Chapter 34
Cordelia showed Oliver to the meeting room.
The gathered people at the door were gloating.
“Ms. Carmichael just wanted Mr. Jones to say that Cordelia’s ring is made of
green glass. Who knew it was an authentic emerald? She even got the client in
the end!” someone whispered cheerily. “I suppose she suffered a double loss?”
“Pfft! More like penny-wise but pound-foolish!”
“Haha!”
Karine stood where she was, frozen. Her mind was empty, and she shook from
rage.
She walked over quickly and slammed the door. The loud thud echoed.
The people gathered at the door dispersed, but peals of laughter lingered in the
office. They were already displeased by her arrogance, but they allowed her
behavior since her uncle was a major shareholder.
They were secretly over the moon to see her defeated today.
After sending Oliver to the entrance of the company, smiling, Cordelia caressed
the ring on her finger softly after saying goodbye.
Was it really an emerald?
She beamed, and two tiny dimples perked on her cheeks as if they contained all
of the sweetness of the world in them.
Now that she thought about it carefully, her luck seemed to have improved after
marrying Marcus. She was getting more and more sales. Not only that, but he
would always appear to help whenever a crisis arose.
The fortune teller had told her that she would bring her husband good luck.
Hah, more like Marcus brought his wife good luck!
She released a long sigh of relief. She would get off work soon, so she thought of
making meatballs for Marcus tonight.
However, what welcomed her were Karine's bloodshot eyes as she turned
around.
“Ms. Carmichael.” Cordelia neutrally greeted her.
She heard Karine’s raging mockery coming from behind just as she was going
up. “Hah, an emerald! I'm sure you stole it somewhere?”
Cordelia snapped her head back and stared at her. “What did you say?”
“I say, what shady things has a man who has been put behind bars never done?”
Karine went on with her mockery. “You have a strong will, Cordelia! Look at you
and your husband. One steals things, and the other steals hearts. The two of you
are a match made in heaven!”
Cordelia bit her lip while her face turned pale.
Karine scoffed and lifted her eyes to look up on purpose. There was a red light lit
on the surveillance camera. It was recording everything that was happening.
She was actually smart. She would always pick somewhere with surveillance
cameras every time she triggered Cordelia. In that case, no matter how she
crossed the line, Cordelia would not use violence as long as she remained
rational.
As soon as she hit her, she would have to stay out of the company forever!
“My dear junior.” Karine looked at her ring. “It's nothing to be ashamed of to be
poor, but it's too much to steal! You're a good lady, so why did you marry such a
man?
“Ah, I know. A man who was imprisoned for a long time—"
Cordelia took a deep breath in. This time, she decided not to take the insult. She
asked Karine softly after glancing at her. “Senior, can we have a proper talk?”
Upon seeing her humbled, Karine’s rage finally subsided a little bit.
“Is she surrendering? Hah, she knows her limit, at least."
“Senior,” Cordelia continued gently. “You'll have Mr. Jones’ business. I won't take
it from you. You'll take all of the commission when the deal is closed. You'll take
the credit. Are you happy with the arrangement?”
Karine scoffed. “You know your place, all right!”
“Can we talk somewhere else? There are too many people here. There are
things that I can't say here.”
Karine agreed. She followed the former through the office building and arrived at
a remote space at the back.
Cordelia looked around. There was a grove—the spot was rather hidden, and
nobody would pass by. Most importantly, there were no cameras around. She
had spotted this “perfect place’ to talk from the beginning.
“Just spit it out!” Karine remained arrogant. “I'd like to get off work early!”
Cordelia had her head held low and was silent. Karine sensed the odd
atmosphere. Just when she was going to urge the former again, a slap came!
Then a burning pain instantly rose on her cheek!
Karine was dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Cordelia served her a second slap with all
of her might before the former could react!
Karine staggered and fell onto the ground.
“W-What are you doing?” She covered her cheeks that were slapped, looking at
Cordelia in fear.
Cordelia stared at her coldly. She lost the softness that she usually had, as if she
had armor grown on her body.
She snapped and grabbed Karine’s collar to get her up. As she lifted her hand to
give her the third slap, the latter screamed, shutting her eyes instinctively while
wrapping her arms around her head.
Cordelia’s hand stopped in the air.
“The first slap was for humiliating me!
“The second slap was for humiliating my husband!
“The third slap...”
“Cordelia, if you dare hit me again, I'll—"
Cordelia gave a loud slap before Karine could finish yelling.
“The third slap serves as a warning to you!” Cordelia enunciated. “If you dare
criticize my husband again, you'll suffer worse consequences than this! Don’t
think I won't dare to hit you again! I didn’t slap you in front of people this time to
save your reputation. If you dare to bark again, I'll show everyone how you got
your swollen cheeks!
“Worse comes to worst, I'll just quit my job. You can tell the whole world that I,
Cordelia, hit you. Hah! I'll proudly take responsibility since I've done it. But if you
push me again, you'll bear the consequences!”