Free Web NovelChapter 104: We Can Just Start All Over Again
Michael’s expression looked perplexed and irritated. Smiling, he said, "I don’t need your permission to take whichever office I want within my company, do I?"
Wendy was infuriated. However, he was right. She had absolutely no right to say anything about what he wanted to do within his own company. However, his motive was so obvious. After a moment of silence, she said, "Mr. Lucas, I think there are some things that we need to talk about."
"Go on," said Michael attentively.
"I will repeat this again: I am Corrine, not your wife, Wendy Stewart," said Wendy with a stern face. She took great care to enunciate every single word, "If you insist on behaving in such a childish manner, it might have a negative impact on my work quality."
When Michael took in what she had said, he stood up. He approached Wendy and offered his hand. "Nice to meet you, Corrine. Since you really are Corrine, I don’t see why you would be affected by my office being beside yours."
Besides his accidental slip of the tongue at the company entrance, he had not called her by her real name today. And his words made it seem like he was trying to tell Wendy that she was the one overthinking this situation. There was a sullen look on Wendy’s face. She was in an extremely bad mood. Naturally, she refused to shake his hand.
Michael, on the other hand, did not feel awkward. Instead, he continued, saying, "I don’t care who you are. We’ll just get to know each other all over again. My name is Michael Lucas, I am the president of MC Enterprise, and I look forward to working with you." After that, he made a point to add, "Oh, and I’m single, like you."
This was because Wendy had mentioned that she was single at the party the other night.
Michael nodded at his hand, clearly still waiting for her to shake it. No matter how furious Wendy was, Michael seemed sincere and apologetic enough about wanting to get to know her all over again. He was also acting professionally, and since they were in such a formal setting, she could only play along. She shook his hand unwillingly before retracting it quickly.
"I look forward to working with you, too," she said.
Michael could still feel the warmth of Wendy’s hand lingering. He dropped his hand somewhat unwillingly. With a smile on his face, he said calmly, "I’m sure we will work well together."
Wendy simply gave Michael a quick, fake smile before turning around and leaving. She thought, he can stay wherever he wants. In any case, I can’t say anything about it.
However, Michael’s actions made it clear as day that he was fully convinced about her being Wendy Stewart.
Michael’s smile grew wider after observing the angered expression on Wendy’s face. After she left, he muttered to himself, "Wendy, since you refuse to admit who you are, we can just start all over again. I believe that you will eventually admit to being my wife again."
Wendy stayed angry for a long time after returning to her office. Jill saw the expression on her face when she entered the room and said with a smile, "Did Mr. Lucas piss you off?"
When Wendy ignored her question, she sat down on the couch and asked curiously, "Wendy, I’ve been meaning to ask you this. What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Michael Lucas? I initially thought that our partnership with MC Enterprise was purely transactional, but now it appears otherwise. You came back to Lake City for him, right? Could it be that he’s Jake’s fa..."
Before she could finish her words, Wendy glared at her. She said, "Jill, there are some things that we are better off not speculating or talking about."
Wendy’s agitated response only convinced Jill that she must be close to the truth. She reached out to cover her mouth, as if promising Wendy that she would do as she said.
After arriving at MC Enterprise, Wendy spent the entirety of her morning getting used to her new surroundings. Soon, it was noon. When she saw that it was lunchtime, she planned on going down to the cafeteria on the 3rd floor to get food. However, Michael suddenly appeared at her door.
"Let’s go get lunch together," said Michael.
From his tone, it was obvious that he was not asking her. Rather, it was an invitation she was expected to accept.
Wendy smiled faintly when she saw Michael’s familiar face. She rejected him, "It’s fine, I can eat by myself." The main reason for her return to Lake City this time was to get revenge on him.
She wanted him to get a taste of all the pain he had inflicted on her five years ago. Her refusal to admit who she really was at the party had piqued Michael’s curiosity. And right now, she needed to sustain his interest in her. She figured that her persistent rejection of his advances Would also help to deepen his interest. After all, he was fully convinced that she was Wendy Stewart. This meant that he would think of ways to make her confess to it.
"This is your first day here. Since you’re not familiar with this place, let me show you around. In any case, our offices are located right next to each other. It’s convenient for us to have lunch together," said Michael as he reached out to take her hand.
Right before Michael could touch her, she stepped back to lengthen the distance between them. She said, "Mr. Lucas, if you’re going to continue behaving like that, I will never agree to have lunch with you."
Michael quickly retracted his hand. Nodding, he said, "Sure, I’ll be on my best behavior." With that, he gestured for her to follow him.
Wendy took big strides forward. While her back was toward him, a sly smile appeared on her face. She had been surprised about Michael moving to the office right beside her in the morning, but his invitation to have lunch together was within expectations. In any case, this was advantageous for her cause. Naturally, the sight of them at the cafeteria together attracted gossip among the employees.
"Don’t you think that Corrine looks too much like Wendy Stewart? Are you really convinced that they’re not the same person?"
