Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

The elder Mrs. Grant and Master Grant were at a loss for words, and so was Mr. Grant, who sat to one side. Mrs. Grant looked embarrassed.

She finally spoke. ”Elmer, how could you... how could you hit your aunt?”

He said it as if joking, but he was dead serious. ”If anyone dares to say a single bad word about my mommy, I won’t let it slide! I don’t care who it is. If you don’t believe me, Grandma, you can try it! What’s this about my mommy ’not being that smart’? Explain yourself.”

The five of them froze simultaneously.

Mrs. Grant knew she had to be even more careful with her words now. ’Otherwise, if the two grandsons get upset and go home and say something, it won’t just be difficult to see them in the future. Mending my relationship with Nora Ainsworth will become next to impossible.’

”Sweethearts, your aunt didn’t mean it like that.”

”My brother and I may be young, but we understand what people are saying—unless they’re not speaking like a decent human being.”

Jean Grant snapped out of it, absolutely furious. ’A grown woman like me, slapped by my own nephew!’

’And all because I said one little thing wrong.’

’Is this really happening?’

”Is this how your mom taught you to disrespect your elders? I’m your daddy’s own sister, can’t I say anything? Elmer Grant, you need to understand, I’m your aunt. You actually dared to hit me? Are you asking for a beating?!”

Elmer Grant wasn’t the least bit intimidated. ”Go ahead. If you can bring yourself to do it.”

Although the slap hadn’t hurt, Jean Grant felt utterly humiliated.

”Forget it. I won’t stoop to your level. I’m going to tell your daddy what you just did.”

Elmer Grant pointed to the landline phone nearby. ”There’s the phone.”

”You think I don’t dare?” Jean Grant retorted.

”I didn’t say that.”

Mrs. Grant tried to smooth things over. ”Jean, that’s enough. Why argue with your own nephew?”

”Mom, you saw him! This kid is just too...”

Mrs. Grant cut her off. ”Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. The children rarely get to visit.”

Jean Grant fell silent, her expression sour. She clearly couldn’t get over it.

”Mom, call my brother and tell him to pick up the kids himself tonight. I need to talk to him about something. It’s personal.”

Mrs. Grant saw right through her. ”About joining the company as your brother’s assistant?”

”Yeah.”

”Fine, I’ll call him.”

Mrs. Grant then called Quentin Grant, who agreed to pick up the children that evening.

Jean Grant couldn’t stand to stay there a moment longer. ”I’ll come back around five or six. I’m going out to buy a couple of outfits.”

”Okay.”

Jean Grant got up and left the living room.

She drove to the entrance of Zoe Ellsworth’s clothing boutique, got out of the car with her purse, and walked up the steps.

Zoe Ellsworth was eating, but she immediately stood up when she saw her.

”What gust of wind blew you in here?”

Jean Grant glanced at her. ”Look at the time. Are you just now eating?”

Zoe Ellsworth smiled, not hiding anything. ”I’ve already had one meal. This is the second. It’s for two people, after all. I have to eat a little more.”

Jean Grant’s jaw hit the floor. ”You’re... pregnant?”

”Yep, a little over a month.”

Jean Grant found it a bit unbelievable. ”Whose is it? Don’t tell me it’s Herman’s?”

”That’s right,” Zoe Ellsworth admitted openly.

Jean Grant sat down. ”I have to say, Zoe, you’re really something else. Haven’t you two been divorced for several months? If the baby is a month along, that means you two were still in touch...”

”That’s not important. I’m going to have this baby. It’s my first child. I can’t bear to get rid of it.”

Jean Grant was even more confused. ”Zoe, if you have it, how will you ever get married again? You should just get rid of it and make a clean break. Otherwise, the child might resent you later.”

”Jean, I’m not like you. Look at you, you aborted your baby when you were over four months pregnant. No matter who the father was, the child was innocent. That’s like taking a life. Besides, the baby’s father loves him very much. That’s enough.”

”True...” Remembering her own abortions, Jean Grant’s expression changed.

”I don’t regret it,” she continued. ”I don’t regret getting rid of the baby. I think my life is great now. Having a burden like that would only drag me down.”

”Everyone’s different. Anyway, take a look around. See anything you like? I can get it down for you to try on,” Zoe Ellsworth asked.

Jean Grant stood up and looked around. ”The clothes here are so beautiful and stylish. I feel like buying everything I see.”

Zoe Ellsworth’s lips curled into a smile. ”You have the money. What’s a few outfits to you? A woman has to know how to dress herself up. If you’re not willing to spend his money, some other woman will be.”

Jean Grant was being stubborn. ”My husband wouldn’t dare. He loves me very much.”

”These days, a man’s actions are far more honest than his words. It’s never a bad thing to be a little cautious.”

Jean Grant took Zoe Ellsworth’s words to heart.

If she hadn’t seen what she saw at the company with her own eyes, she might have been completely certain. But now, she could only admit to herself that what Zoe Ellsworth said was the absolute truth.

”What was the reason you and Herman divorced?”

