\u201cYou\u2019ve all been working so hard lately. How about we all get\u00a0<\/p>\n
together for dinner tonight?\u00a0<\/p>\n
My treat!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The four secretaries looked at each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Get together?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s over. This can\u2019t be a farewell dinner, can it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince you\u2019re not saying no, I\u2019ll take that as a yes. I\u2019ll go look for\u00a0<\/p>\n
a place. Hey, if you have any restaurants you want to try, you\u00a0<\/p>\n
can send them to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine gave a little chuckle, went back to her desk, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
started looking up restaurants, not forgetting to tell Roderick\u00a0<\/p>\n
about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, her offer to treat the secretaries to dinner tonight\u00a0<\/p>\n
wasn\u2019t a spur\u2013of\u2013the\u2013moment decision, but a part of the plan\u00a0<\/p>\n
she had already discussed with Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Roderick\u2019s trusted aides, they were the ones the mole was\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 146\u00a0<\/p>\n
watching most closely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only by letting Edward\u2019s side know that what Roderick put out\u00a0<\/p>\n
was a smokescreen, making him think he had seen through\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s plan, would he raise his stakes in the bid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her slender fingers swiped quickly across her phone, finally\u00a0<\/p>\n
stopping on an expensive French restaurant near the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a critical moment when the Livingston Group was\u00a0<\/p>\n
supposedly \u201cin crisis,\u201d Daquan could still casually take a few of\u00a0<\/p>\n
her key secretaries out for dinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A move like that was enough to make certain people suspect\u00a0<\/p>\n
that the Livingston Group\u2019s financial situation wasn\u2019t nearly as\u00a0<\/p>\n
bad as the rumors claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine sighed and leaned back in her chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oh, Edward, Edward, don\u2019t let my plan fail. You just have to be\u00a0<\/p>\n
the smart one, don\u2019t you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine chose a high\u2013end French restaurant. After the four\u00a0<\/p>\n
secretaries found out, they couldn\u2019t focus on their work for the\u00a0<\/p>\n
last few hours of the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They looked like they were working hard, but they were actually\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 146\u00a0<\/p>\n
typing furiously in their group chat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teresa: Alright, ladies, first time having such a fancy farewell\u00a0<\/p>\n
dinner. How\u2019s everyone feeling?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yvonne Osborn: I\u2019m so touched\u2026 The company is about to go\u00a0<\/p>\n
under, and Chase is still treating us to such an expensive\u00a0<\/p>\n
restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophia: I apologize to Chase. I used to ship Ms. Whitman and\u00a0<\/p>\n
the president, but Chase is the best, boo hoo hoo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Olivia Kinney: Are we going to be the first ones to get laid off\u2026?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teresa: Even if I am, I\u2019ve accepted it. I\u2019ll fight with the company\u00a0<\/p>\n
until the very last second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine didn\u2019t know what they were thinking, so after work,\u00a0<\/p>\n
she went to Roderick\u2019s office to change into a pretty dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she came out and saw the four secretaries still in their\u00a0<\/p>\n
casual clothes with solemn expressions, she couldn\u2019t help but\u00a0<\/p>\n
frown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m taking you to a restaurant that costs five figures a person,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and you\u2019re wearing\u2026 this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine said with a serious expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 146\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you take a group photo with me like this and post it on\u00a0<\/p>\n
moments, I\u2019ll get flamed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The four of them looked at each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFlamed for what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor being a fake bitch!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She glanced at the time. \u201cDon\u2019t you guys have spare clothes in\u00a0<\/p>\n
the office? Quick, I\u2019ll give you ten minutes to change and touch\u00a0<\/p>\n
up your makeup or whatever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The four of them took her words as a military order, running\u00a0<\/p>\n
back and starting the clock as they got ready.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later, the five of them, a stunning sight, headed\u00a0<\/p>\n
out together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As dusk settled, the evening breeze carried a faint scent of\u00a0<\/p>\n
flowers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car drove past the bustling commercial district and turned\u00a0<\/p>\n
onto a quiet, plane tree\u2013lined lane. At the end of the road stood\u00a0<\/p>\n
a classic French building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 146\u00a0<\/p>\n
Warm yellow light shone through the ornate wrought\u2013iron\u00a0<\/p>\n
window grilles, outlining an elegant silhouette on the wooden\u00a0<\/p>\n
shutters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Above the main entrance, a sign with French lettering was\u00a0<\/p>\n
understated yet luxurious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside the French garden, a waiter in a black tailcoat with an\u00a0<\/p>\n
exquisite silver pin on his collar came forward and led the five\u00a0<\/p>\n
of them inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The table Madeleine had booked was by the window, with a\u00a0<\/p>\n
perfect view of the sea of flowers behind the restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Listening to the soothing piano music, she noticed that the four\u00a0<\/p>\n
of them looked a bit off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine chuckled softly, placing the napkin on her lap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The four of them looked at each other, and finally, Teresa\u00a0<\/p>\n
worked up the courage to speak: \u201cChase, is this\u2026 a farewell\u00a0<\/p>\n
dinner?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA farewell dinner?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine gave them a surprised look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 146\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she immediately realized what was going on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone at the company had indeed been on edge lately. Plus,\u00a0<\/p>\n
the incident with Nanette some time ago had caused the\u00a0<\/p>\n
company\u2019s stock price to drop quite a bit, so everyone was guessing if the company was about to have layoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t actually think the company is going out of business,\u00a0<\/p>\n
do you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 147\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 147\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash 146 \u201cYou\u2019ve all been working so hard lately. How about we all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}