"I think they just look alike. Wendy was so timid and shy, but Corrine’s demeanor is completely different."
"They look alike, but they certainly behave in completely different ways."
"Didn’t you guys notice how Mr. Lucas’s attitude toward Corrine is the exact same as how he treated his wife back then? I also heard that he relocated his office to the one beside Corrine’s on the 8th floor. Isn’t it obvious what’s going on?"
"I think that Mr. Lucas might be trying to woo Corrine because of how much she resembles Wendy Stewart. After all, it’s difficult to find someone who looks so much like her." frёeωebɳovel.com
Wendy heard the discussions around her, but she decided to simply act oblivious. Since she and Michael had such high-ranking positions in the company, there were private rooms just for them within the cafeteria. Not wishing to sit in the open and be the subject of gossip, she decided to follow Michael into the private room.
Since the daily menu was fixed beforehand, there was no way Wendy could have chosen what she wanted to eat. To her surprise, the dishes served were all her favorites. She looked up at Michael, wondering if he had remembered her preferences after all this time.
However, she found that unlikely. He never showed much concern for her in the past, which made it impossible for him to know what she liked eating. It was probably just a coincidence.
Picking up her fork, Wendy dug in quietly. Not long after, Michael started scooping some side dishes and placing them in her bowl.
"Eat more," he said. The expression on his face looked completely neutral.
"Thank you," said Wendy in a polite but distant tone.
Lunch was awkward. Michael would scoop some dishes into her bowl occasionally, but other than that, they did not talk. It seemed that Michael was determined to stay on his best behavior like he had promised. That was a good thing for Wendy, who found it much easier to get through the meal this way. Soon, they were done eating. They headed back to their respective offices.
Wendy’s plan for the afternoon was to get to know the people working in MC Enterprise’s design department. Jill had already prepared all the necessary personnel files for her in advance.
Wendy read through every single one of them. freewēbnoveℓ.com
When she got to the end, she frowned. She had not seen her friend Zen Tanner’s file. Zen worked at MC Enterprise as a designer five years ago, and she was one of the hardest workers around.
She often worked overtime and only left the company at midnight. It was strange to discover that Zen no longer worked here.
She dialed Jill’s extension number and said, "Are you sure that you’ve given me the files of everybody working in the design department?" Jill immediately answered, "I’m certain. I gathered everybody’s files-the managers, supervisors, and even the interns."
When Wendy heard that, her frown grew deeper. She believed that her friend would have been promoted to a much higher-ranking position by now if she had stayed in MC Enterprise all this while. Hence, it was unlikely that Jill had somehow missed out on her document. The only reasonable explanation was that Zen had already left the company.
Since Wendy had returned to the company under a whole new identity, it would be too obvious if she deliberately asked around for information on Zen. She may as well admit who she really was and have all her efforts would go to waste.
However, Zen was her best friend back then.
She must have believed that Wendy had died during the kidnapping incident, just like everyone else.
After hesitating for a long time, Wendy decided to call the HR department. She said, "I need the information of all the employees in the design department for the past five years, including anyone who has been transferred out or resigned."
"Miss Corrine, I’m sorry, but I can only grant you access to that information with Mr. Lucas’s permission."
"Can you please make an exception?"
"You can inform Mr. Lucas about it first. We will process the information and give it to you right away once you get his approval."
The HR manager had made the necessity of Michael’s permission clear. It was impossible for Wendy to approach him personally, because he would only become more convinced of her identity. After hanging up, the HR manager immediately gave Michael a call.
Michael was not surprised to hear that Wendy had been digging around. After all, he had already deduced that Corrine was Wendy Stewart a long time ago. All he had to do now was sit back and wait for Wendy to ask him about what had happened to Zen. Since Wendy had only just returned to Lake City, she still had a very limited social network. Without Michael’s approval, it was almost impossible for her to find out what had happened to Zen.
However, this was indeed very strange. Wendy believed that Zen was an inherently talented designer. Moreover, she was a very dedicated employee who always worked very hard. All she had wanted was to gain a firm foothold in MC Enterprise. It was unlikely that she would have resigned voluntarily.
Wendy wondered if Michael had fired Zen, and if so, what had the reason behind it been?
Did he take out his anger on Zen because of what happened to Wendy? No matter how much as she thought about it, she could not come up with any reasonable explanation.
At this moment, Jill entered her office and said, "Miss Corrine, the meeting between the two design teams is about to begin. Everyone has already arrived at the conference room."
This meeting had been requested by Wendy herself. Since she was now the leader of the project, she thought it was important to personally get acquainted with all the designers on her team. Since she was new here, it was necessary for her to socialize with them and build strong bonds.
"Alright, let’s go," said Wendy. With that, she stood up and followed Jill to the conference room.
Jill walked in front of her, leading the way there.
However, before Wendy could even step into the conference room, a familiar voice rang out behind her, "Wendy Stewart!"
