Five days passed in a blink of an eye, and it was finally the day of the Garland Groupâs fiftieth-
anniversary celebration.During the day, Winnie was so busy with meetings and decision-making that she didnât even have the time to drink. The opportunity for her to take a breath peacefully only presented itself to her two hours before the celebration.âThe Garland Group looks glamorous on the outside, but who would have thought that itâs rotten to the core?â Winnie massaged her aching shoulder. Her brows scrunched up. âI would have to work tirelessly for a few months to get it back on the right path.âNathaniel, who was sitting beside her, couldnât help but chuckle after hearing her complaints. He walked up behind her and said, âMy dear Vinnie, your massaging technique is awful.
Let me show you how it is done professionally.ââYou know how to do it?â Winnie was amused.âWhatâs there to be surprised about?â Nathaniel was confident. âI know a lot of things. Now, shall I?ââNo, thank you.â Winnie turned him down with a smile. âI was just asking.âJust as her voice faded out, Nathanielâs hands were already on her shoulders, and he started professionally massaging her shoulders for her.Winnie was taken by surprise, for she never expected Nathaniel to ignore her rejection.âThereâs really no need for that,â Winnie emphasized once more.Right at that instant, a voice sounded outside of the door.âWho are you? Why are you sneaking around the VIP lounge?ââIâm sorry. I suppose you must be an employee of the Garland Group. Youâve got it all wrong. Iâm not sneaking around; Iâm just trying to look for my contact lens. I accidentally dropped it when I rubbed my eyes.ââIs that so? Do you need my help?ââThat would be great! Thank you for being so helpful. I really canât see with this horrible short-
sightedness of mine!âWinnie could not help but furrow her brows when she noticed the movements outside.She turned around and glanced at Nathaniel. âThat should be Jasmine, right?ââI think it is. Yes.â
Nathaniel nodded.âLet me go have a look. Sheâs still inexperienced, so sheâs easily fooled.â With that said, Winnie stood up, only to be stopped by Nathaniel.âYou have a rest. Iâll go.â With that said, Nathaniel swirled around and left.In just a short moment, Nathaniel returned with Jasmine.He took the initiative and explained, âIt was nothing much. The person was just looking for her contact lens.âAs she was a more attentive and careful person, Winnie asked, âSo did the person find her contact lens?âNathaniel nodded. âYes. She had it trampled beneath her shoe.ââGood.â Winnie nodded and dismissed it quickly.Little did she know that apart from looking for her contact lens, the person also took a video secretly.The video was about Nathaniel giving Winnie a massage on her shoulders.Meanwhile, there was no seat left vacant in the brightly lit hall.As they were the first and second in command of the Garland Group, both Winnie and Nathaniel were busy attending to their guests.Young and beautiful were the words used to describe Winnie. At the same time, she was a lady who was bold and daring in making decisions, for she turned the entire Garland Group upside down and bent it to her will.Countless people were intrigued by her for what she pulled off recently. With the addition of her dazzling appearance, she was surrounded by people from the start.The crowd was so condensed that it took Jasmine a massive effort just to get to Winnie.âMs. Garland, Old Mr. Fairchildâs car is just around the corner. He will be arriving in two minutes.â Jasmine reported Rufusâ arrival to Winnie as this was a task Winnie assigned her. Winnie had told her that she wanted to welcome Rufus personally.Now that Rufus was just around the corner, Winnie had to leave the scene.âLadies and gentlemen, please enjoy yourselves while I excuse myself for a minute,â Winnie said to the guests before tilting her head at Nathaniel.At the side, Nathaniel considerately lowered his head after hearing what Winnie said. âWhatâs wrong?âWinnie gazed up at him a little and replied, âPlease take care of everything for me temporarily.
Iâll go welcome Old Mr. Fairchild.âNathaniel bobbed his head. He took the half glass of wine from Winnie and responded, âLeave it to me. You go do what you need.âMeanwhile, the interactions between them did not escape the guestsâ eyes.One of the guests, who was considerably much chattier, teased them to liven up the mood even more, âMs. Garland and Mr. Quinn are really compatible with each other. It feels like youâre a match made in heaven!âNathaniel smiled but said nothing. The smile, however, made it obvious that he was very pleased to hear what the guest said.As for Winnie, she couldnât be bothered to explain herself because she was in a hurry.Just as she swiftly arrived at the entrance, Rufusâ car came in less than a minute.His car was very recognizable as it was very iconic. It was a popular luxury antique car from the last century. In fact, it was so rare that one could not find a second one in the Avenport, or even the entire Chanaea.As soon as the car arrived, it caught the reportersâ attention. All of them turned their cameras toward the luxurious antique car.Even if they couldnât snap a picture of any members of the Fairchild family, the photos of the luxurious antique vehicle they took were already capable of making their way to the headlines.A smile bloomed on Winnieâs face after catching sight of the familiar vehicle. It was her first genuine smile of the day.Though the Garland family had quite a name for themselves in Avenport, the prominent families and enterprises were still far out of their league.Hence, she tried to include the outsiders in their anniversary to build up fame and brand the new Garland Group as hers.However, after getting rid of the many members of the Garland family after taking over Garland Group, she also lost partnerships with plenty of the companies Garland Group used to work with. For this reason, many did not wish to attend the ceremony despite receiving an invitation, and even more of them were playing it safe by watching from the sidelines.Despite that, the ceremony was still bustling with people.In fact, all of these happened because of Rufusâ support. He was the person who was backing her up.The Fairchild family was the most prominent in Avenport. Ever since receiving an invitation from Winnie, Rufus had his men officially announce his plans and arrangements for the night on every official account of the Fairchild family.With that, no one was bold enough to ignore Winnieâs invitation anymore.As for those who didnât receive an invitation, they were figuring out ways and means to get their hands on an invitation.Whatever Rufus did was not part of Winnieâs plan. She had never asked for help from Rufus before.She knew that Rufus did these because he cared for her and wanted to help her.Hence, Winnie felt grateful for the old man from the bottom of her heart.As soon as the car came to a halt, Winnie strode over toward the door.She bent down and personally opened the door for Rufus.Just as her hand touched the door handle, she found her hand being wrapped by a warm and slender large hand.In the next moment, a familiar yet low voice rang in her ears. âLet me do it.â