Chapter 98
In the Bryce family of Crescendo Town
“Boss, take a look at this.” The assistant burst into the living room, quickly taking out the paternity test result.
Carter’s face darkened as he stared at the document, falling silent for long. “A woman like Kristin doesn’t deserve to bear a child of the Bryce family.”
“Boss, what do you reckon we should do about this?” The assistant asked nervously.
Carter furrowed his brows, lost in thought. “The child is innocent, after all. Since he carries the Bryce family blood, he can’t grow up around such a woman.”
Kristin had a terrible reputation, and Carter didn’t trust her with his grandson. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“What good can this kind of girl like her teach a kid? She’s pulled all the stops to cling to the high and mighty, shameless.” Carter slammed the table in anger. “Get James to see me!”
Carter thought, “Kristin had got some nerve. Since she was out of prison, even a good kid like James started to sass me! She was indeed something.”
“If Mr. Bryce refuses to return…” The assistant sounded worried.
“If he doesn’t return, bring the child here. We can’t let that kind of woman mislead the Bryce family’s blood.” Carter spoke with a heavy tone.
“Kristin, that type of woman, fooled the Turner family for twenty years for glory and wealth. She certainly won’t let go and hand over the child. She’ll probably make some outrageous demands.
Adrienne is still in the police station. Kristin refuses to drop the charges, and the case will go to the prosecution soon. The Haywood family probably won’t let it slide, either,” the assistant fretted.
Carter snorted coldly. “It’s all about money, right? Go and ask her how much she wants.” Considering Kristin gave birth to Bryce, Carter wouldn’t be too stingy, but Kristin mustn’t be greedy. “Tell the Haywood family that I’ll handle Adrienne’s. Whatever Adrienne has
suffered, the Haywood family will compensate accordingly. Give the Influx Enterprise project to them and drop the profit margin by five points. As for Kristin, tell her to lay off for now.”
In Carter’s eyes, the smartest thing Kristin did was to bear James‘ child against all odds.
Blood is thick. Carter understood that well.
Given that Kristin was the mother of his precious grandson, Carter wouldn’t let anyone hurt her and might even ensure she lived a life of comfort. But Kristin had to know her place and be
content.
“Got it.” The assistant took a deep breath, realizing Carter had changed his mind about his grandson, no longer pushing for a private settlement with the Haywood family.
12:50
In the Bryce family of Crescendo Town
“Boss, take a look at this.” The assistant burst into the living room, quickly taking out the paternity test result.
Carter’s face darkened as he stared at the document, falling silent for long. “A woman like Kristin doesn’t deserve to bear a child of the Bryce family.”
“Boss, what do you reckon we should do about this?” The assistant asked nervously.
Carter furrowed his brows, lost in thought. “The child is innocent, after all. Since he carries the Bryce family blood, he can’t grow up around such a woman.”
Kristin had a terrible reputation, and Carter didn’t trust her with his grandson.
“What good can this kind of girl like her teach a kid? She’s pulled all the stops to cling to the high and mighty, shameless.” Carter slammed the table in anger. “Get James to see me!”
Carter thought, “Kristin had got some nerve. Since she was out of prison, even a good kid like James started to sass me! She was indeed something.”
“If Mr. Bryce refuses to return…” The assistant sounded worried.
“If he doesn’t return, bring the child here. We can’t let that kind of woman mislead the Bryce family’s blood.” Carter spoke with a heavy tone.
“Kristin, that type of woman, fooled the Turner family for twenty years for glory and wealth. She certainly won’t let go and hand over the child. She’ll probably make some outrageous demands. Adrienne is still in the police station. Kristin refuses to drop the charges, and the case will go to the prosecution soon. The Haywood family probably won’t let it slide, either,” the assistant fretted.
Carter snorted coldly. “It’s all about money, right? Go and ask her how much she wants.”
Considering Kristin gave birth to Bryce, Carter wouldn’t be too stingy, but Kristin mustn’t be greedy. “Tell the Haywood family that I’ll handle Adrienne’s issue. Whatever Adrienne has suffered, the
Haywood family will compensate accordingly. Give the Influx Enterprise project to them and drop the profit margin by five points. As for Kristin, tell her to lay off for now.”
In Carter’s eyes, the smartest thing Kristin did was to bear James‘ child against all odds.
Blood is thick. Carter understood that well.
Given that Kristin was the mother of his precious grandson, Carter wouldn’t let anyone hurt her and might even ensure she lived a life of comfort. But Kristin had to know her place and be
content.
“Got it.” The assistant took a deep breath, realizing Carter had changed his mind about his grandson, no longer pushing for a private settlement with the Haywood family.
12:50
It was evident that Carter had high hopes for the kid.
The FitzGerald Group.
“Lisa, I heard about an opening for a personal assistant to Mr. FitzGerald. Could you please pull some strings for me? I’m pretty qualified.”
