Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 1561-1570

“Okay then. I’ll take a photo for you if I meet her.” Ellen had no choice but to agree. Selena couldn’t do anything to Ellen anyway even if Ellen didn’t take the photo.

After Ellen hung up the phone, she took out a book she’d brought along and started reading. Reading during her spare time at work could increase her knowledge, which she thought was great.

Suddenly, she wasn’t aware of when, but a figure approached the window. The man didn’t bother her but merely stood by the window silently and watched admiringly for a short while before leaving.

At Connor’s house, Harvey’s family came to visit Connor. Olivia was just about to ask Harvey about his pursuit of Ellen when Harvey lowered his head disappointedly and said, “Mrs. Aguirre, Ellen has a boyfriend, so it wouldn’t be right to pursue her!”

“What?! Ellen has a boyfriend?”

“Yes. When I gave her a call this morning, a man answered the call. That man claimed that he was Ellen’s boyfriend and told me to stop bothering her.” Harvey felt quite annoyed and discontented. I spent so much money, and yet I didn’t even get the chance to hold Ellen’s hand!

As for Olivia, she couldn’t contain her curiosity. Does Ellen actually have a boyfriend?! Since when? Who’s the guy?

Olivia suddenly realized that Selena should be with Ellen right now, so she decided to get Selena to find out. If the guy was an ordinary man, it was fine to let Ellen continue the relationship. However, if the guy came from a wealthy family background, then that was unacceptable. After all, Ellen would end up as a threat to them if she had better progress in life.

Olivia entered the master bedroom and gave her daughter a call.

“Hi, Mom. What’s the matter? I’m at work right now!” Selena answered the phone.

“Lena, you live with Ellen right now, don’t you? Do you know that she has a boyfriend?”

“She has a boyfriend?! Who told you that?”

“Harvey. He called Ellen this morning, and a man answered her phone.”

Selena felt quite perplexed. “That’s not possible. I dropped her off at work this morning. She should be in the office.”

“Then how could a man have possibly answered her phone and claimed to be her boyfriend? Lena, find out what’s happening before you return home.”

At that moment, Selena was quite intent on figuring out the matter and suddenly developed investigational instincts. She was quite keen to find out about the mysterious man hiding behind Ellen. This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.

“Sure, Mom. I got it. I’ll try my best,” Selena agreed. After all, she had nothing much on her hands. The other male colleagues fought over completing her work for her. All she had to do was behave coyly, put on an adorable act, and treat the person to lunch. With all those, everything would be sorted perfectly.

Ellen went to the office canteen for lunch, so when Jared came over to see her, she was no longer at her desk.

After Ellen came back from the canteen, she took a nap lying on her desk. By the time she woke up, it was already two o’clock in the afternoon, so she quickly freshened up. Once she had come to her senses, she went back to the office to be on standby.

At that moment, her landline went off, so she answered the call, “Hi, Ellen speaking.”

“Come over to my office.” It was Jared.

Ellen immediately got up and headed to his office. She was wondering which job he needed her to complete, but unexpectedly, he retrieved a takeaway box and placed it in front of her. “I wanted to bring you out for lunch this afternoon, but you were not at your desk, so I ordered a dessert as a takeaway for you.”

“I-I had lunch at the canteen this afternoon.” Ellen was surprised by his affectionate act, but she shook her head. “President Presgrave, you should keep it for yourself? I’m stuffed.”

“You keep it for your tea break. I bought it specifically for you.” Jared was quite insistent as he grabbed her hand and placed the bag into her hand.

Ellen bit her lip and thought, This boss is too kind to the point that I’m slightly embarrassed.

“You can go back to the office now,” Jared said to her before getting up to walk over to his desk and starting on work.

Ellen didn’t want to be disruptive, so she took the takeaway box and returned to her office. She opened the box in her office and saw a dainty dessert inside. The dessert was made from fresh ingredients, and it was quite fragrant and tasty.

It definitely looks pricey.

Suddenly, Ellen felt tears well up in her eyes. Other than her grandma and brother, this man was the only person who treated her well.

She no longer had many memories of her parents because it had been ages since she last saw them. Her brother was the figure who had replaced her parents to take care of and protect her.

If Ellen’s brother were still around, he would have been twenty-six years old. Ellen wiped away her tears and sighed.

It was nearly time to head home from work when Ellen suddenly received a phone call from Selena saying she was waiting outside in her car. Ellen told Selena she needed a little more time because Ellen had to wait till her boss left before she was allowed to leave.

Suddenly, Ellen’s landline went off, so she reached out to answer the phone. “Hi, President Presgrave.”

“You can finish work now,” Jared said to her on the other end of the line.

Ellen quickly asked, “Do you need me to do anything else for you?” Jared replied, “No, I’ve got some clients to entertain tonight. You can head home first.”

“Sure!” Ellen hung up the phone and finally left the office feeling quite reassured.

