“Bingo. Five years ago, Nicole slept with you. She went overseas shortly after, and when she came back, she had a son with her,” Queenie said languidly, her eyes boring into Joseph. She wanted to see his reaction.
Joseph couldn’t quite come up with a response for a second. His eyes stared ahead at Queenie, still in disbelief. “You’re saying that Lisa’s son is mine?”
“Yep,” Queenie said in surety. She splayed her fingers out across the table. With who Nicole was now, Joseph would definitely want to claim her son. Those two would fight over this matter then. If Colton were to know about this thing between them, he probably wouldn’t be interested in Nicole.
“Are you telling me the truth?” Joseph still couldn’t believe it. He just felt that this was likely a trap that Queenie had set for him.
Queenie looked at Joseph. He wasn’t as dumb as she thought he would be. He didn’t believe her just because she said so. However, she had everything planned already.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Nicole. You already stepped on her toes anyway. Asking her that won’t do anything to you.” Queenie paused before continuing, “You can also get a paternity test. I’m her sister, so I know that considering Nicole’s status now, the
Mann Family will stand to benefit if you marry her!”
Upon hearing Queenie’s words, Joseph’s brain turned to mush. He clenched his fists. If Nicole’s son was truly his, then he just found his new cash cow. The Manns might even be able to surpass the Gardners in the fashion industry then.
What Queenie said was right. He already pissed off Nicole; what was the harm in asking her another question?
“That’s all the help I can give you. If you still want to work with F&M Apparel, this is the only way to completely resolve this matter,” Queenie declared as she got up.
Joseph suddenly recalled his purpose for meeting Queenie today. “What about the thing with the police?” he hastily asked.
Queenie gave a light chuckle. Her lips were quirked as she looked at him. “If you’re truly the father of Nicole’s child, then shouldn’t it be easy for you to fix it?”
Joseph still didn’t fully believe her. He did sleep with plenty of women, but he still had a faint memory of who he had shared a bed with. But for Nicole, he had not the slightest memory of her at all.
However, there didn’t seem to be any other choice now. All he could do now was try his luck.
“Fine, I’ll believe you one last time. If you’re lying, you’ll never hear the end of me!” The only thing he could do now was go for it. On the off chance that he was actually the father of Nicole’s son, the Manns would definitely be able to rocket to the top!
“There’s no need for me to lie to you about this. After all, a test will reveal everything, no?” Queenie’s smile was smug. If she could tamper with the results of Colton’s paternity test with that bastard child, then she could also tamper with Joseph’s results. When everyone believes that Nicole’s son is Joseph’s, then Colton will belong to me.
…
Nicole came up with a few design drafts over the last few days at home. Zachary didn’t seem to have anything to do while being cooped up at home, other than playing with
Hayden.
Nicole could see that Hayden liked Zachary. She also admitted that Zachary was great at everything he did. But it was also precisely this reason that she wasn’t worthy of him.
“Aren’t you going to go home for the mid-winter holiday?” Nicole looked at Zachary, who was sitting on the couch.
Today, he was dressed in a pure white hoodie. Paired with a pair of straight-leg sweatpants, he looked a few years younger than he did when he was dressed in a suit.
“Nope. I’m going to stay here and celebrate with you guys,” Zachary said without even looking at her, but melancholy streaked across his eyes for a second.
Nicole knew that Zachary had never gotten along well with his family, so she didn’t press him about it. To her, it made no difference where she celebrated the holiday, as long as she got to spend it with her son, Hayden.
The celebratory mood got stronger and stronger as the mid-winter holiday approached. Everyone had their holiday decorations up.
Nicole had forgotten the last time she had celebrated the mid-winter holiday back in her home country. She thought she might have stopped celebrating ever since her mother’s death.
With Zachary helping her to care for Hayden, Nicole had plenty of time to kick back and relax. She sorted out her drafts. Before the mid-winter holiday came, she wanted to confirm the upcoming fashion season’s direction with Colton. That way, she would still have time to make changes to her drafts.
Zachary wanted to drop Nicole off at the Gardner Corporation building, but she rejected his offer when she saw how happy he was playing with her son. “Just play with Hayden. I’ll be back soon.”
Even though the mid-winter holiday was coming up soon, Gardner Corporation was still in full swing.
Nicole didn’t put any makeup on. She simply had a normal-looking fleece coat, and her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. Before she arrived, she called Colton, informing him that she would be coming by this morning to discuss the drafts. When she entered the building, she didn’t need anyone to lead her around; she headed straight for the president’s office as she was already familiar with the route.
Nicole promptly knocked on the door, but no one answered her. Just as she was about to open the door, someone called out to her.
“Who are you?” It was a clear female voice.
Nicole turned her head to see a woman. The woman was dressed in a black set of office wear, but her figure was stunning. The office wear perfectly outlined her curves. The entire ensemble not only looked fashionable, but it even had a relaxed and elegant air to it.
“I’m Nicole Anderson. I’m here to deliver some design drafts,” Nicole greeted in a friendly manner.
