The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 117: Chapter 117
You are reading The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep, Chapter 117: Chapter 117. Read more chapters of The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep.
Serena had no idea what was happening with the Powell family afterward, and she didn't want to know.
But Albert worked fast. The next day, Powell Group released an official statement saying Victor had been deceived and manipulated by a scheming woman who'd played with his emotions.
The comment section was full of people feeling sorry for him.
[I knew it! That whole news story was a mess, just another gold-digger trying to climb the ladder.]
[Victor's so handsome and tragic. I actually feel bad for him.]
After that comment, the whole thread went off the rails. Everyone started pitying Victor and saying he didn't deserve what happened to him.
There were probably some paid trolls mixed in, but Albert had achieved his goal. Everyone was blaming Eliza now and forgetting that the person who'd actually been unfaithful in the relationship was Victor.
Serena just glanced through it quickly and didn't find it particularly interesting, so she put her phone down.
"Serena, could you come to my office for a minute?" Keith suddenly appeared at the design department entrance. Serena was a bit confused but got up and followed him to the CEO's office.
"A client came to the company today and specifically asked for you to design her wedding suite. But this client's situation is a bit unusual, so I wanted to get your opinion first," Keith sighed.
Serena was surprised. 'My opinion?' she thought. Since Keith was asking like this, she just nodded and asked curiously, "Who's the client?"
"Regina Aniston," Keith replied.
Serena went quiet for a moment. When she'd met Regina before, the woman hadn't shown any hostility toward her, but asking for her specifically to design a wedding suite seemed pretty loaded.
"I don't know what's going on between you two, but if you don't want to take the job, I can turn her down," Keith said. He certainly didn't need this one client.
But Serena just smiled and shook her head. "No need to worry about it. I'll take the job."
Based on their last meeting, she didn't think Regina was the type to waste time on petty games. If there was real business to be done, she had nothing to be afraid of.
"Alright then," Keith replied. He wasn't surprised at all. He'd figured Serena would agree before he even asked. Either way, if Regina tried anything shady, he could always end the partnership. He'd make sure Serena didn't get hurt for no reason.
"Great, I'll let them know you're on board. Everything else will go through normal channels," Keith said.
Serena nodded.
"Also..." Keith hesitated for a moment before continuing. "About Victor—are you doing okay with all that?"
Victor was her ex-husband after all, and there'd been constant news about him lately. Keith wondered if seeing all that drama might be affecting her somehow. "If you're not feeling great about it, you can take a few days off," he offered.
Serena couldn't help but smile at how thoughtful he was being. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She assured him.
Honestly, Serena had expected to feel at least a little uncomfortable when she first heard about Victor's troubles. But when she actually learned what was happening, she realized her heart didn't even skip a beat. She felt absolutely nothing.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back to work now," Serena said with a slight smile before turning around and walking back to the design department.
Regina's people came by soon after to sign the contract, and Serena met with her the next day. They'd arranged to meet at a coffee shop, and when Serena walked in, she saw Regina sitting comfortably by the window.
Regina looked up at the sound of the door chime and broke into a smile. "Nice to see you, Ms. Gray," she said warmly, like she was greeting an old friend.
Serena had been feeling a bit nervous, but Regina's tone put her at ease as she sat down across from her. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Aniston."
Regina raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I've looked at a lot of your work before, and I think you're incredibly talented. If you can design my wedding suite like the examples on your portfolio, my happiness levels are going to be through the roof."
Serena hadn't expected such high praise and felt a bit embarrassed.
Regina called over a server and ordered coffee based on Serena's preferences before speaking again.
"But just so we're clear, I need to explain something first." Regina folded her hands together. "The person I'm marrying isn't Victor. Long story short, our families called off the engagement."
This news hadn't been announced publicly yet. Even though everyone probably had their suspicions, Serena was still surprised to hear it.
What caught her off guard wasn't that Victor and Regina had broken up. It was that Regina was willing to share this with someone she'd only met twice.
"Victor was just one of my options anyway. But after all that drama, I don't have a habit of picking up trash," Regina said with a dismissive wave.
She couldn't help but complain, "He's got so much baggage, and that Eliza woman is such a fake little manipulator. How did you put up with her back then?"
Seeing Regina's expression turn into that classic spoiled rich girl pout, Serena couldn't help but laugh.
Regina looked like a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse, but she wasn't stupid or blindly romantic. For her, compatibility mattered way more than anything else.
That was why Victor could become one of her choices in the beginning, and now, Regina could just as easily cross him off her list.
'That kind of attitude toward relationships is actually pretty smart. It keeps you from getting hurt,' Serena thought.
"Anyway, that's mainly why I wanted to meet with you today. I really respect you, and I hope this whole situation won't affect our working relationship," Regina said.
Serena had never planned to mix her personal life with work anyway, so she gave Regina a sincere promise. "Ms. Aniston, you don't have to worry about that. I'll give my absolute best on every project and make sure your money is well spent."
"That's great, but... I have something else I need to discuss with you." Regina suddenly straightened up, and her expression became much more serious than before.
Serena looked confused as Regina turned around and pulled out a document from her bag. "Ms. Gray, what I said earlier wasn't just flattery. I genuinely studied all of your work, which is why I want to offer you a position at my company."
Right there in front of her was an employment contract. Serena's eyes widened in surprise. She definitely hadn't expected Regina to have this kind of agenda.
"I'm sorry, but since you came to find me, you should know that I'm already working at Brannon Creative Group. I'm afraid I'll have to turn down your generous offer." Serena didn't hesitate or waver. She turned her down directly.
