Chapter 5 Chapter 5 She's Not Worthy

The next second, Edward flicked Carol on the forehead with his fingers - not too hard, but definitely more than a mosquito bite.

The warm sting took her by surprise, while Cheryl instantly panicked, "Mr. Dawson!"

"Handle it quickly," Edward tossed the words behind him as he turned to leave.

Carol gave a glance, and the security guards immediately dragged Cheryl away.

On the 66th floor, Carol was about to head over to the Mergers & Acquisitions department to speak with Michael Peyton about the deal. To her surprise, Michael beat her to it, already waiting with files in hand.

"Director Peyton? What's this about?"

"Mr. Dawson said he wants to sit in-told us to use his office."

Edward didn't inform her. Carol had no idea what he was up to, but went along without complaint.

Once in the president's office, Edward really just sat there, not interfering at all. "You two, go on."

Carol had retouched her makeup earlier, so the red mark on her forehead was barely visible.

She wore a slit dress today, her figure more than enough to catch Edward's eye. His gaze lingered for half a second before he crossed his legs and looked away like nothing happened.

Michael, of course, didn't notice any of that, focused solely on the papers. "Ms. Bright, I went through your revised acquisition proposal. Regarding payment, we had agreed on 40% in cash and 60% through a stock issue. Cutting the stock entirely... don't you think that's too aggressive? Acquiring Serenor in full cash might strain the group's funds. It's safer to go with stock issuance."

Carol parted her lips slightly. "It's just Serenor. Director Peyton, are you being overly cautious?"

"Ms. Bright, I think..."

"I'm not interested in what you think. What I think is what matters."

Carol had a reputation for being direct and assertive. Backed by her competence, no one dared to go against her.

As head of the investment department and one of Edward's trusted people, Michael usually had a voice. "Ms. Bright, I think you may not fully grasp the investment team's standpoint."

Everyone knew about Carol and Edward's ambiguous relationship, so Michael had to keep his tone in check. If it were someone else, he might've kicked them out already.

"Being this aggressive could backfire during the negotiations," he added more tactfully, barely holding back from saying he thought she should be replaced.

Carol easily read between the lines. She tapped her index finger on the table gently. "Director Peyton, have you even looked into Serenor's equity structure? They're tightly held, which makes a full cash acquisition ideal. Issuing stock won't necessarily shift control, but if someone sneaky exploits it, who's going to take the hit?"

"You're heading the investment team. Don't tell me you missed such a basic detail in an acquisition case?"

Her voice was calm, but the chill in her eyes was hard to ignore. The air tensed.

Michael stayed quiet, clearly shaken. He really had overlooked that.

Carol might come off tough, but she knew when to balance carrot and stick. She smiled and added, "I know you mean well, Director Peyton. At the end of the day, we're all just employees here. Why not let Mr. Dawson decide?"There was a flicker of appreciation in Edward's eyes, but his tone stayed laidback. "Up to you guys."

Then he turned to Michael. "Who's the person in charge on the Moran side?"

"Initially it was me and their mergers director. But since you wanted Carol assisting me, they swapped people too. Looks like Mr. Moran himself is handling the first round."

Edward narrowed his eyes slightly, fingertip tracing the edge of his jaw as he glanced briefly at Carol. "Then let's see what you two can pull off."

...

After stepping out of Edward's office, Carol went to find her right-hand woman, Vivian Price.

She was still stewing about Cheryl smacking her that day. Sure, she hit back right away, but the anger hadn't really gone away. She wanted Cheryl to get a real taste of what the world was like.

Back when Cheryl was chasing after Edward, Carol had dug up some dirt on her-not enough to totally wipe her out of the modeling world, but definitely enough to cause trouble.

Carol handed the info to Vivian, who immediately took the lead. "Don't worry, Carol! I'll make sure it's handled beautifully."

With a faint smile, Carol decided to move ahead. Once things with Cheryl were set in motion, it was nearly time for her meeting with Michael and Mr. Moran.

She called Michael, but he shot back a message: [Mr. Dawson says they're holding off today. He's rethinking the lineup.]

Wait, didn't he just say she was in charge? What now?

Edward's thoughts really were impossible to get a handle on...

Vivian worked fast. The very next morning, while Carol and Edward were having breakfast, the TV chirped on showing a scandal about Cheryl.

"-According to reports, rising model Cheryl has exited the industry due to poor professionalism and lack of skill. Her brand endorsement contracts involve high compensation penalties..."

Cheryl's face appeared on the big screen. In just one day, she'd gone from high-flying to rock-bottom-completely devastated.

Carol paused mid-spoonful of oatmeal. Weird. The info she gave Vivian was enough to rattle Cheryl a bit, not kick her out of the industry entirely.

And those words-"unprofessional and incompetent"? That kind of label was career-ending. Someone big had clearly moved behind the scenes...

She glanced at Edward, subtly trying to read him. But before she could ask, he beat her to it. "Was that your doing?"

He didn't even look up. And just like that, Carol felt a bit foolish. Right, what made her think it was actually him?

She kept her voice low. "It wasn't me."

Edward's eyes flicked up, skeptical. She misread the look, thinking he was upset for Cheryl. "If you're trying to protect her..."

"Don't talk while eating."

Carol: "..."

At that moment, Nathaniel walked in. As Edward's chief aide, he was well aware of how things stood between Edward and Carol.

"Mr. Dawson, the old gentleman wants to see you."

Hearing that, Carol got up to gather her things. Normally, when Edward headed to the family home, she'd go too.

But Nathaniel quietly added, "Miss Bright, the old gentleman asked to see only him."

Carol raised an eyebrow, glancing at Edward's calm face-

So, something hush-hush was brewing. She wasn't in the loop.