the other hand, looked utterly annoyed upon seeing the styles Eliana had prepared. Fearless, she threw the clothes and jewelry aside and scolded, “Who told you to change the style I prepared?”

Dumbfounded, Eliana said, “But Nicole asked me to…”

However, Tania didn’t even give her a chance to finish her sentence and said, “I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but you are just an outsider who knows nothing about fashion. Your job is to help me carry these clothes like an assistant and nothing more important than that.”

Chapter 208

“Carry clothes?” Eliana couldn’t understand what Tania meant.

“Don’t you understand? People like you, who aren’t unprofessional, are only qualified to carry clothes,” Tania remarked condescendingly.

She obviously didn’t take Eliana seriously.

Taking a deep breath, Eliana tried her best to remain calm.

Forget about it. She could put up with Tania for the sake of the $25, 000 salary.

She hoped that Tania would change her attitude toward her because of her concession.

Eliana walked towards where the temporary working team were and helped them move the clothes.

At that time, other models also came out, with Nana being the last in the line.

Nana, who was walking through the crowd, made a long face and looked listless. She was certainly not happy.

She came out for work. She had assumed that because of her name and qualities, she would be invited to some small activities even if she couldn’t make much money.

However, reality gave her a crushing blow. No one wanted to hire a has-been female celebrity like her.

In the end, she had no choice but to accept this low-paying job with no other benefits at all.

If this happened before, Nana would never come here. But every time she thought of Eliana working as a waitress to support her family, Nana didn’t have the nerve to stay at home, eating for free.

While waiting for her make-up to be done, Nana caught a glimpse of a familiar figure among the people who were carrying clothes.

Was that… Eliana?

Wasn’t Eliana supposed to be in the restaurant? Why was she moving clothes here?

Nana thought that she needed to hide. She had just told Eliana that she had found a good job. It would be so embarrassing if Eliana saw her here right now.

Nana became agitated and hurried into the crowd, silently watching Eliana’s movements.

On the other hand, Eliana was busy moving clothes. She was stressed and tired. Her waist and back hurt. She didn’t notice that her best friend was only about ten meters away.

A group of people were chatting when she went to the venue bringing the clothes.

“You know what? This shopping mall is actually owned by the Moran Group. I heard that the CEO of the Moran Group would come here today to inspect the work.”

“Really? Do you think Mr. Moran is coming here for Nicole, the famous celebrity?”

“Why did you say so?”

“Don’t you know? A few days ago, a gossip magazine reported that Nicole and Mr. Moran dined at a restaurant. Think about it. One is a stunning female celebrity, and the other is a powerful businessman. They are an ideal match.”

Eliana thought that, apparently, Maurice had gone to the restaurant that day for Nicole, not for her.

Eliana couldn’t describe how she felt at that moment. What she was sure about was that she was quite out of breath.

She was so distracted that the clothes slipped from her hands and scattered to the floor.

Tania happened to come over at that exact time.

She had been waiting to find fault with Eliana so that she could kick her out as soon as possible.

“Eliana, what are you doing?” Tania yelled as she pointed at Eliana. “How could you throw the sponsored clothes on the floor? You just don’t want to follow my instructions and deliberately lose your temper!”

Tania’s sharp voice immediately drew the attention of everyone around.

Eliana came back to her senses in an instant and picked up the clothes scattered on the floor. But it was too late.

She stood in the middle of the crowd, feeling extremely embarrassed.

“What’s going on? Am I wrong?” Tania continued to scold Eliana.

‘How dared that bitch bully Eliana?’ Nana gritted her teeth as she watched the commotion.

She couldn’t let her best friend be bullied. It didn’t matter if Eliana saw her.

Just as Nana was about to rush over, a deep male voice cut in.

“What happened here?”

Everyone turned around and immediately saw Maurice approaching them, together with the senior executives of the shopping mall.

“Who is causing a commotion here?” asked the middle-aged man next to Maurice. “Don’t you know where you are?”

Everyone turned to look at Tania.

Maurice looked at Tania coldly and said, “Don’t scream in my mall, or better yet, just get out of here.”

