She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 467

"Since when did a stoic, straight-laced guy like you become such a smooth talker?"

After she said it, Melanie swore she could hear a soft chuckle on the other end.

"I don't actually know how to sweet-talk... I'm just telling you exactly what's on my mind."

She believed him.

Still, Melanie couldn't fathom why Preston was so deeply infatuated with her.

Maybe...

She had saved the world in a past life?

Melanie shrugged with a smile and went back to picking out her ingredients.

Her cart was nearly full, and she was just about to head to the checkout lanes when another call buzzed through her phone.

Her expression instantly shifted.

"Sorry, Preston, I've got another call coming in. Let me take this really quick."

"Alright."

She swapped over to the new call.

"Hello? Dad..."

"You are having dinner with me tonight. Come over."

Nathaniel's tone was exactly as it always was—a non-negotiable command.

"I already have plans tonight. I can't make it."

"Cancel them."

"Dad, whatever you need to say, can't you just say it over the phone?"

"Come over for dinner, or consider yourself stripped of your title as COO by tomorrow morning."

"Dad..."

"As long as you are Nathaniel's daughter, you will listen to me."

Melanie let out an exhausted breath, completely drained by her father's iron-fisted tactics.

It wasn't that she desperately craved the title of Chief Operating Officer at the Royce Group.

But she knew that the second she stepped down, Sabrina and Aria would swoop right in.

If that happened, it was only a matter of time before the Royce Group fell entirely into the hands of that mother-daughter duo.

People always said the Royce Group was solely her father's empire, but her mother had poured her blood, sweat, and tears into building it too.

Melanie would never stand by and watch the company be stolen.

The more Sabrina and Aria wanted something, the more fiercely she would fight to keep it from them.

Preston replied with a flat, emotionless tone.

Despite the dismissal, Gabriel could tell from his reaction that something had definitely gone wrong.

Were the romantic evening plans canceled?

That was a pretty big deal in Preston's world.

While Gabriel was still trying to piece it together, Preston grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door.

"Wait, you're still leaving early?"

Gabriel was baffled.

Weren't the plans ruined?

"Yeah."

Preston gave a curt nod, offering no further explanation as he strode out of the office.

Meanwhile, Melanie begrudgingly returned every single item from her overflowing grocery cart to the shelves.

She then drove straight to Nathaniel's residence at the Crescent Ridge Estate.

The moment she walked through the front doors, she saw that the dining table was already packed.

It wasn't just Sabrina and Aria. Gregory, Camilla, and Dominic were sitting there too.