Chapter 160: I Won’t Be Manipulated By You
"Daddy."
lissa called out happily.
Rachel Royce stepped forward and handed the backpack to the man, and Tristan Sterling reached out to take it.
lissa wanted Rachel Royce to go to kindergarten with her.
Rachel Royce said, "Let Daddy take you today. Aunt Evelynn has to go to the office later."
"Okay then!"
lissa didn’t insist.
Tristan Sterling took lissa’s hand, helped her into the car, and buckled her seatbelt before getting in himself.
"Bye-bye, Aunt Evelynn."
Rachel Royce waved goodbye to her daughter.
The car slowly drove away.
Rachel Royce stood by the roadside, watching quietly until the car was out of sight before turning and heading back into the villa.
Inside the car.
lissa looked at her dad.
Tristan Sterling saw lissa’s happy little expression suddenly falter. He reached out to stroke her small head, a gentle curve on his lips, and asked, "What’s wrong?"
lissa said, "Daddy, I really want Aunt Evelynn to be my mommy. It would be great if Aunt Evelynn lived with us."
Tristan Sterling’s thumb gently caressed his daughter’s cheek as he asked, "Has lissa told Aunt Evelynn that?"
lissa nodded and said, "I did, but Aunt Evelynn didn’t answer . I think Aunt Evelynn doesn’t like you, Daddy. Aunt Evelynn is better with Mr. Jennings and Mr. Ford."
Tristan Sterling said, "You want Aunt Evelynn to live with you that much?"
lissa’s eyes were resolute. "I just do!"
*
Zachary Dudley took June Jennings and Stella to school.
Rachel Royce drove to Rowan.
Ian Quinn had arrived at the company early, and Rachel Royce went to his office.
"President Quinn."
"Rachel, you’re here. Have a seat. Take a look at this."
Ian Quinn turned the tablet to face her.
It was the Hong Kong stock market’s opening trend for the day.
Eastgate’s performance was stable, having secured its position. This was mainly because they had been on alert beforehand, and Julian Jennings had repurchased all the shares that were sold off.
However, the current situation looked to be only temporary.
The other party would surely make another move.
Last year, Julian Jennings had snatched an order from Cedarwood on the international futures market.
Tristan Sterling would certainly not let it go.
Protecting Eastgate going forward would definitely incur losses, but as long as those losses were within a controllable range, it wouldn’t be a problem.
"Julian and President Gold will handle this matter. This Wednesday, you’re coming with to Portington. Get ready."
"Okay."
Rachel Royce had an urgent contract to deal with.
She originally wanted to call Tristan Sterling to see if she could get an extension.
But when she thought of that bastard, she rembered that Tristan Sterling was extrely strict about punctuality at work.
It was definitely not negotiable.
In the end, she had her driver take her to Cedarwood, and Rachel Royce worked on the way there.
But by the ti she arrived at the Cedarwood Group building, it was already ten past ten.
She walked briskly toward the lobby and spoke to the front desk. After making a call, the receptionist swiped a card and let Rachel Royce in.
Rachel Royce took the elevator upstairs.
She walked to the door of Tristan Sterling’s office.
When his secretary saw her, she went over and knocked on the door. After hearing a response from inside, the secretary opened the door. "Please co in!"
Rachel Royce stepped into the office. Looking at the man processing docunts behind the desk, Tristan Sterling lifted his gaze to her. "You’re late."
Rachel Royce looked at him and said coolly, "Then we can shorten our eting."
Tristan Sterling gave a faint smile, set down the docunts in his hand, and leaned back in his executive chair. He looked up at Rachel Royce, exuding an incredibly strong, invisible pressure.
"An attitude like yours makes doubt whether you’re capable of leading KU anymore."
Rachel Royce’s delicate brows knitted together. She took a silent breath and said, "President Sterling, if there’s sothing you want to do, just say it. You don’t have to denigrate my abilities like this."
Tristan Sterling stared at her, his dark eyes profound. He reached out and tossed a docunt in front of her. "Sign it."
