Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Dylan Grant never imagined his mom would overhear him. He had no choice but to say, ”I spent some money online to hire a few underlings.”

When Nora Ainsworth heard this, she was about to go crazy. ”You two are just little kids, and you already have underlings? Where did you get the money?”

”Daddy gave it to us.”

”Give it to me!” Nora Ainsworth commanded. No one dared to disobey.

”I know you want to protect yourselves. So, how about this: when you’re a bit older, I’ll let you guys learn Taekwondo.”

”Mommy, what’s Taekwondo?”

”It’s a kind of martial art. If you practice and get good at it, you’ll become really, really powerful.”

”Yay!” Elmer Grant clapped his hands. ”Then my brother and I will learn that.”

”I came to ask you guys, how was Dorothy feeling at kindergarten today?”

”Not good.”

”So, did you try to comfort her?”

Dylan Grant nodded. ”I did. I used the method Daddy taught me.”

Nora broke into a cold sweat. ”What... what method?”

”You know, by kissing her on the lips. I did it, and then... and then it felt like both our hearts were going to leap out of our chests.”

’Nora Ainsworth would have never imagined that a kid this young already knew how to pick up girls!’

”Alright then.” Her lips twitched. ”I’m going to go see if your dad has finished dinner.”

’If I stay here any longer, I’m going to feel like I’m dealing with two geniuses, not two kids!’

After leaving the room, Nora Ainsworth marched into the kitchen, poked Quentin Grant’s arm, and said, ”This is all your fault! The boys are following your instructions to the letter to pick up girls. You have to take full responsibility!”

Quentin Grant chuckled. ”How’d he do it?”

”Our oldest kissed Chloe’s daughter.”

”Pfft.” Quentin Grant couldn’t hold it in. ”That’s a good thing! It’s so hard to find a daughter-in-law these days. If our son starts this young, we won’t have to worry when he’s older!”

’What kind of parenting philosophy is this?’

’Is the kids’ father a complete moron?’

Nora Ainsworth hmphed. ”If everyone thought like you, the world would be a total mess.”

”The point is, not all kids are like ours. You can’t generalize.”

”The boys are so smart; we’ll still need their help with Ethan Ellsworth’s DNA comparison.”

Quentin Grant turned back with a smile. ”What did I tell you? You can’t generalize.”

Zoe Ellsworth had guessed right.

Bianca Rhodes would come by sooner or later.

She arrived a little after six.

She carried a designer bag, looking refreshed and spirited in high heels and heavy makeup.

”Zoe Ellsworth, long time no see.”

”Mhm. And you haven’t been so vile in a while. I see you’re starting again today.”

Bianca Rhodes heard the hidden meaning and snorted coldly. ”You’re like a stray with its tail between its legs, yet you’re still talking so tough. Zoe Ellsworth, I’ve finally lived to see the day Herman dumped you. I might be a few days late to celebrate, but I came anyway.”

Zoe Ellsworth shrugged. ”I think you’ve got it wrong. I’m the one who filed for divorce from Herman Hawthorne. The reason? I got tired of playing this long game with someone of your... caliber. It’s boring. I always win anyway. I’m not the one who gets utterly crushed every single time. Am I?”

Bianca Rhodes actually laughed. ”My caliber? Zoe Ellsworth, you’re the internet’s biggest joke right now. Do you know what people are saying about you? They’re saying a woman like you was bound to be kicked to the curb sooner or later. You don’t have a single feminine quality about you. How could you ever expect a man to be with you long-term?”

”What other people say and think is their own business. All I have to do is cover my own eyes and ears, ignore their looks, and tune out their voices.”

Her words left Bianca Rhodes speechless.

”Zoe Ellsworth, heh heh... You probably cry yourself to sleep at night, don’t you? Even if you act tough, I know it must feel awful. You know what? You should just go join a convent. Because no man is going to want you, not even in the next life.”

Zoe Ellsworth slung her bag over her shoulder, glanced at her watch, and started walking out. ”I’m getting off work. If your balls are aching from boredom, feel free to come back tomorrow.”

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and smiled. ”Oh, right, you don’t have any. Hurry up and leave. This humble little place can’t possibly contain a goddess like you.”

Bianca Rhodes naturally didn’t want to be dragged out by her hair again, so she left voluntarily for once.

Zoe Ellsworth locked the door and suddenly said, ”Bianca Rhodes, if you spent all these years waiting just to see this outcome, well, now you have. Herman Hawthorne and I are officially divorced. Go on, see if he’ll get back together with you now. There’s no need to project your own powerlessness onto others. You aren’t me, so how could you possibly know what I’m thinking? And even though I’m divorced now, don’t you forget—I’m still young, and my family background is incredibly powerful. If I want a man, all I have to do is wave my hand, and countless men will line up to marry me. But you? You’re different. You’ve got no family background to speak of. As for your looks, you’re getting a bit old. Plus, you can’t even have children. What makes you think you’re even in the same league as me?”

Bianca Rhodes wanted to retort, but she suddenly found she had nothing to say.

She could only watch helplessly as Zoe Ellsworth left. Not only had her little power play failed, but she’d lost yet another round. It seemed she had never, not once, won a single confrontation with Zoe Ellsworth.

Zoe Ellsworth got into her car and sat quietly for two minutes before turning the steering wheel and driving away.

”Ruby, is that Miles Coleman still around?”

Ruby’s voice came from the other end of the line, ”Ah, Miss Ellsworth. That Miles Coleman, he quit after he took the money you gave him last time. Changed his phone number and everything. He never came back, and we can’t contact him. How about I introduce you to someone else?”

Zoe Ellsworth let out a cold laugh. ”Gigolos really are heartless. I just had him stay in the room and talk with me for a bit, gave him a pile of money, and he leaves without so much as a word. Forget it. I’ll just go have a few drinks in the main lounge.”

She hung up and drove to the entrance of Quiver.

’Of course, that’s what she said, but Zoe had a sneaking suspicion about why Miles Coleman really quit. If Herman Hawthorne hadn’t gotten involved, there was no way he would have just left.’

Just as she reached the entrance of Quiver, she ran into Jean Grant and Nicholas Ainsworth arriving right behind her.

”Zoe? What are you doing here?”

”Jean, if you can be here, why can’t I?”

”Let’s go in for a drink together.”

Zoe Ellsworth didn’t reply, which was as good as a yes.

The two of them sat down. Jean Grant was beaming, looking as if she’d been well taken care of lately.

”Zoe, I heard you got divorced.”

”Mhm, it’s been a few days.”

”Herman is such a great guy. Why did you divorce him?”

Zoe Ellsworth picked up the stemmed glass from the table and swirled the wine inside.

”It’s no big deal. It’s easy enough to find a man; it’s just a matter of whether I’m in the mood to look for one.”

Jean Grant said with an awkward smile, ”You’re really open-minded about it.”

Zoe Ellsworth took a delicate sip of her wine. ”Aren’t you the same way, Jean?”