She took the elevator, and as it went, it stopped for the other staff who had also finished work. At the thirtieth level, a few female staff entered. They were engrossed in gossiping loudly as they walked in.

“Hey, have you guys heard the news of the female staff at the reception area being transferred to the president’s office level? That receptionist must be quite outstanding.”

“Yes. I’ve heard of that too. President Presgrave was the one who personally arranged for her transfer. She definitely has the means.”

“What is her relationship with President Presgrave? I heard that she’s stunning with a great figure.”

“What else could it be between a man and a woman? It’s something illicit, of course! If I were prettier, I would parade in front of President Presgrave whenever I had the chance. Perhaps then, I might be able to succeed in seducing him.”

“Haha! You should forget about it. You’re a middle-aged lady, so stop having such ridiculous ideas!”

Ellen blushed bright red in embarrassment. If she was not mistaken, she should be the particular female they were gossiping about.

“Gosh, President Presgrave is such an outstanding man. That woman must have saved the planet before to gain his attention. The luckiest woman on earth, so to speak!”

“Yeah, I wonder how it feels to be dating President Presgrave. Tsk. Tsk, He’s so hot. I would swoon if he would even cast a second look at me.

“How does it feel? The kind that you would have a sore waist and find it hard to stand straight the next morning! Hahaha!”

Every female staff inside the elevator burst out laughing. Meanwhile, Ellen, standing in the corner of the elevator, shifted as far back to the corner as possible. She wanted so badly for the ground to swallow her up.

These people have such a wild imagination! It was just a promotion! Why did I suddenly become the woman in an illicit relationship with President Presgrave?

The elevator finally arrived at the ground floor, and Ellen waited for the female staff to leave before fleeing from the elevator. Her face was flushed bright red. She saw Selena’s car parked outside upon walking out of the front entrance, and she immediately headed over and opened the door to take a seat inside.

Meanwhile, Selena studied Ellen intently upon seeing her enter the car. “Is someone hunting you down?”

“I didn’t want to keep you waiting for too long.”

Selena started the ignition and asked casually, “Ellie, do you have a boyfriend?”

Ellen shook her head frantically. “No! I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Selena was engrossed in her thoughts, Mom mentioned that when Harvey called Ellen this morning, a man claiming to be her boyfriend answered the phone, so who’s lying? Selena was quite intent on uncovering all of Ellen’s deepest secrets.

“Say, do you want to have spaghetti tonight? Let’s go home and make some,” Ellen mentioned.

Selena didn’t want spaghetti at all. “Spaghetti again? You’ve just been promoted, so treat me to a meal at a restaurant.”

Ellen considered Selena’s words before nodding. “Okay, let’s go.”

They went for dinner at a restaurant, and upon entering, Selena behaved much more naturally compared to Ellen, who clearly wasn’t a frequent visitor. Selena went ahead and ordered three hundred worth of food. When it was time to pay, Selena made an excuse to leave and visited the washroom.

Ellen was very sporting, and she footed the bill without complaints. She recalled her and her brother being taken into Selena’s home when they were kids. It was a kind deed that Ellen knew to repay.

On the other hand, Selena was pleased with the meal. When they arrived back at Ellen’s house, Selena’s bad habits were revealed. Selena was very lazy and didn’t even bother to wash her clothes. After taking something from the shelf, she just left it lying around. Meanwhile, Ellen diligently tidied the living room after Selena went back into her room.

Shortly after that, Selena came over to chat with Ellen. As they chatted, Selena purposely mentioned that she would like to have some warm milk and requested Ellen to make it for her.

“Ellie, I have a habit of having warm milk before I go to bed. Please could you get it for me?” Selena pouted and asked coyly. Next, Selena saw Ellen put down her phone and Selena immediately covered

the phone with a pillow. Subsequently, Selena swiftly tapped on the phone to prevent the phone from going into lock mode.

Ellen nodded. “Sure, give me a few minutes.”

Ellen walked out, and Selena instantly took the former’s cell phone to check on it. Yes! It’s not locked. Selena quickly checked the call history and saw a call log with the name “President Presgrave.”

Suddenly, she felt a rush of exhilaration and quickly grabbed her cell phone to snap his phone number. At that moment, she also discovered that he had given Ellen a call on a weekend morning. Selena quickly tapped into their text messages. As she read their chat history, an intense look of jealousy flashed across her face.

Jared and Ellen chatted with each other like friends. Subsequently, Selena checked to see if there were any other men Ellen was in close contact with, but Selena couldn’t find any.

Is her social circle actually that tiny?! Selena found this quite hard to believe. Who’s the man that answered her phone this morning?

At that moment, Selena was just about to put down the phone when there was a notification of a text message. Selena reached out to tap into the message. Immediately, she was stunned in place. President Presgrave?!

‘What are you doing? Are you about to go to bed?’ This was an intimate question, and it was currently ten at night as President Presgrave initiated the chat.

