Is this destiny?

Seeing that Faith arrived, Lily rolled her eyes. She was irritated that she got interrupted.

Faith glanced at Ellie and straightened her posture while talking to Lily in her business tone. "Please leave before CEO comes back. If he sees you here again, I will not be able to keep my job."

Ellie took a deep breath to calm her raging thoughts and analyzed the current situation. In her line of work, she meets all kind of unpleasant people from diva attitude models to spoiled heiresses who think that they can boss her and her staff around just because they are paying a small fortune for a garment. She knows how to maintain her outside composure no matter what she feels on the inside… she will cry it out later (if needed) when no one is watching. But at this time, she bottles it all in.

Ellie deducted that this woman, named Lily, is an employee here. And she is definitely interested in Jasper. Why else would she come here and talk such nonsense while trying to shake her up like she is a third wheel in an existing relationship? Based on how Faith treats her, Lily is not in a relationship with Jasper, and there is a good chance that she is stalking him… but Ellie recognized the thumb comment and she can't deny that it hit the nerve.

While Ellie observed Lily calmly, Lily looked at Ellie back ferociously, practically ignoring Faith.

Lily was frustrated that Ellie has such an unreadable expression. Didn't she get the hint that she is unwanted? She should not have any intentions toward Jasper because he is NOT available. He belongs to her and even if she needs to smear his reputation so that no other woman wants to come near him, she will do it. It's not her first time to swat all these flies away from Jasper, and she knows that Jasper is just having fun. 

Lily must admit that she never did anything like this at work, but this is serious. The woman actually appeared here!

"Ellie!", Jasper called from the door. His eyes were fixed on her and his charming smile was on.

He stopped in his tracks when he met Ellie's icy gaze which didn't match her neutral expression. It took him few seconds to notice that Lily is there (and Faith).

Jasper sighed internally. It's not a secret that Lily is interested in him, she made it clear more times than he wishes to remember. And he saw her scheming whenever she got a chance during social gatherings to keep other girls away from him. He didn't care then, since he didn't care about any of those girls. But… did she actually dare to say something to Ellie and cause a misunderstanding? Based on Ellie's attitude, the answer to that is: yes. What can he do? The only thing that comes to his mind is to show Ellie that in his eyes, she is the only girl.

He walked to Ellie like no one else is in the room. "Was the drive here OK? I hope you didn't wait too long."

Jasper reached to hold her hand, but she avoided it by shifting her purse.

Ellie's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, CEO Kiani. The drive was OK. As for the wait… Miss Lily made sure to give me company as soon as your secretary stepped out to bring me water."

Ellie walked to the sofa, took a seat and crossed her legs at the ankles. She placed her purse on the side and her hands rested on her lap.

"Is that for me?", she asked Faith who was still holding onto the glass of water with ice and slices of lemon floating in it.

"Oh, yes, Miss Young. Sorry about that.", Faith nervously placed the glass in front of Ellie.

It was an awkward atmosphere. Three people standing were looking at Ellie while she slowly took few sips of her drink.

Faith waited for Jasper to tell her that it's OK for her to leave his office. She really wanted to leave… with her job waiting for her tomorrow.

Jasper was looking at Ellie while holding his breath. He can tell that Ellie is upset. 'This damned Lilian!' If he could, he would strangle her. After so much time he spent on warming up Ellie, she is back to having an ice fortress around her… all because of this vixen! But Ellie didn't leave, and that is a good sign.

Lily was looking at Ellie and wondering, what does she have up her sleeve? Lily can see that Jasper is out of it. Is he so upset because Ellie is treating him coldly? Is he so smitten with her so that he cares what she thinks? Or is there something else that she is missing? Why is Ellie so calm?

Ellie glanced at Faith who was sweating profusely, then at Lily who was looking at her like she is trying to read her mind, and then at Jasper… who was something between desperate and anxious.

"CEO Kiani…" Ellie addressed Jasper in an icy tone. "I've met many CEO's and other figures of power in a business setting. I must admit that this is the first time I experienced employees openly accusing me of coming to the company with an intention to get in the bed with their CEO. Do you care to explain, is this a normal occurrence in your company, or is it reserved only for female guests? Or maybe only for me?"

Faith thought that she is about to faint. And Jasper didn't feel much better either.

Lily was not sure what to think. But she knows that this woman exposing her like this in front of Jasper can't lead to anything good.

Ellie didn't wait for Jasper to respond. It was a rhetorical question, anyway.

"Considering the fluency of your employee here…", Ellie gestured toward Lily without removing her gaze from Jasper. "I can assume that it's not her first time delivering such a speech. So, I can't be the first one to suffer such a mistreatment."

Jasper was not sure how to respond to this without blowing up the matter even more.

Ellie observed Jasper intently for few excruciatingly long seconds. She exhaled softly and stood up while holding onto her purse tightly. "CEO Kiani, I want to remind you that in any relationship, trust is crucial… especially at the beginning when verbal promises don't carry much weight. I took time out of my schedule to come here and meet with you, and I must say that I am… disappointed. Excuse me."

Ellie walked out of his office without looking back. She hoped that her expression will not crack and that she will continue walking.

What a joke! She came here to see him… and ended up being mistreated like this by some crappy woman? Based on Jasper's reaction, it's not the first time. He knows that Lily is trouble. And she is probably his ex. Why would he keep such a woman close to him? What a joke! Ellie feels like she is a joke…

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