After returning to the country, Keith had helped her out a lot, and she didn't want to betray his trust and support.
But Albert worked fast. The next day, Powell Group released an official statement saying Victor had been deceived and manipulated by a scheming woman who'd played with his emotions.
The comment section was full of people feeling sorry for him.
[I knew it! That whole news story was a mess, just another gold-digger trying to climb the ladder.]
[Victor's so handsome and tragic. I actually feel bad for him.]
After that comment, the whole thread went off the rails. Everyone started pitying Victor and saying he didn't deserve what happened to him.
There were probably some paid trolls mixed in, but Albert had achieved his goal. Everyone was blaming Eliza now and forgetting that the person who'd actually been unfaithful in the relationship was Victor.
Serena just glanced through it quickly and didn't find it particularly interesting, so she put her phone down.
"Serena, could you come to my office for a minute?" Keith suddenly appeared at the design department entrance. Serena was a bit confused but got up and followed him to the CEO's office.
"A client came to the company today and specifically asked for you to design her wedding suite. But this client's situation is a bit unusual, so I wanted to get your opinion first," Keith sighed.
Serena was surprised. 'My opinion?' she thought. Since Keith was asking like this, she just nodded and asked curiously, "Who's the client?"
"Regina Aniston," Keith replied.
Serena went quiet for a moment. When she'd met Regina before, the woman hadn't shown any hostility toward her, but asking for her specifically to design a wedding suite seemed pretty loaded.
"I don't know what's going on between you two, but if you don't want to take the job, I can turn her down," Keith said. He certainly didn't need this one client.
But Serena just smiled and shook her head. "No need to worry about it. I'll take the job."
Based on their last meeting, she didn't think Regina was the type to waste time on petty games. If there was real business to be done, she had nothing to be afraid of.
"Alright then," Keith replied. He wasn't surprised at all. He'd figured Serena would agree before he even asked. Either way, if Regina tried anything shady, he could always end the partnership. He'd make sure Serena didn't get hurt for no reason.
"Great, I'll let them know you're on board. Everything else will go through normal channels," Keith said.
Serena nodded.
"Also..." Keith hesitated for a moment before continuing. "About Victor—are you doing okay with all that?"
Victor was her ex-husband after all, and there'd been constant news about him lately. Keith wondered if seeing all that drama might be affecting her somehow. "If you're not feeling great about it, you can take a few days off," he offered.
Serena couldn't help but smile at how thoughtful he was being. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She assured him.
Honestly, Serena had expected to feel at least a little uncomfortable when she first heard about Victor's troubles. But when she actually learned what was happening, she realized her heart didn't even skip a beat. She felt absolutely nothing.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back to work now," Serena said with a slight smile before turning around and walking back to the design department.
Regina's people came by soon after to sign the contract, and Serena met with her the next day. They'd arranged to meet at a coffee shop, and when Serena walked in, she saw Regina sitting comfortably by the window.
Regina looked up at the sound of the door chime and broke into a smile. "Nice to see you, Ms. Gray," she said warmly, like she was greeting an old friend.
Serena had been feeling a bit nervous, but Regina's tone put her at ease as she sat down across from her. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Aniston."
Regina raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I've looked at a lot of your work before, and I think you're incredibly talented. If you can design my wedding suite like the examples on your portfolio, my happiness levels are going to be through the roof."
Serena hadn't expected such high praise and felt a bit embarrassed.
Regina called over a server and ordered coffee based on Serena's preferences before speaking again.
"But just so we're clear, I need to explain something first." Regina folded her hands together. "The person I'm marrying isn't Victor. Long story short, our families called off the engagement."
This news hadn't been announced publicly yet. Even though everyone probably had their suspicions, Serena was still surprised to hear it.
What caught her off guard wasn't that Victor and Regina had broken up. It was that Regina was willing to share this with someone she'd only met twice.
"Victor was just one of my options anyway. But after all that drama, I don't have a habit of picking up trash," Regina said with a dismissive wave.
She couldn't help but complain, "He's got so much baggage, and that Eliza woman is such a fake little manipulator. How did you put up with her back then?"
Seeing Regina's expression turn into that classic spoiled rich girl pout, Serena couldn't help but laugh.
Regina looked like a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse, but she wasn't stupid or blindly romantic. For her, compatibility mattered way more than anything else.
That was why Victor could become one of her choices in the beginning, and now, Regina could just as easily cross him off her list.
'That kind of attitude toward relationships is actually pretty smart. It keeps you from getting hurt,' Serena thought.
"Anyway, that's mainly why I wanted to meet with you today. I really respect you, and I hope this whole situation won't affect our working relationship," Regina said.
Serena had never planned to mix her personal life with work anyway, so she gave Regina a sincere promise. "Ms. Aniston, you don't have to worry about that. I'll give my absolute best on every project and make sure your money is well spent."
"That's great, but... I have something else I need to discuss with you." Regina suddenly straightened up, and her expression became much more serious than before.
Serena looked confused as Regina turned around and pulled out a document from her bag. "Ms. Gray, what I said earlier wasn't just flattery. I genuinely studied all of your work, which is why I want to offer you a position at my company."
Right there in front of her was an employment contract. Serena's eyes widened in surprise. She definitely hadn't expected Regina to have this kind of agenda.
"I'm sorry, but since you came to find me, you should know that I'm already working at Brannon Creative Group. I'm afraid I'll have to turn down your generous offer." Serena didn't hesitate or waver. She turned her down directly.
After returning to the country, Keith had helped her out a lot, and she didn't want to betray his trust and support.
End of The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep Chapter 117. Continue reading Chapter 118 or return to The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep book page.