Selena somehow replied to the message subconsciously, ‘Not yet. How about you?’

‘I’ve just ended work and arrived home not long ago. I’m about to take a shower.’

‘Oh! President Presgrave, you must have a well-built body.’

‘Would you like to check it out?’

At that moment, Selena felt increasingly flustered as she replied to Jared’s text. She didn’t expect Jared to be such a flirty person in private. She considered it and wondered whether Ellen would blame her for replying to Jared’s text.

However, Selena felt an intense yearning within her as she boldly replied, ‘Yes, I would like to check it out of course!’

Thereafter, he sent over a photo soon enough. In the picture, the man lifted his white shirt in front of the camera and revealed his enchanting six-pack abs. He was definitely the most well-built man Selena had ever seen, and she could even see his V-line abs. Selena hurriedly grabbed her cell phone and snapped a photo of that.

Gosh! President Presgrave and Ellen are that close to each other?! Does that mean if Ellen offers to be with him, he will welcome her with open hands too?

‘Do I look good?’ He sent another text message.

‘Yes! You look awesome! Is there more?’ Selena posed as Ellen and asked.

Suddenly, a phone call came in on Ellen’s phone, and immediately, the phone felt like a piece of hot coal to Selena because the person calling was Jared.

Ah! Ah! This is insane! Selena realized that Ellen would come back inside if she heard her cell phone go off, so she had no choice but to answer the call. A chuckle in a low voice came from the other end of the line. “Darling, what else do you want to see?”

Selena listened to his magnetic voice and sensed the pent-up, contradictory emotions in his voice. He was usually such a solemn man in public, but his voice sounded captivating through the speakers.

She didn’t dare to make a sound, so she had no choice but to hang up the phone before quickly sending a message as a reply. ‘My cousin’s here with me, so it’s inconvenient for me to take the call. Good night and rest well.’

After Selena said that, she swiftly deleted every single message from before.

He replied, ‘Okay. Good night.’

After deleting the messages and making sure that Jared stopped sending any messages, Selena finally heaved a sigh of relief. However, she couldn’t contain the raging jealous emotions within her.

At that instance, Ellen came over with some warm milk. Selena hurriedly flung Ellen’s phone aside and pretended nothing had happened.

“Ellie, I’ll head back to my room.” Selena took the glass of milk from Ellen after saying that and went back to her room guiltily.

Meanwhile, Ellen wanted to look at the time, so she took the pillow aside and found her cell phone tucked underneath. She took it and glanced at the time. 11.00PM. I have work tomorrow. Let’s stop the game. She decided to shut her eyes and go to bed.

As for Selena, she had trouble sleeping in the room next door as she couldn’t stop admiring the photo Jared had sent. She became increasingly jealous as she continued to look at the photo. That was because Jared had sent the photo specifically to Ellen. This indicated that, in his mind, he hoped that Ellen was the only one who enjoyed that photo.

Selena thought she should feel quite smug to have done what she did, but actually, she felt terrible, and the upset feeling that hit her caused her to have trouble sleeping.

Meanwhile, Ellen had a good night’s sleep, and the following morning, Ellen knocked on Selena’s room to wake Selena up. Finding it tough to get out of bed, Selena told Ellen she wanted to take the day off to catch up on some sleep and told Ellen to go ahead to work alone.

Ellen had no choice but to leave for work first, and she hailed a cab to work.

Before she arrived at work, Ellen’s cell phone went off. She looked at the caller ID and was shocked because it was Jared on the line.

“Hello, President Presgrave. Have you arrived at work?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m about to arrive.”

“Don’t come upstairs. Wait for me at the entrance, and I’ll bring you to get some breakfast.”

Jared hung up upon saying that and didn’t give her a chance to say no. Meanwhile, Ellen felt slightly awkward. Is my job here just to keep him company for meals? This is such an easy job!

Although Ellen stood at the entrance, she chose a secluded spot in the corner because she was worried about being the topic of speculation. The gossip she had heard in the elevator yesterday frightened her.

Jared was quite eagle-eyed and spotted her, so he accelerated and drove his sports car in front of her. She quickly yanked the door open to take a seat inside as soon as she noticed that Jared had parked the car.

Jared directed a complicated look at her with his deep eyes, and Ellen could feel him staring at her, so she blinked. “Is there something on my face?”

“No.” Jared curved his lips slightly. This is unexpected. This girl was actually bold enough to titillate me last night, but now, she’s putting on an innocent front. Is she aware that I was kept awake until two in the morning last night because of that? He couldn’t tell why she would want to check out his abs and wondered whether she felt something for him.

Jared took the opportunity to look at the lady next to him as he looked in the rearview mirror. She had a dainty face that was quite innocent-looking, and she kept mum about her titillating actions last night.

“Did you have a good night’s sleep last night?” He couldn’t help asking.

