Chapter 14
Richard lowered his eyes and hesitated for a long time before stammering, “Mrs. Parker, please don’t tell Mr. Parker that I mentioned this. He doesn’t like us discussing these things behind his back.”
“Okay, don’t worry, 1 nodded 1 didn’t plan to ask Hayden anything: I was just a bit curious.
Richard seemed much more relaxed. “Honestly, I don’t know a lot about it. I’ve just heard that Ms. Charlotte and Mr. Parker met overseas a few months ago. After that, he brought her back with him.”
“Any details?” I asked, leaning in. What Richard said lined up with the rumors I had heard, and I wanted to hear more.
Richard hesitated a moment before adding, “It seems that when Mr. Parker was injured, Ms. Charlotte was the one taking care of him.”
I was stunned. I had thought they might have met at a business meeting, through a mutual friend, or even by chance on the street. But it turned out that Joanna was the one caring for Hayden while he was recovering!
When Hayden was hurt, wasn’t I the one looking after him? Did Joanna come after I left! But just as I had rushed to catch my flight home, I heard that Hayden had already woken up. So when did Joannu arrive!
My mind was a whirlwind of questions, making it tough to focus. “Are you saying that when Hayden was in a coma after the car accident abroad two months ago, Joanna was there! 1 asked quickly, desperate to clarify.
“Yeah,” Richard nodded seriously. He seemed to realize I wanted to know more and added, “Mr. Nevin Parker knows more about it. Maybe you should ask him?”
It seemed he was trying to steer me toward Nevin. Nevin might know more, but he would never share it. Plus, he would probably just make fun of
- me.
Just then. Nevin’s voice came from the door. “Oh, Yvonne, you actually came to the office?
I glanced up to find Nevin casually leaning against the door, as crossed, with a smug look on his face. Great, just my luck! It was a and I couldn’t seem to get away from him no matter where I went.
Before I could respond, Richard quietly stood up with a stack of documents and slipped away, saying. “Til leave you two to talk
a small world,
No wonder he had been Hayden’s secretary for so long–he was great at reading the room and avoiding trouble. Soon, the office was left with just Nevin and me.
I shot him a cold glance and said, “Shouldn’t you back up your words and show m
me some respect
“Hmph! Keep dreaming! Plus, Hayden doesnt like you, so you don’t deserve to be his wife, Nevin scoffed, his face twisting like a cat whose tail had been stepped on
“Oh, right, you’re just an untrustworthy jerk anyway, I snapped, then glanced down at the documents Richard had just handed me
I knew Hayden’s personal habits like the back of my hand, which made me more than qualified to be his secretary. But there were still company policies I needed to get up to speed on.
Nevin’s face turned thunderous. He stormed over and banged his hand on the table. “Who are you calling a jerk? Yvonne, you’ve changed completely in the last two months”
“If I don’t change, I might as well just let the Parkers bleed me dry.” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “When you saw Joanna with Hayden back then, you were probably laughing at me behind my back, weren’t you?”
Nevin paused for a moment, looking confused. “You knew?”
“The mistress has come to confront me. Do you think I would be clueless I taunted Nevin, trying to prod him into revealing something unexpected.
Sure enough, he took the bait. Then you should feel ashamed. Even when she was just an outsider, she knew to take care of Hayden. Yet, as his wife, you ignored him. If it weren’t for her, who knows what would have happened to Haydent
His words hit me like a ton of bricks, and 1 momentarily forgot his rudeness as I quickly pressed, “What do you mean? Joanna took care of Hayden while I ignored him?”
What was going on? When I heard Hayden was hun, I had rushed overseas and cared for him day and night for nearly two weeks before returning. How did this become Joanna’s merits!
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Chapter 14
Nevin sneered, “Isn’t that right? You pretend to love Hayden, but when you heard he was in a coma, you didn’t show any concern and even talked about divorce. I’m warning you–say inay from Hayden and Joanna. Or I won’t let you off
With that he stormed out, leaving me standing there in confusion–what had happened that I didn’t know about!
Nevin rushed to the door angrily, and from a distance, he saw Joanna coming out of Hayden’s office. Instinctively, he raised his hand to greet her, but be stopped when he saw her pull out her phour, likely to take a call.
Joanna didn’t notice Nevin and answered the call “Mom!”
