In the Lap of Luxury by Unsweetened Chestnuts

“Since she’s so intent on getting divorced, then so be it!” Benjamin raised his voice, anger surging inside him. “Call the lawyer and set an appointment at City Hall.”

Larry didn’t dare hang up yet. “Mr. Hawkins, she said she wants the divorce settled as soon as possible, so they’re willing to accommodate our timing.”

Hearing this, Benjamin threw his phone onto the ground without bothering to hang up. He put a hand on his forehead, feeling his headache intensify. “You're a cruel woman, Grace!”

Over at Amirate’s office in Pamore, Grace pushed open the door to the meeting room. She walked up to the executives with Emily.

With their friendship repaired, Emily had decided not to return to Frenda. She wanted to help Grace with her career while handling their boutique on the side.

Grace introduced herself and Emily. “Hello, everyone. I’m Grace Lewis, the general manager appointed by the Darai headquarters. This is Emily Jenkins, my deputy.

“| hope we can work together for the good of the company.” Most of the executives had been transferred from Darai as well. They had already been in Pamore for a year, so the power structure was pretty much settled by now.

They had coveted the position of general manager for quite some time. To their surprise, they had been assigned a general manager from outside the company.

Even so, they had done their research. Apart from her experience at Hawkins Group as the president's secretary, they hadn’t been able to find anything about her background.

“Welcome, Ms. Lewis!”

“Welcome!”

Most of them were reluctant to speak out since the decision had come from the top. Yet, there were exceptions. “You used to be a secretary at Hawkins Group, right? And now you're the general manager of an Amirate branch. “Isn’t the company afraid of you stealing company secrets and selling them to your old

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Hearing this, Emily geared up to leap to Grace’s defense. Grace stopped her, giving her a look to tell her that she could deal with this.

The one who had questioned her was Cameron Luther, the head of the development department.

He was one of the best performers among them. In fact, he had also been the most promising candidate for general manager before Grace came along.

He was furious that the position had been taken by someone else.

He only felt worse when he realized that it had been given to a young woman with only three years of experience. He felt overlooked.

Grace looked at him impassively and curled her lips. “That isn’t something you need to worry about. I’m sure HQ knows what they're doing.”

Before coming here, she had made sure to find out more about these people, including their personalities and work habits. She wasn’t surprised by Cameron's attitude. She had fully expected naysayers.

“Well, | don’t agree with the company’s decision! | will not work with you, Ms. Lewis!” Cameron protested.

He wasn’t an idiot. He knew that he was offending many people by opposing decisions made by the headquarters.

But today was the first day of operations for this branch. He needed to make sure that Grace didn’t get ahead of him. After all, he had tenure in Amirate Corporation. His department wouldn’t work well without

him.

He needed to teach Grace that there was already a pecking order in the company. That way, would be easier for him to have his way in the future.

Grace looked unfazed by his threats.

it

In fact, there was a hint of derision as she gestured to the secretary, who was taking the meeting minutes. She said, “Type up a letter of resignation for Mr. Luther here. I'll sign it on the spot.”

The meeting room went silent.novelbin

Cameron began to have second thoughts. Grace seemed more serious in her threats than he

was in his.

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Was she trying to call his bluff?

Then again, she had every right to fire him. Just as he was wondering if he should carry on opposing her, Grace spoke again. “Have you printed it?”

The secretary stood up hurriedly. “The printer’s outside. I'll go and get the letter.”

Seeing that Grace was actually going through with her threat, Cameron immediately backed down.

He stood up and forced a smile. “You're very decisive, Ms. Lewis. | was just joking, that’s all.”

Grace gave him a fleeting look and smiled wryly. “I wasn’t.”

Nervously, Cameron apologized. “I’m sorry, Ms. Lewis. | was acting rashly earlier. I'll definitely cooperate with you from now on.” “Good. Meeting adjourned.”

With that, Grace and Emily walked out of the meeting room.