She nodded. “Yes. I did.”

“How would you rate my body?” Jared suddenly wanted her to give a rating. After all, she had seen it at no cost.

Hearing that, she blushed bright red and stared aghast at her big boss. What’s wrong with President Presgrave today? Why did he suddenly want me to rate his body?

“It’s great. It’s better than a model’s figure.” Ellen could only choose some complimentary words. Besides, he did actually have an exceptional figure.

“So… Do you like it?” Jared turned his head and asked.

At that point, Ellen blushed bright red once again, and she replied brazenly, “Every girl would like it.”

What’s wrong with President Presgrave? Ellen was quite dumbfounded deep down.

Meanwhile, Jared curved his lips into a smile. That means she actually loves it, huh? No wonder it wasn’t enough for her last night, and she wanted to see more. What else does she actually want from me? There is only my face left, other than my figure. Is she hinting at something else?

“Ellen, do you like me?” Jared suddenly asked.

At that point, Ellen’s mind buzzed. Did President Presgrave get dumped by someone? Why is he suddenly randomly asking someone whether they like him or not?!

“Of course, I do! You’re my boss, so how could I possibly dislike you?” Ellen replied with a smile.

“What if I wasn’t your boss? Would you still like me?” Jared asked. Ellen’s reply was not to his liking.

She nodded once again. “Yes, I would still like you.”

After Jared heard that, he kept having a feeling that she wasn’t sincere and sounded perfunctory. Shouldn’t she be specific and list out what she likes about me? She wasn’t ambiguous like this when she teased me last night.

Just then, they arrived at the breakfast joint, and Ellen finally got out of the car with slightly wobbly knees as soon as he parked the car. There is something wrong with President Presgrave today. Why is he acting so strange?

Ellen trudged along upstairs by trailing after the man in front of her. At the same time, she couldn’t stop studying his body from top to bottom. His figure is even more perfect than a model’s. His clothes also perfectly accentuate that!

Ellen cupped her chin with her hands after they had taken a seat and ordered their meal. Inadvertently, her eyes met his as he stared at her from across the table. Her heart raced in response. The look in President Presgrave’s eyes is strange. Why does he keep staring at me? Is there some dirt on my face?

“President Presgrave, did I do something wrong?” Ellen asked gingerly.

Jared immediately continued the topic unfinished from the previous night and restarted the conversation, “Other than my body, what else would you like to check out?”

“Uhh. I…” Ellen looked at him red-faced. Since when did I say that I wanted to check out his body? Other than his body, what else could I check out? Why does his question sound so intimate?

Red as a tomato, Ellen considered the situation for quite some time but couldn’t seem to come up with a suitable reply to this intimate question. Subsequently, she gulped and said, “President Presgrave, did someone dump you?”

His questions were just too unusual, and it felt like he was trying to prove his masculinity. Could it be because some woman broke up with him?

Jared was taking a sip of water, and upon hearing her question, he choked on the water and sputtered. He coughed softly for a moment before lifting his head to stare at her with glittering eyes. What sort of question is that?! I don’t even have a girlfriend, so how could I possibly be dumped?!

“I had trouble sleeping last night because of you. Don’t you think you should make up for it?” Jared said this with a huff.

Ellen was confused from the moment she met him today. At that instant, she was even more so perplexed. I caused him to have trouble sleeping? How? And I am supposed to make up for it?

“President Presgrave, could you make things clearer? How did I cause you to lose sleep? What did I do to you last night?” Ellen blinked her large eyes and revealed an innocent look.

Jared had no choice but to take out his phone and retrieve last night’s chat history to show her. “Refresh your memory.”

She couldn’t help but reach out for his cell phone to take a look. Her pretty eyes widened, and her mouth was agape when she saw their chat history last night. When did I talk about this with him last night? I-I actually requested that he take a photo to show me too?! As she looked at the photo of him revealing his abs, she couldn’t help but take another look.

Subsequently, Ellen took out her cell phone to check their chat history from her end, but she saw nothing at all. She couldn’t help recalling that last night, during that period, she had gone to warm some milk for Selena. Maybe Selena chatted with him using my phone?

That must be it! Ellen was mortified and angered inside. How could she do something like that?! She conveniently took my phone and chatted about such an intimate topic with President Presgrave! How am I supposed to end this? Ellen always behaved respectably, but looking at last night’s chat history, the things she said made her seem so lustful.

Do I really have to tell him that the things yesterday were sent by Selena? It would make the situation even awkward! In the end, Ellen had no choice but to take the rap for everything.

“Oh! Yesterday I-I drank some alcohol, so I was a little wasted. President Presgrave, please don’t be mad at me. That were just some random things I said. Please don’t take them to heart.” Ellen could only conjure up a random excuse.

Meanwhile, Jared narrowed his eyes slightly. “Why did you drink alcohol so late at night?”

