Bethan frowned, then stood up and stopped Shannon from leaving with a tug to her sleeve. “You haven’t even eaten yet, why are you leaving?”
Their department hardly gathered together and now Shannon and a bunch of other colleagues were leaving even before the food was served?
Seeing Bethan stop her, Shannon bit her lip and lowered her voice, saying in a volume that could only be heard by the two of them, “Director Bethan…we were just saying that Fiona was feigning her illness
As she spoke, she glanced at Brettley and Fiona who were standing in the doorway, her complexion pale as a ghost. “Now that they heard us…maybe we might even lose our jobs, we…”
Bethan narrowed her eyes. Just now she was busy talking to Bonnie on the phone and did not pay attention to the conversation between the other women.
Taking in a deep breath, she bit her lip and said, “
Come back. I’ll deal with this.”
Seeing Bethan’s determined gaze, Shannon sighed and could do nothing but apologize. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”
Bethan did not answer. She led Shannon and the other female colleagues back into the room and gave up the main seat in the private room, then smiled and glanced at Brettley and Fiona who still remained standing in the doorway.
“Mr. Morrison, Ms. Blake, come, take a seat. That was wrong of them, I’ll talk to them later one by one.
Since you’re here tonight, you must have intended to eat and have fun with us. Don’t let a minor issue like this spoil your moods.”
With that, she shifted her eyes to Fiona and smiled as she said, “Ms. Blake, as the president’s girlfriend, I’m sure you wouldn’t care about something as minor as this?”
Fiona narrowed her eyes. Even though she was not satisfied with how Bethan dealt with the issue, but…
Hearing Bethan personally acknowledge that she was Brettley’s girlfriend made her mood much better.
So she curled her lips into a smile and pulled Brettley closer to her. “Of course, I don’t care about something as minor as this. I was just comforting Brettley not to be angry just because someone bad – mouthed me… But he wouldn’t listen.”
Bethan narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze to Brettley.
He snorted then dragged Fiona to the main seat in the private room.
Because of Brettley and Fiona’s added presence, the originally lively and bustling crowd now sat upright, with their backs ramrod straight. The atmosphere in the room was heavy and stifling.
Bethan pursed her lips and enthusiastically filled Brettley’s and Fiona’s glasses with wine as she said, “
Mr. Morrison, I thought you’re very busy and wouldn’t have time to attend a small departmental gathering like this.”
“Of course I’m very busy.”
“But Fiona works for the design department, if she wants to come, I must accompany her. But I never expected to hear her colleagues bad -mouthing her the moment we arrived.”
Bethan’s hand that was pouring the wine for them paused slightly. A moment later, she smiled, she was not interested in pursuing this topic of conversation. “Mr. Morrison and Ms. Blake are so deeply in love…”
“We are. “
Brettley’s eyes were calm and indifferent. “
But precisely because we are deeply in love, I won’t just let Shannon and the others go just like this.”
The moment he said this, Shannon and the other female employees around them felt as if their hearts had been strung high in their chests.
Bethan stiffened too. She curled her lips in a smile. “
Then how do you propose we resolve this matter? “
“Easy, “
Brettley chuckled softly, “I saw the list of teams that you gave me this afternoon to participate in the International Jewelry Design Competition on behalf of the Jewelry Design Department of the Morrison Group.”
He raised his eyes and looked at Bethan coldly. “As the Deputy Director of the Jewelry Design Department, Shannon acted carelessly, so she was disqualified from joining the team. Fiona will take her place.”
Bethan’s hand that held the wine bottle tightened viciously. Switch from Shannon to Fiona? This competition was a team-based competition, and the number of team members were limited to less than ten people, so the people Bethan chose to form a team with her were all elites in the design department.
Even her assistant Arianna was not included in the list.
Shannon was an elite of the design department, not only was she talented in design, she was also an organizational whiz, she could help save Bethan a lot of time and trouble so Bethan could concentrate on designing. But now…
Just because Shannon angered Fiona, she was to be substituted with Fiona, an intern who did not know anything?
Bethan bit her lip. “President Morrison, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Why not? “
Brettley glanced at her faintly. “This is the best solution.”
That afternoon, Fiona had been pestering him non- stop, saying she wanted to join Bethan’s team, that she wished to participate in an international competition like this at least once before she died.
Brettley did not agree, afraid that she would drag Bethan down. But now… Only by replacing Shannon with Fiona could he not only satisfy Fiona but also avoid punishing Shannon severely. That would surely affect Bethan. Considering everything, this was the best solution.
