Chapter 51
When the interview was over, Beatrix rushed to the
headquarters and barged into Mackenzie’s office.
“What’s up? Do you have something to report?”
Mackenzie looked up. Her expression was cold.
“Hehe. Guess who I interviewed today?” Beatrix
approached her happily.
“I’m not interested in guessing. Just spit it out if you
have something to say,” Mackenzie snapped as she
continued doing her work.
Fortunately, Beatrix had expected that reaction from
Mackenzie. In fact, the former was used to it.
Regardless, she announced excitedly, “I interviewed
Emmanuel!”
“What?” Mackenzie immediately looked up.
In the past, Beatrix would not believe Mackenzie had
someone she cared about, not to mention the person
was a man.
Oh, shoot!
Judging by Mackenzie’s reaction, Beatrix had a feeling
that she was at risk of losing her bet with Lexi.
“Aren’t you hiring a part–timer to help you with the
projects? Why did he come for the interview?” asked
Mackenzie curiously.
Chuckling, Beatrix responded, “Maybe Emmanuel is
short of money.”
Noting the change in Mackenzie’s expression, Beatrix suddenly added, “By the way, I asked him and it turned
out that he wasn’t having a candlelight dinner with
Claudette yesterday. He was just thanking her for
helping his mom get the ward back.”
“What?”
Mackenzie appeared more agitated, so much so that
her reaction shocked Beatrix.
Holy cow!
In the past, she could never imagine getting such
reactions from her sister.
After all, Mackenzie was the indifferent CEO of Terence
Group who had misandry.
Mackenzie did not care what Beatrix’s motives were.
The former’s usual calm expression changed
incessantly.
After all, she was the one who helped Alessandra get
the ward back. It did not make sense that Emmanuel
was giving Claudette the credit.
“Is he stupid or what?” Mackenzie tapped the table
gently.
Beatrix was stupefied that she didn’t even blink.
Of course, Beatrix did not know what Mackenzie meant,
but the latter was clearly very emotional.
Her cool–headed sister that had misandry was getting
riled up for a man. That was something Beatrix could
never imagine in the past.
Don’t tell me she likes him. No way. That’s impossible.
“Ail right. You may leave now.”
Mackenzie quickly recollected herself. She shifted her
gaze back to the computer screen and continued
working.
It was only when Beatrix left after making a face did
Mackenzie let out a sigh and hit the table.
“I’m never helping that idiot again.”
Alessandra had not been working for the past two
years because of her poor kidney condition.
Recently, she had been working hard to help pay off
Emmanuel’s debts and trying to buy Mackenzie
betrothal gifts and jewelry.
Terence Group was a famous, newly established
company. The truth was, being a cleaner was easy, but
Alessandra worked too hard. She even served the
employees drinks, which left her exhausted.
When the manager asked her to clean up the
conference room, her kidneys were already in pain
from exhaustion. Hence, she had to lean against the
table.
Just then, she accidentally collapsed to the ground
and bumped into a table.
Instantly, all the drinks spilled onto the table, drenching
the manager’s laptop and brand–new iPhone fourteen
before he could even take them away.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Derek Schwartz, the manager, rushed in. His expression darkened, and his heart sank at what he saw in the
conference room.
717
“Ma’am, are you all right?”
Chapter 52
They were in the company building, and many
employees were passing by the conference room.
Hence, Derek helped Alessandra up first.
“I–I’m fine.”
1/8
Alessandra could not care less about her pain. She
hastily wiped the table and took out a cloth to wipe the
laptop and phone.
“Stop! I’ll do it!” Derek quickly shoved her away, making
her stagger a few steps backward.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Schwartz. I–I didn’t do it on purpose,”
Alessandra apologized profusely.
For someone from a less well–to–do family, ruining
someone’s valuables would only make their situation
worse.
She was hoping she did not have to pay for the losses,
but Derek examined his devices and said grimly,
“Ma’am, my laptop’s motherboard is fried, and my
phone isn’t lighting up. You’ve got to compensate me.”
