Chapter 45: How Much Will You Pay Me?
Michael looked into Wendy’s eyes, detecting doubt, fear, and bewilderment. There was no trace of love.
He thought, does she really not love me anymore?
Michael found it difficult to accept such an ending for them.
He clenched his fists, unable to believe he lost to Christian just like that. The expression on his face grew indifferent again. Michael shifted his gaze away from Wendy, and his tone was much colder when he said, "It was just a casual statement."
Wendy thought, it was just a casual statement?
She had almost believed him. But when she thought about it, it did not make sense for Michael to give up Yvonne so easily. And there was no way that Michael would do it for her. He simply could not stand losing to Christian.
"You should get some rest now if there’s nothing else to do," said Wendy as she laid down in bed and flipped around.
Since Michael had insisted that she slept on the bed, she would accept his offer. Michael did not lie down beside Wendy. Instead, he walked to the couch and settled down there. He angled his gaze toward Wendy, only to be met with the sight of her back.
Michael thought, Wendy Stewart, I will not agree to this divorce whether you still love me or not. If you want to get together with Christian, you can wait until your next life.
...
When Wendy woke up the following day, Michael was no longer in the room. She took a few seconds to acclimate to her unfamiliar surroundings. Then, she got out of bed and washed up. There were new clothes prepared for her in the wardrobe. Wendy picked a simple dress and put it on before leaving the bedroom. Mrs. Lucas was downstairs. When she saw Wendy, she asked with a smile, "Wendy, did you sleep well last night?"
"I did, Grandmother," replied Wendy as she approached Mrs. Lucas to support her.
"That’s good to hear." Mrs. Lucas looked behind
Wendy only to discover her all by herself. She asked, "Where’s Michael? Is he still in bed?"
Wendy did not know where Michael was. He was gone by the time she woke up. Just when she was thinking about how to answer Mrs. Lucas’s question, Michael emerged with a briefcase. He said, "Grandmother, I have an early meeting, so I’ll get going first."
"Have some breakfast before you go," said Mrs. Lucas she looked at Michael, and then at Wendy.
She sensed that something unpleasant might have happened between them the previous night and continued, "And remember, Wendy is going back to work for you. The both of you can go to the company together."
Michael glanced at Wendy, as though he was waiting for her response. When Wendy felt Michael’s gaze, she bowed her head. Since Michael did not intend to speak up, Wendy had no choice but to play the role of the bad cop and refuse on his behalf. "Michael is very busy, and his work is more important than me. Don’t worry, Grandmother, I’ll prepare breakfast for him when I get to work. You should let him go now."
Mrs. Lucas could tell that Wendy was deliberately rejecting her. She stubbornly insisted, "I don’t believe that the company will fall apart if you don’t have the meeting this morning." With that, she walked into the dining room and said sternly, "I want the both of you to have breakfast with me before leaving."
Wendy glanced at Michael behind Mrs. Lucas’s back. She felt helpless. Michael’s expression was unreadable. It was true that he had an important meeting to attend this morning. After waking up, he went to the study to prepare some documents so as not to disturb Wendy. He had planned on heading to the company straightaway but did not expect to run into his wife and his grandmother.
However, there was nothing he could do about it now. They complied with Mrs. Lucas’s instructions and stayed for breakfast.
Fortunately, Michael’s parents were absent. Otherwise, it would have felt more awkward.
After they finished eating, Michael and Wendy headed to the company.
Wendy had driven Christian’s car to the mansion, and Christian had taken it back with him when he left last night. This meant that Wendy was stranded. Moreover, the mansion was in an inconvenient area and Wendy would have to walk for at least half an hour before she could get to the main road and flag a cab. On top of that, Wendy could not possibly request a chauffeur from the Lucas family. If Mrs. Lucas found out about it, she would be able to tell that Wendy was not getting along with Michael.
Even though that was the truth, they still had to act otherwise so that Mrs. Lucas would not worry too much about them. Since Wendy did not have a choice, she knew she had to walk. However, she had just taken a few steps when Michael’s car pulled to a stop beside her. He rolled down the windows and said, "Get in. "
Wendy wanted to refuse but Michael continued, saying, "If you’re intending to walk to the main road and get a cab, the journey is going to take you at least forty minutes judging from your speed. You’ll definitely be late for work. You’re Working for me now, and it’s your first day back. I don’t want you to be late."
Wendy wanted to tell him to just fire her if she showed up late. However, she kept those thoughts to herself. She decided to relent and get in his car. However, instead of taking the passenger seat, Wendy got into the back of the car.
Michael glanced at the rear-view mirror. He saw Wendy sitting there without any expression on her face. She did not seem to have any intention of talking to him. Since this was the case, Michael did not bother trying to start a conversation either. The car ride to the office was filled with silence.
Soon, the car arrived at MC Enterprise. Michael and Wendy entered the special elevator meant exclusively for the president’s use, and just when the doors were about to shut, Christian squeezed through, "Wait for me.."
He exhaled a long sigh at having caught the elevator in time.
