Chapter 647: His Reaction Was Very Strange
At noon, Juniper was hustling till about 12:30 before she finally headed down for lunch. To save some time, she grabbed her lunch and brought it back to her desk.
The moment she stepped into the office, she caught a few of her female colleagues gossiping about her.
"Man, looks can be so deceiving. Who would've thought Juniper's a homewrecker?"
"She seems all honest and hardworking. Terry hiring her outta nowhere must mean she's got some skills."
"Skills don't mean jack about character. Sometimes the more capable someone is, the shadier they are. Maybe she drugged Terry to get hired."
"No way! Terry's a straight shooter and doesn't judge by looks."
"As long as he's a dude, he judges by looks. Isn't Terry a dude?"
"True that. She's something else."
"Mr. Eilish not firing her is the real shocker."
"Yeah, didn't see that coming. Our company’s all about moral integrity. Being a mistress is a big no-no."
"Could it be Mr. Eilish is into her too?"
"Get outta here! You're reaching."
Juniper didn't bother explaining or bailing to avoid the awkwardness. She just kept it cool, walked to her desk, and started eating.
They exchanged looks and scattered.
Juniper munched on her lunch in front of her computer.
Little did she know, Anthony was watching her from his office window. She was more dedicated than he thought, but he wished she could separate work from life.
"Juniper, come with me for a sec," Terry called out.
Juniper followed Terry into a small meeting room.
"Terry, I'm really sorry about today," Juniper apologized.
"You should be. The president's office has never had such a scandal, seriously messing with the company's image. I should've fired you, but Mr. Eilish said it wasn't necessary."
Juniper hung her head. This time, Anthony had her back. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had any right to complain if she got canned.
"I'm sorry."
"Can you promise this will be handled and won't happen again?"
Juniper quickly looked up, "I promise it won't happen again. No next time."
"Good. I'll hold you to that. If it happens again, I won't go easy. I don't think Mr. Eilish will cover for you a second time."
"Yes, thank you, Terry. Really, thank you."
Juniper pulled herself together and got back to work. She couldn't let Elara and Saffron get to her. Instead of drowning in guilt, she decided to bust her butt for the company, repay Terry, and, most importantly, repay Anthony.
Juniper worked overtime till 8 PM. When she finally stretched her sore neck, the big office was empty except for her and... Anthony.
They were always the last ones grinding. Was this some kind of unspoken thing?
She couldn't help but think, her heart secretly racing, 'We’re always the last ones here. Is this some kind of unspoken thing?'
Juniper slowly packed her stuff, wondering if she should go say goodbye to Anthony. If possible, grabbing a hot dog together tonight would be sweet. Of course, it didn't have to be a hot dog; as long as she was with him, she was happy.
But she was scared of coming off too eager and annoying him.
To love is to invite a thousand tiny worries into your heart, each one a whisper of how much you care, especially since they were still in a boss-employee relationship. She had more to consider, feeling like a lovestruck teenager.
Forget it, she thought. No need to bug him. Being too eager might just make him dislike her, especially after today's mess.
Juniper packed up her stuff and headed out.
While waiting for the elevator, she started scrolling through the news on her phone.
Suddenly, someone was standing next to her.
"Mr. Eilish." Juniper jumped a bit.
Her heart started pounding.
"Why aren't you using the private elevator? Is it busted?" Juniper asked.
"Yeah." Anthony's response was soft, almost a whisper.
The more Juniper thought about it, the more excited she got, her face lighting up with joy. 'Is it really broken, or is he just making an excuse to walk with me? Could he be staying late because of me, secretly watching and waiting for me to leave?'
She wasn't sure, but it was nice to dream.
As long as she was with him, she was happy, happier than ever. She was totally smitten.
They could grab a hot dog later. How awesome would that be?
But Juniper's hopes were dashed when they got downstairs and the hot dog stall was nowhere to be seen.
"Why isn't it here today?" Juniper muttered.
"Mr. Eilish, there's a convenience store across the street. The pasta cups there are pretty good. Should I go grab some?"
Pasta cups.
Anthony's heart stirred, memories flooding back.
He and Layla, his angel, had once shared convenience store pasta cups. It was the best pasta he'd ever had, an unforgettable memory. He couldn't do the same thing with someone else. He didn't want to, and it wouldn't be fair to Juniper.
"I'll take you home," Anthony said, pushing down his emotions.
"But I haven't eaten... Okay, let's go home," Juniper hid her slight disappointment.
His reaction was a bit weird. What was up with that?
Juniper was curious but held back from prying into his business.
Back home.
"Juniper, why are you back so late? You work too hard. You need to take care of yourself. Did Mr. Eilish bring you back?"
Aaron took her silence as a yes. Juniper was simple and stubborn, not wanting him to benefit from Anthony. He had been too eager before. Slowly, as long as Anthony became his son-in-law, wouldn't he get benefits?
Pleasing Juniper was Aaron's top priority.
"Is there anything to eat?" Juniper asked.
"You haven't eaten? Didn't Mr. Eilish take you out? What do you want to eat?"
"Anything."
"Alright, sit down. I'll have the cook whip up something for you," Aaron was about to instruct the maid when Elara came out with a bowl of noodles. Her cheeks were still swollen, and her hair was down, covering them.
"Juniper, it was my fault today. I made these noodles to apologize."
Juniper was most annoyed by this mother-daughter duo, "Trying to poison me?"
"Why would you say that? We're family."
"I'm not family with you. I wasn't, am not, and never will be," Juniper said firmly.
Elara cursed her in her heart, 'You think I want to be family with you? Damn it.'
But knowing this was a long-term game, Elara held back her anger and kept smiling, "There's no hatred in a family. It was my fault today. I've realized my mistake. I also misunderstood you about Douglas. I sincerely apologize. You're generous, can you forgive me?"
Juniper sneered, "Sorry, I'm very petty. Move aside!"
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