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Amelie was already aware of the questions prepared by the journalist so the interview went smoothly, focusing more on the future outline of her work and her contribution to Diamond Group’s business
progression.
At the end of the interview, however, Yasmin surprised Amelie with a question she hadn’t run by her before.
“With Mr. Liam Bennett being pronounced a new tycoon and a lot of rather disturbing gossip being passed on inside the business circles, how do you feel about all the accusations thrown in your direction?”
“Excuse me?” Amelie widened her eyes, not
understanding what the woman was talking about. “Accusations?”
Yasmin shifted in her seat uncomfortably, realizing that her choice of words was rather inappropriate. “Not as much accusations as speculations, I guess. With the drastic stock market shift right before your divorce and rather quick and sudden second marriage, one can’t help but wonder whether the two were
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somehow related.”
Finally, Amelie realized what exactly Yasmin was implying and she knew exactly who was standing behind that.
“I don’t think that anyone involved in a “big business league” should be speculating about anything, especially when their assumptions come down to a
woman accepting a man’s hand in marriage. JFC Group’s stock market embarrassment was caused by Mr. Richard Clark’s inability to secure profitable deals
as well as his reckless investment decisions.
Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for any of that.”
Amelie made sure to emphasize the last sentence in a sarcastic tone and Yasmin appreciated her retort with an understanding smile. She then typed something on her tablet and continued,
“Nevertheless, now that the rivalry between Mr. Bennett and Mr. Clark has become even more
prominent, how do you feel being thrown into the thick of it?”
Amelie didn’t rush with her answer. In truth, she did
not really know what to say in order to stop this string
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of questions from escalating into something unfortunate.
Thus, she opted for what she had always done in situations like these—she told the truth.
“What exactly do people expect me to feel? It doesn’t matter who my current husband is; what matters is the job I’m doing. As Mr. Bennett’s partner, my
responsibility is to make sure our company grows and flourishes. I don’t really care what kind of “rivalry” it might cause. This is business; there is no place for emotions here.”
Amelie moved her eyes to the journalist’s phone and watched the numbers change on the timer.
It was painfully clear that the person who spread these degrading rumors was her ex–husband and she would have overlooked it if his goal was to simply slander her after their divorce. But he crossed the line and decided to involve Liam in his personal vendetta. She could not let it slide this time.
‘If in the end, this means we will have to crush JFC… I will gladly help Liam do it.‘
***
126 An Unannounced Guest
The moment Amelie returned to the mansion, she was greeted by Mrs. Greene who was wearing a rather displeased expression on her mature face.
Tired from the trials of the busy day she had to go through, Amelie felt rather disheartened at the possibility of dealing with an issue that might have afflicted their household, but it was better to deal with it as soon as possible if that was really the case.
“Good evening, Mrs. Greene. Is something the matter?”
Estelle frowned subtly, but then cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly and said in a calm voice, “Two women have arrived at the estate per your request, Mrs. Bennett. I assume they are the maids you wanted to hire to assist you in your personal quarters?”
Amelie couldn’t suppress a wide smile that curled up her rosy lips.
‘Miss Dell and Mrs. Geller have finally arrived!‘
Ignoring her unconcealed excitement, Estelle continued, “Judging by the contracts drawn by you, it appears that Mrs. Valerie Geller was hired for the position of a housekeeper. With all due respect, Mrs.
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Bennett, but what precisely does it mean for me then?”
Amelie’s smile changed into a subtle smirk. ‘As
expected, she got worried because it’s no longer up to Vanessa to secure her job for her. Good. I have anticipated this much.”
“There is nothing to worry about, Mrs. Greene,” Amelie began, “You are not going to lose your job. On the contrary, I am giving you a promotion.”
“Pardon me?” The woman raised her eyebrows in bewilderment. “A promotion?”
Amelie nodded. “Yes. I am promoting you to the estate manager, Mrs. Greene. Effective immediately. Starting tomorrow, you are going to manage the affairs of the entire estate. Congratulations.”
While Estelle was speechless, struggling to
comprehend the unfolding situation, Amelie felt a small sense of victory again.
‘I don’t really care what it means either for her or for the other staff members; getting her to deal with things that are no longer directly related to the staff members means she will have a harder time
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influencing the maids and that can only be good for me. Besides, I have seen the estate reports and it doesn’t look like she has enough time to manage everything perfectly, therefore, this change will definitely prove to be beneficial to all of us.‘
***
It was already late so Amelie decided that she would greet both Molly and Mrs. Geller in the morning before she would have to leave for work. For now, she wanted
them to rest.
Feeling a little better after taking a relaxing bath, she checked her phone and saw a message from Liam who once again notified her that he would spend another night working with Austin in the office.
‘I need to be more assertive and demand more work to be transferred to me. He is going to overwork himself to death this way.‘
That thought made her lips curl down in
disappointment and Amelie decided to stay up a little longer too and try to get “an early” start on the tasks scheduled for the next day in case it would free some of her time which she could use to work together with
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Liam instead.
She was on her way to leave her bedroom when her intentions were interrupted by a rather resounding knock on the door followed by the voice that belonged to one of the maids.
“Mrs. Bennett? This is Mary. I am sorry to bother you this late but we have received an unannounced guest just now. She says she’s here to see you.“@
