bChapter /b44

bMy /bassertiveness bmade /bTracy press bher /blips btogether/bb, /band she bstayed /bsilent after that.

Honestly, all she bhad /bto do was make ba /bbfew /bsuggestions. If I agreed, she’d swoop in and take credit for my hard work over the bpast /bbfew /bbdays/b. But if I rejected herb, /bbher /bn would fall apart.

bJared /bnced at me, probably surprised, either bbecause /bI had shown a bit of what bI /bcould do or bjust /bfrom how confident I

was.

Either way, Jared was a good husband. In the end, he said, “Since Victoria bis /bmanaging the Harmonia Hotelb, /bit’s only natural she makes the decisionsb./bb” /b

bAs /bJared left the conference room, Tracy stood up and said with a smile, “I never expected you toe up with bsuch /ba unique design, Mrs. Hob. I’ll have to pick your brain sometime.”

I forced a smile, looked her in the eye, and replied, “Oh, sure. If anything, I should thank you, Tracy, for all the big contributions you’ve made to thepany. Jared always praises you.”

As I expected, Tracy’s face changed. As the other woman, she probably didn’t care much about her reputation, but her family did. As long as Jared and I were still married, her rtionship with him would always have to stay bsecret/b.

“If you ever need anything, just let me know. It’s the least I can do for thepany,” Tracy said before walking out. A few senior executives followed her.

Once we finalized the room and lobby designs, I had a few more experienced people work on them. Once the blueprints were ready, we could start the construction.

Standing at the entrance of the Harmonia Hotel, I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how Jared had said half the hotel’s profits would go right into my pocket.

With all that money, I could invest in everything, like real estate in 2016 and gold in 2023.

Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind me. “Ms. Murphy…”

I turned around to see Nathan stepping out of a ck Mercedes–Benz.

“Hi, Mr. Hallman,” I said with a smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

b“/bbJust /bpassing by,” Nathan replied, ncing up at the entrance of the Harmonia Hotel. “Is everything going okay?”

I shook my head. “No, just came by to have a look.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be so business–minded,” Nathan said, a small smile curving his lips.

Noticing ba /bbfew /bpeopleing over, I knew how to keep things proper, so I said, “I’ve got something to take care of, so I’ll

bleave /bbfirst/b.”

b“/bbAre /byou avoiding me?b” /bNathan’s eyes darkened, his voice dropping to a soft, almost haunting tone. “bRx/bb. /bI’m not reckless enough to put you in a difficult spot.”

I turned to look at him. bHe /bkept his bvoice /blow so that no one belse /bcould hear, but it still made my heart race with nerves.

“Mr. Hallman, bplease /bbshow /bsome brespect/bb,/bb” /bbI /bsaid firmly. Just because you’re handsome bdoesn’t /bmean you bget /bba /bfree pass with ollibme/bb. /bbI’m /bstill bmarried/bb, /bband /bbeven /bif I bweren’t/bb, /bI’m not the btype /bto bget /btangled up with bjust /bany man. /li/ol

Nathan’s bdeep/b, intense beyes /blocked with mineb. /bHe blinked btwice/b, looking like a lost puppy. bHe /bseemed so pitiful bthat /bit almost made my bheart /bbache/bb. /bBut I didn’t want him to flirt with bme/bb. /b

b“/bbI’ve /bbbeen /blooking for you,” Nathan murmured. “The people at the charity wouldn’t tell me anything. First, they said the bfiles /bbwere /blostb, /band then bthey /bsaid they were burnedb–/banything to keep your identity from me.”

I frowned, confused. “Why were you looking for meb?/bb” /bI asked cautiously.

“I’m not really sure,” Nathan replied, his voice tinged with bitterness. “Actually, I saw you from a bdistance /bthe bday /byou made that donation. I ran outside to find you, but you were already goneb.” /b

I shrugged. “What? Did you see I was young and pretty and try to track me down for another donation?”

AD