“I–I…” Alessandra paled, unable to form a complete
sentence. All she could do was bow and apologize.
She only wanted to earn some money to help lessen
Emmanuel’s burden and give Mackenzie some jewelry.
To her horror, she had to compensate a huge sum
when she had not even gotten her salary.
This is just terrible! I’m sure Emmanuel won’t let me
work anymore if he finds out about this.
“It’s already happened. There’s no use apologizing
2/8
now.” Derek helped her up and added coldly, “I’m going
to send these for repairs now. I’ll let you know how
much you’ll need to pay when I find that out. Please
give me your phone number.”
Alessandra was on the verge of crying, but she still
nodded and gave him her phone number.
At the same time, Beatrix was standing outside the
glass door. When she saw how pitiful Alessandra
looked, she wanted to help the latter out.
To Beatrix’s surprise, Alessandra agreed to
compensate him. Hence, the former could say nothing.
After all, it was only right to compensate someone
after breaking their things.
After receiving her number, Derek could not help but
scold her a little before leaving to get his devices
repaired.
There were many important data in them which he
had put a lot of effort and time into. He was planning
to get Alessandra to compensate him for the
intangible losses as well.
Alessandra felt horrible when Derek left. Even so, she
still cleaned up the conference room.
After that, she clutched her abdomen and walked out
of the room.
The moment she saw Beatrix, she quickly put on a
smile and greeted, “Hello, Ms. Beatrix.”
Alessandra did not want Beatrix to find out she was ill.
I’ll be in trouble if she fires me because of that.
Hence, she pretended to look fine no matter how much
4/8
pain she was in.
“Hello, Ms. Cadigan. Are you all right?”
Beatrix felt bad for Emmanuel’s mother when she
gazed at the latter. Feeling worried, Beatrix said, “You
can take two days off if your body’s in pain.”
“No, no, no. I’m fine. I’m feeling great!” Alessandra
quickly waved her hand dismissively and forced a
smile.
The moment she straightened her back, she felt an
excruciating pain, which made her grimace.
“Ms. Cadigan, please go home and take a day off. I’ll
make sure the manager doesn’t deduct your salary.
End of discussion.”
With that, Beatrix walked off.
5/8
That was all she could do to help the elderly woman.
After all, it was not her place to make Derek give up on
the compensation.
Just then, Mackenzie, who was at the headquarters,
dialed Derek’s number to ask about a project’s details.
She did not expect the call to not get through, and it
pissed her off.
She always requested her employees to maintain
smooth communication during working hours. No one
was allowed to be unreachable.
At that, she instructed Lexi to find Derek.
Half an hour later, Derek returned the call in a hurry. “M–Ms. Quillen, I’m so sorry. My phone was damaged by one of the cleaning ladies. I didn’t turn it off on
purpose.” He sounded a little panicked.
1714
“Derek, is this your first day working at Terence Group?
Why didn’t you make a report about your broken
phone right away? What if this affects the project’s
progress?” Mackenzie scolded right away. She had
always been a strict person.
Derek swallowed his anger, not daring to retort. To him,
Mackenzie was like the queen of the company.
“I–I understand, Ms. Quillen. I promise this won’t happen
again in the future. The project’s data? Ah… They’re on
my laptop, but I can’t give them to you now…”
After enduring the scolding, Derek encountered a
second problem.
“Derek, you have one hour. If you don’t send me the
data in time, you can pack your things and leave.”
Mackenzie hung up angrily.
Chapter 53
Everyone in Terence Group knew how terrible
Mackenzie’s temper was.
Not only was she indifferent, but she was also
heartless.
She hated people who came up with excuses for their
mistakes more than anything else.
Derek was furious, thinking it was all Alessandra’s fault.
D*mn it! I must rip her off! I won’t rest until I get my
money!
In the meantime, Alessandra was still panicking even after arriving home. She wondered if she should tell her
children about the incident.
