“Alice is quite the cook,”
Adrian commented as he munched on the food. He glanced at Alice and curled his lips into a contented smile. “She’s such a devoted wife. I can’t believe she got up so early in the morning and went to all this trouble to cook us breakfast! “
Alice grinned at Adrian in return. “No, no. It’s no trouble at all. It’s the least I can do as Brettley’s wife.”
As soon as she said this, she shot Brettley a meaningful glance. “Don’t you think so, Brettley?”
Brettley smiled at her. “Don’t be so modest. My dad complimented you, so you should just accept it.”
Brettley felt a little touched by Alice’s gesture. They had been up almost the entire night, yet she still got up early in the morning to prepare such a hearty feast.
It was the first time in their many years of marriage that she had done something like this.
Neil could not stand watching Brettley and Alice display their affection in front of everyone, so he pursed his lips and tried to change the topic. “Mr. Morrison, I’d like to apply for a day’s leave on behalf of Ms. Bethan. She didn’t manage to get any sleep last night.”
Brettley frowned at that and turned around to look at Bethan.
She looked exhausted, with two rings of dark circles underneath her eyes. She indeed looked like she had not gotten much sleep.
A hint of displeasure clouded Brettley’s eyes. “Bethan, this isn’t your first day of work. Today is your first day back at the company after coming home from the business trip. Aren’t you aware that you have a lot to do today? Why didn’t you get any sleep?”
Brettley peered at Bethan’s weary face with a slightly annoyed expression. “What were you up to last night?”
What was she up to last night?
Bethan bit down on her lip and cast Brettley a displeased look. “What else do you think I was up to last night, Mr. Morrison?”
Although he was drunk last night, he still managed to text her and invited her over, so why did he play dumb?
Brettley shot her a cold glance and replied curtly, “
How would I know?”
Last night after dinner, he reminded Bethan to sleep early and rest since they had a long day ahead the following day. They had a meeting scheduled to discuss the information collected over the business trip and finalize some plans.
Why did she ignore his reminders?
Besides, Bethan had slept in the children’s room last night with the kids. Naturally, the kids would have gone to bed early, and there was no place for her to work, so she could not have been up all night working.
Brettley could not understand why she did not get much sleep last night. Was she up all night talking to Theo? Brettley’s expression darkened as he pondered that possibility.
Last night, he had overheard Neil and Bethan’s conversation after dinner. Neil had been asking her about Theo. At that time, Bethan had gently ruffled Neil’s hair and told him, “Why don’t you ask him yourself? We’ll call him later as soon as we go back to your room.”
Did she spend the whole night talking to Theo?
Brettley sneered, “I always thought Ms. Bethan is an efficient and professional worker. You knew very well that we have a very important meeting scheduled today, but you still stayed up all night, and now you’re exhausted.”
His dark eyes swept across Bethan’s face with an air of contempt. “I guess I was wrong about you.”
Bethan rubbed her brows in exasperation. Her head throbbed, and she started to feel a little uncomfortable. Even a single look at the platters of food before her made her want to retch.
Bethan heaved a deep sigh and put down her cutlery. “
Don’t worry. I won’t take any leave of absence today. I know what I’m supposed to do, and it wasn’t entirely my fault that I didn’t manage to get any sleep last night.”
She glared at Brettley and continued, “There’s just one thing I want to say. Mr. Morrison: you have no right to reprimand me for not getting any rest.”
Then, Bethan stood up and said, “Thank you, Mrs. Morrison, for preparing such a hearty breakfast.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much of an appetite now, so I won’t be eating. I ‘in going to work now.”
With that, she turned around and disappeared up the stairs. A few moments later, she reappeared again with the stack of documents she had brought to Sea City in her arms and breezed out the door without looking back.
Just as she stepped out of the door, Bethan caught a glimpse of Brettley putting some food onto Alice’s plate in an intimate manner. The sight made Bethan feel as though someone had struck her heart with a hammer.
“Bethan, don’t you want to get some food?”
