Chapter 710 Used by Her
"Yo, Mr. Eilish."
Everyone's faces went pale, thinking, 'Did he catch all that? Crap, are we getting canned?'
The ones who were being snarky earlier were now sweating bullets, dead silent.
"Mr. Eilish, we were just messing around," someone stuttered.
"Messing around? You think that's funny?" Anthony shot a look at Juniper.
Juniper shook her head.
Anthony's voice turned icy, "If the person you're joking about ain't laughing, it ain't a joke. What you said was straight-up mean."
"We were just sticking up for Mira."
They all jumped in, "Yeah, Mira's busted her butt for this company for years, and now she's getting blamed. It's not fair."
Anthony asked, "The investigation's not even done. Who said it was her fault?"
"But it's obvious, right? Mira's such a good person..." they mumbled.
"Juniper's got a bad rep. Just 'cause she's a bit prettier..." someone grumbled.
Anthony said, "So you're hating on her 'cause she's pretty?"
"Of course not. She's also a snake, framing Mira."
"Yeah, and she's got a boyfriend but still flirts with you. That's the worst."
"Juniper's always been serious about her work. The idea she's flirting with me is just something you made up," Anthony said sternly. He rarely got this harsh, but he couldn't let this crap slide, especially when Juniper was the target.
For whatever reason, he had to clean up this toxic vibe in the company.
"Mr. Eilish, you don't get women's tricks."
"Yeah, she's slick. Guys can't see through it."
"Exactly."
Anthony said, "If you got so much to say, then all of you can be transferred to the call center. Talk all you want there."
"No, Mr. Eilish."
"Mr. Eilish, we messed up."
"Mr. Eilish, we're sorry. We won't do it again..."
They all looked like they were about to cry.
They looked pitiful now, but it was their own big mouths that got them into this mess.
The biggest no-no for women was gossiping behind others' backs; it always led to trouble.
"Juniper, we were wrong. We shouldn't have talked about you. Please ask Mr. Eilish to forgive us."
"Yeah, Juniper, we really know we were wrong."
Juniper knew they didn't really think they were wrong. They believed they were right but were forced to apologize because Anthony was backing her up. They probably felt super bitter and hated her even more. They might chill for a bit, but soon they'd be back at it, even worse.
But Juniper couldn't be bothered to argue with these people; it was beneath her.
Juniper didn't plead for them. She just said to Anthony, "Mr. Eilish, it's time to go."
So she was letting them off?
Anthony didn't want to. Keeping them around would just poison the vibe in the office, and Juniper would face more crap in the future.
If she just nodded, these people would be booted from the executive office, no questions asked. But she was kind-hearted. Since that was the case, he'd respect her and give them one more shot.
"This is the last time," Anthony said, then walked off.
"Yes, Mr. Eilish. We get it."
"We won't do it again."
But as soon as they were out of earshot, their attitudes flipped.
One by one, they sighed in relief, "Man, that scared the crap outta me. Why'd Mr. Eilish show up outta nowhere? Was he spying on us?"
"Not spying, but definitely on purpose. Bet it was that sneaky Juniper who tattled to Mr. Eilish, so he was keeping tabs."
"She's so shady. First, she 'accidentally' hurt Mira's leg, making her miss the business trip with Mr. Eilish. Then she swooped in to go with him herself."
"Yeah, and now she's trying to get us all canned. If she gets rid of us and Mira, she'll be the only one left by Mr. Eilish's side, and no one will be there to call her out."
"She's the worst. Didn't even stick up for us."
"She wants us gone. Why would she plead for us? You're dreaming. She's probably feeling all high and mighty."
"She's just showing off that Mr. Eilish has her back, warning us not to mess with her."
"Using someone else's power!"
"Seriously, Mr. Eilish is so smart, but he's getting played by this sneaky chick."
"No matter how smart or successful a guy is, his brain turns to mush around a pretty, cunning woman."
"From now on, let's not talk about her openly. We'll trash her in private chats."
"Yeah, gotta be careful."
In the car.
Juniper was super quiet.
Anthony asked, "Still thinking about what they said earlier?"
"What?" Juniper remembered after Anthony brought it up. She had already forgotten; those words didn't faze her at all. "Nah, I don't care."
Anthony could tell she really didn't mind. Juniper had always been chill, not petty or obsessive, which was rare.
But just because she didn't mind didn't mean he would let people trash-talk her to her face.
"Didn't sleep well last night?" Anthony noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
"Yeah, last night... I was up late going over the business trip stuff," Juniper found an excuse.
Anthony didn't know if she was really reviewing materials or not, but he had been sleepless all night because of her.
She must have the same worries as he did.
After all, they were both in relationships now.
"First business trip?" Anthony asked.
"Yeah."
Anthony said, "Don't stress. Just treat it like any other workday."
But Juniper thought, 'As long as I'm around you, I can't act normal.'
Juniper's mind was a mess, with two little figures fighting inside her head. One was her sense of morality, and the other was her natural impulses.
It was really hard to stay rational in the face of emotions.
She set a very low bottom line for herself: absolutely no physical contact, and she would never be a homewrecker, interfering in someone else's relationship.
As for liking Anthony, she couldn't control that. She could only keep it to herself.
She would like him silently until one day she could let go and completely sever her feelings for him.
'Juniper, since you can't control your feelings, stop agonizing over them. Relax. The more tense you are, the more unnatural you'll act.' Juniper reminded herself.
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