After asking the neighbors, she found out it would cost
at most a few thousand to fix a computer and a
phone.
Hence, she thought of borrowing money from others.
Perhaps this can be resolved. I don’t want to make my
children worry again.
Soon, Derek’s call came.
“What? Twenty thousand?”
Alessandra almost passed out from shock when she
heard the number.
“Mr. Schwartz, h–how could it be so expensive?”
“Hmph! Expensive? I can’t retrieve the data from my devices, which affects the company’s project. We could
lose tens of millions, and I haven’t even taken into
account that amount! If you’re not willing to pay, I’ll file
a police report. We can settle this in court.”
Derek vented all his anger on Alessandra.
He purely focused on scaring her. It intimidated her to
the point she did not dare to argue. She could only
agree for the time being and promise him she would
find a way to compensate him.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
Roselynn came back just in time to see Alessandra in a
daze. The latter’s eyes were red, and she looked as
though she could faint at any time. Seeing that,
Roselynn hurried over to check on Alessandra.
At first, Alessandra did not want to tell her. Thanks to Roselynn’s incessant questioning, however, the former
finally opened up and recounted the entire incident.
She even teared up helplessly when she reached the
end of the story.
“What? Twenty thousand for repairs? He’s clearly
extorting you! That’s no different from robbing
someone.”
Roselynn instantly exploded with anger, and she gave
Emmanuel a call.
Emmanuel had just gotten off work and was about to
head out for his part–time job. He, too, lost his temper
after learning about the incident from his sister.
Twenty thousand was more than enough for Derek to buy new devices. The compensation did not make
sense.
“Tell Mom not to worry about it. I’ll help her think of
something,” he promised.
Emmanuel felt frustrated after hanging up.
I can’t cough up twenty thousand now, but I can’t
borrow money from Mackenzie either. Otherwise, she’ll
think I married her just to scam money out of her. Wait.
J
Isn’t that icy woman an executive at Terence Group’s
headquarters? Perhaps she can help lower the
compensation amount if I ask for her help. That way, I
can help Mom pay that man.
That night, Mackenzie returned home at the same time
as Emmanuel got home from his part–time job.
There was a strong tension between them due to last
night’s events.
пырты
Despite knowing the truth, Mackenzie could not help
but think he was stupid. The mere sight of him
infuriated her.
“Ms. Quillen, I need your help with something,”
Emmanuel asked politely.
“What is it? Do you need money to treat another
woman?” Mackenzie questioned coldly, only to regret it
instantly. Why do I sound jealous? Will he get the
wrong idea and think I’m jealous?
“No!”
Emmanuel could not be bothered about what she
thought. He recounted the situation and asked, “Could you help me talk to Mr. Schwartz and make him lower
the compensation to a reasonable amount?”
Mackenzie kept quiet the entire time while secretly
shaking her head.
What a coincidence. The cleaner who broke Derek’s
laptop and phone was Emmanuel’s mom? That’s my
mother–in–law. And I scolded Derek so terribly because
of the trouble she created.
“Can you help me with this, Ms. Quillen?” asked
Emmanuel when there was no reply from her after a
long time.
“Huh?”
That was when Mackenzie snapped out of her
thoughts.
Emmanuel frowned. Did she not hear a word I said? Or
is she pretending not to hear me because she doesn’t
want to help? Did I just waste my time explaining the
situation to her?
In the next second, Mackenzie uttered coldly, “I’ll help
you put in a few words, then. I’ve got to warn you,
though. It won’t necessarily work.”
Chapter 54
Emmanuel thanked her immediately, “Thank you!
Whether it works or not, I’m grateful to you.”
Mackenzie put on a disdainful smile. Hmph. Derek will
definitely listen to me.
Regardless, she simply murmured a reply before
ignoring Emmanuel.
Go on and treat other women to meals. Wait. Didn’t I
swear not to help him anymore? Why did I agree to his
request? Ugh! I swear I won’t help this idiot next time!