Zoe Ellsworth chuckled. ”There are three types of women that are the most detestable, the kind you just can’t bring yourself to like. The first is the type who keeps asking for trouble. The second is the shameless, clingy type who sticks to you like glue. The third is the first-love who comes back after breaking up. The reason for my divorce involved all three types... rolled into one woman. It’s just that after we divorced, that woman apparently went and got married.”

”So, has Herman fallen in love with you now?”

Zoe Ellsworth answered seriously, ”Love is about action, not just empty words. I, Zoe Ellsworth, can live a brilliant life without relying on a man. My life is just fine without a man. The ones who think they can’t be happy without a man are the pathetic ones. Whether it’s love or not, we’ll find out in the future.”

Hearing this, Jean Grant nodded. ”I think... I might be a little pathetic. Actually, Zoe, I thought you’d never speak to me again, because of your brother...”

Zoe Ellsworth said nonchalantly, ”If my sister-in-law hadn’t come back, I definitely wouldn’t have spoken to you. Because you were too cruel. We grew up together, Jean, but when it came to my sister-in-law, you really showed me a new side of you. You not only trampled on my brother’s heart and ignored him, but you also trampled on the woman he loved when he didn’t love you. But now, they’re living happily ever after, and you’re married too, so there’s nothing more to say.”

Jean Grant nodded and pointed to a dress on a hanger. ”Get this one down for me to try.”

Then she pointed to three more. ”Get them all down for me to look at.”

Zoe Ellsworth used a hook to get them down, saying with a smile, ”These are all great styles, and there are very few like them on the market right now. Go try them on in the fitting room.”

Jean Grant tried on the clothes and found they all suited her perfectly. In a fit of delight, she bought them all.

Zoe Ellsworth bagged them for her. ”These clothes, because the style and quality are excellent and they’re rare on the market, the price isn’t low. My boutique carries mid- to high-end women’s clothing. You’ve probably heard, and you’ve bought from here before.”

Jean Grant was unconcerned. ”Give me a discount for old times’ sake. I’ll take them all.”

Zoe Ellsworth’s smile bloomed. ”Of course! What’s a discount between us? We’ve known each other for so many years.”

She took out a calculator and quickly tapped a few keys, then showed Jean the number on the display. ”For these four pieces, I’ll give you a 30% discount. The total is seventeen million. Plenty of people have bought single items for over ten million before, and you’re getting four.”

Jean Grant nodded and handed her a card. ”Ring it up.”

After paying, she took the bags and left. Zoe Ellsworth leaned against the counter, leisurely watching the figure disappear through the door, a flicker of coldness in her eyes.

”ArtieZoe, didn’t you and Miss Grant grow up together? After so many years of friendship, why didn’t you give her a 50% discount?”

Zoe Ellsworth shot her a look. ”A 30% discount is already generous. Otherwise, the total wouldn’t have been just seventeen million.”

’Jean Grant trampled on my brother’s feelings for over a decade and nearly caused my sister-in-law to never come back. Did she really think I’d give her a real discount? The wholesale price for those four items was only a few tens of thousands. I’m bleeding her dry!’

”ArtieZoe, where do you source your inventory? I’ve really never seen it here in Alveria.”

Zoe Ellsworth stood up straight and turned around. ”And if I told you, would you go source from there too? Just do your job. Why are you asking so many questions?”

The shop assistant looked embarrassed. She had been working here for a long time. Seeing Zoe Ellsworth make a fortune with this boutique, she wanted to open her own store too. But in all her time here, she had never once found out where Zoe got her stock from; otherwise, she would have left long ago.

It was frustrating to just watch her make money, but there was nothing she could do.

Once, she took photos of the new arrivals with her phone and posted them online, hoping the all-knowing internet could identify the source, but she came up with nothing.

The more mysterious it was, the more she wanted to know.

”You two watch the store. I’m going out for a walk.”

”Okay, ArtieZoe.”

Watching Zoe Ellsworth leave, the other shop assistant said, ”You’ve been here for years. Don’t waste your time trying to find out the source so you can leave. ArtieZoe earns a lot, and she pays us very well. Can you name any other sales associates who earn as much as we do? You should be content.”

”A soldier who doesn’t dream of becoming a general is no good soldier.”

”If you keep this up, ArtieZoe might just fire you.”

Hearing this, she was surprised. ”No way. I’ve been here for years. She’d fire me?”

She handed her a copy of the work regulations. ”Did you forget the rules ArtieZoe had us memorize when we started working here?”

She fell silent, looking awkward.

”So, either you leave now, or you stay and do your job properly. Boutiques are a dime a dozen, but who makes as much as ArtieZoe? Her family background is powerful, and she knows a lot of people in high society. Many customers come just because of her reputation. How have you been here this long and not understood that?”

”I’ll... think about it.”

Zoe Ellsworth knew exactly what was on the minds of her two employees.

’I pay them a salary of over ten thousand a month, plus bonuses for perfect attendance, for not being late or leaving early, and a year-end bonus. They even get gift packages on holidays.’

’Everyone wants to be the boss, but not everyone can succeed.’

She didn’t drive, instead walking along the sidewalk to clear her head.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the gate of her old university.