Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 229

Even though Madeleine didn't know Luna well, she couldn't entrust everything to her, even if Mr. Porter vouched for her. She needed to handle things herself to make it clear to Ruby that it was Madeleine, not Luna, who was truly helping her.

"Madeleine, are we going in now?" Luna asked Madeleine.

Madeleine hid her real surname and called herself Madeleine West, even changing her place of birth.

All Luna knew was that she came from Kalimdor, nothing more.

"No, we're just here to check out the place today. It's got a pretty decent exterior."

Ruby had ambition and was willing to invest. Even for a newly established company, the environment was pretty good.

There was a small garden at the entrance of the company, filled with various flowers and trees. The path was paved with small pebbles, and right in the center of the garden stood a round music fountain. The pool was home to both fish and rocks.

Past the garden was the office building, which was not tall, only five stories. If they exited the office building and turned left, they would find the production workshop and warehouses. Between the production workshop and the office building was a security booth, with the employee dormitory and canteen on its right. Inside the canteen was an employee library for leisurely reading.

To the far right of the two dormitory buildings was a large basketball court, where they could play and enrich their life in spare time.

Ruby had really invested a lot to create her business blueprint.

No wonder Ruby couldn't hold up after being suppressed by Stefan. Even though she knew Stefan despised her and didn't want to see her, she still went to him to plead for mercy.

However, Ruby ran into Lucinda at Ascend Global and came back down and out.

"Aren't we going in?"

"No rush."

Ruby hadn't taken the initiative to find Owen yet.

Wait until Ruby hit a wall at the Ikella group and found herself at a dead end, then Madeleine would show up. That way, Ruby's gratitude towards her would be even stronger.

Madeleine was in a hurry when she came and left; Ruby didn't even know she had been there.

At this moment, Ruby was in her CEO's office, lambasting her senior managers for their incompetence. They had failed to bring in business and secure orders.

"If this continues, my company will go bankrupt before it can make a profit."

Ruby slammed her hand on the desk. Her face under the heavy makeup was anxious and furious.

She had a fight with Adrienne Dewey and was left with a black eye. Even though she had applied ice for a long time, the injury would still be noticeable without heavy makeup. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"Ms. Scott, you're so close with Mr. Martinez; why not reach out to him? At this point, Mr. Martinez is the only one who can help us. In Pinehurst, only Mr. Martinez dares to confront Mr. Coleman."

In Pinehurst, there were several major groups; apart from the Ikella group, all the others were reluctant to antagonize Ascend Global.

Hearing this, Ruby was at a loss for words.

She was waiting for Owen to reach out to her, but.

What's going on with Owen? He must know about her business troubles. Why hadn't he called her or offered to help?

Could it be, as her mother Megan said, that Ruby had been using Owen all this time and Owen would eventually be hurt and leave her?

No, that's impossible!

Owen had been infatuated with Ruby for over a decade; how could he abandon her?

He must be too busy.

But in the past, whenever Ruby had a problem, no matter how busy Owen was, he would drop everything to rush to her side, help her resolve issues, smooth things over, and fight for justice.

This time, Owen hadn't appeared in front of her for two days.

Ruby was a bit anxious and also blamed Owen's father, Shane. If it weren’t for his intervention forcing Owen to marry Cecilia, Owen wouldn't have been absent for two days like this.

Was Owen being held back by Cecilia?

"All right, all of you get out."

Ruby waved her hand in annoyance, dismissing the managers.

After they left, she picked up her car keys, grabbed her bag, and decided to head to Serendipity Cafe.

But Ruby was a bit nervous because of Lucinda's sharp tongue and Cecilia's fearlessness.

Facing the two of them alone, she might lose terribly.

After some thought, Ruby still decided to go to Serendipity Cafe.

No matter what the outcome, Cecilia would definitely call Owen once she showed up. Owen, knowing she was at Serendipity Cafe, would rush over to protect her, and she could tag along with Owen, pour out her grievances to him, and once Owen sympathized with her, he would help resolve her issues.

Serendipity Cafe was bustling in the afternoon, with no vacant seats.

The Blue family's bodyguards had all voluntarily become free waitstaff.

Fiona and Janice were happily taking payments at the cash register, while Lucinda and Cecilia were helping the pastry chef make desserts.

When Ruby walked into Serendipity Cafe, she saw this bustling scene of a family peacefully enjoying life.

While her business was being suppressed by Stefan to the point where it couldn't operate.

Lucinda's shop, on the other hand, was thriving thanks to Stefan. Even though it was just a coffee shop selling coffee and pastries, it was very profitable with so many customers.

After Ruby walked in, she wanted to go straight to the cash register.

She looked around but didn't see her two rivals. She only saw Fiona sitting inside the cash register and a distinguished middle-aged woman sitting next to her, whom Ruby had never met before and didn't know who she was.

"Are you here for coffee or pastries?"

Ruby had barely taken two steps when someone blocked her path.

It was a bodyguard from the Blue family.

From the moment Ruby walked in, the bodyguard from the Blue family had his eyes on her.

Ruby's change in expression, the hatred in her eyes, none of it escaped the sharp gaze of the Blue family's bodyguard.

They were Keith's personal bodyguards, having been with him through many life-and-death situations. Their insight was particularly sharp, and their skills far exceeded those of ordinary bodyguards.

"Are you new here?"

Ruby looked the Blue family's bodyguard up and down, then glanced at the other bodyguards. They were all tall and strong; they were not bad-looking either. Even though their clothing was a bit casual, if they were serving here, they would probably draw in a lot of female customers.

Was Lucinda using the strategy of attracting females?

That's pretty low. Just for the sake of making money and doing good business, they would resort to such tactics.

"You could say that."

The Blue family's bodyguard replied.

They were responsible for protecting Janice and Ms. Moore and accompanying the two in running the store. But to the customers, they were indeed new.

But they weren't waitstaff!

They were just helping Ms. Moore with some work.