On the other hand, Angel and Callum hopped onto the car and eventually left the restaurant. The driver was one of Callum’s most trusted men. Callum was feeling displeased and queried Angel despite the presence of the driver, “What were you doing just now?”
“Dad, what are you talking about?” Angel asked with an innocent look on her face.
“Why would you talk to Richard like that?”
“Didn’t you tell me to behave well? I spoke in that manner which was similar with my friends who were of high social status.”
“Why haven’t I witnessed it myself before? Valeria and Abbie would speak in a normal tone, don’t they? Why were you using a high-pitched tone during lunchtime just now?”
Angel was embarrassed and upset upon the stern query by Callum. However, she did not dare to talk back with him judging by her current capability. She could only swallow her anger.
Both of them soon returned to the company. Angel headed towards her office and shut the door before sulkily sending a text message to Ornard. She told him everything about her meetup with Richard just now.
She soon started to badmouth Callum, “Uncle Ornard, why would my father react in such a manner? How could he scold me without thinking of the humiliation I would receive when the driver is there? This is absolutely outrageous! What is with his traditional way of thinking? Why would he make a fuss about it when Richard did not even feel annoyed at me?”
“You ought to not take your father’s words seriously as he does things in an old-school manner. He has no idea regarding the train of thoughts of youngsters anyway.”
Ornard continued to comfort her, “Angel, do you think that Richard is attracted to you?”
“Of course. He gave me a cheerful smile and even served me food during lunchtime. He grinned lovingly towards me throughout the meal. I was unaware of his handsome look when he smiled ear to ear in the past. By the way, we have also added each other’s contact numbers on WhatsApp.”
“Well, that’s an adorable thing to hear. You should keep up the good work and I shall be looking forward to receiving great news from you.” Ornard was unaware that Angel had got things mixed up. He assumed that Richard was really fond of her.
“I will try my best but I first need to figure out Richard’s liking. I will give him what he favors and he would soon fall into my hands. He will then be very loyal towards me just like how William is towards Valeria.”
“You’re absolutely spot-on as this is also what I had wanted to advise you about. You also need to please Helen and Abbie apart from Richard.”
Angel had no objection to getting on the good side of Helen as per Ornard’s instruction. However, she was disinclined to impress Abbie and said, “It’s difficult for me to please Abbie as we do not see each other eye to eye. Besides, I genuinely do not want to humble down and be friendly with her.”
Ornard tried to persuade her by saying, “You ought to be the bigger person for the sake of Richard. You can only succeed if everyone in the Clark family adores you.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it then!”
Angel felt much better after complaining to Ornard for a while. Her current objective was to grasp Richard’s taste and Azalea was the only person who could help her out.
Azalea was scheduled for a program-recording session in the afternoon. Angel decided to seize this opportunity to ask her about Richard’s preferences.
Pierre had instructed a few writers to produce some articles regarding the scandal of Paisley and Ornard. The news began to spread at some online forums on a small scale.
It was common for a woman of high social status to hook up with a wealthy old man. Besides, William had told Pierre to publish these articles in a low-profile manner without using any financial assistance. The result was that these pieces of work about the scandal did not receive much attention at the online forum.
Paisley had been waiting for Pierre to make his move these days. She was looking forward to him exposing her relationship with Ornard.
These articles did not break the internet as Paisley waited patiently for a few days. She sneered and said, “Pierre, that scum, can’t do anything well. I have indeed overestimated his capability!”
Danya was standing beside her and asked, “Paisley, Pierre is indeed a foolish person. You should no longer put your hopes high on him about exposing you with that man.”
“You’re right, I can’t count on Pierre, that useless piece of shit. I need to come up with another way.”
“Paisley, what do you have in mind? Are you considering splurging some money to hype the news up?”
“It is currently not the perfect timing as the bidding process of the building project has yet to come to an end. Our bidding plan would be affected should something bad happen regarding Ornard and me. I should only consider advertising this matter after the closure of the bidding activity. It would be a bombastic one that’s for sure!”
Paisley squinted her eyes upon talking about it. Her partnership with Ornard would be further enhanced if she managed to win the project building contract from the Floyd family.
That would be her best chance to expose her scandal which would eventually force Ornard in taking her hand in marriage. She would then place all of the blames onto Pierre and Ornard would definitely despise him to the core. It was expected that Ornard will get rid of Pierre while she could just sit back and enjoy the show.
Ornard would be left with no choice but to marry Paisley as he could only rely on her. She would officially be named Mrs. Laban and Ornard would be her triumph card. This weapon would grant her the power to be the authoritative figure in the Anthony family. She planned to gather Hardy’s men in controlling the Anthony family and eventually push her father to the sidelines. Her next step would be to get Hardy out of jail. No one would be bold enough to look down on her forever.
Paisley had foreseen herself having a bright future upon thinking about it. She currently needed to coax Ornard to achieve her goal in the near future. She had been professionally trained to be a cultured lady as per the high social class standard ever since she was young. She had the capability to perform within and outside of the household in an excellent manner.
Paisley had made up her mind from preparing a few dishes at night to having dinner with Ornard.
It was not logical to whip up the food for Ornard in her house. She then sent him a message which stated, “I am thinking of making dinner for you this evening to celebrate our victorious partnership agreement. Are you cool with that?”
Ornard replied with a thumbs-up emoji as an acceptance of her dinner proposal. Paisley read the text and brought Danya out to purchase the necessary ingredients.
The following scene had occurred on the empty balcony situated on the second floor of the Clark family’s villa. Abbie was sitting under the garden umbrella with a sulky look on her face.
Helen was seated opposite to her and questioned in an aggressive manner, “Didn’t you claim to be alone last night? What is with the post on your homepage?”
“Mom, this is just a picture that I have obtained from the internet randomly. Why would you make such a huge fuss about it?”
“Why would me, papa, and your brother be blacklisted from viewing your homepage if that is indeed the case? You must have something to hide from us!”
“Isn’t it typical for modern society to block one’s parents on social media? I initially don’t even want to obtain all of your WhatsApp contact numbers if it wasn’t of you guys being so persistent on it!”
“What are you talking about? Are you feeling annoyed about us being very strict on you? Don’t you know that this is all for your own good? Your father, Richard, and I will not get in your way should you wish to date someone. However, don’t you think that it is necessary for us to be introduced to your partner? There are men out there with ulterior motives in mind. Who knows if the man that you are currently seeing is wanting to take advantage of you or not?”
“I have already made it clear that I am currently single. Why are you guys still feeling doubtful about it?” Abbie felt irritated upon speaking.
“You are not acting like your normal self. I have noticed something off from you during Valeria’s wedding ceremony. You have been texting someone in secret and kept smiling at your phone like a fool. Your actions have conveyed that you are head over heels towards someone. Who on earth is that man?”
“No one! Mummy! Why don’t you believe me at all? I’m going crazy real soon!”
“All hopes are not lost for me to be convinced by your words. You have to stay at home for a week and your mobile phone needs to be entrusted to me. I will then be persuaded by you.”
“Don’t you think that you are being unreasonable? Which civilized person would be able to survive without using a mobile phone? I’d rather die than to give away my digital device!”
Helen decided to be much lenient and proposed, “Well then, you have to stay here and not set foot out from the house. You can only follow me around should you feel like leaving the house. This is the only way for me to believe you.”