Once Downtrodden; Now Divine

Chapter 4

In the most luxurious top-floor office of the DeGrand Group, a woman of striking elegance rose swiftly to her feet, gesturing for several security personnel to follow her. She then strode into the elevator and stabbed the button for the first floor.

Her face was grave and deathly pale, her eyes fixed on the descending floor numbers as if willing the elevator to reach the ground floor instantly.

But at the 8th floor, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. The secretary outside spotted Ivy and bowed her head with delight and deference. "Miss Harrington, I've successfully brought the VIP up. We're saved!"

Miss Harrington had repeatedly instructed her that once they secured this important guest, their current crisis would be resolved!

But the moment she finished speaking, the secretary felt an inexplicable chill wash over her. She looked up in confusion, only to be met with the horrifying sight of Miss Harrington glaring at her in fury.

"I just received a call from our VIP guest. He sounded extremely displeased and said he's still waiting on the first floor. Bianca, who the hell did you bring up?!"

What!

Bianca's mind went blank. She had brought up the wrong people! If this angered their VIP, then she, then she...

SLAP!

Ivy struck her secretary hard across the face, leaving a vivid handprint on her cheek!

"What are you standing there for? Get downstairs with me right now and apologize to our guest!"

The secretary finally snapped back to reality in terror. Ignoring the stinging pain on her face, she quickly lowered her head and hurried to stand behind Ivy, drenched in cold sweat, not daring to look up.

The elevator doors slammed shut. When they opened again, she saw the man she had barely glanced at earlier now calmly sweeping his gaze over her before fixing it directly on her boss, Ivy.

Ivy moved forward, her high heels clicking urgently across the marble floor. Bianca followed uneasily as Ivy strode straight up to the man, then watched in mounting dread as Ivy's body tensed and she bowed slightly in apology.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Ivy's cheek and dropped to the ground.

"Mr. Smith, I sincerely apologize for my tardiness. My secretary failed to receive you properly. Please forgive us!"

With that, Ivy shot Bianca a pointed look. Bianca immediately rushed forward and dropped to her knees before Mr. Smith with a thud, her heart pounding wildly.

"Mr. Smith! Please forgive me. I—I was blind and foolish. I didn't recognize your identity. It was all my fault. Please, don't hold this mistake against me..."

But to the secretary's despair, Donald glanced at her and said nothing.

The secretary felt her hope crumble.

Just then, Ivy suddenly stepped forward, her figure casting a shadow over her. Then Ivy pointed to the red, swollen handprint on her face.

"Mr. Smith, I've already disciplined this foolish subordinate of mine on your behalf. So perhaps..."

Ivy looked at Donald with a mixture of tension and anticipation.

For a moment, Donald simply maintained an impassive exterior while regarding Ivy with a hint of appreciation beneath the surface.

He had only used the secretary incident as a way to observe how Ivy treated those around her. Now he got it.

On the surface, she was being ruthlessly harsh with her secretary, but in reality, she was doing everything in her power to protect her.

Moreover, her beauty surpassed Jane's in every aspect—both in refinement and sharpness. No wonder the warden said there wasn't a man in Boston worthy of Ivy's attention.

The corner of Donald's mouth curved into a faint smile. His voice was calm yet cutting.

"It's nothing. I'm not so easily rattled. What I want to know…" His eyes locked onto hers. "…is what you want from me."