Right Person, Wrong Time

After Chloe left, Kendrick's expression grew increasingly dark. He stared coldly at his female secretary, who stood by his side, head bowed, afraid to meet his gaze.

The secretary trembled slightly; it was the first time she had defied him. She had witnessed the consequences of others defying him before—immediate dismissal.

At that moment, she was in their shoes. She didn't know what he had in store for her, but she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope for what might follow.

"I won't hold today's incident against you, but I hope you won't make such a low-level mistake again in the future." Kendrick eventually compromised, signing the document in his hand and handing it to the secretary beside him.

"Yes, Mr. Hofstead," the female secretary replied. Relief washed over her upon hearing this result, even though she maintained a calm facade while accepting the document.

Once the secretary left, Kendrick slowly lifted his head, his gaze following her departure. His eyes were intense, as if he could devour someone with his stare.

The secretary had been by his side for many years, present since the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. She knew many things about him. If he suddenly fired her, it would lead to significant consequences.

During this critical period, if he were to terminate her employment and provoke a sense of retaliation from her, all his years of preparation would be in vain.

As the secretary left the office, she felt a surge of happiness. Mr. Hofstead indeed gives me preferential treatment. I knew it! Nicole and Chloe are merely tools for him to achieve his ultimate goals.

After Chloe left Hofstead Corporation, she happily sent a message to Nicole before hailing a taxi and heading toward the research center.

When Nicole received the message, her face lit up with a relieved smile. With that matter resolved, she put her phone down and sighed softly as she looked at the pile of reports before her. It seemed like her workload had increased a bit. "Oh well."

'Nicole, are you free for dinner today? Let's go out and eat together!' A message suddenly appeared on her phone.

Nicole glanced at her phone, seeing that it was a message from Wendy. She picked up the phone and hesitated briefly before typing a response.

'I'm sorry, Wendy. I'm quite busy lately. How about we plan to have dinner together sometime later?'

Her workload was currently overwhelming—a night out was a luxury.

Colton stared at the message on Wendy's phone, his expression darkening as he read her polite refusal. Wendy responded with an emoji before putting away her phone.

"Colton, you see? She rejected me too. Why don't you find someone else?" Wendy wondered why her brother's attitude had taken such a sudden 180-degree turn. Just the other day, he had been avoiding Nicole, but now he wanted to have dinner with her.