Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Edward remained calm and found it unrealistic. His sister had always opposed having a third child, especially at her age. "Mom, don't make conclusions yet. Let's have Rose ask her first. Maybe there's a misunderstanding." Rose nodded, fully agreeing with her husband's words. She recalled that Sherri strongly opposed having a third child and planned to enjoy her happy life with Hackett without taking care of the kids. So, Sherri wouldn't easily consider pregnancy at this age. Then, Rose spoke up, "Letcall Sherri and ask." "Sure, put it on speaker, | want to hear what tricks this girl is up to again," said Juana.

Seeing that the four children had almost finished eating, Edward urged them to go upstairs. He was mainly concerned that Sherri might talk nonsense. "You guys. Go upstairs and do your homework. I'll check all of them later. And you, you don't need to be here. Go upstairs to help your brothers with their homework. If you make a mistake in tutoring, copy it 20 times." This statement completely eliminated Harper's thoughts of playing games, complaining in his mind, 'Is there no justice? Can't | just return the knowledge to the teacher when | graduate?" "Upstairs," Edward urged again when he saw Harper still standing in place.

Harper's curiosity for gossip was extinguished by his father, Reluctantly, he led his three younger brothers upstairs to do their homework. As they reached the staircase, he leaned over the railing toward the dining room, though he couldn't see anything. With ears perked up, he was ready to eavesdrop and even gestured to his younger brothers to keep quiet. However, Edward seemed to have eyes on the back of his head, saying, "You guys have one minute." Caught in the act, Harper reluctantly climbed the stairs again. He accepted his fate and closed the door with a loud bang as if telling his father, "I have entered the room. Are you satisfied now?" After hearing the door close, Rose picked up the phone to call Sherri. The phone rang for quite a while before Sherri answered. "Sherri, what are you doing?" Sherri had just finished the dinner that Hackett had served her. She was lying in bed and had no idea that Rose was calling her with the speaker on in the dining room at home. She responded with a touch of complaint, "I almost died these past few days. Rose. If tomorrow isn't the weekend, | would've had to take a leave again." "You're pregnant, so you're taking a leave?" Sherri had taken two consecutive days off, and since Natalie mentioned Sherri feeling tired and staying up late at night, Rose assumed it was due to binge-watching s.

Rose's voice was not loud, very light, and Sherri didn't hear it clearly. Now Sherri was confused, wondering, 'Who took two days off and got pregnant again? Was there another newborn in someone's family again?’ So, she questioned, "What's going on? Who's pregnant? Are you pregnant?" Rose raised her eyes and glanced at the other three people. Edward immediately knew it wasn't about pregnancy. He tried to signal Rose to turn off the speakerphone, but Juana insisted on keeping it on, wanting to know why her daughter took leave to sleep and eat so much.

With a phone in one hand, Rose leaned closer to the phone and replied, "I said it's you who's pregnant, not me." She muttered in her mind, 'l already have four children. Why would | be pregnant now? If | have one more kid, Edward could be tired to death, andbeing a widow then. Besides, I'm going to have four daughters-in-law, which is great. Mine are all boys, and none of them will be married off.' Sherri was speechless. "Why am | the only one that does not know I'm pregnant, and you all know about it? Is the baby in my belly right now? Why do | feel like it's only a rumor?" After listening, Rose was surprised. "You're not pregnant? Didn't Joy say you're pregnant?" "Who? Joy?" Sherri was confused.

Rose was speechless, realizing everything was truly a rumor. "Hey, if you're not pregnant, why have you been taking leave and eating so much?" "Damn it. Blit on Hackett. After | confessed to him that night, he clung tointimately all night, and he was all over me, and | was fucking..." Listening to Sherri's complaint, Rose hurriedly pressed the microphone button and turned off the speaker. The last two sentences were not clear to everyone, but they could roughly guess.

Everyone felt a bit awkward. Juana, accustomed to such situations, couldn't be bothered to say much. She just casually remarked, "Always fooling around, causing unnecessary trouble all the time." With that, Richard and Juana left. Finally, there were only Rose and Edward at the dining table. Rose continued to listen, and Sherri rambled on inside the phone. Thirty minutes later, Rose finally hung up the phone. In the end, it was not Rose who hung up; it was Edward who took the phone from Rose's hand and turned it off directly. He was now glad that the four children had gone upstairs early.

The next day, Jasper parked his sports car in front of the Blackwell family's villa early in the morning. After turning off the engine, he got out of the car and then took many gift boxes from the trunk to ring the doorbell.

The door quickly opened, and the maid greeted, "Mr. Jasper." Jasper nodded politely and then he greeted the family by first shouting towards Joy who had been watching TV early in the morning, "Mrs. Joy, Mr. Nathan, Mr. Hackett." Hackett raised his posture when he saw Jasper. He responded indifferently, "Hmm, Ruby is still upstairs." "Okay, I'll wait," Jasper said as he put the things in his hands on the table. Joy spoke up instantly when she saw the gift boxes, "Why did you bring gifts when you cto pick up Ruby? Don't bring them from then on. Just treat this place as your own home." Jasper replied, "Okay, | know." "You're getting more attractive. Ruby has a good eye." Joy liked Jasper pretty much, and she found him pleasing to the eye. She pondered, 'No wonder Sherri always mentioned him, indeed likable. But with such looks, it's indeed a cause for concern. No wonder Sherri is worried." Nathan, seeing his wife acting like an infatuated woman, said to her, "Go and see if Ruby is coming down. Tell her that Jasper is downstairs." "Alright, I'll go take a look." Joy happily ran upstairs.

