Once he closed the door behind him, a faint smile appeared on Diarmuid’s face.
Abigail was truly the source of his joy and rage!
Outside, Kathy was flashing a seemingly harmless, innocent smile at Stan. “Where are you going, Mr. Hill?”
There was no way Stan would tell her about Diarmuid’s personal assignment, and simply replied, ” Just work stuff.”
He started to leave, but Kathy followed. “Could I ask you for a favor, Mr. Hill?” “What is it?” Stan asked.
“You’ve been working for Diarmuid for a while now, so you should know his favorite food. Can you tell me about it?” Kathy smiled.
Stan, however, was wary–she addressed Diarmuid on a first–name basis, and not by ‘Mr. Althoff.
“Why bother asking? You know that Mr. Althoff married Ms. Bernstein, who just left.”
Stan was certainly sharp enough to tell what Kathy was up to the instant she asked, and weighed down on ‘Mr. Althoff‘–he was telling her to know her place as an employee, and not get out of line!
Kathy murmured meekly, “I’m just…”
“You’re here to work, so do your job and quit messing around. Have some dignity as a woman, and don’t lust after a married man!” Stan warned her, and turned to leave.
Kathy’s innocent expression turned to a hateful glare–in her opinion, he was meddling in her business.
A mere assistant, talking to her like that?
Her hands clenched into knuckles at her sides as her desire to become Mrs. Althoff became even stronger!
One day, she would have Stan address her respectfully as Mrs. Althoff!
After leaving the building, Stan drove straight to Bernstein Holdings.
Abigail was sitting in her office, and there were stacks of documents covering her desk. She barely understood most of it, since she lacked knowledge in the field and the jargon used.
She was at her wit’s end when someone knocked on her door.
“Come in,” she said.
Her secretary opened the door, saying, “Ms. Bernstein? This gentleman is here to see you.”
Abigail rose to her feet when she saw that it was Stan, and said, “Let him in. You may get back to work.”
As Stan entered and saw the documents on her table, he asked, “Not used to your new job?”
Abigail nodded.
“Well, I can only help you once for now,” Stan replied. “I’ll send a couple guys I trust after this to instruct you while helping the company’s management.”
Abigail said gratefully, “Thank you.”
“You should be thanking Mr. Althoff,” Stan replied as he walked up and picked up one of the document folders. “He’s the one who asked me to come… I should also mention that he asked me to look into Bernstein Holdings after your father’s passing, and it seems that he had enough foresight to remove any unstable elements in the company. That said, you need to pressure
those under you, or they will forget their place.”
Abigail lowered her gaze.
Stan was Diarmuid’s trusted assistant, and he would not be here without Diarmuid’s permission.
She kept this favor in mind.
Taking a seat, Stan continued, “It seems that your company’s operations are quite smooth. Here, let me show you…”
Abigail was studious under Stan’s tutelage.
Time flew, and it was soon dark outside.
“Allow me to buy you dinner,” Abigail offered. “You’ve been working the entire day.”
“Of course. Thank you,” Stan replied.
As they stepped out of the building, Stan unlocked his car, and said, “We can go
“Mrs. Althoff.”
in my car-
A car had stopped nearby, and Moneypenny stepped out.
Abigail’s expression stiffened when she saw him, and she promptly turned to Stan. “I think dinner will have to wait. Moneypenny must want to talk to me.”
“Okay,” Stan said, and drove off.
After Stan left, Moneypenny started to address her differently.
“Ms. Bernstein, you have not done what Master Althoff asked you to do, have you? We even heard that you went to Master Diarmuid’s office.”
“I wasn’t looking for him,” Abigail replied. “I needed to talk to Stan Hill-
”
“It doesn’t matter who you were looking for–you’re not doing your job!” Moneypenny snapped. “Since you’re not up to the task, Master Althoff insists on doing it himself. Now, you just have to lure Master Diarmuid to a designated location, and it would be mission accomplished.”
“Where?”
“Hotel Langdon, specifically the penthouse presidential suite,” Moneypenny replied.
Abigail could not believe her ears. Henry Althoff was already attempting to make Diarmuid sleep with Kathy?!
“What, are you refusing?” Moneypenny asked.
Abigail certainly was reluctant. How could she bear to make the man she loved sleep with another woman?
“Did you forget your promise to Master Althoff?” Moneypenny reminded her, and paused for a moment as he remembered something else. “I forgot to tell you, but Master Althoff has already finalized your divorce papers. You can’t blame him–you forgot his grace and let down his faith in you. Please be tactful enough to not break another promise to him.”
Abigail did a double take.
Henry was the one who registered their marriage despite Diarmuid’s initial reluctance to marry her.
Now that Diarmuid was reluctant to divorce her, he finalized the divorce even in the absence of both parties.
In the end, money talks, and the rich will always stand above the rest.
Knowing that she had already reneged on an earlier promise, Abigail said, “I understand.”
“Master Althoff hopes that you will be compliant-”
Before Moneypenny could finish, Abigail’s phone was ringing.
The instant she answered, Sheryl was crying out loud, “I’m sorry, Abigail! These people just came and took Tommy away!”
“What?!” Abigail paled right then, her voice quivering. “Who?!”
She then met Moneypenny’s gaze, and saw the look in his eyes. “You?!”
“Master Althoff hopes that you’ll be compliant, and will thus take your son under his care over the next few days,” Moneypenny said nonchalantly.
Abigail composed herself and told Sheryl, “Calm down, Mom. I know what’s happening.”
Once she hung up, however, she growled at Moneypenny, “I told you I’ll do it–now return my son to me!”
“You’ll have him once you do what Master Althoff has told you to. Don’t blame him if slip up!” Moneypenny threatened.
you
Abigail was shaking with rage. “No, I’m going to him right now. He has no right to take my son especially when he’s just two months old. I’ll kill every single one of you if anything happens to him!”
“That won’t happen, but only if you do what you were told!” Moneypenny snapped impatiently.
Abigail’s lips were trembling–she certainly had more to say.
Still, she realized that she would not get Tommy back even if she threw a fit at Henry.
He had taken her boy away exactly because he wanted her to do her job–even if she was reluctant!
“Does that mean I can have Tommy back if I lure Diarmuid to the hotel?” Abigail asked.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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