Jessamine inhaled small gulps of air and filled her lungs with oxygen. Then, she exhaled slowly, as if it was the only way to ensure she wouldn't suffocate.For a long time after, she nestled against his chest and murmured softly, "I spoke with Layla in the afternoon. She should be asleep now and won't be waiting for me."Jessamine didn't answer his question directly, but Thaddeus understood the underlying meaning instantly.She didn't say no, so that meant she had accepted him.Thaddeus held her face gently, with his thumb lightly brushing the corner of her eye. In the mood of the moment, the simple gesture felt incredibly intimate.He bowed his head to kiss her lips—they were plump and bouncy like jelly, and no amount of it could satisfy him.Jessamine wasn't sure how long they had been kissing, but a sliver of her sanity remained, reminding her that they were in the office. In her mind, a clear-headed version of herself was having a tug-of-war with a passionate and impulsive s
At the break of dawn, Thaddeus wrapped her in his suit and brought her home.Jessamine barely had the energy to take a bath as she was exhausted. Unable to keep her eyes open, she fell asleep the moment she hit the bed. Even in her sleep, she continued mumbling. She accused, "Thaddeus, are you seizing the opportunity to kill me?"After tucking her in, Thaddeus gently lay down beside her. Despite having worked hard all night, he surprisingly didn't feel sleepy at all. He felt content as he watched Jessamine sleep in silence.The next day, it was almost noon when Jessamine was woken up by a call from Judith."Jacinda, why didn't you come again today? You didn't forget about the interview this afternoon, did you?"On the other end of the line, Judith was extremely anxious. How could the interview proceed without Jessamine? After trying to get in touch all morning, Jessamine finally answered the call.When Jessamine glanced at the time, she was shocked to see it was already noon and
Jessamine opened the lunchbox and took a bite of her food. Being both tired and hungry, she should eat and regain her energy.Thaddeus could tell what she was eating just by the sound on the phone."Jessie, how about coming over to my office for dinner tonight?"Jessamine paused and was immediately on her guard."We can just go out for dinner. Why do we have to go to your office?"Falling for his trick once was more than enough. At least for the time being, she didn't have the courage to step into his office again.Thaddeus couldn't help but laugh."What are you afraid of? I'm not going to bother you today. We'll just talk about work stuff. If you're too scared to come over, we can go to Grandpa's place. We can grab some ingredients and then chat while we're at it. After all, you still haven't finished the jackfruit in the fridge."Jessamine was extra cautious when she listened to him, fearing that she might fall into another one of his traps. When she heard "chat while we're a
Jessamine took a light nap on her desk after lunch. In the afternoon, Judith came in to deliver coffee and reminded her to get ready, as the media would be arriving soon.Jessamine freshened up and reapplied her makeup to make sure to hide any signs of tiredness from staying up all night.Today, the anticipation of the upcoming interview had everyone in Kama Jewelry buzzing with excitement, making it impossible to focus on work.When Jessamine used the pen name Lolly, she won numerous prestigious awards. At that time, she had always maintained her anonymity and turned down all interview requests.Speaking of interviews, this was essentially her first.By noon, the media arrived right on schedule.Judith guided them into the conference room prepared for the occasion. After the initial pleasantries, the interview commenced.The host started with a monologue before moving on to the questions."Ms. Patton, how do you feel about winning the top prize this time?"Holding the microph
Jessamine paused for a few seconds, pondering the question before she spoke."If it could bring us mutual benefit, then collaboration isn't out of the question. However, dominating the global market sounds a bit too ambitious, given the multitude of strong companies out there. Of course, in the short term, it can still be set as a goal to strive for."At Holt Jewelry, they were also celebrating their award win. Among the top ten award winners, only two of them were from Creslandia, and the other Creslandian was from Holt Jewelry Design Department.The interview was broadcast live on the screen in the lobby of Holt Jewelry. Everyone watched it attentively, soaking in the presence of the industry leader and basking in the celebratory spirit that filled the air.Jessamine and Thaddeus' relationship was well-known within Holt Jewelry.Compliments flowed with each passing moment."Wow! Mrs. Holt is amazing!""No wonder she's the boss' missus!""Mrs. Holt is the jewelry industry's bi
After Jessamine was done with the interview, she immediately returned to work. In the afternoon, she had a remote meeting with her company in Zenville. Her schedule was packed for the day.Only after the meeting ended did she see the message from Thaddeus.She stood by the window and looked across, but she could only see a layer of glass. She remembered that not long ago, she could see him standing by the window making a call.Jessamine couldn't recall when that scoundrel had swapped the see-through glass to become one-way only. Now that she thought about it, it was clear that he had his own schemes from the start.While pondering that, Jessamine stood by the window for a few minutes and took a break by stretching her body a little after a busy day. Suddenly, her phone rang. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.Jessamine answered the call, and Thaddeus' mellow voice came through the phone. "I see you, Jessie.""I just came to the window for some sunlight, and you noticed righ
"I don't advocate for pointless overtime either, so they can do as they wish," Thaddeus remarked.He went to the coat rack to help her get her bag. They went downstairs together and got into the car. Thaddeus sat in the driver's seat for a long time without starting the car.Jessamine had already fastened her seatbelt, and upon turning her head, saw that he was still lost in thought. She could tell that he had a lot on his mind."What's wrong with you?" she asked.When they called in the afternoon, it seemed like he was still in a pretty good mood.Thaddeus paused for a moment. "Jessie, I need to tell you something. You just have to be prepared."Jessamine saw the expression on his face and could tell that it was about something serious, so she asked cautiously, "What's going on? Tell me.""I had Colin's and your hair samples tested a while ago. The results are out. Take a look."He handed over the folder he was holding. Jessamine eagerly looked at the results although she had
"Jessie, have you finished work? You haven't had dinner yet, right?" Thomas asked."Grandpa, the two of us just got off work."Thomas laughed and said, "It's great that your two companies are next to each other. The office location Ted found this time isn't too bad. You can have lunch together at noon and even go home together in the evening."Thaddeus helped himself to the items in the fridge, taking a good amount of meat, eggs, and vegetables. Thomas watched in shock as Thaddeus completely emptied his fridge, then led his wife upstairs.The rascal only thought about his wife wholeheartedly now!Thaddeus placed the items he brought back in the kitchen. He made a point to check that the door was locked to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing incident from last time.He wasn't really trying to oppose Thomas. It was just that if he had to go through this again, he didn't think he could manage to get along with Jessamine anymore.The two of them returned to the kitchen to clean the v