The HR manager lounged back in her chair, chuckling. “Well, I can’t help you with that. York has picked someone and said she would report for duty this morning at nine. I’m waiting for her as we speak.”
“A shoo–in? Who’s York’s pick? Does Mr. FitzGerald know about this? He hates under–the–table deals and nepotism,” a few female employees cut in, their curiosity piqued.
“Does Mr. FitzGerald need to be bothered with such trifles?” The HR manager, Jasmine, laughed. “I bet it’s York’s girlfriend or something. How else could he be so gung–ho, coming to me for a direct
appointment?”
“And I thought York was as OCD as Mr. FitzGerald.” One of the women complained. “Who’s this lucky lady to be Mr. FitzGerald’s PA? Talk about being in the right place at the right time.”
“You think it’s a cushy job? Why do you think that spot’s been vacant? Did you get no clue? Mr. FitzGerald’s got a thing about cleanliness, especially with women. No regular girl can get near him, let alone be his PA. It won’t be easy.”
“Exactly. Bet the newbie won’t last a few days, just like the others who’ve tried before.”
The women gossiped away, and the HR manager glanced at the time. It was 8:40 AM.
Was she kept waiting like this?
1
“Wow, making Lisa wait for her, huh?” The sniping had already begun.
Just then, Kristin rushed in, a bit messy.
She had asked for directions from Rhett’s place, but the subway was a maze, and she had missed her stop.
Luckily, she wasn’t late.
Glancing at the time – 8:41 AM- Kristin let out a sigh of relief.
“Hi, I’m here to report for duty.” Kristin handed her referral letter from York to the receptionist.
In the break area, the women looked Kristin up and down, whispering amongst themselves,
looks quite innocent, but she’s also strangely familiar.”
“Right. I feel I’ve seen this girl somewhere before.”
Lisa, the HR manager scrutinized Kristin, her face dropping in astonishment.
Wasn’t this the infamous fake heiress Kristin from that shocking scandal years ago?
12:50
Lisa knew Kristin because she was tight with Nicola.
Over the years, Nicola had been cozying up to the old staff, especially those in HR, trying to replace key positions with her people sneakily,
“Your name’s Kristin?” Lisa stood up and approached Kristin.
“Ma’am, good morning. I’m Kristin Collins. It’s my first day reporting for duty.” Kristin quickly bowed, handing over her referral letter.
“Follow my lead.” Lisa sized Kristin from top to bottom, turned on her heel with authority, and whisked her to the office.
“Got the lowdown on what a life assistant does?” Lisa threw out the question.
“Mr. York gave me the rundown. I’m mainly in charge of Mr. FitzGerald’s daily needs, like his wardrobe, food, accommodation, travel arrangements, meetings, and social engagements.” Kristin nodded,
Lisa couldn’t find fault, so she printed out the workflow and handed it to Kristin. “As his assistant, you must have Mr. FitzGerald’s likes, dislikes, and no–nos down pat.”
Kristin nodded again, taking the documents and reading them carefully, etching each detail into her memory.
While Kristin focused on the procedures, Lisa sneakily shot a WhatsApp message to Nicola. *The new exec assistant who joined today is Kristin, who fooled Vincent.”
Nicola shot back a message almost immediately. “What? Rhett allowed that woman into the company?”
Nicola was livid.
“Yep, she’s here with me.” Replying, Lisa glanced toward Kristin’s way meaningfully.
“This chick can’t stick around in the company. Rhett’s using Kristin to get under Vincent’s skin. We must ditch her before Vincent’s back,” Nicola fumed in her reply. “I don’t care how you do it. Just make her hit the road.”
Lisa pondered with intrigue for a moment before speaking up. “Oh Kristin, l–forgot to jot down something. Mr. FitzGerald loves peanuts, so you might want to stock up on some peanut brittle. You can offer that to him if Mr. FitzGerald gets too swamped to eat.”
Kristin looked up at Lisa and nodded.
Rhett was allergic to peanuts, something he had made a point of telling her this morning.
It looked like the FitzGerald Group wasn’t all that straightforward after all. The HR manager wasn’t in cahoots with Rhett.
She and Rhett were in the same boat. She had to prove her worth, like weeding out the dissenters, to make Rhett go the extra mile for her.
12:50
Like, for instance, weeding out the dissenters.
“Lisa, sorry, I’m a bit on edge. First–day jitters, you know. Could you run that by me again?” Kristin secretly activated the voice recording on her phone, looking earnestly at the HR
manager.
“When Mr. FitzGerald’s swamped with work, remember to have some peanuts ready. Also, first thing in the morning, brew Mr. FitzGerald a coffee, no milk, no sugar. He hates it when
assistants reek of body odor. Make sure you doll yourself up and spritz on some subtle perfume.”