Josephine quickly found an empty seat and sat down. Then, she apologized to everybody in the room. “I’m sorry. I misremembered the time.”
“If you’re late, you’re late. Why bother giving excuses? Tori cast a disdainful sideways glance at Josephine while holding a cup of coffee to her lips.
The sharp response gave Josephine the strong feeling that Tori was deliberately being difficult toward her. Moreover, the intense dislike did not come from their work relationship. In that case, the reason could only be her relationship with Ethan.
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just continue our meeting! Josephine, it’s okay. It’s my fault that you were only informed about the meeting at the last minute.” Atticus did not dare to criticize Josephine for her late arrival.
To be honest, there was no need for Josephine to attend this meeting. The semi-annual wrap- up meeting mainly only involved those in the upper levels of management, which was above her current position in the company. Atticus simply believed that she would eventually become one of the future key talents in the company, so it would be beneficial for her to attend and learn from such an important. meeting.
“Thank you, Mr. Kowalski.’ Josephine nodded gratefully. Afterward, the manager who had been in the middle of making his report resumed his presentation. Meanwhile, Josephine felt a sharp gaze studying her the entire time. The gaze belonged to Tori.
Tori usually had an arrogant and stand-offish demeanor in the office. As a result, she rarely interacted with the other employees in the company. While she once accepted Josephine’s on-site interview during a news broadcast, she generally did not have much contact with her colleagues in private.
However, today was an exception. She was uncharacteristically curious about Josephine. That was because she needed a thorough understanding of her rival so that she could snatch Ethan away from the young woman’s clutches.
Although Ethan had previously rejected her invitation for a meal together, Tori remained very enthusiastic about her chances of a relationship with him. There was no way she could ever give up on him. Ever since her first glimpse of him, she had forgotten all about her past flings. The only good thing about all the wealthy men she dated in the past was their money. Aside from that single aspect, they had either been older than middle-aged or short and fat. None of them had ever been in the same league as Ethan Quarles, who was not only athletic and handsome but also filthy rich.
Tori heard from Atticus that Ethan was the biggest shareholder in the company. For Ethan, 725 million was nothing more than pocket change. That level of wealth was something none of the other men she had dated in the past could ever hope to achieve. Therefore, she decided that Ethan would be the man to end her status as a single and unmarried woman.
At this moment, Tori wrote something on a piece of paper and pushed the paper toward Josephine. It just so happened that they were. sitting beside each other at the meeting table.
Startled, Josephine picked up the paper, only to see a single line written on the paper. ‘I heard that you and Ethan are in a relationship. Is that true?’
She answered the question directly. “That’s right! Do you have any objections, Miss Alford?” Her response came out louder than she expected, causing the manager who was presenting his report at the time to glance at her.
Tori’s expression turned ugly. How dare Josephine show such disrespect to me?! More importantly, was she boasting directly to my face? Her expression hardened and turned cold at the thought. Grabbing her notebook from the table, she stopped conversing with Josephine but couldn’t help giving a soft and disdainful snort in response. That soft exhalation of air seemed to convey the sense that Josephine was nothing more than a minor annoyance.
Josephine could not focus on the meeting and failed to absorb a single word throughout. As al result, her notebook remained blank when the meeting eventually ended. Everybody was standing up and leaving the meeting room. when Tori suddenly smiled and called out to Josephine. Josephine, why don’t we stay back and have a little chat?”
Josephine hesitated and returned to her seat. Then, she gazed at Tori directly. “What do you want to talk about, Miss Alford?” “Are you aware that I am one of the interviewers?” Tori spun her chair to face Josephine with a gleeful look in her eyes.
“I am,” Josephine replied. “Do you want me to let you pass the interview?” Tori questioned further, acting as though she had the final say over Josephine’s promotion. Josephine raised her eyebrows at those words. “Are you trying to make things difficult for me, Miss Alford?”
“Not really. You might have scored the highest on the test, but that does not mean you will pass the interview. I will judge you fairly during the interview. Oh, by the way, I’ve already met Mr. Quarles. We had a meal together the other day. Didn’t he tell you about our meeting?” Tori suddenly brought up the topic but deliberately made her words sound as though she had finished the meal with Ethan.
Josephine’s breath caught in her throat. It would seem that what Katrina mentioned previously was true. They had gone out for a meal together after all.
“You are his employee. It’s normal for you to have a meal together! Not to mention, you are the main force behind the TV station. It’s only right for him to get to know you better.” Although there was a bitter feeling in her heart, Josephine refused to reveal her defeated. emotions on the surface. She refused to lose. the fight and be humiliated too.