“Well, I-I found it hard to go to sleep, so I drank a tiny glass,” Ellen said with a bright-red face before looking at him awkwardly. “I’m not secretly interested in you, alright?”

After Jared heard her explanation, his expression turned darker than before. She is not interested in me but purely enjoys checking out my body, huh?

“Don’t drink alcohol unnecessarily next time, and don’t send such titillating stuff to anyone else randomly!” Jared instructed her domineeringly.

Ellen immediately nodded in response. She promised meekly, “I promise I won’t.”

Jared was significantly vexed. After all that, she isn’t interested in me at all? It was just her rambling in a drunken state!

Meanwhile, she was also quite frustrated deep inside. Using my phone to chat with Jared and then deleting the chat history?! This has crossed the line!

She had agreed to allow Selena to stay with her, but that didn’t mean Selena was allowed to breach her privacy in this way.

“President Presgrave, I’m sorry if I have offended you. Please forgive me,” Ellen apologized because she found that her actions were truly affrontive.

“That’s alright.” Jared lifted his brows and glanced at her. Actually, I enjoy being affronted like this.

After breakfast, Jared returned to the company with her for a meeting.

As for Selena, she finally got out of bed. After rummaging in the kitchen for food for quite some time but to no avail, Selena went downstairs to grab a bite. She opened the door and waited for the elevator with her bag in her hand. Soon, the elevator arrived. Ping! Selena was startled when the elevator doors opened.

It was because the person standing in front of Selena was her male manager.

“Mr. Rhodes, do you live here?” Selena asked in surprise.

Jeffrey glanced at her and said, “Yes, I live here.”

Selena entered the elevator awkwardly. Subsequently, Jeffrey asked, “Do you live here as well?”

“M-My cousin lives here.” Selena was slightly nervous as she replied.

“What position does your cousin hold in the company?”

“S-She works at the level of the president’s office.”

“Oh! That makes sense then.”

The elevator stopped at two levels below them, and two people entered the elevator. They greeted Jeffrey warmly. “Hi, Mr. Rhodes.”

At that point, Selena was shocked to discover that everyone knew each other. Furthermore, she faintly remembered that one of them was the director of the Finance Department.

“Why does everyone live here? This is such a coincidence,” Selena interrupted.

“This is the residential area provided by the company for the management-level staff, so that’s why we all live here!” the female director mentioned.

Selena couldn’t contain her shock and quickly asked, “Are the houses here available for rent for the public?”

“This is a residential area developed by our company, so none of the properties has ever been rented out to the public. Those who are eligible to stay here hold at least a managerial position in the company. Which department do you work in?” The female director couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked.

At that point, Ellen was mortified. She had no other option but to say, “I-I work under Mr. Rhodes.”

“Her cousin lives here,” Jeffrey quickly explained, just in case they misunderstood that something was going on between him and his female subordinate.

“Which department does your cousin work in?”

“She works at the president’s office.”

Quite impressed, the female director instantly replied, “Your cousin’s very capable to get a job by the president’s side at such a young age.”

Selena exited the elevator, significantly dumbstruck. So, Ellen actually lied to me! This isn’t a place she rented at all! She was granted this accommodation for free by the company! How on earth did Ellen get this perk? The location and amenities of this residential area are way more luxurious and better than my area! Ugh, how could she lie to me?!

Selena was angered beyond words and reached out for her phone to give Ellen a call.

Ellen was coincidentally free at the moment, and upon seeing the call from Selena, she answered it angrily, “Ellen speaking!”

“Ellen, how could you lie to me! The house you’re staying at right now isn’t a rental property at all! It’s a luxury apartment provided by the company!”

Stunned, Ellen didn’t expect Selena to have found out, but Ellen admitted frankly, “Yes, it is provided by the company.”

“So why did you lie to me? I’m your cousin!”

“Yeah. Are you still in my house?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Please gather your belonging right now and move out of my home. You’re no longer welcome to stay.”

“What did you just say?”

“Last night, you secretly used my phone and sent some flirty messages to President Presgrave. Don’t assume I’m unaware of things!” Ellen furiously exposed Selena’s misdeed.

Selena was taken aback by that. She didn’t expect Ellen to find out, so she ended up saying, “It wasn’t intentional. Your phone was by my side, so I randomly replied to a few messages. I was worried that you would tell me off, so I deleted the messages.”

“Are you aware that by sending those messages, you’ve created a huge misunderstanding for me and President Presgrave?” Ellen was enraged.

As soon as Selena heard that, she was secretly delighted. Did President Presgrave get mad at her and told her off?

“Why? Did you get told off by President Presgrave?”

“No, he didn’t. He misunderstood and wondered whether I was interested in him.”

“You could have told him that I was the one who sent those messages!” In fact, Selena hoped that Ellen would do that. As such, Selena’s presence would become known to Jared.

