Sienna Johnson genuinely didn’t want to cooperate with Frederick Stewart. After all, she was dealing with medicines, which could have deadly consequences if mishandled. She was truly worried Frederick would seize the opportunity to sabotage her. However, the project Eastminster Pharmaceutical Factory had worked on for a full four months would cause significant economic losses if abandoned now. In future government tenders, abandoning the project this way would reflect very poorly on the company. Worse yet, if any similar government tenders occurred in the future, Eastminster Pharmaceutical Factory could be blacklisted by procurement departments. "Sienna, why am I the only one talking? Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you feeling unwell?" Frederick reached across the table towards her. Sienna immediately dodged, refusing his touch. What on earth is wrong with Frederick? "Mr. Stewart, what would you like me to say?" Frederick, in an affectionate tone, responded, "Didn’t you used to call me Frederick? Why are you acting so distant now?" "In that case, I’ll call you brother-in-law. Is that close enough for you?" The grin on Frederick’s face froze for a moment, but he soon recovered his natural demeanor. "I’m much older than you; I’m not used to you calling me brother-in-law. Just call me Frederick." "Fine, Frederick." Sienna felt a wave of nausea as soon as she said it. "We’ll need to meet frequently for this project." Frederick looked expectant, which only deepened Sienna’s suspicion that he had ulterior motives. "Kenneth currently handles all affairs at Eastminster Pharmaceutical Factory. I am not directly involved in its operations. To be precise, you should be meeting frequently with Kenneth." She definitely didn’t want to meet with *him* regularly! "I heard that Manager Brown has been busy planning his wedding lately, so he handed many of his tasks to his subordinates," said Frederick, his tone laced with envy. "Yes, we’re getting engaged in two months. He’s been quite busy with that lately." "Sienna, are you really going to marry him?" Frederick asked, looking deeply hurt, as if she were a cruel woman who had heartlessly abandoned him. "Are engagements ever fake?" Sienna chuckled. "I should be getting off work. Please discuss the details of the cooperation with Kenneth." "What else is there?" Sienna looked at him coldly. Frederick suddenly grabbed her hand. Sienna flared up. "Frederick Stewart, what do you think you’re doing?" she snapped. "Sienna, actually, I’ve always wanted to tell you: I regret it. Please, give me another chance, won’t you? I don’t love Sabrina Johnson at all; she’s the one who seduced me. The person I love, from beginning to end, has always been you." Sienna found the man before her utterly detestable. "How can I trust a single word from a man who wanted to kill me?" "Sienna, I must have been bewitched back then. I regret it more than words can say. Please forgive me, won’t you? I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for my mistakes." Sienna ignored him completely, turned, and walked out, leaving Frederick alone in the reception room. Vivian Abbey had overheard Frederick’s words and found the man utterly revolting. He wasn’t just a scumbag; his hide was thicker than a city wall. "Mr. Stewart, would you like more coffee?" Vivian came over. The host had left. It would be incredibly rude for a guest to linger over coffee. She wondered if the man understood her unspoken suggestion that he leave. Frederick rose, buttoned his suit, his gaze lingering on the direction Sienna had taken, then strode out. Discover more novels at NoveI~Fire.net "Tch, shameless!" Vivian cursed. As she was clearing the coffee cups to take them to the Tea Room, Gary Fisher leaned against the doorway, watching her with an unreadable expression. "Secretary Scarlet, cursing someone behind their back isn’t very graceful, is it?" Vivian’s expression darkened at the sight of Gary Fisher. She ignored him and headed straight for the Tea Room. "Hey, why are you ignoring me?" "My, my, are you angry?" Now that it was after work hours, Gary Fisher had dropped his professional, elite persona. He was acting more like a scoundrel, pestering Vivian. "Secretary Fisher, please have some self-respect!" "I came to Eastminster Group just for you. I’ve been chasing you for three years, and you still won’t say yes. Vivian, you’re so heartless." "We are not a good match!" Vivian washed out the coffee cups and placed them on the drying rack. "How are we not a good match? You’re chubby, I’m slim. Our children wouldn’t be too fat or too thin..." Vivian was the type of girl who gained weight easily; even if she ate very little, she’d still be chubby. She hated it most when people called her fat. "Gary Fisher, get lost!" Sienna Johnson was in the underground garage when Adrian Desmond essentially hijacked her into his car. Sienna, thinking she was being kidnapped, was shocked when she saw Adrian’s face. "How did you get out?" she asked. "I broke out of prison." Sienna, her head aching, said, "Why couldn’t you just wait? I told you I’d arrange for someone to get you out." Adrian nuzzled his head against her chest, like Curly often did to get her attention. But this wasn’t Curly; this was harassment. "Adrian, what are you doing? Stay away from me!" Sienna pushed him away in disgust, but Adrian wasn’t so easily deterred. "Sienna, I nearly died today," Adrian said, his voice low. "What happened?" Sensing his dejection, Sienna couldn’t help but ask. "The woman I cherished like a little sister actually tried to kill me! For money! I feel like my whole life is a failure. The woman I love is going to marry another man, and my daughter is going to call another man ’Daddy’... Sienna, don’t you think I’m pathetic?" "Mr. Desmond, life is full of disappointments, more often than not. Please, accept your grief and move forward. Don’t pity yourself too much; there are many people in this world far more unfortunate than you." Sienna tried to comfort him, pushing his head away, but Adrian simply pulled her into his embrace. "...In this world, are there really people more pitiful than me?" "Of course there are." Seeing the car driving out of the underground garage, Sienna asked, "Where are you taking me?" "I need to pick up Curly from kindergarten." "We’ll go together." Seeing her unhappy expression, Adrian said, "I’m also the child’s father—her biological father. You can’t deny me the right to love my child." "Mr. Desmond, please don’t casually give a box of diamonds to such a young child in the future. She’s still so little; she’ll be spoiled." "She did. She loved it so much, she even sleeps hugging that beautiful box." "So, little girls really do like shiny things. I’ll give her more diamonds next time." Sienna shot the unreliable man beside her a sidelong glance. "Adrian, that kind of thing is very bad for a child whose values haven’t fully formed yet."