Chapter 497 Deborah Caused Trouble for Jasmine
Samuel took a sip of water and nearly spat it out; Ethan looked terrifying.
"Mr. Douglas, what brings you here?" Samuel laughed awkwardly.
Jasmine timidly asked, "Hello, Mr. Douglas. Are you here to inspect the work?"
Other staff quickly greeted Mr. Douglas too.
Jasmine and Ethan had agreed to keep their relationship a secret at work to avoid any awkwardness.
"I'm just here to take a look," Ethan said through gritted teeth.
He walked up to Jasmine and eyed her latte. "You should cut down on these. Too many calories. Aren't you trying to lose weight?"
Jasmine almost choked. He used to buy her these drinks all the time and never mentioned the calories.
Samuel stayed silent. Ethan was the CEO, and even though Samuel had shares, he had to respect him.
"Come help me print a contract," Ethan called Jasmine over.
Under the surprised stares of her colleagues, Jasmine followed Ethan to his office.
"What are you doing? We agreed not to let our colleagues know about us," Jasmine whispered angrily.
Ethan pulled her in for a kiss, then sat down and handed her a gift bag.
"What?" Jasmine was surprised.
"I got you some skincare products today. I noticed you're almost out," Ethan said casually.
Jasmine was happy he noticed, but this was during work hours, and he was definitely doing it on purpose.
"I'll take it after work," Jasmine said, placing it on Ethan's desk. If she took it now, her colleagues would definitely ask about it. This set cost tens of thousands of dollars.
"If you leave it here, I'll throw it away," Ethan said smartly.
He wanted the guys at work to know Jasmine was high-maintenance. Even as an intern, she used products they couldn't afford.
This way, anyone crushing on Jasmine would back off.
He had to make her seem luxurious so no other man could afford her.
A wife should be pampered; otherwise, she might easily be taken away.
Jasmine saw through Ethan's plan. She sighed and took the bag.
Sneaking back to her desk with such expensive skincare products didn't go unnoticed.
"Jasmine, where did you get this set? It's so expensive. Looks like a custom set worth tens of thousands," someone exclaimed.
Jasmine awkwardly whispered, "A friend gave it to me. It was just delivered."
"So generous!"
"Can I be your friend? Mind if I try a bit of this?" a colleague joked.
Jasmine's cheeks turned red; she didn't know how to explain.
Ethan gave her this as a way to protect her from unwanted attention.
Sure enough, the male colleagues who had a crush on Jasmine stopped talking.
A set of skincare products costing tens of thousands meant her clothes and bag would cost even more.
"Did you see? Jasmine's clothes and bag add up to fifty thousand dollars."
"That's an understatement. Look at her bracelet, ring, and shoes. If they're all real, it's eighty thousand dollars."
"She must be a rich heiress."
No one knew for sure.
"But she doesn't seem like it. Sometimes, she's super frugal, even saving water bottles for the janitor. Doesn't fit the rich girl vibe."
"Then she must be someone's sugar baby."
Rumors started flying.
Hearing the gossip, Deborah paused with a contract in hand. "What are you talking about?"
An employee saw Deborah and smiled. "Deborah, we're talking about Jasmine. We don't know her background, but everything she wears is high-end and expensive."
Deborah smiled. "Don't jump to conclusions. She's not from a rich family; she's just an ordinary person."
While seemingly protecting Jasmine's identity, her words held a hidden implication, painting a picture of Jasmine as someone without wealth, implying she was being financially supported by another.
Jasmine didn't want to reveal her background because she wanted to prove herself at work. She knew, "When you have ability but no background, people focus on your skills. But once they know you have a background, they get jealous and think your skills are because of it."
Jasmine planned to compete with Deborah in the future, and revealing her identity too soon wouldn't help.
She needed to win people over first before talking about her background.
"Jasmine is just an ordinary girl. An ordinary girl with a bag worth over fifty thousand dollars? No one would believe she's not being kept."
Someone, already jealous, started badmouthing Jasmine.
"She has a good relationship with Samuel. Is she Samuel's girlfriend?"
Samuel knew nothing about this.
Soon, the rumor shifted, and Jasmine became Samuel's girlfriend, with the story getting more and more outrageous.
Ethan's gift to keep others from pursuing Jasmine worked but also brought her a lot of trouble.
"Jasmine, does your team have confidence in this project? It's very important. If your team isn't confident, let us handle it," Deborah offered during a meeting. "Don't worry, we're just helping you."
The intention was clear: if Deborah's team helped, the credit would still go to Jasmine's team.
If Jasmine agreed, it would prove she was mediocre.
If she didn't agree, and the project failed, she'd be the laughingstock of the department.
Deborah was waiting for this. She wanted Jasmine to fall into the trap.
If Jasmine failed, it would be hard for her to establish authority in the company.
"Don't worry, Deborah. We will definitely succeed and complete the task smoothly," Jasmine replied with a smile. "Thanks for your concern."
Deborah just smiled and said nothing.
To her, Jasmine was still too naive.
She was determined to prevent Jasmine and Samuel from easily taking the first project they were all competing for.
She had to create some trouble for Jasmine.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
