Jeff didn't show up at the office until ten the next morning.
He'd stayed up late the night before listening to Laura Caldwell sing.
Whiskey in hand, he sat there enjoying her voice, almost feeling like he'd been transported back to the old days of the Emerald Coast.
Laura's singing talent was genuinely terrifying—diva-level.
If her family hadn't been so wealthy and she had never needed to make money from music, she would have carved out a real place in the American pop scene by now.
Jeff even recorded a few videos of her singing on his phone and sent them to his grandfather and to Dylan Bray.
His grandfather praised Laura, saying she had the classic flavor of the old Emerald Coast women and that he liked her very much.
Dylan Bray, on the other hand, spent the whole time openly envious of Jeff, admitting he'd had his eye on her for a long time.
Even though Jeff had drunk quite a bit, nothing happened between him and Laura.
He had simply made her change into all twenty of the dresses she had brought with her, one after another.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
Victoria Lang pushed open the door of Jeff's office and walked in.
She deliberately came close enough to see the dark circles under his eyes, then said:
"Chairman Sterling, the entire company is talking about how you slept with Ryan Caldwell Sr.'s wife."
Jeff kept his eyes on the documents in front of him and replied calmly, "Oh. Laura did stay overnight at my place last night."
That was exactly the effect he wanted—he needed the rumor to spread through the company.
Otherwise his authority as chairman would take a serious hit.
Even if the employees were respectful to his face, behind his back they would still mock him for being cuckolded.
Victoria wasn't stupid. She knew this was probably just another form of Jeff's revenge.
Still, she pressed: "So… did you actually… with her…?"
Jeff put down his pen, looked up, and smiled. "No. I just made her sing all night. I don't like older women."
Victoria's face lit up at the first half of the sentence, then the smile vanished the moment she heard the last part.
Jeff noticed the change and realized she might have just categorized herself as an "older woman."
He quickly corrected himself: "Victoria, I wasn't talking about you. You're only thirty—basically the same age as me. That's exactly the age I like best."
"Really?" Victoria's eyes brightened with relief. She had always been confident in her looks and ability; the only thing she worried about was Jeff thinking she was too old.
"Then can we have dinner together tonight? You're divorced, Emily regrets everything, you've already humiliated Ryan… all your grudges are settled. Let's have a drink and celebrate."
Victoria invited him directly.
Jeff answered, "Not tonight. I already have plans with Emily."
Victoria frowned. "You still like her? Is it because you found out nothing actually happened between her and Ryan, so you don't mind anymore?"
She was well aware of the recent rumors circulating that the whole affair between Emily and Ryan had been fake.
Jeff said, "Of course not. What I care about most isn't whatever happened between Emily and Ryan. It's the complete 180 in her attitude the moment she learned my real identity."
"That said, I did hide the truth from her for three years, so I feel I should make some kind of compensation. Today I'm introducing her to someone."
Victoria burst out laughing. "Haha? You're setting her up on a blind date?"
Once she understood, she knew Emily was going to be furious tonight.
Apparently Chairman Sterling's revenge against his ex-wife still wasn't finished.
---
8:00 p.m. – Cedar Grove Restaurant.
It was an upscale restaurant designed in a classic Southern garden style and had been famous in Riverforge for years. Jeff and Emily used to come here often when they were still married.
Two dishes in particular were legendary.
One was a slow-braised duck with rare mushrooms, rich and restorative.
The other was a simple plate of carefully selected baby greens—taken from ten pounds of produce just to get the perfect leaves. The name on the menu was "Sacrifice."
Jeff had reserved a private room. When he arrived, only Butler Vance and his grandson Fang Zhipeng were already there. Emily had not shown up early.
"Third Young Master."
"Third Young Master."
Butler Vance stood up the moment Jeff entered.
His grandson Fang Zhipeng was equally respectful, though he remained seated in his wheelchair, unable to stand.
Meanwhile, out in the restaurant parking lot, Emily had already been sitting in Sophia Grant's car for some time.
Emily was getting anxious. "It's already eight! We agreed on eight o'clock. Why won't you let me go in yet?"
Sophia replied, "What's the rush? In the old days you always made Jeff wait half an hour."
Emily had no comeback. "Things are different now, Sister! He's Chairman Sterling. You still want him waiting half an hour for me?"
Sophia rolled her eyes. "If I let you arrive half an hour early, he'd only think the old you was even more unreasonable. When he was the live-in son-in-law you treated him like dirt. Now that he's chairman you suddenly want to treat him differently?"
"A man waiting for a woman is only natural. If you show up early you'll only lower your own status and make Jeff look down on you. A few minutes late is fine."
Emily could only turn back to the vanity mirror and check her makeup again.
She had dressed especially beautifully today—guaranteed to make Jeff like what he saw.
Five minutes later Sophia finally said, "Okay, go in. Good luck, sister. Take Jeff down. I'll be waiting to drink at your next wedding banquet."
"Mm-hmm, leave it to me!"
Emily walked toward the private room with full confidence.
The moment she pushed the door open, her soft green floral dress made all three men in the room look up.
The delicate pattern and flowing fabric created an impression of purity and elegance.
Combined with Emily's innocent, breathtakingly beautiful face, it created an almost heartbreaking sense of delicate grace.
"Jeff."
She called his name in a soft, gentle voice.
Seeing there were other people in the room made her act even more shy, like a young girl afraid of strangers.
Jeff smiled. "You're here. Let me introduce you. This is Butler Vance. Even though he's a butler, he watched me grow up. I've always treated him like family."
Emily's heart leapt with joy.
Jeff is really going to forgive me! He's introducing me to the Sterling family butler! Is he preparing to bring me into the family as Mrs. Sterling? This is too perfect!
She forced herself to stay calm and composed on the surface.
Butler Vance nodded politely to her. "Miss Harper, hello. You look like something out of a painting. I've lived more than seventy years and never met a woman more beautiful than you."
Hearing the butler's praise only made Emily more certain that she was about to win Jeff back.