No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian)

Chapter 38

"I've covered the debt for you, lan said, "but if you lay a hand on her again, don't expect me to show any mercy just because we're blood."

The major project that Casey was involved in had always been under the supervision of his mother. It wasn't until things went south that lan realized it was all a trap set by her.

Leonora had lured Casey in, then orchestrated a leak of information from him. Her goal was nothing short of driving the Bell family to bankruptcy and putting Casey behind bars. The true reason behind his mother's machinations was still a mystery to lan. If it was all about some old flame between Victoria and his father, it seemed far-fetched. So, lan dug into his mother's accounts and uncovered her embezzlement of charity funds.

The Hayes family had always been pillars of philanthropy. If his father, who was abroad, caught wind of this, he'd divorce Leonora without a second thought.

Leveraging this dirt, lan managed to wrest control of the project from his mother, taking charge himself.

Leonora sneered coldly. "Fine, then you better keep your people in line. It's best if they don't end up in my hands."

With that, she left the room.

Half an hour later, the shareholders' meeting commenced. Leonora, with Heidi in tow, entered the room, introducing her as the new assistant.

Clara, as lan's chief secretary, naturally sat beside him, diligently taking notes on her laptop. From the moment Heidi walked in, Clara's expression didn't change, her lips curled in a pleasant smile. Clara even gave Heidi a slight nod-a cordial greeting as if there was no bad blood between them.

lan, observing Clara's composure, couldn't help but feel curious. Clara seemed different since her return, enigmatic in a way that eluded his grasp.

Midway through the meeting, it was time to discuss a significant contract. lan turned to Clara and asked in a low voice, "Where's the contract?"

Clara calmly met his gaze, "It's all in these meeting documents." She flipped through the stack of papers in front of lan, but the contract was nowhere to be found. "I'll go look for it, Mr. Hayes," Clara said, standing up.

Before lan could respond, Leonora interjected, "This contract is the crux of today's meeting. Ms. Clara, do you intend to make the shareholders wait while you search?" Clara, unruffled, replied, "Perhaps you have a suggestion for what to do now, Ms. Leonora?"

Leonora's temper flared, "You're the chief secretary. It's not my job to fix your mistakes. If you can't handle this, maybe you're not cut out for the position."

Clara smiled lightly, "In my three years as Mr. Hayes' chief secretary, I've never had such an oversight. To judge me before we know the facts seems rather unfair, doesn't it?" The shareholders, who had always admired Clara, spoke up in her defense, 'Ms. Clara has always been competent. A rare mistake is understandable. Nobody's perfect." Leonora held back her criticism and watched with a cold gaze, "Go and find it. Don't disappoint me."

Clara, along with the executive office team, searched high and low to no avail. Just as everyone was at their wits' end, a janitor approached, holding a document.

"Ms. Clara, is this what you're looking for?" she asked. "I found it in the trash can of the restroom. I think Ms. Heidi threw it away."

Taking the document from her, a chill flickered across Clara's eyes.

Heidi, again!