Chapter 106 What Does Mr. Foster Think?
"May I take a look?"
She pointed politely to the documents on the table.
Adeline hesitated for a moment.
After a pause, she lifted her teacup and took a delicate sip. "Feel free."
Her handwriting wasn't exactly beautiful, but it wasn't ugly either.
The company's policies weren't precisely trade secrets; if Scarlett wanted to take a look, why not?
"Thank you!"
Scarlett smiled and started to flip through Adeline's files.
"Wow, your writing is nice!"
While flipping through, she pulled papers out of the folder, pretending to be captivated.
Adeline frowned at her but said nothing.
But as the cleaner approached with a bucket next to Scarlett, her hand twitched.
All of Adeline's meticulously copied pages fell into the bucket without exception.
The ink on the papers began to smudge instantly in the dirty water.
Both the janitor and Scarlett were startled.
The janitor hurried to fish out the papers, only to find the writing blurred.
Scarlett burst into tears. "Adeline, I'm so sorry! What are we going to do? I'll plead with the President on your behalf, okay?"
Her tear-filled, reddened eyes looked at Adeline. "I resemble his ex-wife quite a bit; maybe my plea will help."
Adeline coolly set her teacup down and gave Scarlett a calm look. "Sure."
Then she stood up, stretching lazily. "Go ahead and plead your case with Jasper; say it was your fault."
"I'll just wait outside."
"If you can get him to let me off the hook, I won't make things hard for you."
"But if you can't, he’ll still want me to rewrite it tomorrow."
She smiled faintly and pointed upwards at the surveillance camera. "I will have to analyze your recent 'accident' with President Jasper to determine whether it was truly accidental or perhaps deliberate."
Scarlett's face turned ghostly pale.
She pitifully bit her lip. "It was just an accident..."
"How could I possibly do it on purpose..."
"It's hard to tell," Adeline remarked, settling into a more comfortable position on the couch.
Women have a knack for spotting trouble in other women. After years of dealing with Molly's scheming, Adeline had developed a keen sense for these things.
She knew what Scarlett was up to the moment she spilled her coffee. Adeline hadn't stopped her because she wasn't too keen on Jasper seeing those notes either. There's a difference between choosing not to show him and being framed by someone else. If Scarlett wanted to play her little games, Adeline would let her.
"The meeting's over," Ryan interjected, his brows furrowing as he spoke up from across the room, breaking the tense stand-off between the two women. "Who's going to talk to the boss first? Together or one at a time?"
"She can go."
"Let her go!"
Adeline and Scarlett said in unison.
After a pause, Adeline glanced at Scarlett indifferently. "Are you sure you want me to go first?"
"If I go and Jasper asks me about it, I won't be able to explain. Then he'll start checking the security cameras," said Scarlett, her face pale.
Frustrated and furious, Scarlett stood up abruptly and headed for the door.
"Don't forget to plead my case with Mr. Foster on your way out!" Adeline called out calmly, still lounging on the couch as Scarlett's grip tightened on the doorknob.
Slam!
Scarlett shut the door behind her a moment later with a thunderous bang.
Returning, Adeline sipped her tea and observed the two figures conversing in the office. Clearly, Scarlett enjoyed no more privileges than Adeline once did to Jasper.
With a sigh, Adeline's gaze lingered on the indifferent Jasper behind the glass. She was reminded of her past dealings with him—his similar aloofness, his disregard.
The scene before her was like a mirror, reflecting an image of her former naive and foolish self.
Ten minutes later, Scarlett emerged from the office, red-eyed and visibly upset. She dashed past Adeline without a glance and hurried into the elevator, her eyes hidden behind her hands.
Watching the young girl's sad departure, Adeline felt an unfamiliar surge of pity. Scarlett reminded her of her younger self.
The Adeline of today, of this moment, wished she could embrace her past self and reassure her that everything would be alright.
"Adeline."
Suddenly, Ryan's voice yanked Adeline back to reality.
She snapped out of her daydream, turning her head to accept the damp sheets of paper handed to her by the janitor before heading into her office.
Now smeared with dirty water, the manuscript was laid out on her desk.
Adeline looked up, offering Jasper a wry smile. "Mr. Foster, this is the fruit of my labor today."
"Feel free to flip through it; I transcribed pit from the first word to the last."
"Only your darling secretary decided to toss my manuscript into the slop bucket."
Jasper frowned, glancing at the desk, but didn't check the papers.
He shifted to a more comfortable position in his executive chair, eyes coldly fixed on Adeline. "Is there anything else you want to say?"
"That's it," Adeline replied, her voice even.
After a brief pause, she smiled again. "Well, if you insist, I’ll say something..."
Her gaze met Jasper's, her eyes gleaming intensely. "What would Mr. Foster like to hear?"
"Bedroom or boardroom, I'm at your service."
Jasper's brows knitted tightly.
After a moment, he managed a sardonic smile. "Is it my imagination?"
"Ever since that night we shared, you always tease me with such propositions. Are you looking for a repeat?"
Adeline shook her head. "Once wouldn't be enough for me."
"You made a suggestion once, Mr. Foster, that I found quite agreeable."
"How about keeping me for yourself?"
His gaze swept over her coldly. "I have a wife."
"Your ex-wife, Adeline?" she probed.
"She's not my ex. We're still married."
"But she's not coming back."
"And how are you so sure she won't?"
Adeline grinned. "Everyone's told you—if she wanted to return, she would have by now."
"No amount of waiting will change her mind unless..."
Her eyes flickered with mischief. "Unless you and I become an item, showering each other with affection day in, day out. Maybe then she'll see and come back a bit quicker out of jealousy."
She finished with a sly smile. "What do you think of that plan, Mr. Foster?"
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