Hannah left the hospital lobby, accompanied by Edward, who walked behind her. As she was about to get into the car, she turned around. Something was bothering her.
“Wasn’t Mr. Maxim the one who financed my father’s treatment?” asked Hannah.
Edward remained silent, only bowing his head, not daring to look at Hannah.
“I need an explanation, Edward. Do you think you can trick me? Do you know how it feels when your father-in-law doesn’t consider you his daughter-in-law?”
“I apologize, Mrs. Hannah,” Edward replied.
“Please explain it to me, Edward.”
Finally, Edward looked at Hannah and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Mr. Alden paid for everything, and he instructed me to tell Mr. Maxim nothing. You saw it yourself, Mr. Maxim’s condition is not good. He’s beginning to suffer from dementia,” Edward explained.
“So in Mr. Maxim’s mind, Aspen is the future daughter-in-law?”
For some reason, Hannah felt very upset at that moment. Aspen had already taken Jeffrey away from her, and now Mr. Maxim was expecting his son to marry Aspen. It was as if Hannah was a shadow of her step-sister.
“Mr. Alden never intended to marry Miss Aspen,” Edward countered.
“Mrs.,” Hannah corrected. “My sister married my ex-boyfriend.”
Edward bowed his head again. “Forgive me, Mrs. Hannah.”
A long sigh escaped Hannah’s nostrils and she simply nodded weakly. “All right, I understand now. In that case, I’ll be going, Edward. Please take care of Mr. Maxim.”
“Very well, ma’am.”
“Have a safe flight.”
“Thank you, and good luck to you, ma’am.”
Luck.
That’s what Hannah needed, because her life always seemed to be on the brink of unhappiness and sadness. Every door of opportunity seemed closed to the quarter-century-old woman.
As the car sped toward Texco, Hannah wondered what awaited her there. But Hannah hoped for a little bit of fortune so that her life would be much calmer.
Even though Hannah’s little heart knew it wouldn’t be possible. For in that company, there was Jeffrey.
…
Arriving at Texco, Hannah entered the lobby and headed for the reception desk. However, her steps stopped when she saw Susan coming out of one of the corridors, and Bernard’s secretary immediately approached Hannah.
Susan nodded politely. “Mrs. Harrison, I apologize for being late in greeting you.”
Being welcomed like that made Hannah feel uncomfortable. “Ah, I just arrived.”
“Let me show you to your office.”
“My office?”
“This way, ma’am.”
The two of them walked to the elevator, and once again Susan pushed the button for the fifth floor.
Hannah felt her heart pounding. In her mind, she wondered if she would see Bernard again. Hadn’t Alden himself said that Hannah shouldn’t bother Bernard?
As they exited the elevator, Hannah saw two large doors where Bernard’s office was, and Susan walked toward them. The secretary opened the door and there was no one inside.
“Please.” Susan motioned for Hannah to enter.
“Where is Mr. Gulfman?” Hannah asked, confused.
“He’s out of town.”
“Then why am I in this room?” Hannah was even more confused.
Susan just gave a thin smile, then approached the desk and typed on the keyboard. She seemed to be sending a message to Bernard, and a small screen appeared showing Bernard’s face.
“Mr. Gulfman will speak to you personally,” Susan told Hannah.
Hannah hurried to the desk, awkwardly pulled out a chair, and faced the screen. Susan immediately left the room and closed the door.
“Good morning, Mrs. Harrison,” Bernard greeted her warmly.
“Good morning, Mr. Gulfman. Excuse me, but why am I in your office?”
“Oh, this is your office as of today. Mine isn’t ready yet, and I hope everything will be sorted out by the time I get back to Summerhill.”
Hannah blinked. “Are you kidding?”
Bernard chuckled. “No, that is your office right there. Mr. Harrison wanted you to have a new room, but the view from the fifth floor is very nice. I hope you like it.”
“It’s not about the view, Mr. Gulfman. I don’t know what to do here.”
“Of course, representing your husband, isn’t it?”
Hannah’s eyebrows furrowed. “Represent as what? Aren’t you the owner of this company?”
“You’re mistaken, Mrs. Harrison. Mr. Harrison owns Texco, I’m just the CEO, who is certainly subordinate to your husband.”
Hannah couldn’t contain her surprise, her mouth almost hanging open. In Hannah’s mind, the Harrison family was on the verge of bankruptcy. Though they were still wealthy, owning a bona fide company like Texco seemed highly unlikely.
“Mr. Harrison kept this a quiet matter for two years, and he wanted to keep it that way.”
“As a secret?” Hannah asked.
Bernard nodded and chuckled again. Hannah had the feeling that both Bernard and Alden were making dry jokes that weren’t funny at all.
“Why? Is he trying to avoid taxes?” Hannah asked again.
Of course, when Bernard heard this question, he burst out laughing. At least the man on the screen was more pleasant and lively than Alden, who was too stiff in Hannah’s eyes.
“There are actually many reasons why he decided to postpone everything. Going public when your condition isn’t good will decrease the value of the company,” Bernard explained.
Hannah, who was naturally intelligent, began to understand. To restore the family’s reputation, Alden certainly had to strive for success. Unfortunately, Alden had an accident.
Hannah never imagined that Alden was working hard behind his silence.
“I guess after he married you, he thought it wouldn’t be a problem to tell the public that Texco belongs to the Harrison family,” Bernard cleared his throat, “and you are Mr. Harrison’s representative.”
“Why all of a sudden?” muttered Hannah.
“You are the perfect figure, Mrs. Harrison. You are beautiful, attractive and smart.”
Immediately, Hannah felt her face heat up. “Your praise is a bit much, Mr. Gulfman.”
“I think Mr. Harrison saw your potential. When he said he was married and you were the one, I wasn’t surprised. He has a good sense of women.”
Hannah snorted. “There are a lot of beautiful women out there.”
Bernard nodded. “Oh, of course. But companies like Texco need women who are attractive because of their intelligence. If it were just about a sensual body, Mr. Harrison could marry any beautiful woman.”
“I suppose so.” Hannah shrugged.
Of course, Bernard didn’t know that Hannah had married Alden because of debt problems and that she had to replace Aspen’s position.
“But for now, I ask that you not disclose your position as owner of Texco until Mr. Harrison allows it,” Bernard said.
Hannah agreed. “Okay. Then what is my position?”
“My new secretary.”