The two people shared silent looks at the table, for Heather’s answer came as a total shock to both Robert and Everly. Heather had spent many years getting to where she was today, and they were surprised that she would give away her precious position in the company just like that.
“This can’t be right, Grandpa!” Everly shirked away from the responsibility at once.
How could Everly possibly accept that offer? Heather’s position was only one step away from the highest authority, and there were thousands of employees under her management. Everly couldn’t take it from her no matter what.
“Are you doubting yourself, Everly?” The smile on Heather’s face carried a hint of provocation. It was as though she was challenging Everly to take her offer.
“I… I…” Everly stuttered. She didn’t know what to say; after all, Heather’s unconditional confidence in her made her feel a little ashamed. She felt that she wasn’t worthy of such trust.
“I know that you’ve gained a deep understanding of the Langston Group from your time here, and you’ve been secretly finding out about the company’s operational procedures. Technically speaking, you already have plenty of theoretical knowledge; now, the only thing you lack is experience. Why are you doubting yourself? You should believe in yourself—you can definitely do it,” Heather reassured Everly. She didn’t know what her cousin was worried about, so she hoped that she could give her some confidence through her words.
“I really don’t think I can cope with such an important position, Heather.” Everly still couldn’t accept it. Robert, who had something to say, decided to sit back and watch the two of them instead.
“You need to learn to be more courageous. You’re not suited to work from the bottom, and I believe in your ability as a leader,” Heather said casually.
Robert had always trusted Heather’s extraordinary eye for judgement, so he swallowed his initial disagreement toward the proposal. Furthermore, he also knew that Everly was quite a timid person; right now, what she needed was moral support and encouragement. In fact, he might just shatter her confidence if he said something against it at a time like this.
Since he believed in Heather’s judgement, he also believed that she would never make a decision that could bring risk to the company. Thus, Robert silently accepted Everly as Heather’s successor to her position.
In truth, Heather’s decision had an underlying motive to it; if Everly were to take up such an important role, Blake would be sure to let his guard down. With that, things would definitely be easier to handle in the future.
Each of them bore different thoughts and opinions at the dining table. After the meal, Robert quickly left with a random excuse, giving the cousins all the space in the living room.
Heather looked around at the empty hall; it was now a great time to talk about more discreet things. Thus, she turned to the butler and instructed, “Don’t let anyone in.” With that, the living room instantly became their meeting hall. In the meantime, Heather planned to have a thorough discussion with Everly.
“Why have you decided to give me such an important role, Heather?” Everly was clueless about Heather’s thoughts, for this didn’t make sense at all.
“Do you think you can do it?” It was what mattered most to Heather. After all, she wanted her cousin to show her determination to do well in the company.
Everly stared back at Heather with hesitant eyes. At last, she nodded under the latter’s unbending gaze and replied, “I’ll try my best.”
“I believe in your strength. You’re young, so be brave. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” With that, Heather nudged her chair closer to Everly’s. She wanted to talk to her about something else.
“Do you have other plans in mind since you’re giving me your position in the company, Heather?” Although Everly was faint-hearted, it didn’t necessarily mean that she was stupid; she speculated that Heather must’ve had other plans by doing so.
“Yes.” Heather admitted it unhesitantly.
“It’s about Blake.” She was still unsure about how things were between Everly and Blake, but she had to make her intentions clear.
“Oh, Blake.” Everly became even more nervous. Why is she mentioning Blake all of a sudden? Don’t tell me she knows about the things that I’ve done with him behind the scenes?
“I’m worried about Langston Group’s future should it fall into his hands. He’s very assertive; even though he’s quite capable, he never listens to anyone.” Heather bluntly told Everly the truth without twisting her words.
“I don’t really get it.” Everly didn’t dare to side with her, but she didn’t want to say much either.
“You just need to know one thing—the reason you’re joining Langston Group is to keep Blake in check.” Heather made her point clear. However, it did seem crazy to use Everly to keep Blake under control. After all, the gap between the two of them was monumental in terms of abilities.
Nevertheless, Heather believed that her decision would bring about an unexpected positive outcome. She had a feeling that she had made the right choice.
Meanwhile, Everly was mulling things over. She was currently against Heather on one matter. In other words, she was on Blake’s side. Now that Heather was asking her to keep an eye on Blake in the company, Everly was still worried that she wouldn’t be able to cope with it despite the fact that those two matters were completely different and unrelated.
“Are you having trouble with your decision?” Heather was studying Everly’s expression intently, and it seemed like the latter did have certain ties with Blake. However, Heather had yet to find out the truth behind it.
As such, she was quite unhappy to come to such a conclusion; she never once expected that there might even be a connection between Everly and Blake. Was there really no one who could be of help to her in the entire Langston Family? Blake was engaged in matters which could bring harm to the Langston Group, so she had to arrange for someone to keep an eye on him.
All of a sudden, she felt guilty for leaving the Langston Group—after all, she was no longer as passionate as before when it came to starting her own business. Now, she’d rather aid her family’s company to survive this horrible predicament ahead.
