Ellena sighed.
Back then she hoped that Ralph would give her some. Even if it was only 1%, it would at least make her feel like she was a Smith.Now, it seemed that when she didn’t care about the shares anymore was also the time when Ralph wanted to give it to her. She suppressed a bitter laugh as she thought of all the times she had cried at their words and crumbled at their insults.How ironic!Ellena couldn’t help herself and actually laughed aloud. It was really ridiculous.Although she knew that Ralph had ulterior motives in mind, she still asked, "How many shares are you planning to give me?""As you're my daughter, you'll receive more shares than your mother." He said vaguely, patting his chest. There was silence before he continued, "Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly. After all, I'm your father."Her shares were more than Madeline's? Ellena pursed her lips.Hm... Since he had already mentioned the shares, how can she make it easyA large smile appeared in Ralph's face as he leaned back against his seat. It seemed that he had won this argument yet again. He was afraid that Ellena would go back on her word, so he immediately said, “What time you are available? I'm free today." "I don't have the time today. How about tomorrow?" While Ralph was celebrating, Ellena remained indifferent as she organized her things. She wasn't worried at all. After all, Ralph was the one who needed her, so he had no other way around. Back then when she had been in the Smith family, she was far too obedient. Some had even compared her to a yapping dog, and her family always took advantage of that. Ralph was no exception to that rule. That was why he wasn't used to listening to her demands. When Ralph heard her brief response, he frowned in impatience. "You don't have a job right now, right? What else are you busy you with?" "Just because I don't have a job doesn't mean I sit in the villa and do nothing all day lo
However, as soon as the lawyer started reading their contract, Ralph realized just how wrong he was.The old man stared at the way the lawyer browsed through every single word, encircling phrases that didn't make sense and underlining a few terminologies that were hard to decipher by the untrained eye. This man wasn't careless or dense; in fact, he was extremely professional and cautious.The lawyer was none other than Grayson Foster. Although he looked young, he was very prudent when it came to contracts, and loopholes were his forte. He could spot anything from a mile away.The corners of his lips tilted up at the sight of Ralph's surprised gaze. He was sure that the old man had been underestimating his skills the moment he had walked into the restaurant, but he didn't say a word."On Section 26 of the Shareholders' Contract..." Grayson immediately went into it, pointing out all the loopholes that he had caught. There were even superstitious phrases tha
Ellena has finally arrived at the villa. Seeing that the living room was empty, she glanced at the bodyguard standing by the corner. "Is Nicklaus here? Or has he left?" The bodyguard tilted his head in her direction before slowly nodding. "He's upstairs, Young Madame." Now, even the bodyguards had trained themselves to address Edward as Nicklaus rather than his birth name. She smiled, holding the bag in her hand as she went upstairs. "Nicklaus," she called out. There was a certain skip to her steps as she strode down the corridor. Obviously, whatever happened a few hours ago had set her in a good mood. She gazed at the different doors surrounding her. Which room was he in again? She turned her head to see a majestic double-doored room waiting for her at the other end of the hall. Her lips pursed as she moved towards it. She did come from that room yesterday morning, so that was obviously Nicklaus's room. Now that she thought about it, even the doorway i
Seeing that Martin had already gone inside the dining room, Grayson quickly followed close behind. After all, this was an opportunity he wouldn't let go of so easily, not even if Edward didn't appreciate his appearance. A polite smile grazed his lips as he bowed his head in agreement. "Me too."Grayson didn't even wait for the others to say anything more as he took his seat at the dining table. The two men quickly sat together, eyeing the dishes being plated in front of them. Although they may look 'simple', they were way better than those being served at the restaurants they had always eaten every day of the week!Now, only Edward was left standing by the doorway. A dark expression appeared on his looks, and he still made no move to come inside.Ellena blinked.What was wrong with him?Seeing that the two men still made no plans of leaving, he didn't have any other choice on this matter. After a minute, Edward finally walked into the dining room a
Ellena stared at the coffee stains on his buttoned up shirt and raised an eyebrow. She said sarcastically, "You can't even hold a cup of coffee properly. They say that if something's wrong with your hand coordination, your kidney isn't good. Think they could say the same for you?" Edward pursed his lips and placed the cup on top of the table. He didn't bother to wipe the stains from his suit as he stood up. "There's nothing wrong with my hand coordination, I assure you. Unless, of course, you'd like to test it out?" After that, he winked. She didn't even bother to look at him as she turned around and walked towards the door. "Dream on!" Her arrogant voice echoed throughout the hallway just as the door had slammed shut. Edward blinked in surprise. Did this woman grow a pair of wings since she had removed her makeup, that she'd actually dared to challenge him? His eyes flashed with amusement as he stared at her retreating figure. Ellena ran out of th
The marketing department was actually located on the other side of the building. As one of the busiest departments in Smith Group, it was the largest and probably considered the most paper ridden, right next to the Accounting Department. Ellena looked around her surroundings as they went into the manager's office.The manager was a bald, middle-aged man. As soon as he saw Naomi coming his way, he smiled so brightly that his eyes had narrowed. There was something greasy about the way the man patted his hair. Even his skin was so oily that it glistened under the dim lights.He greeted respectfully. "Second Lady, why did you come over?"Naomi crossed her arms, nodding in Ellena's direction. "Manager Black, this is the new market researcher for the department. Take her with you, and make sure to take good care of her."Although she asked him to ‘take care’ of Ellena, her actions had proven otherwise. With how far they were standing apart from one
Naomi and Madeline were already assuming that she was having or had an affair with “Nicklaus”. If they saw him coming down the street to pick her up now, then they would surely misunderstand her situation even more. Ellena frowned, feeling as if she was coming down with a headache. This was just too complicated! It would've been easier if she had gone back to the villa herself. Besides, she didn't have any need for any help either way! After exiting the elevator, Naomi went out first. When Ellena saw that Naomi was already a few steps ahead, she slowed down her pace and took her phone out of her pockets. "Nicklaus, you better pick up." She murmured while dialing the number. To her surprise, the man answered quickly. "What is it now?" His mocking voice echoed from the other end of the line before she could even speak. "Have you decided not to treat me to a meal? Have you run away with the black card, stealing me from my own well deserved dinner? "Don't be ridiculous!" Wait a sec
Edward lowered his head and gazed at the way her slender fingers clasped along his skin. But he didn't break free. "Isn't it normal for us to investigate you? Do you really think we'd allow just anyone into our family?" His face was enough to bring any man or woman up to the mountains. Even Ellena couldn't help but stagger backward in fear of him. Although he was usually mocking and teasing, "Nicklaus" had a side that you wouldn't want to piss off. On the first day, Ellena entered the Arnoult family, Edward had already sent a few of his men over to investigate her past more thoroughly. It was only then he understood her feelings for that man. As for her pretending to be ugly, that information had gone way back that there was no way for any of them to verify it. Ellena was stunned for a moment. Within a second, her face became serious as she looked at him in a complicated expression. "You're saying that Edward had asked you to investigate me?" "You think I want to investigate you