Chapter 209

At the sight of Maurice, Eliana’s jaw almost dropped from the shock. Why on earth was she seeing him again?

She was on the verge of breaking down. It seemed that everywhere she went, Maurice would be just around the corner.

Despite the many people around them, Maurice ignored it and calmly made his way to Eliana.

“Oh? You’ve found a job so soon? You’re not a waitress in Wyatt’s restaurant anymore, but a worker in Nicole’s team instead. You’re quite capable.”

In actual truth, Maurice felt a prick of discomfort stabbing him upon seeing that Eliana would rather debase herself and do petty chores for Nicole than work for him in Moran Group.

“Maurice, do you think I owed you something in my previous life? If that’s not the case, why are you always sticking to me wherever I go?”

Eliana was irritated. Her bad luck was off the charts! Everywhere she went, she would always find herself face to face with Maurice. She hated it, so much that she couldn’t hold back from rolling her eyes in disgust.

The gesture did not go unnoticed by Maurice. Did she loathe him that much?

The thought infuriated him, and his anger reared its ugly head once more.

“Don’t be so narcissistic, Eliana. I’m not here for you. I came to inspect the shopping mall based on a business plan my company’s approved since a long time ago. The Moran Group is engaged in various industries. If you want to completely avoid me, you’ll have to leave the earth.”

A plan from a long time ago?

What nonsense! He probably came here for Nicole.

As this flashed through Eliana’s mind, jealousy filled her heart.

On the other hand, Tania’s eyes lit up with excitement the moment she laid her eyes on Maurice.

He was a man well-known for his prestige and wealth. If she could be with him, she would live in comfort and luxury for the rest of her life!

Fantasizing a wealthy life of her own, Tania hurriedly straightened her clothes and strutted confidently towards Maurice.

“Greetings. You must be Mr. Moran. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Tania Wilson, Nicole’s exclusive stylist.”

As this went on, Eliana looked at Tania with her mouth agape. A second ago, Tania was screaming her head off at Eliana. Yet in the blink of an eye, her fury had vanished and she was quick to put on a coy act for Maurice.

The change in her demeanor was lightning fast. Eliana was stunned speechless.

Maurice retained his cold and aloof persona despite Tania’s obvious flattery. It was obvious he didn’t care for her or her flattery.

“There’s no need to greet me. Just do a good job with Nicole. Besides, Eliana used to work in the Design Department in Moran Group. I think both of you will cooperate well.”

With that, Maurice gave Tania a meaningful look before leaving.

Tania suddenly felt a chill down her spine when Maurice’s deep eyes landed on her just now. Did Mr. Moran imply that she should be kind to the newcomer, Eliana?

She turned to scrutinized Eliana, scanning the latter up and down with great suspicion. Who the hell was this woman? How could someone like Eliana attract the attention of a big shot like Mr. Moran?

“Hey, what’s your relationship with Mr. Moran?” Tania demanded, jealousy evident in her voice.

Eliana’s response was a bitter smile. Helpless, she explained again, “Nothing. I have nothing to do with Mr. Moran.”

Tania calmed down upon Eliana’s confirmation. Her arrogance returned full swing.

She glanced at Eliana up and down again before hissing contemptuously, “I knew it! How could Mr. Moran be interested in a plain Jane like you?”

Even if Maurice wanted to sleep around, Tania felt that he should at least choose a woman on Nicole’s level. The boring and ordinary Eliana in front of Tania wasn’t even qualified to carry Maurice’s shoes!

Just then, the staff appeared to urge the progress, claiming that the models had yet to be dressed.

Tania casually pointed at Eliana and ordered haughtily, “You! Go find matching clothes for the models.”

Eliana was baffled. “Me?”

“Of course! Who else?! Do you expect to do it for Nicole? Dream on!” Tania was smug, taking Eliana for granted.

Eliana was fuming, but told herself to calm down. ‘Calm down! I have to control myself. I have to restrain myself. The salary of twenty-five thousand dollars is at stake!’

Thinking of the money, Eliana successfully held back her anger.

“Fine, I’ll do as you say.”