“That’s ridiculous! I had no choice but to admit that I was the one who sent those messages. Next time, please don’t touch my cell phone without permission!” Ellen hung up the phone immediately after saying that.

Originally, Selena had thought that last night’s text message exchange was great, but right now, she was quite unhappy. At this point, she regretted her actions for teasing President Presgrave provocatively on Ellen’s behalf.

After all, Ellen wasn’t the type of person to tease a man on her own initiative at all. Besides, Ellen wouldn’t know how to. Since Ellen had admitted to being the message sender last night, President Presgrave would surely be more infatuated with her and her suggestive messages.

At that moment, Selena was deeply regretful of her actions. She had unintentionally broken the barrier between Ellen and Jared and had made way for an intimate relationship between them.

Over at the conference room.

Jared’s lips curled for a while as he held his cup of Joe. It wasn’t sweetened coffee, but it tasted sweet to him. It looks like she must be cute when she’s drunk! I’ll like to get to know her.

When he thought about asking her whether she liked him earlier that morning, he found it comical.

Ellen was still annoyed and blushed at that thought. If she admitted that she was the one who sent those chat messages, wouldn’t that mean that she really had something with Jared?

No, no. She shook her head. I just want to stay by his side and work well. I can’t afford to think about unrealistic matters.

When he returned to the office, Stanley handed him an invitation card and asked, “President Presgrave, there is a charity event this Friday. Do you need me to reject it?”

Jared waved his hand. “There’s no need. I’ll go.”

Stanley was taken aback because Jared was never a big fan of such events. So, why is he going this time?

Selena arrived at the company in the afternoon and she couldn’t help asking where Ellen lived in. The answer she received was that Ellen lived in an accommodation that the senior management had helped to arrange.

Damn. I’m jealous of her. She thought it was Jared who arranged Ellen’s accommodation instead of the Human Resources Department!

As soon as she remembered Jared mentioning that he had a girlfriend, Selena wondered why he had to treat a mere assistant so well.

“Is President Presgrave taken?”

“Nope. I’m sure of this,” one of the female employees answered.

“How are you so sure?” Selena queried.

“I have a senior who works in the senior management at headquarters. I just asked her about this two days ago. Forget about women coming in and out of President Presgrave’s office. He doesn’t have anyone throwing themselves at his feet either.”

“What if she never visits the office?”

“Impossible. When President Presgrave is swamped with work, he’ll be cooped up in his office for the entire week.

Selena couldn’t help but clench her fists in anger. “In that case, that means he doesn’t have a girlfriend?”

“Of course. I mean, that’s something that all the females in the office are concerned about. Don’t tell me I heard wrongly?” The female employee was confident with her news.

Damn it, Ellen. You lied to me again! Selena was close to blowing her top because she couldn’t understand Ellen’s intention in doing what she did. Could it be that Ellen wanted Jared all to herself?

What a scheming woman! I thought she was an innocent child, but she looks like she is tricking me. Damn.

Selena was about to die of anger because the person whom she looked down upon had duped her.

No wonder Jared quickly fell for the ruse when she took Ellen’s call to trick him. It looked like he was really single, but if that was the case, didn’t it mean that she dug her own grave by helping Ellen to seduce him?

She was so annoyed that she wanted to slap herself because her malice turned out to be Ellen’s guiding star.

The more she thought about it, the more Ellen was exasperated. She noticed that it was 3.30PM and set aside her cup of Joe to head to the elevators. She could no longer stomach her anger; she wanted to seek out Ellen and demand why Ellen lied to her.

The floor of the headquarters was serene. When Ellen arrived, she ran into one of the female assistants and hurriedly asked, “Hello, may I know where Ellen’s office is?”

“Over there,” the female assistant replied in haste and pointed in the direction of Ellen’s office.

Selena immediately headed in that direction and saw Ellen having a large desk from the floor-to-ceiling window, which immediately made her envious because Ellen was a mere assistant but had a spacious workspace.

When she unceremoniously opened the door and entered, she frightened Ellen, who then raised her head. As soon as she did so, she noticed Selena coming toward her with aggression.

Ellen was slightly angered upon noticing her. “Do you have something, Selena?”

“Ellen, I’ve underestimated you. I never expected you to resemble a white rabbit but a person who schemes behind the scenes.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Ellen frowned.

“Firstly, you lied that you rented your residence. I later found out that the senior management of Presgrave Group arranged the place for you. Secondly, you claimed that President Presgrave has a girlfriend, but I heard he’s single. All these are part of your plan because you know that if I don’t fight with you over him, you’ll be his girlfriend,” Selena roared.

Ellen’s pretty face flushed as she didn’t refute Selena’s words. She lied to Selena, but she didn’t mean to do so.

When Selena saw Ellen’s reaction, she broke into a sneer. “What’s up? Do you still want to explain things?”

“There are two things I lied to you about,” Ellen mentioned as she shook her head and looked at Selena. “I don’t want to explain it. And I don’t owe any obligation to you to do so.”

