Chapter 60
Alicia set the lunchbox down on the coffee table and looked at Gabrielle with a conflicted look. “I heard you and Jonathan mention my name just now. Is it about Elise again? Did they get into another fight because of me?”
Her voice had that innocent ring to it again. With that sweet face of hers, she looked like she couldn’t hurt a fly.
I still had trouble believing she was the one who came for me by the pool that day. If I hadn’t seen her true colors back then, I might have fallen for the innocent facade like everyone else.
Gabrielle tried to hold back her anger when she saw Alicia, but she was visibly seething. “You already know you’re the wedge between them, so why do you keep showing up? Or maybe you just wanted to see the two of them break up all along.”
Gabrielle hit the nail on the head, and Alicia couldn’t take being called out like that. Her eyes welled up as she turned to Jonathan.
Alicia muttered, “Sorry, Jonathan. I know I’ve been nothing but trouble. If it weren’t for Mr. Ford Senior’s request, I wouldn’t have come to burden you.”
She lowered her head. “Don’t worry. After Mr. Ford senior is…”
She wanted to say “gone” but choked up on her tears, like she was too heartbroken to speak. “I won’t bother you anymore.”
She knew exactly how to sound vulnerable. If I were Jonathan, I might have fallen for it.
As expected, Jonathan coldly glanced at Gabrielle. “Have you been at Millenia Corporation so long that you’ve forgotten your place?”
The threat was unmistakable, and Gabrielle immediately went pale. “That’s not what I meant.”
How could Jonathan threaten Gabrielle with her job?
I had heard enough and came down the stairs. “Keep business and personal matters separate. How can you take this out on her?”
Hearing my voice, they turned to look at me.
Gabrielle’s eyes lit up when she saw me, and she hurried over. “Are you alright, Elise?”
I shook my head and held her hand. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m tougher than I look.”
Gabrielle gently touched my cheek, her eyes full of concern. “But you’ve gotten so skinny. You haven’t been eating well lately, have you?”
I managed a faint smile. “Relax. I won’t do anything that stupid again.”
Jonathan stood up and walked straight toward me. He was very tali, at least 6’3“. When he stood in front of me, it felt like he sucked all the air out of the room. “What are you doing out here? Where is Hugh?”
I met his gaze without flinching. “I came out on my own. Are you going to take it out on them too?”
His tone was stone–cold. “If you knew I’d lash out, why didn’t you just stay put?”
I glared at him. “If you know you have a bad temper, why can’t you control it instead of taking it out on others?”
I threw his words right back at him. “Instead of blaming me, why can’t you admit you like picking on people beneath you? Does that make you feel powerful?”
Right after I finished my sentence, the living room fell silent.
Gabrielle stared at me in surprise, her eyes full of emotions I couldn’t quite read.
Alicia looked completely shaken, staring at me like I had lost my mind. “Do you even hear yourself right now, Elise?”
Her tone dripped with arrogance. “How is that an abuse of power? Their jobs and lives all depend on Jonathan. Shouldn’t they be grateful? Who are they to go against him?”
Chapter 61
