Chapter 22: The Head of MC Enterprise
After Wendy returned to Christian’s office, he took her hand and led her up the stairs. Wendy flung his hand away forcefully. She stopped short as she said sternly, "I only agreed to be your assistant. I hope that there will not be physical contact between us again in the future."
Christian chuckled. He said, "Wendy, what am I trying to achieve by making you my assistant?"
"You want to anger Michael," answered Wendy.
"That’s right. This is why physical contact between us is necessary," said Christian with a thoughtful look on his face. Smiling, he continued, "But don’t worry, I know that there is a line you cannot bring yourself to cross. How about we just limit ourselves to physical touch?
"No way," Wendy rejected him immediately, "If that’s the case, I think I may not be qualified for this job."
With that, Wendy started walking away. Her decision to return to MC Enterprise was already beginning to feel questionable. But if Christian wanted to take advantage of this, there was no way Wendy could simply let him be. Even though Wendy had already decided on the divorce between her and Michael, she still loved him. She did not wish to let herself become a tool that Christian could use to take revenge on Michael.
"Since I have the ability to cover up the news of your pregnancy and keep Michael in the dark, I can also easily make your baby disappear without a trace," said Christian darkly as the usual smile on his face faded.
Wendy’s footsteps came to an instant halt. Although Christian had been abroad all this time, he managed to gain a steady footing in MC Enterprise quickly after his return, and he was influential enough to cover up the news of her pregnancy as well. All this was indicative of the fact that Christian had established his authority and network in Lake City long ago. His return to the country was not an impulsive decision-he had been orchestrating it for many years.
Michael was in the public eye all this time, whereas Christian kept himself concealed in the dark.
Wendy knew that she was nothing more than a ticking time bomb between them. She was a tool that could not fight back. Christian knew very well just what Wendy’s weakness was. She bowed her head slightly. She felt extremely indignant, but she was entirely helpless. Wendy was beginning to feel regretful.
She thought, if I had gotten divorced earlier, perhaps I would already have left Lake City. Then I wouldn’t have met Christian and landed myself in this situation. Of course, Wendy also wanted to help Michael get rid of Christian.
However, she knew that this was unrealistic, because Michael did not trust her, and he was never on the same side as her. All she could do was submit to Christian’s threats.
Christian approached Wendy and took her hand once again. He said, "Come on, let’s go to Michael’s office together."
Wendy really wanted to fling his hand away again, but she knew that she couldn’t. She had to do this for herself and her baby.
They quickly arrived at the president’s office. When Michael saw Christian enter the room with Wendy’s hand in his, the grip he had around his fountain pen tightened.
"Michael, you can’t be so authoritarian," Christian said first, "I know that you don’t like Wendy, and that she used to be your assistant, but you fired her. But even though you don’t like her, I do. I want her to be my assistant, why do you have to interfere?"
Michael’s gaze remained locked on the sight of their interlaced fingers. Anger and disgust surfaced in his eyes, as well as a trace of jealousy that Michael himself was unaware of.
He said, "it’s working hours now, and for you to come strolling into my office to question me while holding another woman’s hand indicates blatant disrespect on your part."
When Wendy heard Michael address her in such a flippant manner, she bowed her head and blinked. She thought, ’right, I’m just a random Woman in Michael’s eyes. And a repulsive one at that.’
"I know it’s working hours right now. I’m here with her for work-related purposes," said Christian without fear. He continued sternly, "I have already decided to hire Wendy as my assistant, and I just wanted to ask you why you felt the need to stop me. I am the vice president of this company, surely I have the right to decide who I want to hire?"
Michael slammed his pen heavily against the table. His palm instantly turned red, but he appeared to have felt no pain. He said, "During her time as my personal assistant, she proved herself to be frivolous and scheming. On top of that, she has corrupted values. She is not a good candidate for the position of your personal assistant. MC Enterprise’s employees must possess both capability and integrity."
"Capability and integrity?" Christian chuckled as he pointed at Yvonne, who had just stepped into the room. He said, "By that, do you mean someone like her?"
Yvonne pouted indignantly at this personal attack. She said, "Mr. Lucas, what are you trying to say? I got my job here at MC Enterprise based on my credentials."
The moment Wendy heard Yvonne say this, she could not help but burst out laughing.
When Yvonne saw Wendy laughing at her, she gritted her teeth in anger. However, she could not let it show. Even though Christian was obviously on Wendy’s side, the problem now is. was that Michael was unwilling to get a divorce with Wendy. Yvonne could no longer make use of Michael’s fondness for her to do whatever she pleased like before. She knew very well that if she wanted to remain by Michael’s side, she had to cling on to him tightly and make him want to continue protecting her. She could not afford to annoy or anger him.
Yvonne blinked innocently, making herself look fragile as she said, "Miss Stewart, I think you are the most unqualified person in this room to laugh at me. Even though not many people know about your relationship with Michael, you turned around and went straight for the new vice-president after getting fired. I must admit that I really admire your cunningness.
Yvonne obviously meant to add fuel to the fire. In the past, Wendy would have been afraid of Michael misunderstanding this situation, and she would have tried her best to explain herself.
Now, however, Wendy no longer feared whether Michael would misunderstand her. She did not bother explaining herself. In fact, she wanted to agitate Michael so that he would agree to the divorce in a moment of anger.