“Ellen, let me tell you this. Things won’t end well for you if you provoke me. Since you dare to lie to me, just you wait!” Selena warned.

“Up to you.” Ellen met Selena’s gaze without any fear. “Move out of my house, please.”

“Do you think I even wanted to say there? I’ll have you know that my parents are within a distance of us. I intentionally moved to your place, but I never expected you to believe my reasons.” Selena couldn’t help but mock Ellen’s stupidity.

Ellen’s face flushed deeper. It was not due to shame but rather anger. She had kindly accepted Selena into her house, but Selena had turned around and criticized that she was stupid for doing so.

At this moment, Selena heard footsteps that sounded like they belonged to a man. Her heart raced as she thought, Could it be President Presgrave?

She also wanted to see whether she could meet him or not. As the footsteps became louder, she peeked out the window to see a handsome figure appearing within view.

Sure enough, God had answered her prayers because Jared had indeed shown up. Jared also noticed her and entered Ellen’s office thereafter.

Selena’s heart skipped a beat. My God! He’s really here! She felt that this was a good opportunity to ruin Jared’s impression of Ellen.

Ellen was also nervous because she had no idea why he swung by. “Do you have anything, President Presgrave?”

Without even waiting for Jared to answer, Selena interrupted and answered, “I need to have a word with you, President Presgrave.”

This was enough to make Ellen worrisome as she tried to plead with Selena not to say anything.

“It’s about Ellen,” Selena added.

“What is it?” When he heard that it was about Ellen, Jared curiously asked.

Seeing that Ellen had gone pale made Selena proud as her lips curled upward. “President Presgrave, did you know that I have been staying at Ellen’s place for the past two days? She’s a liar who spreads lies.”

“Selena! Please don’t say,” Ellen begged as she clasped her hands tightly.

“I’m still going to say it. I want President Presgrave to see what kind of person you are.” Selena seemed to have gotten leverage over Ellen.

On the other end, Jared frowned, but he could tell that Selena seemed pleased with what she had done.

She continued, “She lives in the company-provided accommodation, right? When I asked her about it, she lied that it was a rented place. Then, I asked whether our boss was taken, to which she said yes. You are single, President Presgrave, but she told me the opposite. I want to tell the truth on these two matters so that you can pursue the person you fancy! She’s quite a schemer, don’t you think?”

Ellen’s beautiful eyes dropped when she heard that. She had lied to Selena, which was why she felt helpless when Selena decided to spill the beans.

Now that Selena revealed the truth to Jared, Ellen felt ashamed.

Jared looked at the silent Ellen before he turned to Selena. Then, he addressed Ellen, “Ellen, do you want to explain things?”

“I don’t want to because I lied to her,” Ellen admitted.

“But I want to hear it,” Jared insisted in seriousness.

She was startled and turned to look at the solemn man as she felt pressured.

Selena snorted because she knew that Jared would see what kind of person Ellen was. Let’s see how you’ll wriggle your way out!

As Ellen never expected that she’d be forced to explain, she took a deep breath and nodded. “Fine, I’ll explain those two matters. Firstly, the Human Resource Department Manager warned me not to tell

anyone about the accommodation part. So, I’m sorry, Selena. I lied to you. As for me saying that President Presgrave has a girlfriend, that’s also a lie,” she admitted.

“Please. You’re full of lies! President Presgrave has no girlfriend, but you spread rumors that he has. What’s your intention? Could it be you wanted an exclusive chance with him?” Selena sneered again because Ellen was unqualified to be Jared’s girlfriend.

Ellen hurriedly explained, “No, I don’t mean that. I just hoped that you won’t disturb President Presgrave’s work and personal life.”

“Who are you to care about his life? You are just President Presgrave’s assistant. Did you think you are his girlfriend? Even if he has bad taste, he will not have the hots for you!” Selena shouted at that moment, making it sound like her words made sense.

Ellen’s face flushed even redder. She felt that Jared was looking at her and she had the urge to flee the scene in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Ellen,” she apologized sincerely for her lies.

Seeing that she had scolded Ellen to the point where Ellen was so embarrassed, Selena suddenly felt that Jared would hate her too. However, when she turned in his direction, she noticed his gaze was on Ellen, but it wasn’t one of annoyance.

Am I hallucinating? He is distressed on her behalf? Selena couldn’t help but panic. “President Presgrave, you should know best what kind of person she is. Not only that, but I knew that she tried to seduce you through the messages. She has ulterior motives toward you,” she said in her attempt to portray Ellen as a bad person.

“Selena, I admit that I’m in the wrong. Please stop speaking.” Ellen raised her head to stop Selena from telling more.

Selena sneered and added, “My cousin is with someone whom my parents introduced as a date, but she won’t separate from you, President Presgrave. What a busy person she is!”

