Chapter 79
"Thank you so much, Grandma. You've really helped me out big time." I thanked her sincerely.
Jason stood to the side with his hands in his pockets, smiling as he said, "You really are a kind and generous Grandma Cooper. Others don't even come close."
"You're the one who doesn't come close to others!" Grandma Cooper glared at Jason irritably.
Jason touched his face in confusion, not quite understanding how he'd been contradicted by Grandma Cooper again.
He turned to look at me, his puzzled expression seeming to ask: Do you know why Grandma's arguing with me?
I had a pretty good idea, but it wasn't my place to say.
I'd been planning to find the right moment to come clean with Jason.
But after all this chaos, now wasn't a good time.
Jason drove Jessica and me home.
I automatically headed for the back seat when suddenly my waist tightened, and I was tossed straight into the passenger seat.
Jason leaned over to help me buckle my seatbelt, saying, "Sit here."
I hadn't seen my kid all day—couldn't I even spend time with her?
Jessica sat in the back seat, covering her mouth as she giggled.
I just glanced at her, shook my head, and said nothing more.
We arrived at the apartment complex entrance.
I got out with Jessica in my arms, only to notice Jason was still sitting in the car.
I instinctively looked at him.
Jason raised an eyebrow and said with a half-smile, "What's wrong? If you can't bear to see me go, I could come up for a bit."
I quickly turned my head and walked briskly into the complex with Jessica.
Jessica kept laughing and waved at Jason. "Bye, Jason!"
Weekday lunchtime.
As lunch hour approached, I tidied up my desk and was about to head downstairs to grab something to eat.
The elevator dinged, and Mia walked in.
I thought she was here to cause trouble for Brian again, but unexpectedly, Mia headed straight for my desk.
"Ms. Wilson, want to have lunch together today?" I hadn't expected Mia to invite me.
She'd never shown me a friendly face before.
I politely declined, "No need, Miss Ethan. I've already planned what to eat for lunch."
"Why are you so nervous?" Mia, unusually, didn't get angry. Instead, her smile grew brighter.
She stepped forward and linked her arm through mine intimately, smiling as she said, "Actually, I quite like you. We've only had some small misunderstandings before. Let's have lunch together today and put the past behind us, what do you say?"
"Really, it's not necessary, Miss Ethan. I've never had any issues with you."
I tried to pull my arm free from Mia's grasp, but she only held on tighter.
The more she acted this way, the stronger my sense of foreboding grew.
Just then, Brian came out of his office.
Seeing Mia there, he walked over with a cold expression.
Before Brian could speak, Mia jumped in, "Brian, perfect timing. I was just inviting Ms. Wilson to lunch. Why don't we all go together?"
"I really like Ms. Wilson and want to get to know her better. Since you and Ms. Wilson have a good relationship, let's all have lunch together."
I frowned, about to refuse, when Brian suddenly said, "Okay."
With my boss agreeing, I had no reason to keep refusing. I could only bite the bullet and leave the company with them.
My colleagues' surprised and curious looks made me extremely uncomfortable.
I knew what they were thinking.
After all, everyone in the company knew Mia didn't like me.
But no one expected Mia to suddenly invite me to lunch.
Japanese restaurant.
Mia insisted on linking arms with me intimately.
I felt extremely uncomfortable and said helplessly, "Miss Ethan, you really don't need to hold onto me like this. I can walk on my own."
Mia's smile stiffened with displeasure for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.
Just as we reached our seats, she pushed me down next to Brian, saying, "Then sit with Brian!"
While waiting for the food, I kept my head down, trying to minimize my presence.
Mia propped her chin on her hand, staring straight at me. "Ms. Wilson, you've been working with Brian for about a year now, right? To be honest, this is the first time I've seen Brian treat a woman this well."
I listened quietly and nodded gently. "Mr. Ethan is indeed a very considerate boss. It's my good fortune to work with Mr. Ethan."
"You think it's just a boss being good to his subordinate?" Mia had no intention of letting me brush this off.
She smiled, her gaze suggestively sweeping over Brian and me as she said deliberately, "Brian treats you well because he likes you. Don't be fooled by Brian's engagement to Elizabeth—the person he really likes has always been you."
My heart sank, but I put on a surprised expression. "Is that so? You must be joking with me. Mr. Ethan and I have always just had a boss-subordinate relationship."
As I spoke, I looked at Brian, hoping he would say something to help me out.
But Brian remained silent.
I sighed and continued, "I must have done something wrong to make you misunderstand, Miss Ethan. I'll definitely be more careful about maintaining proper professional distance with Mr. Ethan from now on. After all, Mr. Ethan is engaged now. Such comments could easily cause misunderstandings. Miss Ethan, you shouldn't say such things anymore. If Miss Perez heard this, it would cause trouble for Mr. Ethan."
My meaning was already very clear and direct.
But Mia just smiled at me and said, "I understand your concerns. Elizabeth's background is indeed better than yours. But don't be afraid. I'm on your side. I'll support you one hundred percent. You two look so good together, and Brian likes you. It would be such a shame if you missed out on such a great guy like Brian."
At this point, anger was already rising in my chest.
I took a deep breath, trying hard to stay calm. "Miss Ethan, Mr. Ethan, and I don't have that kind of relationship. You've misunderstood."
"But Brian likes you. Why don't you two give it a try? How will you know if you're compatible if you don't try?"
Hearing Mia's words, I stood up directly. "Thank you for your kind regard, but no thanks! I'm leaving!"
With that, I ignored Mia's suddenly ugly expression and left the restaurant.
Back near the office, I sat down at the noodle shop I usually ate at and ordered a bowl of noodles.
Before long, a figure appeared in front of me.
Brian sat down across from me and said to the owner, "Boss, I'll have the same as her."
I just glanced up at Brian without saying much.
But Brian sat in front of me and took the initiative to speak. "Mia, she..."
"Mr. Ethan, you don't need to explain. I understand everything. She doesn't want you to marry Miss Perez because that would prevent you from using the Perez family's influence to completely control DT Corp. She's just trying to use me."