"I can’t help it. Since I couldn’t take Michael away from you, I could only change my target. Even though Christian has just returned from abroad, he has great potential. Who knows, perhaps he just might be able to compete with Michael soon," Wendy deliberately said to Yvonne. "You should be careful, don’t end up choosing the Wrong person."
"You..." Before Yvonne could react, Michael picked up the empty glass on his table and flung it at Wendy.
This was not the first time Michael had done something like this. What Wendy did not expect, however, was Michael choosing to resort to such violence in front of Christian and Yvonne. Stunned, Wendy watched as the glass approached rapidly, leaving her no time to dodge the blow.
In the following second, Christian pushed Wendy away. The sudden force caused Wendy to stumble backward before she regained her balance. The glass, however, smashed directly against Christian’s head. As Michael had flung the glass at Wendy in a moment of fury, he had put all his strength into it. A stream of blood began to flow down Christian’s forehead from the impact. He inhaled sharply in pain.
When Yvonne saw the blood, she shrieked in terror. Then, she quickly ran over to Michael and hugged his arm.
After coming to her senses, Wendy immediately got a piece of tissue to help Christian wipe off the blood on his forehead.
She said, "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Michael clenched his fists tightly as he watched Wendy express such genuine concern for Christian. He pushed Yvonne away, raised his fist, and swung it at Christian. He said, "Christian Lucas, it’s fine if you want to try and compete with me for MC Enterprise’s ownership. But why do you also have to go after a woman that I’ve discarded?"
Christian wiped away the blood from the corner of his lips. When he saw Michael’s bloodshot eyes, he laughed heartily. He thought, this outcome is exactly what I wanted. The only thing that he did not expect was the intensity of Michael’s reaction.
Observing Michael’s immense rage and knowing that he had completely lost all control of his emotions, Wendy stood before Christian. She stared at Michael, who was standing in front of her, with fear in her eyes and said, "You can’t hit him again."
Even though Wendy did not have a good understanding of Christian as a person, she knew that there was a motive behind everything that he did. If Michael continued hitting him, this situation would blow up, and his family members would surely interfere. Even though Michael was the president of the company, his father was still the chairman on the board of MC Enterprise. Wendy did not know what Anthony Lucas’s attitude was toward Christian.
She thought, since Christian was able to enter MC Enterprise right after returning from abroad, it goes to show that Anthony does treasure his son. Or at least, Anthony feels like he owes it to Christian to do so. If Michael continued hitting Christian, he would surely put him in a bad position.
Even though Christian had pressured Wendy into becoming his assistant, Michael was still the person that she had loved for three years. Deep down, she was on Michael’s side. She did not wish to see Michael fall into Christian’s trap. From Michael’s perspective, however, Wendy only stood in front of Christian to protect the latter. "Go away!"
Blue veins bulged on Michael’s forehead. He raised his fist, and just when it seemed like he was about to throw another punch, Wendy yelled, "If you want to hit anyone, hit me!"
She appeared to have no intention of backing off.
Michael did not bring his fist down. It hovered in midair.
"What is this commotion about?" said Anthony as he entered the office just in time to see the scene unfold before his eyes. Enraged, he approached Michael and reprimanded him furiously, "What are you doing, are you hitting other people in the office? Michael, I was the one who arranged for Christian to join the company. If there is anything that you’re unhappy with, you can come to me. Didn’t you hit him enough during your grandmother’s birthday? Just because I did not pursue the matter does not mean you can continue to act this way! Listen up, I’m still alive, and I’m still in charge of MC Enterprise."
"Heh." Michael chuckled. He had never been on good terms with his father.
Michael found all of Anthony’s actions to be shameless. Anthony was indeed still the chairman of the board of MC Enterprise, though.
"Father, it’s alright," said Christian with a quirk on his lips. "It’s no big deal, we can deal with. this on our own. It’s almost lunchtime, you should go and eat."
"Lunch? Do you think I have any appetite left?" replied Anthony. He grew increasingly furious as he examined the wounds on Christian’s face.
Anthony Lucas was a selfish man. The one thing he cared the most about was his reputation.
Moreover, Christian was a descendant of the Lucas family and Michael’s biological half-brother. Only members of the Lucas family and a handful of outsiders knew who Christian’s biological mother was. Anthony was afraid that his reputation would be damaged if these things got out.
He thought, now that this pair of brothers have caused such a ruckus within the company, how am I supposed to keep my head up if other people find out about the truth?
Clearly, his rage was not borne solely out of concern for Christian or for anyone else, but for himself.
Anthony continued lecturing his sons, "I don’t care what kind of relationship the two of you have. Right now, I’m still the head of MC Enterprise. Anyone who disagrees with any of my decisions can leave this company immediately. I have more than enough candidates waiting to fill the positions of both the president and the vice-president."
With that, Anthony turned around and left.
As Wendy watched Anthony walk away, a realization dawned upon her.
The reason why Christian had brought her to Michael’s office and deliberately provoked him into violence was so that Anthony could walk in and witness this scene. She thought, Christian is truly ruthless, and he keeps using himself as bait to bring out Michael’s wrath. Wendy turned her head and saw the amusement in Christian’s eyes. She felt her fear of him deepen. She found him to be much more frightening than Michael.
Even though Michael had an explosive temper and behaved coldly toward Wendy, at least he was not as ruthless and scheming as Christian.
Wendy could not help but feel worried about Michael. In this metaphorical battlefield where only sly tricks were used, Michael’s ability to secure victory remained unclear.