This was enough to cause Ellen to snap. “Stop spewing nonsense! Harvey and I are no longer in contact.”

“President Presgrave, Ellen has an innocent-looking face, but she actually schemes. She has resorted to all tactics to lie to you.” Selena disliked Ellen so much that she wanted to ruin Ellen’s reputation.

Jared looked at Selena with a complicated look before he turned to Ellen, who apologized under his gaze. “President Presgrave, I’m sorry. I lied to you.”

“About what?” He narrowed his eyes.

“Yesterday’s messages were all sent by Selena, not me. She took the opportunity to text you when I was away. In the morning, I told you that I was drunk texting you. That was a lie.” Ellen was so ashamed that she couldn’t look him in the eye, which left him sad.

The expression on Selena’s face changed because she never expected Ellen to turn the tables on her. She quickly claimed, “I didn’t intend to. I was replying to the text messages that you sent Ellen on impulse, President Presgrave.”

The frown on Jared’s face deepened.

Now that Ellen had finally raised her head and met Jared’s gaze with clear eyes, she went on, “I would never dare to show any disrespect to you or possess any fantasies about you, President Presgrave. I just want to do my job and be the best employee that I can.”

These words left him insecure. Why is she expressing her honesty? Did she think I would like it?

Selena sneered. “Ellen, I don’t know whether your words are true. You’re always by President Presgrave’s side, but you dare to claim that you think about him? Don’t you have a crush on him or something?”

“I know where I stand. I know that my background doesn’t match his, so I have my boundaries,” Ellen retorted.

“Ohhh! Your denial means you still have tricks up your sleeve, though. Don’t think I’m unaware that you want President Presgrave to notice you. You have been dirt poor since young, so you want to rely on him to rise!” Selena was adamant about revealing the reason why Ellen got close to Jared.

Ellen’s eyes turned red due to her anger. “Nonsense. I’ve never thought about this before and never will.”

As his chest heaved up and down, he finally interrupted and stopped Selena from continuing her attack on Ellen. “Stop it and shut up.”

Selena was shocked because she hadn’t vented enough of her frustrations on Ellen!

It was only at that moment that he turned to look at Ellen and softly said, “Ellen, I’ve never cared about your background, so you shouldn’t either. Nothing is difficult if you set your heart and soul on it. If you don’t try, how would you know whether you’ve succeeded or not?”

Ellen was already rendered confused by the argument with Selena, so she couldn’t understand what Jared inferred.

However, Selena did as her eyes widened. She was stunned and looked at Ellen in disbelief because she didn’t know what was going on.

At the end of the day, Jared wasn’t blaming Ellen even after Selena tried to fan the flames.

He looked at Selena before turning to Ellen with doubt. His thin lips were raised as he asked, “Don’t you understand what I said?”

Ellen nodded. “I understand!”

In actual fact, she didn’t.

“Don’t be my assistant. Be my girlfriend instead!” He cut to the chase.

His words took the breath out of her and she almost fainted.

“President Presgrave, how can someone like her be your girlfriend?” an angered Selena demanded.

“You are actually wrong. The relationship between Ellen and me doesn’t stem from her wooing me. Rather, I’m the one who’s after her. It’s just that she’s too dense to even realize what I mean,” Jared explained coldly to Selena.

Ellen suddenly felt that she couldn’t continue with her job and turned to him. “I quit, President Presgrave. I’m doing this job.”

She wanted to return to her previous life where she didn’t have any worries whatsoever. Now that she had a million in her savings, she could do whatever it was that she wanted to do in the past like become a volunteer or work in a pet shop. Heck, I don’t mind returning to my previous job as a barista too!

He suddenly snorted. “Try me! The liquidated damages you have to pay is a million.”

Her hand holding the bag froze. Do you have to be mean? I have a million in savings and you want me to compensate you with it?

Selena was just as shocked because it looked like she was the outsider as he tried to shower Ellen with affection.

“You can’t ask me to pay so much.” Ellen tried to negotiate. She couldn’t bear to part with one million.

Selena was obviously unaware of the way Jared and Ellen socialized with each other. Apart from an employer-subordinate relationship, they even had a friendship going on.

“Stay here and work. Don’t go anywhere. You can tell anyone that I have a girlfriend. Heck, even if you were to announce to the world that I’m taken, I won’t blame you. If anyone asks me, I’ll just say that you are my girlfriend. I want you to know what it means to reap what you sow.” He punished Ellen for this lie because he wanted her to be his girlfriend.

“I’m in the wrong, okay? I’m apologizing to you, but I don’t want to be your girlfriend,” Ellen rejected. Being Jared’s girlfriend meant enduring the countless pressure from others, so she would much prefer being single.

Selena almost snapped in jealousy because the man she dreamed of was rejected by Ellen.

Jared seemed to expect Ellen’s reaction. He was neither angry nor annoyed; rather, he was merely helpless.