Vanya's POV
Grace noticed my thoughtful expression and asked, "Did Cliff suspect you when you went back to the Silver Moon Packhouse today?"
"He did suspect me, but... it wasn't quite what I expected," I replied.
"What do you mean 'not quite what you expected'? Isn't suspicion just suspicion?" Grace hugged a pillow, her curiosity piqued as she waited for me to explain.
I said, "He gave me a ring today and said... he likes me."
After I finished, Grace was stunned. "Cliff?"
"Yes," I confirmed.
"This feels like something my silly brother Theo would do," Grace said, looking puzzled.
I rested my chin on my hand and thought carefully before saying, "Cliff probably likes Melinda. He's saying this because of M Group. Right now, the Todd Group can't afford any more scandals. He wants to keep me stable. As long as we don't divorce or cause trouble during this period, he can avoid a lot of headaches."
I repeated to myself, as if trying to convince myself, "Yes, that must be it."
How could Cliff possibly like me?
His preference for Melinda had never changed, whether in the past or now.
"He was still showing off his affection for Melinda everywhere not long ago, taking her everywhere and letting rumors spread about how he doted on her—buying her high heels, putting on her coat, and introducing her to business tycoons," Grace added, still not convinced.
"Don't you dare soften. You can't trust a man's words. I think you're right. Cliff definitely wants to keep you stable, especially with the Dalton family behind you and nothing behind Melinda. Now with M Group in the mix, the Todd family would never let him marry Melinda!"
Grace made sense.
The next day, I focused all my efforts on dealing with the Todd Group.
I didn't directly target their major projects but started with some minor ones that were easily overlooked.
For a large corporation like the Todd Group, things might look great on the surface, but internally, there was a lot of corruption.
As the saying goes, the more grand the exterior, the more problematic the interior.
The bigger the company, the more issues and loopholes there are. The Dalton family, once a major enterprise, had also seemed successful over the years, but only a few people in the family knew the real situation.
"Vanya, come over here and organize these documents," a middle-aged woman's cold voice interrupted my thoughts. I snapped back to reality and quickly replied, "Sure, Laura." I stood up and went to handle the files.
Ironically, on my first day of internship, I was assigned to a company that cooperated with the Todd Group.
To outsiders, it seemed like Thompson Group and Todd Group had little economic interaction, only collaborating on a few projects.
But in reality, Thompson's economic growth over the years was closely tied to the Todd Group. Their relationship was far from ordinary.
Had I not done extensive research on Todd Group recently, I wouldn't have known about this connection.
It seemed Cliff had left quite a few backup plans.
The internship work was tedious and boring, mostly consisting of miscellaneous tasks.
Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Calvert, along with a photo of me slacking off at my desk.
I immediately looked up to see Calvert standing outside the employee area, flanked by a few assistants.
Calvert gave me a nonchalant smile. It suddenly hit me that Calvert had been doing well lately, even surpassing Neville in status.
Today, he was here to discuss a collaboration with Thompson Group.
Thompson was in the jewelry business, targeting a domestic high-end luxury brand market. Calvert had put in a lot of effort to secure this deal with Thompson, and the guy really had some talent.
"Vanya, where are the documents I asked you to organize?" Laura's impatient voice broke through my thoughts.
"Right here," I handed her the files. Laura glanced through them and noticed me constantly looking outside.
Following my gaze, she saw Calvert and assumed I was flirting with him.
She sneered, "Focus on your own work and stop daydreaming!"
With that, Laura turned and left. I didn't take her words to heart. After all, the internship was only for a month. I didn't plan to care about the people or matters here.
During lunch break, I ordered some takeout and walked out of the employee area to get a cup of hot water when a hand pulled me into a corner.
Calvert, dressed in a stylish white suit with his chest slightly unbuttoned to reveal his well-defined pecs and a silver earring on his left ear, looked particularly sexy.
"Miss Dalton, don't you think you should explain something?" Calvert spoke first.
I had no intention of hiding anything. "You know I'm studying at Wolfe, right?"
Calvert remained silent, waiting for me to continue. I added, "The graduate program at Wolfe requires an internship. The school assigned me here."
Calvert seemed to be assessing whether I was telling the truth.
I pushed past him and said, "Technically, I'm your boss. Why are you questioning me?"
"Sorry, I always thought we were partners," Calvert corrected. I didn't argue. I never intended to treat Calvert as a subordinate.
Given his trajectory toward becoming a top actor in just a few years, it made more sense to collaborate with him. A long-term partnership would definitely be mutually beneficial. We could become great business partners.
I looked around. If a male actor pulled a junior employee aside during lunch break and this was caught on camera by the security room, it would definitely make headlines tomorrow.