Lucas could tell she was unwell, so he insisted on driving her to work. “You don’t look too well. Are you sure you want to head straight to work?”
Bethan leaned against the seat and closed her eyes. “
Yes, I’m sure.”
Suddenly, her phone chimed with a message. It was a long text from Neil, first criticizing Brettley for his attitude, then reminding her to get some food as soon as she arrived at Morrison Group Tower. Neil did not want her to pass out due to hunger.
Bethan stared at Neil’s text message for a long time. She could feel her heart beat in her chest.
The only people who cared about her were her three kids. As for Brettley…
Bethan convinced herself that what happened last night was just a price she had to pay in order to cure Nigel.
The car soon arrived at Morrison Group Tower. Bethan let out a sigh, got out of the car, and quickly made her way upstairs.
Lucas watched her leave and immediately took out his phone to call Brettley. “Sir, Bethan doesn’t look too well. You–“
“I know, “
Brettley cut him off before he could finish.
Then, he hung up the phone without saying another word.
Lucas sighed.
When 9am rolled around, Bethan had already finished looking over the materials for the meeting.
“Shannon, notify everyone that we’re having a department meeting soon. I want to explain everything I’ve gathered in Sea City.”
Shannon nodded in response. However, just as she was about to leave Bethan’s office, she paused and peered at Bethan. “Director Bethan, are you sure you don’t want to take a break?”
Everyone could tell that Bethan was not feeling well. Her face was as pale as the wall behind her.
Bethan curled her lips into a smile. “Work is more important.”
Shannon frowned and gave her a peculiar look. She knew workaholics existed, but Bethan was on a whole new level.
Shannon walked out of Bethan’s office, but after a moment, she decided that something was wrong and stopped at her door. “Director Bethan, why don’t I pour you a cup of coffee?”
Bethan shook her head. “No need.”
The scent of coffee always made her feel like throwing up whenever she was exhausted.
Shannon sighed and left, but not before she closed the door behind her.
However, a few minutes later, Bethan’s door was pushed open again. Bethan, thinking it was Shannon again, did not even lift her head. “Shannon, if you have so much spare time on your hands, you should focus it on work instead of asking me questions every three seconds. Have you notified everyone of the meeting?”
There was no response.
Bethan furrowed her brows in confusion and lifted her head.
To her surprise, it was Brettley who stood at her door. He had one hand tucked in his pocket, and the other was holding a paper bag of food. He curled his lips into a smirk and asked, “Did you want me to help you notify everyone of the meeting?”
Bethan frowned and lowered her head again to focus on her work. “Mr. Morrison, are you here to do a spot check and make sure I’m not slacking off? Don’t worry; I’ve been doing work since the moment I stepped foot into the office. You’re not paying me in vain.”
With a frown, Brettley took in her thin frame and the weary look on her face. He strode over and set the food down on her desk. “I apologize for the way I behaved this morning, but Bethan, can you just tell me why you spent the whole night up instead of getting rest? Were you not aware that you had work the next day?”
Bethan’s hand froze right in the middle of writing a sentence. It was ironic that Brettley would ask her that question when he was the reason she did not manage to get any sleep. Not only did he refuse to admit what had happened, but he even blamed her for being tired?
That made Bethan a little disgusted. He knew full well that he was the reason she had stayed up all night, yet he pretended not to know and acted like a considerate boss instead.
How could she tell him the truth, lest he took it the wrong way and think she blamed him?
Bethan closed her eyes and let out a sigh, trying to suppress her emotions. She closed the file in her hand and replied, “I wouldn’t mind if it was anyone else who asked me this, but you…”
She shot him a cold glance and sneered, “You have no right.”
With that, she picked up the file and sauntered right out of her office.
Brettley watched her retreating figure and could not help but narrow his eyes. That woman was extremely stubborn.
He sighed and looked at the untouched food on the desk. He had bought Bethan some breakfast out of kindness, but she did not even give it a second glance. Brettley suddenly felt a little irritated by this.
He felt as though he was the one being ignored instead.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.