“Ah…” Amanda was momentarily stunned. Why hadn’t this topic passed yet?
She pointed at the design drafts in his hands.
“I’ve already given you the designs. Why would I need to officially join the company? If you like them, take them. I want to stay home and spend time with Mark.”
After speaking, she stood up and stretched lazily, paying no mind to Benjamin.
Two hours of sitting motionless left her whole body sore.
That soreness reminded her—everything comes at a cost.
But Benjamin had helped her. She was willing to return the favor without expecting anything in return. It was the least she could do.
Benjamin hadn’t expected her to reject him. Did she truly not realize what kind of company his jewelry firm was?
“Amanda, do you know what the annual salary is for a chief designer at my company?”
Amanda looked at him, smiled, and shook her head nonchalantly.
Mr. Reed shot a deep, meaningful look at Amanda, then left first with his daughter.Today, because of Amanda, both father and daughter had lost all face.He wouldn’t let her get away with this so easily.Once the issue was settled, the other shareholders all breathed a sigh of relief. After greeting Benjamin, they each left in turn.Only when everyone else was gone did Amanda suddenly realize she was still sitting on Benjamin’s lap.She quickly stood up, her face blushing red, eyes darting everywhere, unsure where to look.The emptiness in his arms left Benjamin with a faint sense of loss he couldn’t quite explain.Amanda said hastily, “I’m leaving now. Even if I’m going to take the position, I’ll wait for the next sales results. That gives me a few months to rest.”Not waiting for Benjamin to respond, she turned and walked quickly out of the meeting room.It was only when she reached the first floor that she finally felt she could breathe freely again.She had to admit, his embrace w
Both Mr. Reed and Jennifer’s faces lit up with joy.Could it be that Benjamin was doing all this just to humiliate his new wife?Amanda, hearing this, felt secretly delighted. She stretched lazily, every movement graceful and elegant, catching Benjamin frowning slightly.In front of so many people, when she raised her hands, a patch of fair skin was revealed—his face grew even darker.Amanda looked at his sour expression and smiled sweetly, “Since everything’s settled, I’ll go home and catch up on sleep.”She really didn’t understand Benjamin’s strange way of handling things.This man was contradictory and hard to please—it was better to stay away from him.After lowering her hands, she leaned in close to whisper in Benjamin’s ear, “Benjamin, this is the last time I’ll let you use me to please your white moonlight. Frankly, I don’t like her at all. There won’t be a next time. Bye!”Benjamin frowned and looked at her. “You misunderstood. I didn’t—”“Oh, explaining means you’re hiding s
Amanda turned her head away, her voice cold: “No, you must be mistaken.”Like hell she knew this idiot.“Eh? Miss, then why don’t you dare look at me?” Quincy chuckled, noticing the tiny red mole on her earlobe—his smile deepened.“Boss, if you pretend you don’t know me, it’ll break my heart,” Quincy teased, feigning a wounded look.The atmosphere instantly turned strange.Jennifer stared hard at the two of them—there must be something going on here.Benjamin’s face darkened at Quincy staring so intently at his wife.Mr. Johnson caught sight of Benjamin’s frosty expression and raised an eyebrow. Was Quincy tired of living?“Quincy, what are you doing? I brought you here to evaluate the designs—who actually plagiarized G’s work? What’s with your nonsense? Do you still want to keep your job?” Mr. Johnson scolded Quincy, visibly annoyed.Quincy froze, then looked at Mr. Johnson.“Strictly speaking, none of these count as plagiarism. But for that ‘Starlit Brilliance’ piece—just to be safe
Jennifer stared at the fashion show playing on the big screen, puzzled. Why had she never seen this show before?She’d found that design draft through another channel.The style was only similar; she had changed the shape of the diamonds.She had always loved that design.But how could it possibly be exactly the same?“Amanda, look closely—G’s diamonds are rhombus-shaped, while mine are round. How could they possibly be identical? And the design isn’t the same either. Mine has three tassel pairs, while hers has tassels all around the necklace.” Jennifer glared at Amanda, refusing to back down.Amanda sneered, “Oh, please. If you’re going to copy, at least copy skillfully. Swapping round beads for rhombus ones—anyone can do that. But the design itself? It’s completely the same.”“As far as I know, the Schmidt Group’s jewelry brand targets young consumers. Can someone who blatantly copies designs really be chosen as chief designer?”Her voice dripped with mockery and arrogance—bordering
“Mr… Mr. Spader…”The two receptionists were so terrified that they could barely speak, and their faces turned visibly pale.Brad was famously strict and impartial. If they were fired, they’d lose the chance to work here forever.The pay here was simply too tempting to lose.Brad’s cold, sharp gaze fell on them as he asked, “Who spread the rumor you just mentioned? You’d better tell me the truth.”The receptionist on the left gathered her courage and said, “Mr. Spader, we just heard it when we were in the pantry. People were saying that the woman beside Mr. Schmidt seduced him, then gave him her design drafts because she wanted to become the company’s chief designer. That’s what everyone’s saying.”“Of course, it was wrong for us to spread rumors, Mr. Spader. Please give us another chance.”If they were fired, they would never get into the Schmidt Group again—especially as employees with a record of misconduct.Brad sneered, “Do I look like someone so kind? Go to HR, collect your pay,
“Ah…” Sheila let out a sharp cry of pain.“Little Uncle, I told you this because I thought you’d be grateful! I just feel she’s not worthy of you—she and Barry used to be lovers! And she’s only the Wilson family’s adopted daughter—how could she be fit to be my Little Aunt?”Amanda had made her life worse than death. Ever since childhood, she’d been pampered and privileged—how could she bear such humiliation?She couldn’t swallow it. She wanted revenge.If she didn’t get revenge, she woke up every day boiling with anger.She couldn’t even sleep at night.Benjamin’s gaze turned steadily colder as he looked at her. Mary really raised a good daughter.To raise a child like this—it would almost be better if she’d truly died.“Sheila, if I’m not mistaken, you graduated from a prestigious university. Haven’t you ever learned a simple truth? Everyone is equal.”“And my affairs—you have no right to interfere.”“And another thing: even if you throw a steamed bun to a dog, the dog will at least