The next day, Derek was summoned to the
headquarters.
He felt extremely nervous, thinking Alessandra had put
him in great trouble.
After all, Mackenzie’s temper was known by everyone in
Terence Group.
He figured he was going to be reprimanded harshly for being unreachable yesterday and also for being a day late in submitting the data she wanted–the data he
had stayed up all night to redo.
Getting reprimanded was still fine. He feared
Mackenzie would fire him out of anger since several
managers had been fired in the past because of the
same thing.
“M–Ms. Quillen.” Derek knocked on the door and
entered the CEO’s office. He stood straight with his
head lowered like a little boy who made a mistake.
“Hello. Where’s the data?” asked Mackenzie
indifferently without lifting her head.
“It’s here.” Derek hurriedly placed the printed document
on her table.
Mackenzie looked through the document without
sparing him a glance.
Derek was so nervous that the muscles all over his
body tensed up. He was afraid Mackenzie might throw
就
the document at him and tell him to get lost.
Derek was his family’s breadwinner. If he lost his
high–salaried job, he would not be able to pay for the
mortgage, car loan, and even his children’s education.
He did not dare to think further.
After reading the document, Mackenzie finally lifted her
head slightly.
Derek had no guts to meet the beautiful woman’s
gaze. In fact, only a handful of men in Yeringham
dared to meet her gaze.
I wonder what kind of man can conquer her and make
her his wife? Her mother–in–law must fear her, too.
“Well done on the document. Remember to report to
the receptionist when there’s a problem with your
phone in the future.”
Mackenzie’s words stunned Derek. He even wondered if
he was hearing things.
She’s not scolding me? Does that mean I won’t be
demoted or fired?
“Y–Yes! I’ll keep that in mind, Ms. Quillen!” Derek
promised instantly, feeling much relieved.
“Is your laptop and phone fixed?”
“Y–Yes!”
“How much did it cost?”
“Around three thousand.”
Derek could not believe Mackenzie was actually
concerned about him.
Most importantly, he did not expect her to nod and
say, “Prepare the receipts and submit a
reimbursement form to the finance department.”
“Huh?” Derek was shocked beyond words. It took him
some time before he nodded. “Okay, Ms. Quillen.”
Normally, the company would not reimburse
employees for accidents like that. However, he
guessed it would not be a problem since Mackenzie
had given him the green light.
“The cleaner doesn’t have it easy, either. Don’t hold her
accountable,” Mackenzie added.
“Of course, Ms. Quillen. I understand.”
Actually, Derek did not. In fact, he was puzzled as to
why the mighty CEO would care for a cleaner.
Nonetheless, the fact that he could become a
department manager meant he was smart. As soon as
he stepped out of the office, he came to a realization.
Could that cleaner be acquainted with Ms. Quillen? Do
they have some kind of relationship?
Chapter 55
Alessandra rested for a day before returning to the
company to work.
She was feeling down in the dumps because she was
worried about the compensation amount. In fact, she
did not sleep well the last two nights.
Even though Emmanuel had told her not to worry and
promised he would find a solution, she could not help
but worry.
She feared Derek might confront her that day and
make a police report because she could not afford to
pay. If that were to happen, she might lose her job,
which would make things worse.
Regardless, Alessandra was not someone who would
evade problems, and the matter had to be resolved
eventually. Worst case scenario, she would kneel
before Derek in hopes the latter would forgive her.
“Ma’am!”
Sure enough, Derek went looking for her shortly after
she clocked in.
Alessandra straightened herself and greeted him
politely, “M–Mr. Schwartz!”
“I want to talk to you about the laptop and the phone
Before Derek could finish, Alessandra teared up, and
she got to her knees.
“Ma’am, what are you doing? You can’t do this!” Derek
quickly helped her up.
That scene was witnessed by everyone in the
company.
Even Beatrix, who passed by, watched it from afar.
Naturally, she did not know Mackenzie had helped
settle the issue. If necessary, I’ll help Emmanuel’s mom
to pay.