While Eliana had a hard time and was given difficult tasks, she endured and still followed professional ethics. She selected clothes that Tania had given up on but she thought were suitable, and distributed them to the models.

Nana saw that Eliana was getting closer and closer to her, and began to panic.

What should she do?! At this rate, she would expose herself!

“Hello, excuse me. These are your clothes.” Eliana finally arrived and handed Nana the clothes.

Nana took it nervously, dreading the terrible future.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Time passed, and Eliana didn’t recognize her. This was great! Nana breathed a sigh of relief, the tense knot in her body unraveling.

However, it was perfectly normal for Eliana to not have recognized Nana.

Because just as Eliana was about to reach Nana moments ago, Nana grabbed a paper bag lying beside her and hastily slipped it over her head.

 

Chapter 210

Eliana sighed after handing the clothes to the model wearing the carton.

She had never seen someone use a carton as decoration before.

The fashion circle was amazing… It seemed that she was out of touch.

“Thank you.”

A strange female voice emerged from under the carton.

Eliana noticed that something was off.

Why did the voice sound so familiar?

Eliana stopped and turned to look carefully at the model.

Now that she got a good look, she realized that the model resembled… Nana!

But why would Nana be here?

Eliana couldn’t shake her suspicions. She became determined to find out the strange model’s true identity.

She pretended to leave but stopped at a corner where she could still see the model.

Nana, who was a bit simple-minded, assumed Eliana had left. She removed the carton from her head with relief.

Eliana saw her.

“Ha-ha! It’s really you, Nana. Is this your job?”

Eliana was stunned. She had thought that Nana had found a good job which would allow her to continue her career as a star, but here Nana was, working as an hourly model in a shopping mall.

Nana was taken aback by Eliana’s reaction.

“Eliana, please listen. I told you I found a good job because I didn’t want you to worry. Besides, this isn’t such a bad job.”

Eliana poked Nana’s head angrily. “You used to be a big star. Why are you degrading yourself like this?”

“You’re no different,” Nana snapped. “Aren’t you a waitress? Why are you moving clothes here?”

Now it was Eliana’s turn to feel guilty. “I’m Nicole’s stylist now. It’s an awesome job, but I can’t do Nicole’s styling right now…”

The two women explained to each other what had happened. It turned out that they had both suffered from the same rotten luck.

They couldn’t help laughing as they looked at each other.

Nana held Eliana’s arm and rested her head on Eliana’s shoulder.

“Eliana, thank you for all of your hard work. If I hadn’t had to look for a job, I wouldn’t have realized how hard it is to work outside. You don’t have to worry. I will change my ways and support the family.”

“It’s good to hear you say this. Willingness to start over is the first step to change,” Eliana said with a smile.

She pointed at the clothes in Nana’s hand and added, “Go on and change. The clothes and jewelry I picked suit you.”

“Yes, madam.”

Nana took the clothes to the fitting room.

All of the models, including Nicole, left the fitting rooms in their outfits, ready to take photos.

Everything was going well, but the photographer couldn’t help staring at Nana instead of Nicole while photographing them.

Nana was on the stage, wearing a strapless black lace fishtail dress with blooming red roses embroidered on the hemline.

She didn’t wear any jewelry except a black clavicle chain necklace and a huge rose-shaped earring. Her black hair was tied up high, revealing her long neck. She looked like a noble black swan, distant and enchanting. People were unable to look away from her.

No one had expected an ordinary model to be more dazzling than Nicole, who stood in the middle of them all.

Even Maurice, who came to supervise the work, noticed Nana’s outstanding performance.

He guessed that Nana’s outfit had been designed by Eliana.

That was how she was. Her talent could not be hidden in any situation.

In the middle of the shooting, Nicole finally noticed that everyone’s attention was focused on another model.

She had to admit that she could see why.

“Stop! Stop!”

Nicole pouted and paused the shooting.

She called Tania to her and asked, “What were you thinking? Why did you do such gorgeous styling for an insignificant model?”

Tania was sweating nervously. Eliana’s abilities had far exceeded her expectations.

All she could do now was pin the blame on Eliana.

“She’s the one who styled that model,” Tania replied and pointed at Eliana.