The marketing department was actually located on the other side of the building. As one of the busiest departments in Smith Group, it was the largest and probably considered the most paper ridden, right next to the Accounting Department. Ellena looked around her surroundings as they went into the manager's office.
The manager was a bald, middle-aged man. As soon as he saw Naomi coming his way, he smiled so brightly that his eyes had narrowed. There was something greasy about the way the man patted his hair. Even his skin was so oily that it glistened under the dim lights.
He greeted respectfully. "Second Lady, why did you come over?"
Naomi crossed her arms, nodding in Ellena's direction. "Manager Black, this is the new market researcher for the department. Take her with you, and make sure to take good care of her."
Although she asked him to ‘take care’ of Ellena, her actions had proven otherwise. With how far they were standing apart from one
Naomi and Madeline were already assuming that she was having or had an affair with “Nicklaus”. If they saw him coming down the street to pick her up now, then they would surely misunderstand her situation even more. Ellena frowned, feeling as if she was coming down with a headache. This was just too complicated! It would've been easier if she had gone back to the villa herself. Besides, she didn't have any need for any help either way! After exiting the elevator, Naomi went out first. When Ellena saw that Naomi was already a few steps ahead, she slowed down her pace and took her phone out of her pockets. "Nicklaus, you better pick up." She murmured while dialing the number. To her surprise, the man answered quickly. "What is it now?" His mocking voice echoed from the other end of the line before she could even speak. "Have you decided not to treat me to a meal? Have you run away with the black card, stealing me from my own well deserved dinner? "Don't be ridiculous!" Wait a sec
Edward lowered his head and gazed at the way her slender fingers clasped along his skin. But he didn't break free. "Isn't it normal for us to investigate you? Do you really think we'd allow just anyone into our family?" His face was enough to bring any man or woman up to the mountains. Even Ellena couldn't help but stagger backward in fear of him. Although he was usually mocking and teasing, "Nicklaus" had a side that you wouldn't want to piss off. On the first day, Ellena entered the Arnoult family, Edward had already sent a few of his men over to investigate her past more thoroughly. It was only then he understood her feelings for that man. As for her pretending to be ugly, that information had gone way back that there was no way for any of them to verify it. Ellena was stunned for a moment. Within a second, her face became serious as she looked at him in a complicated expression. "You're saying that Edward had asked you to investigate me?" "You think I want to investigate you
Ellena took a deep breath and walked into the room, making sure to leave the door slightly open behind her. An innocent smile slipped into her lips. "Manager Black is discharged so quickly. I was just about to visit you in the hospital." Dawson Black was his full name. He had a wife and a daughter. While he was deemed to be lustful and lazy, there was actually one woman that could get him off his feet and that was his wife. She even had come to the company once to deal with him because of the rumors that the man was involved with a female colleague in the company. The words she used and the look she had on was like a lion on a prowl. Everyone in the company knew that he was especially afraid of his wife. Yesterday, Ellena had offended the department manager on her first day at work, so she obviously needed to do her homework. The last thing she wanted to do was back down, like all the times she had done in the past. As soon as he caught sight of her, the muscles on his face twitch
Even after Ellena sent the message, she still couldn't be at ease. All she could do was sit back and stare at her screen from time to time, awaiting his reply. Her finger refreshed the screen a few times in the last hour.What's wrong with her? She ran her fingers down her hair irritably as she placed her phone on the corner of her desk, not wanting to look at it any longer. She had never been this nervous with Daniel before! And to be this anxious for a man she had never actually seen was...weird. Just as she was concentrating on her documents, she heard a few whispers from the other cubicle. "I heard that Dawson applied for a leave." "What? He used to be so eager in coming to work." So the man had already retired? Ellena leaned against her seat as she pushed herself to the wall behind her, interested in hearing more of this. Just then, another colleague quickly joined the discussion and she frowned. Their voices had become much softer now. However, she still caught a few words
There were other people around, so Ralph couldn’t reject Ellena just like that. After all, even if they were all on bad terms behind closed doors, they were still considered 'family' or whatever that meant nowadays. He had a faint smile on his face and nodded at her. "Why don't we eat together?" "Sure." After she said that, Ralph’s expression changed slightly. Although it was barely noticeable to the other bystanders, Ellena caught it. She smirked. "But not today. I plan on eating with my colleagues, so how about another day?" The father and daughter duo obviously disliked her. From the moment she was brought into this world, they already wanted nothing to do with her. Naturally, that didn't stop now even if they were working under the same company. Hearing her refusal, his expression relaxed and his smile became less stiff. "All right. Some other time." Just then, Naomi suddenly turned her head and picked some food for her father. She insisted, placing the vegetables on his plate
Ellena actually remembered to cook for “Nicklaus”. After all, that was what she had promised him when he lent her his lawyer. Although he is a bastard, a promise is still a promise.But as soon as they entered the shopping mall, she had already lost track of time. Her colleagues quickly pulled her from store to store, pushing a bunch of fabric to her face as they discussed intently the day they just had.Seeing as the sky had turned dark, she quickly found an excuse to stop, "I'm so tired. Why don't we find a place to rest?""Sure! I saw a drink shack by the end of the mall." All of them headed up that direction.Seeing as they were finally distracted, she used this time to take out her phone, only to see that she had two missed calls from “Nicklaus”.“Nicklaus” really wasn't the type to sit patiently and wait for her to reply. She squeezed her eyes shut, not expecting him to call her twice. At this point, she couldn't even imagine how angry he must've been after the second call. Sh
Ellena widened her eyes. "You're...""Shouldn't I be the one asking you and not the other way around? Why did you come all the way here?" The masked man interrupted with no difficulty. He squinted his eyes and bent over, trying to get a better look at her.There was a hint of sternness tied to his words, and the concern it showed was just right. She couldn't help but freeze at his tone.Even Ellena was convinced that the man was actually her cousin. She stuttered out, regaining her voice. However, she still couldn't mask the shock etched across her features. What the hell was this?"I was just about to go back.""Is that so? I'll send you off then." With a nod, the masked man pulled her wrist and walked out of the convenience store.However, the male colleague who had escorted her all this way wouldn't let her go that easily. Instead of allowing her to leave, he walked straight towards the entrance, blocking their paths. He motioned to his papers. "We're still supposed to do our resea
Edward's eyes still didn't move away from her face, not allowing any subtle change of expression to go unnoticed. He stared at her like a man solving his first puzzle, determined and serious. Ellena was also staring at him this whole time. If outsiders were to see them now, they would've felt the tension rising on the rooftops. They were like a pair of kids, just waiting for the other to budge. In the end, she's the first one who turned away. They were just one person? No matter how much Ellena thought about it, she couldn't help but feel that the idea was ridiculous! Seeing the constantly changing expression on her face, Edward couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed in himself. Perhaps it really wasn't the right time to say it now. It must be too sudden. He retracted his gaze and slowly drank the mouthful of water. "If I said no, would you believe me?" Hearing the incredulity in his voice, her shoulders sagged in relief. "Of course not! Do you really think I'm that easy to