Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Tears fell down my face uncontrollably, dropping onto my phone screen.

I suddenly snapped back to reality, frantically wiping away the tears and rushing to the bathroom to wash up.

I didn't even know how I managed to get myself together and out the door.

In a daze, I vaguely heard Victoria calling out to me anxiously from behind, but I didn't look back. I drove straight to the office.

As soon as I walked into the company, I could feel my colleagues looking at me with particularly complicated expressions.

Envy, jealousy, disdain...

So many different emotions.

My mind was a mess. I had no energy to care about it and walked to my desk in a fog.

"Good morning, Anna. Did you see this morning's headline news?"

The moment I sat down, Henry popped up.

He spoke with a smile, "James looked really handsome in those photos. Makes me want to hire some paparazzi to buy a few shots of me too."

His words seemed to carry knives.

I lowered my eyes and opened my files to start working, keeping my expression unchanged.

My heart hurt so much. I wanted to cry.

When Henry didn't get a response from me, he raised his eyebrows and leaned closer.

"You were so sharp-tongued yesterday. Why aren't you talking today? Cat got your tongue?"

I knew he had bad intentions and was deliberately trying to upset me.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, "Mr. Phillips, if you're bored, you can go on a business trip. I think that project you just turned down yesterday looks pretty good."

It was a project partnering with the Phillips Group. Henry wouldn't normally go himself.

Sure enough, as soon as I said that, Henry backed off immediately.

"Alright, alright, you better stop talking. I'm fine staying here. Why would I go there looking for trouble?"

Henry muttered a couple of words and turned back to his office.

With the peace and quiet, I finally relaxed and focused back on my files, working quietly.

As long as I threw myself completely into work, I could stop thinking about that thing.

Who James wanted to be with was his freedom.

How could a little pet like me have any say in it?

That's what I told myself.

But I clearly overestimated my ability to handle things related to James.

No matter how hard I tried to calm down and focus on work, I couldn't do it.

All I could think about was that photo, James's incredibly clear profile, and Lucy's expression...

I spent the whole morning in a daze, making no progress on my work.

When Henry came to check on my progress, I couldn't say a single word.

"Already feeling bad? You're just asking for it. Who told you to marry James?"

Henry threw up his hands, his tone lazy, "If you ask me, wouldn't it have been nice to marry Joshua? You were supposed to marry him before anyway, right? Maybe it's not too late to go find him now?"

He was smiling, but it just annoyed me.

I frowned, "Are you close with Joshua?"

"Of course, we're good friends!"

Henry lifted his chin and snorted, "If you ask me, James is just too stubborn, going against his dad. At least Joshua is his brother."

That's when I learned that Henry and Joshua had a good relationship.

James probably knew about this, which is why he got so angry when he found out I was working for Henry.

I gripped my files tightly, feeling especially conflicted.

Why couldn't he just tell me directly?

Seeing my expression change, Henry seemed to realize something and changed the subject, "Just focus on your work. Don't bring your personal drama to the workplace."

With that, he left.

I took several deep breaths, trying to calm down as much as possible, and continued reading the files.

Meanwhile.

James looked at the headline news, his face dark.

Jesse stood at the office door, not daring to come closer, "Mr. Smith, the news will be taken down right away."

James showed no expression, his fingers tapping on the desk slowly and deliberately.

Jesse couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so he closed his mouth and quietly waited for James to speak.

After a moment, James said coldly, "Get Lucy's agent here."

"Okay."

Jesse sighed internally.

Lucy was a perfectly good girl. Wouldn't it be better to work hard on her own? Why take shortcuts? Wasn't she just asking for trouble?

When James got angry, would Lucy even survive?

Lucy's agent, Wren Kelly, practically crawled over when she heard James wanted to see her.

Her legs were shaking as she entered the office, her face pale.

But ten minutes later, she came out with barely concealed joy on her face.

The moment she saw Lucy, she rushed over and grabbed Lucy's hand tightly.

Lucy was startled, and her already nervous and scared emotions shot up even more.

"Wren, what's wrong with you? What did James say? Am I done for?"

Wren stared straight at Lucy, scaring her so much she almost fell to her knees.

"Wren, don't just stand there silent!"

"Lucy, your career is about to take off, you know that?"

Wren took a deep breath, her voice still trembling with excitement she couldn't control.

"Mr. Smith has ordered that from now on, you'll attend all his events! And there are new endorsements too, all top luxury brands!"

Lucy was stunned by this news, unable to believe it.

"Did James really say that?"

Wren nodded with a smile, "Yes! Mr. Smith really values you. If it were anyone else, they'd have been blacklisted already."

Lucy was confused for a while, then became overjoyed.

Although she didn't know exactly what happened, she guessed I must have upset James.

That meant she had a chance!

Wren patted Lucy's hand and spoke meaningfully, "When you become Mrs. Smith, don't forget about me!"

Lucy smiled shyly, her eyes full of pride.

"Wren, what are you saying? Mr. Smith is already married."

Wren laughed dismissively, "If you ask me, that Anna is nothing. What kind of person is Mr. Smith? If he likes someone, he'd give them the whole world. If he's not interested, even if you stripped naked and delivered yourself to him, he wouldn't even look. You just wait—your good days are still ahead!"

With that, Wren took Lucy to discuss the new endorsements.

Lucy's heart was full of excitement, planning how to push me out.

Little did she know she was just a tool James was using to upset me.

In the office, James gave Jesse instructions about Lucy's future endorsements.

Jesse hesitated, "Mr. Smith, with Lucy's current fame, she doesn't seem big enough to endorse high-end luxury jewelry brands yet."

James glanced at him lightly, "Then who's suitable?"

Jesse was instantly speechless.

James's tone was flat, "She's not qualified now, but being connected to me is enough."

Jesse lowered his head, agreeing with that statement.

Anyone connected to James would see their value rise.

But...

"Mr. Smith, I think I still need to tell you something. Mrs. Smith is working at Henry's company. Apparently, he never interviews people himself—his staff selects candidates, and he just checks their work ability."

Jesse dropped this line and, expressionless, pushed up his glasses and quickly walked out the door.

James's face darkened immediately.

Henry never interviews people himself?

He misunderstood me?

I didn't lie at all!