Chapter <b>61 </b>
<b>Chapter </b><b>61 </b>
<b>“</b><b>If </b><b>you’d </b><b>said </b><b>‘</b><b>never</b>‘ firmly, I might’ve doubted you<b>,</b><b>” </b><b>Jessica </b><b>teased</b>.
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<b>Those </b><b>years </b>of devotion weren’t <b>easy </b>to forget<b>, </b><b>especially </b>for someone <b>as </b>sentimental <b>as </b><b>Reba</b>.
<b>“</b><b>A </b>firm refusal would just be me reminding myself,” <b>Reba </b>exined calmly. “Or maybe… lying to <b>myself</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>
Jessica felt relieved. Once things calmed down, she nned to take her career to new heights. <b>If </b><b>Jeffrey </b><b>still </b>tried to interfere by then, Reba could easily call the police. After all, they wouldn’t be legally married
anymore.
After chatting for a while, they both returned to their tasks.
Jessica was busy sparring with her father while Reba spent her free time working on frence illustrations. The weekend passed in this way.
When Jessica was at home every day, weekends seemed to fly by. But now, they felt too short–gone almost <b>as </b>soon as they began.
*****
On Monday morning, Jessica arrived early to help with school drop–offs, iming she wanted to “experience motherhood” to figure out if she wanted kidster.
Reba knew this was Jessica’s way of supporting her and responded with a warm hug.
After arriving at thepany, Reba worked with great enthusiasm, eager to finish the project soon and get hermission.
But her motivationsted less than half an hour. At 9:30 AM, Andrea and Jeffrey arrived at thepany. Andrea, dressed formally, approached their workspace with a smile and said, “Mr. Hanson wants everyone to attend a meeting in the conference room.”
Company meetings were held every Monday at 9:30 AM and Friday at 3:30 PM, but everyone wondered why Andrea would inform them.
“Who’s that?”
“No idea. Mr. Taylor assigned her to Mr. Hanson as his secretary.”
“Who knows<b>? </b>They’ll probably introduce her during the meeting.”
Amid murmurs<b>, </b>everyone gathered their notebooks and pens and headed into the conference room. <b>Eyes </b>naturally drifted toward the empty seat at the head of the table, and a sense of unease filled the air.
Jeffrey walked into the room a momentter, impably groomed<b>, </b>his shirt buttoned <b>to </b>the top. He <b>had </b>an aura <b>of </b>cold elegance<b>, </b>with Andrea following close behind.
Then Jeffrey took the central <b>seat</b>, while Andrea handed out files to everyone,
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“Let me introduce Andrea Scott, my executive secretary,” Jeffrey said, his tone cool and detached,manding everyone’s attention. “From now on, you’ll submit all work documents to her before theye
to me.”
“Okay,” the group replied in unison.
No one noticed the subtle ambiguity between Andrea and Jeffrey, and no one knew their rtionship.
As the CEO of the Hanson Group, Jeffrey naturally needed a secretary while working undercover at Primey Technologies. The project team members didn’t think too much about it.
Only Reba realized that this was likely Andrea’s idea.
The half–hour meeting was efficient. Jeffrey outlined the key points and had each team member present their work ns for the week.
When the meeting ended, Reba left quickly, deliberately avoiding eye contact with either of them.
Andrea, irritated that Reba hadpletely ignored her, tried to hide her frustration and advised Jeffrey, “Since I’m new here, should I treat everyone to coffee?”
“Your choice,” Jeffrey said indifferently.
“I’ll do it then,” Andrea said.
Jeffrey responded, “Hmm.”
Even though Reba was working at Primey Technologies, she still had responsibilities at the Hanson Group. Gregory could handle everything there, but she needed to stay a bit longer.
*****
Around 10:30 AM, Andrea walked into the project department carrying pastries and coffee. She greeted everyone with a warm smile, instantlying across as friendly and approachable.
“Thank you, Andrea,” one of the team members said.
“Actually, I should be thanking all of you,” Andrea replied while handing out the treats. “As the new person here, there’s so much I need to learn from you. Please let me know if I make any mistakes.”
The team’s fondness for her skyrocketed.
By now, those who skipped breakfast were starting to feel hungry, and even the morning eaters were getting peckish.
“Reba, this is for you,” Andrea said as she gently ced the cake and coffee on Reba’s desk. “I remember you don’t like chocte, so I made sure to pick a chocte–free cake just for you.”
Her affectionate tone and thoughtful words caught the attention of nearby colleagues.
“Reba, you know Andrea?” someone asked.
8:45 Sat, Sep 20 <b>d</b>.
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“You two used to work together,” another whispered, seizing a moment to gossip.
Reba stared at Andrea’s smiling face, then coolly muttered with red lips, “I don’t know her.”
Sometimes, Reba couldn’t help but be amazed by Andrea’s nerve. She thought, ‘How could she speak so casually, given their past? Is she so confident because of Jeffrey’s protection, or does she think I would keep her role as his mistress a secret?‘
The group fell silent, sensing the tension between the two women.
“Alright then,” Andrea said with an indulgent smile, trying to y the role of the gracious peacemaker. “We can reintroduce ourselves when you’re ready.”
Reba ignored her, picking up her stylus and starting to draw.
Undeterred, Andrea pushed the coffee and cake closer to Reba. “Don’t forget these.”
“Take them away,” Reba snapped, visibly disgusted by anything Andrea touched.
“Still as stubborn as ever, huh? I’m heading out now. Don’t forget to eat,” Andrea said deliberately, leaving room for misunderstanding. As she walked away, she waved goodbye to the others.
Reba grabbed the food from her desk, ready to toss it into the trash. But Jane, sitting next to her, grabbed
her arm.
“Focus on your work,” Jane said in her usual calm tone, her voice low enough only for the two of them to hear.
Reba’s eyes shed with confusion, and she was unsure why Jane had stopped her.
Without saying more, Jane held her gaze steadily until Reba relented. Reba set the item down and picked up her stylus with renewed focus.
Jane then neatly moved all of Reba’s distracting items to her own workspace. She said clearly this time, “Focus on your tasks first.”
Their teammates looked at each other nervously, resuming their snacks only after confirming that Jane wasn’t watching them.
From across the room, Andrea watched the scene unfold.
Her original n had been for Reba to throw away the gifts impulsively after she left, making Reba look difficult and setting the stage for the group to iste her.
But now, things weren’t going as she’d expected. The notoriously hot–headed Reba had actually shown surprising restraint.
…