Tanya pressed her lips together and said nothing. She signaled Erica to continue. Erica adjusted the glasses on her nose bridge and said, “The design department is facing a bottleneck, but it isn’t because of our design. It’s due to the consumers’ increasingly picky and divisive tastes. Many designers’ products can hardly appeal to everyone.”Her explanation sounded like an excuse to shift the blame to someone else.Tanya furrowed her brows slightly and looked at Erica. “What you said about the consumers’ tastes is true, but you have to do your best in terms of design.”Erica quickly shook her head. “No, Miss Cullen, I’m not saying that our design is not to blame. I merely explain this situation from an objective lens. When it comes to the color palette and proportion, our designs are fine. Everyone has been working very hard as well. But I think that if we have a world-class designer on the team, we will have some breakthroughs even if we only borrow her fame.”Tanya pulled a lo
After some thinking, Tanya rested her hand on her forehead and said calmly, “I’ve got other plans for this. Just use the design concept and come up with a design. I’ll send someone to look for Papaver, but be ready in case we can’t find her.”Everyone nodded and did not say anything further.The meeting was then adjourned.Tanya was quite interested in Papaver.She had considered collaborating with her before. However, Papaver was aloof and had never revealed her true identity. This made her extremely elusive. Tanya had never been able to contact her.The Design Department’s approach seemed very reasonable to her. Collaborating with Papaver would be a significant advancement for them.Another reason she wanted to collaborate with Papaver was to hope that Michael would regard her more highly. By becoming more exceptional and achieving more, she hoped to be worthy of Michael and have him pour his attention on her instead of his ex-wife. ... The deadline Ivanka gave Theodore w
Ivanka seemed to be waiting for Theodore’s agreement.He had to call Lyla immediately!... Sandy, Anna, and Hanson were at Ivanka’s house. It had been a while since they last gathered.Ivanka had prepared some food for them. The other three were helping out in the kitchen.Once everyone settled down, Sandy eagerly picked up her utensils. “I can finally eat Iv’s cooking again!”Anna chuckled, “Hey, don’t be greedy! I miss Iv’s cooking too.”Sandy snorted, “See?! You miss her food too! I’m not the only one who’s greedy!”Hanson smiled and picked up his utensils.Ivanka’s wounds were almost completely healed, but they still did not let her drink alcohol. So, everyone could only drink juice instead of wine.After they toasted, Sandy took a sip of her juice and looked at Ivanka. “Iv, is Theodore’s family still acting indifferent?”“Mhm.”Hanson frowned. “Even after you threatened to sue them? Aren’t they afraid?”Anna found it hard to believe. She laughed and said, “How can th
Hanson’s heart skipped a beat. He nodded immediately. “Okay, I’ll stay.”Ivanka’s eyes flickered in panic as she said, “I’ll arrange for bodyguards. You don’t have to stay.”“Meh, I know it’s just words. Alright, it’s settled then. Hanson will stay downstairs. The three of us will stay upstairs! As a way of thanking us, you can cook delicious meals for us for the next few days!” Sandy said with a longing expression as she imagined indulging in Ivanka’s cooking for days to come.Anna chuckled. “Iv is very busy. She won’t have time to cook for you!”“Hahaha... occasional meals from her work too!”Their dynamic made it clear they were not leaving. Ivanka had no choice but to comply as she felt grateful for them. Hanson quickly hired five bodyguards—two females and three males. The females were for Ivanka’s assistance, while the males focused on outer protection.Ivanka felt touched. She knew it was a dangerous time. So, she gave in and accepted their kindness.That night, after t
Ivanka paused for a moment and was surprised that Evan was about to send her the proposal so soon.She frowned, “Did Michael ask you to send it only to me?”Evan cleared his throat. He often found himself in a difficult position between Ivanka and Michael.Both Ivanka and Evan seemed to have the same thoughts. They were both astute and sharp and possessed enough mutual understanding without needing to say anything directly.At that moment, he knew he could not lie to her.Finally, Evan said softly, “This project is newly approved by the company and has huge potential. Normally, Mr. Barkworth would choose Cullen’s Group for collaboration, but this time, he asked me to contact you directly.”Without needing him to spell it out, Ivanka understood what he intended. Evan saved himself the trouble of engaging in an awkward conversation as well.It was no secret that given the current situation, Cullen’s Group was much more advantageous to Barkworth’s Group than Lane’s Group. A win-win
Michael was no longer in the mood to handle his tasks in Barkworth’s Group. His expression had been dark all day. After a moment, he got up, walked to the window, and looked out. His office was on the top floor. If he looked down, there was not much to behold. But if he looked up, he could see the sky and clouds. The weather outside was pleasant. The air was fresh and clean. Michael opened the window. When he felt the cold breeze, he became calmer. No one knew how long he stood by the window. He stared off into the distance. It was as if he were looking at something. ... Five days passed. Everything seemed calm. Theodore and his family were eating dinner. After a couple of peaceful days, they were no longer that tense and felt more relaxed. Theodore even drank today. After drinking a mouthful of whisky, Theodore parted his lips and exhaled. He ate some food before saying with a grin, “As we expected, Ivanka was just lying to us.” Seeing that Theodore was in a good m
Chiara said through her gnashed teeth, “I wish that day would come soon. But that person just keeps observing the situation and hasn’t attacked Ivanka. How much longer is she going to wait? Why isn’t Ivanka dead yet?!” “Ivanka will die eventually.” Lyla looked grim. Theodore and his family lose their appetite for food because of Chiara. Upon seeing the delicious dishes served on the table, Theodore took his cutlery. “Eat the food now. Don’t starve yourself. We need to save up energy and try to fight back against Ivanka. If we starve ourselves to death, we won’t get any chance to fight back against her. Lyla nodded and turned to Chiara. Lyla took Chiara’s cutlery and passed it to her. “Eat now.” Chiara bit the bottom of her lips. She wordlessly took the cutlery from Lyla. But, a phone call made them completely lose their appetite for food. The moment Theodore’s phone rang, he and his family frowned. Their expressions turned dark. Apparently, they somewhat disliked answer
Within the blink of an eye, it was the day of the court. Theodore and his family had waited for Ivanka to come to them over the past few days. Unfortunately, Ivanka never bothered to entertain them. Theodore and his family panicked. They believed Ivanka could not possibly take any action against them based on the agreement on the transfer of shares. They thought she was just scaring them. Hence, they decided to wait. The worst scenario would be to show up at court. After all, Theodore and Ivanka had already fallen out, and everyone knew what was going on. Regardless of whether Theodore returned Ivanka her and her father’s shares, everyone had already gossiped about the issue fervently. Theodore thought they might as well enjoy the profits earned from the shares. With the power in his hands, people would stop gossiping about him.” While Theodore and his family were conflicted about the issue, it was time for the lawsuit. Ivanka had already taken her seat. Theodore hired an