Chapter 22
Emily thought Alex would have her back for sure.
But Alex’s face was all serious as he said, “From now on, run everything by Harper when it comes to company stuff.”
The words threw Emily for a loop, her eyes widened with disbelief.
“Alex!”
“Every contract and decision here involves millions. You can’t handle that alone, and you can’t take on that responsibility.”
His voice was icy, almost heartless.
This was just how Alex handled things. Company matters were never a joke and had to be taken seriously.
Emily looked down, her cheeks turning red.
She had wanted to prove herself in front of Alex, but Harper had made her look like a fool.
Just then, there was a knock on the office door, and Travis walked in.
He glanced at Alex, then at Harper and Emily, and said, “Mr. Lavien, the company strategy meeting is ready.”
Alex nodded.
As they stepped out, Travis asked Harper, “Harper, you’ll be attending as usual, right?”
Given the situation, he couldn’t guess Alex’s thoughts.
Before Harper could respond, Alex cut in, “Of course she will.”
Travis smiled in response.
Emily was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and stopped Alex, who was about to leave.
“Alex, I’ll go with you. I’m your chief secretary.”
Sas
Harper chuckled, “This meeting is about Al robotics. Do you even know what an Artificial Neural Network is? Convolutional Neural Network? Recurrent Neural Network? Do you understand any of these terms?”
She rattled off a bunch of technical terms, leaving Emily speechless.
Harper raised an eyebrow, her green eyes fixed on Emily indifferently. “If I remember right, you majored in dance in college, which has nothing to do with business management. Do you think you can understand a technical seminar like this? So, what are you going for? Don’t waste our time.”
Emily’s face grew hotter, almost bursting with anger.
Looking at Harper’s unemotional face, she wanted to slap her. She thought, ‘Bitch! Did she really have to do this?‘
“Alex, I can try.” Emily gently took Alex’s hand, looking pitiful.
“Of course, if it’s just serving coffee, you can try.”
Harper’s lips curled into a teasing smile.
“Harper, are you so afraid of me replacing you that you have to stop me? But your position was originally mine, wasn’t it? Five years ago, it should have been returned to me.”
Emily was anxious, glaring at Harper, her voice rising.
Harper rolled her eyes and said, “Please go ahead. I’m sure you can completely replace me at the meeting.”
She then glanced at Alex, looking unbothered.
“I’ll follow Mr. Lavien’s arrangement.”
1/3
She left the decision to Alex, to see if he would choose Emily or her.
Alex pulled his hand away from Emily, his tone apathetic, “This is a high–level company decision meeting. Harper is more qualified.”
He knew the board members wouldn’t accept the newcomer Emily. They respected Harper more.
If Harper didn’t show up at the meeting, the board might look down on Alex or even challenge him, which was the last thing he wanted to see.
Hearing this, Emily felt a chill run down her spine.
Travis smiled knowingly.
“Mr. Lavien, it’s almost time.” He urged.
Alex nodded slightly and walked out without giving Emily another glance.
The company decision meeting went smoothly, and the board members were very pleased with Harper’s performance.
As Harper was packing up her things to leave, Alex called her back.
“Hold on a sec. The board mentioned the financial report for the last quarter. Is there a problem?”
Explaining this wasn’t easy, so Harper had to sit down again and point out the issues in the report.
They sat close together, talking in low voices, looking almost like a couple.
The meeting room door suddenly burst open, and Emily walked in quickly.
“Alex!”
Her mouth opened slightly, stunned for a moment, and then her face showed surprise.
“The meeting is over. Why hasn’t Harper left?”
Harper didn’t look up, her eyes still on the financial report.
“Mr. Lavien and i have things to discuss.”
Emily stared at her for a moment, then looked at Alex.
“Alex, my dad wants to invite you to dinner to discuss our wedding.”
For some reason, Harper’s heart skipped a beat.
Were they already talking about marriage?
“We’ll talk about that later.” Alex’s tone was calm.
Emily stepped forward, sat next to him, and pouted, “Alex, the wedding needs a lot of preparations. My dad thinks it’s better to discuss it early.”
Harper stood up, her tone was as flat as a pancake, “Well, I won’t disturb you two. Alex, please don’t forget to sent me the revised divorce agreement.”
Regarding the divorce, she was too calm, which inexplicably made Alex a bit angry and anxious.
Was she so eager to divorce him?
“I will,” He said coldly.
“Alex, since Harper has agreed to the divorce, can we discuss our wedding soon?”
Emily’s voice was soft, her arms wrapped around Alex’s, shaking gently like a spoiled girlfriend.
Got it.” Alex’s tone was unusually gentle, looking at her with some affection.
“Really, Alex?” Emily was delighted.
Alex nodded slightly.
Harper felt even colder inside and didn’t want to spend a second here.
“Mr. Lavien, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back.”
Her voice was icy, showing no sign of displeasure.
Hearing this, Alex’s face fell.
Indeed, he was only gentle when facing Emily.
“Get the meeting minutes done and send it to me later. He ordered, completely different from how he was with Emily.
Harper opened her mouth but eventually nodded, “Okay.”
It was already past office hours, and organizing the meeting notes meant she had to work overtime.
Meanwhile, Emily dragged Alex out, “Alex, I’m hungry. Can you take me out to eat?”
They were going out for dinner, while she had to stay and work overtime. The difference in treatment was clear.