The woman’s expression had a hint of doubt in it. She swept her gaze up and down Nicole a few times before narrowing her eyes. “Delivering drafts? All drafts are only handed over after the department head has gone over them and picked out the final ones. Do you even need to come all the way here?”
Nicole looked at the woman. The woman was clearly hostile. With no other choice, Nicole attempted to explain herself. “I’m here to see Colton Gard – “
Before Nicole could finish, the woman interrupted her by snatching the drafts she was holding.
“I’m President Gardner’s secretary, Amber Delaney,” Amber said, displeased. She looked down at Nicole’s drafts, disdain clear in her eyes. She snorted. With one arm folded below her chest and the other holding the drafts, she stared at Nicole. “You call these designs? This isn’t even fit to be called garbage.”
Nicole looked at this haughty woman. Her brows knitted together. Not even fit to be called garbage? She just thought it hilarious. As she looked at Amber, she asked, “So, you must be an amazing designer then, right? Since you said that my designs aren’t even worthy of being garbage, tell me then – what’s wrong with the designs?”
Amber lifted her chin. A condescending smirk danced on her lips as she looked at the indignant Nicole. Her grip on Nicole’s drafts loosened a little, and the papers drifted to the ground. “I’ve seen my fair share of women like you, trying to use President Gardner for their own gains on their first day at work. You’ve got the wrong idea in your head. You should just be an honest person and do your own job properly. Don’t think about doing something as debauched as that!”
She then scanned Nicole. Coming all the way up to the president’s office without even a work badge? This girl must be a new intern. She had been Colton’s secretary for two years now, and had seen plenty of women who planned to take advantage of Colton. This girl isn’t a looker, but she sure has guts.
Nicole lowered her head to look at her scattered drafts, and she couldn’t help smirking. She then lifted her head to look at Amber. “Pick them up,” she said slowly.
“Are you dreaming or what? You want me to pick them up?” Amber couldn’t help but snicker when she heard Nicole’s words. She looked as though she was looking at someone who was slow. “Who do you think you are?”
Standing upright where she was, Nicole raised her pitch-black eyes and said coldly, “Firstly, as President Gardner’s secretary, it’s wrong of you to attack me personally without discriminating between right and wrong. Secondly, there’s no problem with my design, but you criticized it at your pleasure despite having little understanding of it. Thirdly, it’s rude to interrupt someone when they’re speaking.” Her voice was dignified, and her eyes showed no signs of fear.
Amber looked at the woman before her, who looked pure and pretty despite having no makeup on. Amber wasn’t from a poor family, and she only came to work at Gardner Corporation because she had feelings for Colton. Queenie – that b*tch – aside, now even an intern dares to have her eyes on Colton. There’s no way I could stand this, she thought. Therefore, she mocked, getting angrier as she spoke, “Women like you are a dime a dozen. Didn’t you sneak up here just to play up to him and create an opportunity for you to be alone with him? Such a petty trick is obvious to me at a glance!”
Nicole only found Amber unreasonable as she listened to the latter’s slanders. She knitted her brows and uttered, “You’re nuts.”
Amber went mad upon hearing Nicole’s words. “How dare you call me nuts!” She stepped on one of Nicole’s design drafts with her high heels right away. With her face clouded over, she uttered between clenched teeth, “Get ready to pack up your stuff and leave!”
However, as soon as she finished her sentence, she heard a chilly voice speak from behind. “What’s the fuss?”
Amber’s shrewish expression just now instantly vanished. At once, she softened up and looked pitifully at the source of the voice. “President Gardner, someone here attempted to break into your office without permission, and I stopped her. After that…” Her attitude changed as quickly as turning the page of a book. Just a moment ago, she had been giving herself airs; now she looked like a victim with a pitiful expression. “After that, she called me nuts.”
Speechless, Nicole stood upright while turning her gaze to Colton.
Followed by Tony from behind, the man slowly walked up to her with little change in his countenance.
On the other hand, Amber was secretly delighted. Colton hates women who throw themselves at him more than anything else. This woman will definitely be kicked out of Gardner Corporation! she thought. However, before she could feel smug about it, she saw Colton crouching down and picking up the papers on the floor.
At the sight of the scene, Amber was dumbstruck. She stammered, “P-President Gardner, y-you…” Her footprint was still on one of the papers, and it was so strongly imprinted that it couldn’t be erased at all.
Tony crouched down beside Colton and helped pick up the design drafts. After sorting out the papers, he held them with both hands and respectfully handed them to Nicole.
“Pack up your stuff and resign,” Colton ordered without saying anything else.
Still not coming to her senses, Amber raised her head slightly. These words aren’t supposed to be directed at me; they’re supposed to be directed at the woman before me, she thought. “President Gardner, this woman – “
However, Tony stopped her before she could finish her sentence, saying, “Miss Delaney, let me help you through the resignation procedure.”
“What’s all this about? I’m not the one in the wrong here! It’s her who came here in an attempt to get close to President Gardner, and she even scolded me!” Amber shouted angrily. She didn’t understand why she was fired.
Tony grabbed her arm and whispered softly in her ear, “She’s Lisa.”
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