Chapter 346

Ophelia's phone flashed a surveillance video. It was from the main store of Harmony Jewelry, showing Isabella bumping into Esme a few days back.

The video caught Esme standing up for Isabella, giving Malin a piece of her mind, and then storming out with Isabella, saying they were done with Harmony Jewelry.

After watching, Nina got the gist of what went down. She handed the phone back to Ophelia and said, "Look, Ms. Murphy, I don't know what kicked this off, but I can vouch for Isabella. She's not the type to bully for kicks. Honestly, you need to keep a tighter leash on your staff. In this biz, besides design, isn't reputation everything? If one of my employees disrespected a customer, I'd make them apologize on the spot. If it wasn't too bad, they'd get a warning; if it was serious, they'd be out. No way I'd put up with that crap!"

Ophelia chuckled. "Ms. Miller, nice try at dodging the issue. As you mentioned, Harmony Jewelry already canned her. But why did your sister, Isabella, push Esme to ditch Harmony Jewelry, Ms. Miller? Can you honestly say you had nothing to do with it? Isabella's your sister; why would she buy jewelry from Harmony Jewelry instead of from you? And it just so happened to be the day Esme was meeting with Harmony Jewelry. Is all this really a coincidence, Ms. Miller? Or was it a well-planned move?"

Ophelia's breakdown left Nina speechless.

Nina said, "Believe it or not, this wasn't something Isabella and I cooked up."

Ophelia sneered. "Then tell me, Ms. Miller, if Isabella wasn't trying to mess things up, why was Esme so dead set on not giving Harmony Jewelry another shot?"

Nina said, "Sorry, I don't know Esme that well, so I can't answer that."

Ophelia stood up. "Nathaniel from our family was a key player who helped Sebastian when it mattered. I didn't know you were so ungrateful."

Whenever Isabella and Sebastian came up, Nina couldn't help but defend them. "I'm not up to speed on Landon Group's stuff, but Mr. Nelson's actions during their rough patch-were they really above board?"

Ophelia was stumped.

Nina lowered her eyes, dialing back her sharpness. "Sorry, Ms. Murphy, I didn't want things to go this way. But I guess we're just not meant to be friends."

Ophelia's eyes were full of disdain. "Do you think I want to be friends with you? You and Isabella are just riding on men's coattails. I've looked into you both. Before Isabella hooked up with Sebastian, she was just a broke college student, and you were just a regular woman! Without them, would you be where you are today? Would you even have the right to talk to me?"

Ophelia's sharpness and condescending attitude were unbearable.

At this point, there was no use in continuing the conversation. Nina's face darkened as she turned to her assistant. "Show her out."

"Alright, Ms. Miller." The assistant walked over and swung the office door open. "Ms. Murphy, this way, please."

"I'll leave!" Ophelia snatched her bag, pointed a finger at Nina, and stormed out. That finger? Total declaration of war.

The beef with Harmony Jewelry was now set in stone.

After seeing Ophelia off, Nina couldn't shake off her words. "You and Isabella are just riding on men's coattails. Without them, could you still be where you are today?"

Isabella was a top-notch student. Her thing with Sebastian wasn't some master plan, just a twist of fate. Even without Sebastian, with Bella's hustle, she'd still be killing it.

As for Nina, she built this company. Sure, Richard helped a ton, but it wasn't just him; the Jose family had her back too. Now, it was all on her.

Nina clenched her fists. One day, she'd show them all!

For now, she just had to grind and keep pushing forward!

Nina's office decor? All Richard's doing. Especially the lounge inside, almost entirely his handiwork.

The original design was basic, but Richard jazzed it up. Especially the walls, which had killer soundproofing. No matter how loud things got inside, no one would hear a peep.

Richard opened the wardrobe, which had both his and Nina's clothes hanging together, their scents mingling.

He grabbed a robe and headed for a shower.

Afterward, he came out and waited for Nina. During this time, Michael called to say Elodie had trashed his villa.

Richard just shrugged it off, "Who cares? Let her." Then he hung up.

Because of Bruno, Richard had to put up with Elodie. When he couldn't take it anymore, he'd deal with it.

But Richard hoped Elodie would back off after hitting some walls; otherwise, he and Nina would have more headaches.

As Richard was mulling this over, the phone rang again.

He picked it up and saw it was Michael again.

Richard frowned and answered, "What now? Couldn't you say it all at once?"

Michael laughed, "Richard, come out for a drink? It's been ages since you joined us. We all miss you."

In the background, a chorus of voices chimed in. "Richard, come drink with us. We're waiting for you."

Richard didn't hesitate. "Can't make it."

Michael said, "Why not? Is Nina not letting you? No way, does Nina have you on that tight a leash? Richard, are you really whipped?"

Richard pulled the phone away from his ear and said, "I like being whipped!"

Then he hung up amidst a burst of laughter.

Richard sneered. Those single guys would never get his current happiness. What's so great about drinking?

He wanted to wait for Nina and have some fun together.

But Richard waited forever, even took a nap, and woke up still alone.

No noise outside.

When Richard opened the door, he found the room empty, even the lights were off.

Nina had forgotten him! She left him at the company and locked him in the office!