Michael glared unhappily at him. He said, "This elevator is meant for the president only, get out of here!"
"I’m the vice-president" said Christian with a chuckle. "Also, Wendy isn’t the president, but she’s here too."
Observing the smug smile on Christian’s face, Michael deliberately said, "Wendy will be working for me again starting from today. Hence, she’s authorized to take this elevator."
Christian was not surprised at all. He had expected this to happen sooner or later.
However, Christian decided to provoke him, "Michael, you can’t force Wendy into going back to work for you. Did you bother asking her opinion?"
Michael turned around to look at Wendy, expecting her to answer Christian’s answer. Wendy bowed her head and replied, "I agreed to do it."
"Since that’s the case, the only choice I have is to give you up." Christian sighed, a reluctant look on his face. "Now that I don’t even have an assistant, I hope you’ll allow me to use the elevator."
When Michael heard this, he stopped trying to chase Christian out.
The elevator doors shut slowly. Michael pressed the button for the 66th floor, but Christian did not move. He waited until the elevator arrived at the 66th floor and allowed Michael and Wendy to leave the elevator before pressing the button for the 65th floor.
As he watched them walk away, the smile on Christian’s face faded. He had already guessed that Michael would steal Wendy away from him.
After all, they were born rivals, and there was no way that Michael would allow his wife to stay by Christian’s side. This was all part of his plan.
Christian had only kept Wendy by his side to provoke Michael. And now that Michael had taken Wendy back, there was no way he could publicly continue his relationship with Yvonne.
No matter what decision Michael had chosen, there were benefits that Christian could reap. However, as Christian watched Wendy trail after Michael, he suddenly felt a little lost. He knew very well that he did not wish for Wendy to return to Michael.
They disappeared from view completely when the elevator doors shut, and the malice in his gaze remained hidden from the outside world.
...
"Since you worked as my assistant for over a year, I’m sure you know what you have to do," said Michael as he looked through this meeting documents with his head bowed.
Wendy nodded, "I know."
With that, Michael left for his meeting with the documents in his hands.
Wendy started sorting out the various documents in his office like she did in the past.
When she reached his desk, she stopped short. There was a framed photograph on the desk. In the photograph, Yvonne was holding Michael’s hand and smiling, beautiful as a flower. Wendy was stunned by Michael’s demeanor in the photograph too, as she had never seen him smile like that. After all, Michael always stared at her so coldly. In fact, his gaze was always filled with disgust and hatred.
She gently caressed Michael’s smiling face in the photograph, feeling momentarily stunned.
When she came to her senses, she retracted her hand. In the next second, Wendy picked up the frame and threw it into the trash bin. Now, she no longer feared Michael. She had obliged with his request for her to come back to work for him. However, if she had to clean Michael’s office every day, she did not wish to have to see Yvonne’s face. After packing up the area, Wendy made coffee for Michael the way that he liked it.
When Michael returned from his meeting, he felt a sense of familiarity at how everything had been arranged and was finally more relaxed. He could not deny that he had grown used to Wendy working as his assistant. After her departure, he felt rather uncomfortable in his messy office.
After all, Yvonne treated the company like a playground and never did any real work there. Wendy had been observing Michael since he stepped into the office. Her heart pounded as she thought, will Michael be angry when he finds out that I threw his photograph away?
However, there was no reaction from Michael even after a few minutes passed. Wendy thought about it for a moment and decided to confess first since Michael had not said anything about it. She did not want to get caught off-guard if Michael suddenly found out about it on his own.
Coughing softly, Wendy said, "Mr. Lucas, I threw away the photograph on your desk."
When Michael heard that, he glanced at the desk and realized she was serious. Then, he raised his eyebrows at Wendy, but remained silent.
Wendy’s heart continued pounding. She was afraid that he would do something to her in a moment of anger. Swallowing dryly, she said rather weakly, "If you’re not happy about it, you can pick it up from the trash bin yourself."
"I don’t have the habit of picking things up out of the trash," said Michael. With that, he lowered his head again to read his documents.
His answer came as a complete shock to Wendy. She thought that Michael would have given her a scolding. She thought, is this all Michael is going to say after finding out that I threw their framed photograph away?
After thinking about it, Wendy added, "Mr. Lucas, the vice-president paid me 50,000 dollars a month to work for him. How much will you pay me now that I’m working for you again?"
Wendy needed the money desperately. She needed to be able to support herself and her child after she left Lake City. She decided not to behave as if she did not need the money.
"You’re not just my assistant, you’re also my wife. Since MC Enterprise belongs to me, it’s yours as well," said Michael casually.
When Wendy heard that answer, she grew unhappy. She said, "Mr. Lucas, are you trying to tell me that you won’t pay me?"
She thought, I’m not going to be his wife forever. Moreover, I’ve been his wife for three years, and I haven’t gotten anything from MC Enterprise. In fact, Michael used to dock my pay for various reasons. If not for him, would I be malnourished and in such poor health? Now that I’m pregnant, I have to take care of my baby.