Joanna, how was your first day at Parker Group? Is it as big and fancy as they say?” Sophia asked,
She was curious about the wealth of Parker Group, daydreaming about her daughter marrying into the affluent Parker family and securing a comfortable life for herself
“I just got here,” Joanna replied, her patience wearing thin. Things with Hayden weren’t going well, and now Sophia was just adding to the chaos, Sophia picked up on her irritation and sensed something was off. “What’s wrong?”
Joanna quickly filled Sophia in on everything that had just happened.
Sophia clenched her jaw. That dreadful Yvonne! With her around, there’s no peace to be found. Darling, you should heed my advice and try to have Hayden’s child as soon as possible.”
“But he sumply-
Sophia interrupted, getting straight to the point “What about the medicine I gave you last time! You haven’t given it to him?”
Joanna’s face turned bright red immediately. “I–I haven’t found the chance, and were both at work. How am I supposed to do
“Can’t you do it in the office? You’re still being picky now! How can you be this helpless! Sophia stapped, wishing she could reach through the phone and guide Joanna step by step.
After a brief pause, she continued, “Without a child, how can you compete with Yvonne? If you keep stalling and Hayden loses interest in you, don’t come crying to me
“I get it I find a chance. Joanna gritted her teeth, determined to use the medicine. She knew that only by doing this could she secure her place in the Parker family and outshine Yvonne
After hanging up, she took a deep breath and walked toward the secretary’s office, completely unaware of the stunned Nevin watching her from the
comez
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Chapter 15
At that, the conversation between Hayden and Sean screeched to a halt. They’d been hashing out promotional plans for the new property, and Joanna’s out–of–the–blue input caught them off guard. The air turned thick with awkwardness.
I had never studied marketing, but even I knew that celebrities and real estate didn’t really mix, Celebrities weren’t likely to live in that development, so how would that even work?
“And this is?” Sean asked pointedly—he was well aware that Joanna was Hayden’s mistress.
“Hello, Mr. Harnett. I’m Joanna, Mr. Parker’s secretary.” She seemed eager, even without waiting for Hayden to speak.
Sean turned to Hayden, his eyes questioning. “Her level. HR hired her in!”
Joanna’s smile froze.
Hayden’s expression was stern, but he wasn’t seething. He had some connections with Sears, and Joanna’s previous comment indeed showed her Lack of awareness.
“She’s new and still getting the hang of things, Hayden explained casually. Then he looked toward Joanna, his tone serious. “If you don’t understand, keep quiet and listen.”
“Got it.” Joanna’s eyes started to redden with hurt. This was the first time Hayden had ever criticized her.
Sean scratched his nose, uncomfortable with Joanna’s anties. His eyes drifted around and lit on me, a broad smile breaking across his face. “What’s your take on this, Mrs. Parker?”
1 flinched a bit, wondering if he was trying to drag me into this. But since he called on me, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t hear
I walked over with a smile. “About the real estate promotion, why not add an element of cultural heritage? Maybe we could get someone from a news station to do interviews to raise the profile?”
Sean’s eyes sparkled, and he slapped his hands together with enthusiasm. “That’s itt Playing up the cultural heritage would definitely pique curiosity. You’re a genius.”
“You’re laying it on thick,” I replied with a grin, brushing off the compliment. 1 hadn’t taken any classes or anything, but I’d grown up hearing my dad talk about it around the house, so it was second nature to me.
Out of the corner of my eye. I caugla Joanna’s glare, her eyes almost shooting daggers
Joanna wasn’t well–versed and had attended a pretty mediocre college. She’d just been trying to make a splash, but who would have guessed her attempt would flop so spectacularly!
Damn Yvonne. She’s even trying to steal the spotlight Joanna cursed silently
Close by, a few bystanders started murmuring to each other.
“Wow, it turns out Mrs. Parker has a knack for this, I heard she’s amazing on the piano too.”
“Who said she is uneducated and incompetent? Rumors can really be harmful.”
“Did you see that? The mistress looks really upset. Even a fresh graduate wouldn’t dare to say something like that.”
I tuned into their gossip and suddenly got curious about Hayden’s reaction. I turned around instinctively, and to my surprise, I caught his deep eyes staring at me. It looked like he’d been watching me for a while.
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