"Smack!"

Tom Aiken slapped his younger daughter hard across the face. He'd used so much force that his own palm stung; how much it must have hurt Violet was easy to imagine.

Violet was stunned by the blow. She covered the side of her face that had been hit, staring blankly at her father's dark expression. For as long as she could remember, she'd always been the apple of his eye; the one who got slapped was Lia Aiken…

Tom Aiken didn't care how his daughter was anymore. He turned his head and ordered the Secretary, "Take the second Miss back to the hotel and keep a close eye on her. If she causes any more trouble, I'll hold you responsible."

As he spoke, he left the dazed Violet behind and walked back into Valence Group, straightening his clothes as he went.

After making such a scene, Tom Aiken still didn't want to give up the chance to cooperate with Valence. For the sake of the Aiken Family, his skin was thick enough.

By the time he entered the CEO's Office, Ivan Horne had already changed his attitude, becoming gentle and courteous. If Tom hadn't witnessed what happened just now with his own eyes, he would have thought that scene had never occurred.

No wonder people always said Ivan Horne was impossible to read—he changed too fast.

As for what had just happened, Ivan acted as if he remembered nothing, not bringing it up even once. Since he didn't mention it, of course Tom Aiken wouldn't bring it up either.

The two of them talked business, something Lia Aiken didn't understand at all.

Her only interest was painting.

Ivan was very considerate of her, letting her sit inside his desk area and giving her paper and pen so she could pass the time by drawing.

Drawing required quiet. Ivan and Tom sat in the reception area of the office discussing business, a considerable distance from the desk. Ivan purposely kept his voice low, so he wouldn't disturb Lia.

Lena Horne quietly pushed the door open. Seeing the scene inside, she couldn't bring herself to go in and ruin it, so she gently pulled the door back to a slight close.

Secretary Xu saw what she did and said nothing.

Others might not know who this girl was, but as Ivan Horne's Secretary, Xu certainly knew this little thing's real identity.

Lia really was drawing—she was sketching Ivan's shrewd, domineering aura while he talked business. She'd even included her father, so when she saw how ugly his expression was, even though she couldn't hear what the two men were saying, she could guess that her father wasn't getting any advantage from Ivan at all, and might even be forced to give more benefits to Valence Group.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly sensed a pair of hands braced on the desk. The person's gaze fell on her paper. She lifted her eyes and met Ivan Horne's always-shrewd black gaze.

Another glance at the sofa showed her father's figure was long gone.

The two of them had finished their business talk?

"Ivan, if you guys are done, I'll head out first." On the surface Lia sounded calm, but inside she was a little flustered.

Ivan's words and actions told her that he wasn't treating her this way just because of Lena.

But she didn't dare believe it if someone said he liked her. They'd known each other for too short a time.

Women around Ivan were as numerous as fish crossing a river; he'd seen every kind of beauty. Lia was somewhat good-looking, but among all the women Ivan had seen she was definitely not the most beautiful. Others couldn't even catch his eye, so how could someone her father didn't like and her stepmother couldn't wait to kill possibly win Ivan Horne over?

She tidied up the desktop, stood, and walked out from behind the desk, giving Ivan a small smile and a nod. "Ivan, I'm going."

As she passed him, Ivan caught hold of her arm, then took the sheet of paper from her hand to look at it. This time she'd done a quick sketch, but it was still very good, especially of him—he was drawn with striking vividness.

"It's not completely finished yet."

Lia said softly.

Her father's back had been to her, so she'd only managed to outline his back.

"It's very good."

Ivan praised her. He put the paper back down on the desk, then stared at Lia intently. After two minutes of meeting his gaze, Lia started to falter, her eyes darting left and right.

"Lia, there's something I want to tell you." Ivan said very seriously. He once again gripped her shoulders, a gesture that forced Lia to look him in the eye again. "Lia, you might think this is fast—honestly, I think it's fast too, and unexpected—but dragging things out isn't my style. Since I've realized I'm attracted to you, and it's the kind of feeling I haven't found in any other young woman, I'm not going to keep waiting. I want to make myself clear to you first."

"Lia, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

After saying all that, Ivan went straight to the point.

Lia: …So she really had guessed right.

"Lia, will you? If you feel this is too fast and need time to think about it, I'll give you time to think it through." Ivan said solemnly. "You don't have to worry that I'm just playing with you. I, Ivan Horne, am not the kind of man who toys with girls. I'm serious."

Lia really wasn't worried that he'd toy with her. There were too many rumors about him; although rumors couldn't always be taken at face value, after ten days of knowing and spending time with him, Lia completely trusted him.

What she felt was that things were moving too fast—so fast she was caught off guard, with no mental preparation at all.

She didn't even know when exactly Ivan had started to fall for her.

"Ivan, I really do need some time to think. Let me think it over properly." Lia didn't ask him why he liked her, nor did she say anything like she wasn't worthy of him. She just spoke honestly—she really needed time to consider.

Ivan smiled. "I understand. I won't rush you and I won't pressure you. Take your time. Even if the final answer isn't what I hope for, I won't give up." After all, he hadn't even begun pursuing her and had gone straight to confession. The fact that she wasn't scared off only showed how strong her nerves were.