“I disagree.”
Bethan pursed her lips and placed the glass in her hand on the tabletop. “The competition is not child’s play, I will allow anyone with sub -par skills into my team.”
At her words, beside them, Fiona’s hands clasped together tightly. She looked at Bethan with tears in her eyes. “Ms. Bethan, I know I’m definitely not as skilled as Shannon, but I will work hard! “
Bethan snorted, “Work hard? By working hard, you mean to say that you couldn’t even produce a draft of a copy within a week’s time?”
Since Fiona joined the company, Bethan did not see an ounce of her hard work. In the past, she thought Brettley just sent Fiona to the design department to spend time away and be pampered like a spoiled princess, that’s why she did not pay her much attention. There were so many people in the design department anyway, one more would not make much of a difference.
But now, they are participating in a competition. An international competition where at most, there could only be lo team members. At an important juncture like this, Brettley wanted to slip Fiona into her team to sit on her hands and while away the time?
Her words made Fiona’s complexion turn even paler than before. She lowered her head, tears streaming down her cheeks in rivulets as she said, “There’s… there’s a reason for this. Brettley…”
Seeing her tears, Brettley frowned in irritation. He tugged her into his arms. “Bethan, with your talent, even if there’s one less person in the team compared to the others, I ‘m confident you will not lose. Can’t you just accept having one less person in the team and make a place for Fiona?”
Bethan narrowed her eyes, so furious that she started to laugh instead. “Brettley Morrison, how far are you willing to go for this woman? Don’t you have a bottom line?”
The moment the words left her mouth, the air in the room froze. Everyone held their breaths and carefully studied both Bethan and Brettley.
Even though Brettley’s insistence on placing Fiona in the team was unacceptable. But… Saying things like these in front of Brettley and Fiona, was Bethan not afraid of angering him?
Shannon bit her lip and instinctively tugged at Bethan’s sleeve, signaling her to stop talking.
However, Bethan shrugged her hand off, as if she did not understand her hidden message.
She raised her eyes and looked at Brettley with cold, emotionless eyes, spitting the words out word by word. “You weren’t like this before. When will you stop?”
In the past, whether it was Cynthal Peterson or Alice Peterson, no matter how much he loved and spoiled them, he would never joke around when it involved business and the company. He could only grow the Morrison Group to its current size and scale because he always drew a clear line between work and pleasure, and was fair and impartial in everything.
But since he got involved with Fiona, all of these disappeared. He arranged for Fiona, who had no pre- existing skills or design -related experience to join the design department and even wanted to fire some of their outstanding employees, all for her. Now, he even wanted Fiona to join the team that would represent the Morrison Group in an international competition.
How many more outrageous things could he do for this woman?
At Bethan’s words, Brettley’s eyes narrowed slightly. Unlike what Shannon and the rest imagined, he did not explode with fury, but merely looked at Bethan with indifferent eyes, his voice equally as cool and calm as his eyes. “This should be the last time before you leave Banyan City.”
Bethan bit her lip. After a long while, she took a deep breath. “Alright, then. I agree.”
Brettley was right. She could just regard her team as a nine-man team. Without Shannon, she would be exhausted. After all, after this competition, she would most probably be able to fulfill her side of the agreement with Brettley and leave this troubled land together with her children.
She would regard this as her final test before leaving the city. She had participated in many similar competitions before, they were not difficult, she was confident she could handle this one with ease.
“But Mr. Morrison, I have a condition.” “What condition?”
Bethan smiled and pushed the glasses of wine that she had prepared during their previous conversation in front of him. “I’ll agree, as long as you empty these glasses.”
There were eight glasses on the table. They were all filled with different kinds of alcohol.
From her position in his arms, Fiona’s eyes widened in shock. “Bethan! This is murder! “
Just a week ago, Brettley had been unconscious for three days because of stomach complications that arose from drinking. And now she wanted him to drink so much?
“You don’t dare?”
Bethan raised her eyes and stared at him coldly. “I thought you would do anything for Ms. Blake?”
He looked at the woman in front of him with a myriad of emotions in his eyes, a cold smile rose on his lips as he said, “You know what happens after I drink, right?”
Bethan curled her lips. “I care for you in the hospital for three days, do you think I wouldn’t know?”
She did it on purpose. She wanted to see how far he would go for Fiona.
More Kickass Romance Reads
Dive into irresistible romance stories packed with possessive heroes, forbidden passion, billionaire obsession, mafia intrigue, and heart-stopping twists. One chapter is never enough—your next addiction starts here.