Hackett and Nathan stood up at the stime. Nathan was more considerate, afraid that too many people around would make the young lovers feel uneasy. "Let's go. There's a meeting in the morning. Jasper, we'll leave first." Jasper nodded. "Alright, Mr. Nathan. See you later." Hackett looked at the charming future son-in-law, sighed, and finally said, "Take good care of Ruby." "Sure," said Jasper.

Soon, Ruby cdown in a formal suit. She made a black professional outfit for herself. Seeing Jasper standing downstairs looking at her, she smiled beautifully and hurried down. The two stood facing each other. Jasper, being half a head taller, took the bag from her shoulder on his own initiative. "Goodbye, Mrs. Joy." Joy pretended to be unsatisfied and said, "No more Mrs. Joy again. Just callJoy." Jasper replied, "Sure." Before leaving, Joy advised the two to cherish their relationship and even mentioned the possibility of getting married next year. Jasper just nodded and smiled without explaining because it wasn't something he could decide; it required approval from Hackett.

In the car, Jasper asked warmly, "Have you had breakfast?" "Yes, | have. Have you?" Ruby had eaten before changing up.

Jasper reported his schedule and expressed sconcerns about Ruby's first day at work. "I've eaten too. If you encounter any problems at work, just givea call. I'll be at the clothing company in the morning and at the Wilson Group in the afternoon." Ruby listened attentively, nodding obediently. "Don't worry, | can take care of myself. Also, there's something | want to discuss with you. Can we act like strangers at the company?" At this, Jasper quickly turned to look at her and then turned his gaze back forward, lips parting as he speculated, asking, "Do you want to manage things on your own?" "Yes, is that okay? Otherwise, if | announce my identity as soon as | enter, people won't work together with me. | won't be able to understand the situation, nor can | integrate with everyone. The design team needs everyone to work together. If there are differences, it's hard to unite and the things we design may lack soul," said Ruby.

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I" : : i" It will be challenging." Jasper originally had a morning meeting g . f 5 planned but considering Ruby's first day in the design department, he intended to hold a meetjag Om Intyoduyee hier Baisbnally, so she f a wouldn't feel mistreated. However, q f a q Ruby didn't want him to intervene. He always knew that beneath her gentleness, there was determination and resilience. So, he compromised " q 5 o eventually, "Well, if you find it hard, just tell me. Even if you reveal your identity, no one can say anything f " against you." He could protect her.

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I" | : [i Let's not reveal it for now. I've never worked in a professional setting g . ' before. | used to just visit my dad's company occasionally. If want to help you manage, | need to start from the bottom. Starting to be a manager as an inexperienced novice ri a) m away will NA in Jarre Also, today when | go to work, | plan to enter as an ordinary designer for an internship. | want to q i take it step by step. Is that okay? Ruby requested. She was well aware of being a newcomer, despite q 3 q f winning awards. She didn't know how to manage. Having studied design in college, she knew nothing about management. She already enrolled in management courses, striving to 0 ' n catch up with Jasper's pace and fight alongside him. She expected herself to be like Ava, who could help William manage the company. She might not achieve the slevel of excellence as Leia and Christina, but she would strive to becbetter. .

Seeing Ruby's serious expression, Jasper eventually agreed, "I'll listen to you. If you find it hard, our relationship will go public." "Don't underestimate me, thinking I can't handle it." Suddenly, Ruby lifted her head with a determined look.

Jasper found her cute in this manner, reaching out to pat her head, answering with a smile, "I trust you." .

The car reached the company. The 2 AAR ' G towering building's display screen played advertising videos, and the brand nhad changed to Only RB, even on the entrance sign. Seeing Ruby standing still, not Roving | feet JaspepsaitCDidhT I tell you 8 hat th before that the companys nhas n : changed?" He thought to himself, ' q 3 Besides, Mr. Hackett said the : [ previous brand nwasn't a good q f q q f q idea." At that time, Jasper didn't think much about it; he just wanted to [1 n HPT carve "OnLy" on the building, announcing to the world that Ruby was his only one. She was the only one he could officially list as a spouse on various formal documents, the only one he loved in his life, the only one he wanted to protect. .

After taking the specific elevator upstairs, Jasper separated from Ruby, letting the secretary take her to complete the onboarding process. Ruby entered as an ordinary employee, following the regular procedures. Since she wanted to try, he agreed.

Until 10:30 in the morning, Ruby hadn't sent any messages to Jasper. There was an impromptu meeting at the Wilson Group. Jasper sent her a message, [How's everything going so far?] Ruby, with her gentle and easygoing nature, was easy to get along with. She also didn't talk much, making her less conspicuous when she entered the company. Besides, she had an internship badge hanging around her neck. She replied, [It's going well. I've met a few colleagues, all recent graduates.] Jasper texted right away, [I need to go to the Wilson Group. Callif you need anything or look for Terrell.] Since the opening of the clothing company, Terrell had been transferred here. Tucker could handle things on his own long ago, but Terrell had proposed leaving. Tucker, placing great importance on their friendship, insisted on keeping Terrell and even gave him a two percent stake in the company, but Terrell declined.

Ruby replied, [Okay, | know.] Then, Jasper sent Terrell's contact information to Ruby, still feeling a bit uneasy. Ruby assured Jasper to focus on his work without worries. She was not a three-year-old anymore and knew how to handle things herself.