Edward's hoarse bass voice echoed in the car.
Nelissa was stupefied, her heart rate became arrhythmic again. Her fingers attempted to open the door but failed; he didn't unlock the door yet.
"Anything else you wish to tell me, Mr. Hales?"
"Prove yourself and your capabilities. That's how you will secure a chance of collaboration with the Hales Group. I will ensure that it's going to be a fair game. No shortcuts or whatsoever."
Edward's eyes remained fixed on the road, his grip on the steering wheel slightly tightened. "You won't receive any special treatments, although I now know about the twins' existence."
With that, he unlocked the door.
It took a good ten seconds before Nelissa replied, "Great to hear that, Mr. Hales." She got out of the car and watched it vanish at the end of the junction.
She let out a sigh of relief. Surely, a man as dashing and wealthy as Edward would never taint his life and reputation with her and the twins.
Besides, he already had a heavenly girlfriend, Sophie. It was only expected of him to sever whatever ties he had with her as soon as possible.
Otherwise, should the world learn about her and the twins, the consequences would be disastrous.
Like a weight lifted off her shoulders, Nelissa spread out her arms and embraced the warm sunlight. Out of the blue, Zayden's image flashed across her mind. Subconsciously, her upper lip curled in disdain.
After entering the office, Nelissa went straight to Jolene's room to report her current situation. Previously, she decided to quit the project in fear of potential conflicts with Edward. Now that the stumbling block had been removed, she had to get back onto the team.
For the handsome bonus, of course.
After Nelissa filled her in, Jolene could not help hissing, "What's wrong with him? It's not your fault of birthing the twins. Don't tell me that he expects every woman to stay abstinent till the first night of their marriage! What era are we living in now?"
Jolene flung herself on her chair before she added, "They are not the only species who have the right to sleep around with women."
Nelissa conjured up Edward's face; he was the man who robbed her of her virginity. In an instant, her face turned red.
Right then, Jolene received a call from the director, Marcel seeking for Nelissa.
Jolene asked, "What trouble have you got yourself into? The boss calls."
Nelissa was equally clueless. Without further ado, she quickly went to the director's office. She was served with a cup of tea before she was escorted into the guest room.
Well, none of this looked like a sign of trouble.
After taking a sip of coffee, Marcel pushed the door open and sat opposite her. "The man who sent you back just now, he's Mr. Edward from the Hales Group, right?"
Nelissa understood the purpose of this gratuitous invitation at once. She must have been caught by someone in the company while she got off Edward's car a while ago.
She choked on the coffee as though it was a vial of poisonous liquid and quickly put it down on the table.
The content of the conversation was nothing surprising. Marcel was hinting at her to seize this golden opportunity to win over Edward. They had many competitors after all.
"Sir, I promise I'll do my best." Well, frankly, she wasn't lying. She wouldn't mind walking an extra mile if that could make her secure the project. But, she swore she would never employ any unscrupulous means.
Most importantly, he had just told her that he wouldn't give her any special treatments a while ago.
Nelissa returned home after she completed all her work. While she was preparing dinner for the twins, her phone rang.
Noelle passed the phone to her. She crouched down and answered the call. Instantly, a familiar voice rang out from the speaker, "Nelly."
Nelissa wasn't surprised to hear Zayden at all. She knew she'd meet him since the day she returned to Haleston City.
It had only been a few hours since Nelissa left the hospital. She didn't know what strings he pulled to obtain her number in such a brief time.
"Let's meet." Zayden's voice was as flat as a stove lid.
Glancing at the twins, Nelissa replied coldly, "Thanks for the invitation, but no thanks."
"Please, Nelly. Let's not do this again."
After moments of hesitation, Nelissa responded, "Wait for my call. I'll tell you when I'm free." With that, she hung up the call right away.
They'd have to meet each other, eventually. Nelissa knew it was better for them to get over it as quickly as possible.
Noelle could tell that it was a male voice. She asked, "Mommy, are you looking for a boyfriend?"
Nelissa couldn't help but chuckle. It must be Joelle who taught them all this nonsense. She pulled Noelle into her arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"No, my love. You and Nate are all I need in my life."
The next day, Nelissa and Jolene went to the Hales Group together. Marcel even assigned them a personal driver to make them look more presentable and professional, so to speak.
"Hmm I should expect to hear more rumors about you and Mr. Hales soon, I guess." Jolene wasn't exactly sure with this arrangement after knowing the conversation between Nelissa and Marcel.
"Don't worry about rumors. Let's focus on what we need to do now." Hopefully, today would be the last day Nelissa had to meet Edward.
They were brought to a meeting room on the 15th floor where they had a discussion with the management team.
Without Edward's presence, Nelissa felt much more at ease. Thankfully, he lived up to his words; he didn't give her any special treatments.
The discussion, however, wasn't exactly a smooth sailing one. After all, the Victory Group was definitely not the cream of the crop in this industry.
After leaving the Hales Group, Nelissa planned to go straight to the kindergarten to pick up the twins. The discussion had exhausted all her brain cells.
"Nelly!" Penelope chirruped, her voice like the whistle of birds.
Surprised, Nelissa immediately turned around, her heart twitched at the sight of Penelope who was sashaying towards her.
Penelope added, "Word has it that the Victory Group is collaborating with the Hales. I guess it's true!"
"You heard it right," replied Nelissa while forcing a smile.
"Let's have a meal together. It's been eons!"
Nelissa shook her head. "The twins are waiting for me. Gotta go. I'm sorry."
Penelope's shoulders slumped. "What a pity! No worries, we'll meet at dinner then. We got a lot of catch-ups to do."
Then she threw a wink at Nelissa, sending a chill down Nelissa's spine.
"I believe that you're not going to bring along your Uncle Hales again," probed Nelissa.
"Of course no. It's a girls' night!" Penelope tilted her head.
Penelope's reply gave much reassurance to Nelissa. They decided the venue to meet before Nelissa got into Jolene's car.
"Who's that?" asked Jolene.
"A highschool friend," answered Nelissa while putting on her seat belt.
"That's fast. It's only been a few weeks since you returned to the city. How many friends have you bumped into?" Jolene teased.
Nelissa exhaled deeply. Apparently, the Goddess of Luck had not been doing her work ever since she returned to Haleston City. Otherwise, she wouldn't have met the two greatest nemesis of her life...
Edward Hales.
And, of course, Zayden Lowe!