Although Mackenzie did not agree with the marriage,
the cleaner was still her mother–in–law. Beatrix could
not let the latter be in such a tough situation.
“Mr. Schwartz, my family really can’t afford to come up
with twenty thousand. Please have mercy on me. I
really didn’t do it on purpose!” Alessandra pleaded
with tears streaming down her face.
With so many people watching the commotion, Derek
was grateful that the news about him extorting twenty
thousand from Alessandra had not spread. Otherwise,
he would be reprimanded by everyone.
“Ma’am, I was only saying that to remind you to be
careful next time. Anyway, you don’t have to
compensate me anymore.”
“Huh?”
What’s going on?
Alessandra was stunned.
She never expected Derek would change so drastically.
Immediately, relief flooded her heart, but she still could
not stop crying.
“R–Really? I don’t need to compensate you anymore?”
“Yes. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Derek left as soon as he finished speaking to avoid
attracting a crowd.
Everyone was in shock.
Even Beatrix was stupefied. After all, she had witnessed
Derek’s encounters with Alessandra, and the contrast
in his behavior was huge.
Something obviously happened before this. Did
Mackenzie help Emmanuel again? Otherwise, things
wouldn’t have been resolved so easily, even if I had
helped Ms. Cadigan put in some words.
Now that the matter was resolved, Alessandra felt
refreshed, and she excitedly dialed Emmanuel’s
number.
Emmanuel was still working at the hospital at that
moment. When he learned about the matter, he
breathed a sigh of relief.
“Manny, did Mackenzie help? I need to thank her in
person.”
Alessandra was already desperate enough to see her
daughter–in–law. And now, her desire to see the latter
grew stronger.
This daughter–in–law of mine is really capable. It must
be a blessing from the Lowe family’s ancestors that
Emmanuel found such a great wife.
“Mom, it’s almost the end of the month. You’ll get to see
her in a few days,” was all Emmanuel could say.
As soon as he hung up, he began to worry.
A few days ago, Mackenzie had told him she might not
go home with him, and the topic had been suspended
ever since.
Mom will be disappointed if Mackenzie doesn’t go
home with me.
Chapter 56
No matter what, I’ll have to confront her tonight and
get a confirmation.
Having made up his mind, Emmanuel went home after
getting off work and waited for Mackenzie’s return
anxiously.
To his frustration, Mackenzie came home later than
usual, not arriving until half past ten.
“Ms. Quillen, you came home later than usual today,
huh?” Emmanuel broke the silence.
Mackenzie was busy. She gave her husband a grunt
instead of a verbal response. Obviously, she was going
to grab her pajamas, take a shower, and go to bed.
Emmanuel knew she would sleep at eleven sharp, so
he stood in front of her, blocking her path.
“What is it?” Mackenzie frowned.
“Ms. Quillen, you promised to pay my family a visit, so
my mom has gone out of her way to make all the
necessary arrangements, even inviting our relatives. If
you were to suddenly change your mind and not
come, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to her.”
After a pause, he added, “If you don’t keep your word,
I’ll have no choice but to let your grandpa know.”
Mackenzie scoffed in disdain.
Everyone knows I hate being threatened. I can’t believe
he’s so bold to threaten me!
Despite the fact that she had made a commitment to go and visit his family earlier, she changed her mind
later as she believed he had spent a romantic evening
with someone else.
Now that the truth had been unveiled, she couldn’t
help but think that he was a fool.
“Since you brought this up, I have a task that I need
you to complete.”
“What is it, Ms. Quillen?” Emmanuel asked politely.
I can do anything as long as she agrees to meet my
charge of this project, Mr. Emmanuel Lowe.” Lexi
“I trust you to do a good job. The project is about to reach completion soon, so nothing can happen at this crucial moment, okay?” he cautioned as he patted her
“Mr. Lowe, I’m really sorry. Please have some fruit!”
It took her a lot of time and effort to open the durian.
curious.”
attitude.”
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