That evening, Lance came to pick Deanna up from work.
He knew Deanna would visit Howard Group the next day, but seeing that she had no intention of mentioning it, he brought it up himself.
"I heard from Xavier that you're going to Howard Group tomorrow. Do you need me to go with you?"
"Didn't you say I should handle all clients on my own from now on?"
Deanna looked at him, surprised.
Lance held her gently and said, "That's true, but you have a history with Howard Group. I'm not entirely comfortable with it."
Hearing this, Deanna understood that he was worried Raphael might give her a hard time.
But she wasn't too concerned. Smiling at him, she said, "Everyone knows you have my back now. As long as Raphael isn't foolish, he won't trouble me. Besides, I'll have Xavier and bodyguards with me. Don't worry."
Seeing Deanna's determined look, Lance knew she didn't want him to interfere, so he didn't press further.
Meanwhile, Raphael received a call from his assistant.
"Mr. Howard, Miss Jones from Vortex Technology will visit the company tomorrow afternoon. Do you... want to see her?"
The assistant's voice became hesitant towards the end.
After all, he knew better than anyone the grudge between Mr. Howard and Miss Jones.
Raphael fell silent.
He had heard that Deanna was visiting Vortex Technology's clients.
He thought that given their past grievances, Deanna wouldn't visit Howard Group and might even terminate the cooperation between the two companies. But he didn't expect her to set aside their past and actually come to visit.
It seemed the years had made Deanna grow a lot.
Thinking this, he rasped, "If she dares to come, why shouldn't I dare to meet her?"
Just as he finished speaking, Emily walked in.
Raphael saw her and frowned, quickly hanging up the phone. "Who allowed you to come in?" he asked irritably.
Emily immediately looked displeased.
"This is my home. Why can't I come in? Or is there something you don't want me to know?"
"Stop being unreasonable."
Not wanting to argue with Emily, Raphael left the study after saying this.
Watching him leave, Emily's face turned dark with resentment.
She couldn't understand why their relationship had deteriorated so much. They used to be close, but now they argued almost daily.
Moreover, seeing Raphael hang up the phone as soon as he saw her made her suspicious that he was hiding something.
Thinking this, Emily took out her phone and made a call. "Find out Raphael's recent schedule and who he's meeting."
The next day, Deanna had breakfast with her two children as usual before heading to the office to handle paperwork.
She no longer needed Xavier's assistance and could make company decisions on her own.
The morning passed quickly, and it was time to visit Howard Group in the afternoon.
Deanna set off with Xavier and some technical staff.
Of course, two bodyguards accompanied them as well.
Upon arrival, Deanna looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar office building. Her emotions were complex but surprisingly calm.
"Let's go," she said softly to Xavier and led the way to the entrance.
As they entered the lobby, a sharp-looking young man approached them.
It was Raphael's capable assistant. "Deanna, Mr. Howard has been expecting you. Please follow me."
"Please call me Miss Jones. I'm here today as a director of Vortex Technology," Deanna corrected him.
She knew that news of her visit would soon reach Emily.
Though she didn't care much, she wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.
The assistant couldn't help but marvel at how much the eldest daughter of the Jones family had changed.
Nodding slightly, he invited Deanna to follow him upstairs.
Just as they entered the elevator, Emily rushed in through the door.
"Is that bitch Deanna here?" Emily demanded angrily at the receptionist.
Half an hour earlier, she had learned that Deanna was going to meet Raphael at Howard Group and hurried over.
The receptionist was startled by Emily's tone but quickly replied timidly, "Miss Jones has already arrived and went upstairs with Mr. Mercer's assistant."
"Damn it, I'm too late," Emily muttered through gritted teeth.
Then she seemed to think of something and snapped at the receptionist, "That bitch is just pretending. She only got her current status by clinging to a sugar daddy!"
The receptionist was stunned by Emily's outburst and felt even more resentful towards her boss's wife.
No wonder she's fallen out of favor; with such a bad temper, she must have offended many people in their circle!