Rachel Royce reached out, picked up the docunt, and looked at it. She was stunned by the contract’s contents. It was actually a contract to increase his investnt.
But a closer look revealed there were conditions—a specific profit margin the company had to et.
She looked up at the man. "What is the aning of this?"
"Can’t you read?"
’With attitudes like these, how could we possibly be discussing a partnership? For any other company, such a large investnt isn’t sothing you can get just by asking; it would be a cause for celebration. But coming from Tristan Sterling, I have no idea what he’s really up to.’
She put down the contract and confronted the man. "If President Sterling doesn’t explain the specific reason for this, I refuse to sign."
Rachel Royce had expected Tristan Sterling to lecture her again, but unexpectedly, he answered her question directly. "Since you love working so much, then you might as well work properly."
Rachel Royce’s pupils contracted.
’Right now, the company is in a stable developnt phase, so I don’t have too many things to handle personally. But if I accept the investnt, things will no longer be as relaxed as they are now. He’s spending all this money just to make my life difficult.’
"Sorry, but I refuse for that reason. At worst, President Sterling can just pull his funding."
"So confident? Are you planning to have Julian Jennings take over for you?"
Rachel Royce’s expression suddenly darkened. "Tristan Sterling, just say it. What do you really want?"
Tristan Sterling stared at her, his eyes dark, and said in a low voice, "Co back to Silvermist Bay. Take care of lissa."
Hearing this, Rachel Royce froze for a mont, then let out a scornful laugh. "Create a fake, hypocritical ho for lissa? Tristan Sterling, don’t you think your love for lissa is too selfish? You love her, you want to give her a complete family, so why are you still entangled with Claire Ainsworth?"
"lissa will grow up one day. What if she realizes her father is a man who cheated during his marriage, who was indifferent to her existence from the very beginning, who didn’t care even when she suffered trauma in her mother’s womb..."
"Have you said enough!" the man’s cold, harsh voice cut her off.
Rachel Royce’s nerves tightened, frightened by his terrifying gaze. She tried hard to control her emotions, took a silent, deep breath, and said, "Tristan Sterling, when it cos to KU, I will not be manipulated by you. Go ahead and do your worst."
With that, Rachel Royce turned and left the office without a second glance.
As she ca out of Tristan Sterling’s office, she happened to run into Claire Ainsworth, who was delivering docunts to the secretary.
Rachel Royce didn’t even look at her and walked straight toward the elevators, an oppressive aura surrounding her.
The mont Claire Ainsworth saw Rachel Royce, her beautiful eyes turned cold. However, seeing the ugly look on Rachel’s face, she guessed she had been reprimanded again, which made her feel slightly better.
After Rachel Royce had walked far away, Claire Ainsworth asked the secretary, "Why did President Sterling want to see her?"
The secretary shook her head gently and replied, "I’m not sure either."
When Claire Ainsworth entered the office to bring Tristan Sterling his coffee, she was startled by the terrifyingly grim expression on his face.
She had never seen Tristan Sterling so openly emotional and out of control.
"Tris... Tristan, what’s wrong?"
Tristan Sterling glanced at Claire Ainsworth and said, "Claire, you can leave for now."
Claire Ainsworth wanted to say sothing, but in the end, she didn’t dare.
Rachel Royce went downstairs and got into the car.
Exhausted, she leaned back against the seat, propping her forehead up with one hand. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and muddled, her breathing growing heavier.
Miles Sheldon noticed her pale face and asked with concern, "Miss Royce, are you feeling unwell? Should we go to the hospital?"
Rachel Royce didn’t answer Miles Sheldon at first.
After a long mont, she said, "I’m fine. Let’s go."
Miles Sheldon insisted, "We should still go to the hospital. You don’t look well. It would be bad if sothing happened to your health."
In the end, Miles Sheldon took Rachel Royce to the hospital anyway.
The doctor prescribed Rachel Royce dication to soothe her nerves.
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