“I don’t have the power to control Blake, Heather.” After much thought, Everly felt that she would definitely be hated by many in the company for occupying the top position out of nowhere, and it’d be difficult for her to be supported by the majority. In that case, how could she be of any use against Blake?
“Just follow my instructions and you’ll be fine.” Heather wanted to form a team with Everly. Even though it was obvious that her cousin might have something to do with Blake, it didn’t mean that she was completely on his side.
Meanwhile, Everly stared at Heather with an innocent look in her eyes; she trusted Heather a lot despite not knowing what the latter was up to. However, she was still doubtful—not only was she worried about her own abilities, she feared the possibility of exposing her other deed if she were forced to raise a conflict against Blake.
Because of that, Everly was troubled. On one hand, Heather was so persistent for her help, yet she couldn’t tell her the truth in all honesty. At the same time, Everly felt horrible to keep it inside as well.
Everly simply couldn’t reject Heather’s offer under her earnest gaze. Moreover, this was a great opportunity for her—she didn’t know when she’d have another chance to showcase herself if she failed to grab this golden opportunity. If she missed this chance, she would probably be a nobody for the rest of her life.
“Can I think about it for a few days?” In the end, Everly decided to take some time to decide, for it wasn’t wise to agree to it without thorough consideration.
“Sure.” Heather nodded. After all, now wasn’t the time to push Everly too hard.
When they were heading upstairs, Heather requested to pay Everly’s room a visit since the latter had been to the former’s room before this. Now that she thought about it, Heather had never been to another person’s bedroom before, so she was suddenly interested in doing so.
Even though Heather frequented Robert’s room, no one else had ever invited her to visit theirs. It was as though everyone in the Langston Family was ganging up on her.
Heather and Everly went up the stairs one after another, and it was a rare, harmonious sight to see. Everly thought that it’d cause no harm for Heather to see her room since it was quite clean and tidy. In truth, there weren’t many who would visit Everly’s room besides her parents. When she opened the door, Heather was a little surprised at the view.
So this is how Everly decorates her room, she thought to herself. Everly’s room had a minimalistic aesthetic theme—from the looks of it, the girl’s inner world seemed to be an interesting one.
“Quick, come and sit on the sofa, Heather.” Everly was a little nervous, and it felt as though a teacher was here to visit her home.
As such, Heather entered her room. Minimalism, huh… It looks like she’s pretty self aware in reality. Heather eyed Everly thoroughly, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
It seemed like Everly was precisely the person she was looking for. Heather didn’t care about her relationship with Blake behind closed doors; even if she was closer to him than she was to Heather, it didn’t matter at all.
After all, Heather had other plans in mind. Besides, Everly would never turn a blind eye to the wellbeing of the Langston Group, so Heather believed that she would make the right choice in the end.
“Why do you put so much trust in me, Heather?” It was as though Everly was more confident in her own room. Moreover, the question was something she was extremely curious about.
Heather gave her a brief glance, knowing that Everly was still nervous at the moment. Indeed, her younger cousin needed some training to overcome this anxious trait of hers.
“I trust you because of your abilities.” Heather endlessly emphasized on Everly’s skills; her response was perfectly logical and she wasn’t letting anything slip, so Everly didn’t know how to respond.
“Thanks for believing in me, Heather.” Everly expressed her thanks again. No doubt, she was feeling grateful. Finally, there was someone who trusted her to such an extent, and that someone was Heather no less—even Everly couldn’t believe it herself. An inexplicable warmth filled her heart at the thought of that.
“Your room is pretty decent, and the decoration looks great. Did you design it yourself?” Heather brought up a light-hearted topic to soothe Everly’s jitters.
“Yeah,” she answered truthfully.
With that, Heather was even more pleased. She could see that Everly had quite a strong sense of design. However, she wasn’t as skilled as Myra in this particular field; if Myra was here, she would be able to gauge Everly’s level at once.
“You shouldn’t downplay your talents, so I hope that you’ll appreciate the opportunity this time.” Heather turned around all of a sudden and looked at Everly, her eyes filled with sincerity. Soon after, she then added, “The Langston Group is going through troubled times right now. I believe you’ll be able to contribute many fresh ideas if you join the company.”
Those were none other than typical words of encouragement, yet they were slowly but surely breaking down Everly’s tough defense. Since Heather was able to tell her something like that, Everly knew that her cousin truly acknowledged her skills. She felt like she had just gotten full marks on an exam. At that moment, Everly simply couldn’t express the sense of accomplishment that she was feeling. She stared blankly at Heather, not knowing what to say.
“I believe you already have an answer.” Heather put on a sweet smile.
“How did it feel like on your first day at the Langston Group, Heather?” Everly had always been curious about this. Since they were on the topic, the question escaped her lips without much thought. At this point, she had more or less decided to join the Langston Group.
Heather narrowed her eyes, and she gave out a certain intimidating air at that moment. It seemed like it was something that had happened a long time ago. At the same time, it also felt like she had just experienced it yesterday. “I didn’t think much about it. Back then, I thought that the Langston Group would eventually fall into my hands.” It was her first time saying something like that. When those words left her mouth, it somehow left an unbelievably liberating feeling in her chest.
