Chapter 88
Evelyn froze for a moment, staring at her with wide, bright eyes.
Ava ruffled her bangs. "I'm not afraid of them, but I'm afraid they'll make things difficult for you. Don't get too close to me, silly."
None of their colleagues at the company dared to interact too much with Ava, afraid of being targeted by Sarah. Yet Evelyn, that little newbie who was terrified of losing her job, still hung around with her every day.
Evelyn pouted.
"But I feel like we click. I hate workplace bullying."
"You can't avoid these things at work. Just be more careful."
After chatting for a bit, the two returned to their lifeless workstations.
From the corner of her eye, Ava glanced at Sarah, who was leaning back in her leather chair with her head tilted back. Her eyelids were slightly swollen, as if she'd been crying.
By the time work ended, the design department had never gotten Sarah's explanation.
Ava left work as usual and went to the yoga studio first. After changing into her yoga clothes, she noticed her waistline had visibly expanded. Lately, she didn't dare wear fitted clothes and only picked loose outfits when going out.
She couldn't hide this belly much longer.
The Morgan Mansion called, asking her to come back.
After leaving the yoga studio, Ava drove to buy some sugar-free pastries for Howard. Howard loved that brand, and there was only one shop in the entire city.
Traffic was backed up for a while, and by the time she drove back to the Morgan Mansion, dinner time had already passed.
She parked the car, carried the elegant pastry box inside, and was stunned the moment she entered.
Quite a few people were sitting in the main hall. Howard, dressed in a formal suit, sat in the center of the sofa. Across from him sat a distinguished-looking man who appeared to be around the same age as William's father, Andrew. When Ava saw who was sitting next to that man, she was startled.
Lewis waved at her with a playful grin, acting like they were close friends.
Ava paused for a moment, then returned a polite smile.
Howard called her over. "Ava, come here. Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Jones, and the young man next to him is Lewis, the heir to Jones Media."
Ava greeted them properly. "Mr. Jones, hello."
Then she nodded politely at Lewis as a greeting.
When no one was looking, Lewis winked and raised his eyebrows at her, making all sorts of little gestures. Ava cleared her throat softly, not daring to look at him.
"Ava, do you and Lewis know each other?"
Matthew Jones asked.
Ava: "We met once at an auction. We're not really acquainted."
Lewis: "Of course, we know each other!"
They both spoke almost simultaneously. After they finished, the living room atmosphere became awkward.
Then Matthew laughed heartily. "Young people, how interesting."
He looked Ava up and down. "It's fine. You'll be family in the future. If you're not close now, you will be later."
Howard laughed along. "Right, right, we'll all be family!"
Ava had been confused since she walked in. What did they mean by "family in the future"? What were they talking about?
She felt rather out of place sitting there, unable to join the conversation, so she thought of finding an excuse to slip away. Her eyes fell on the spotless coffee table, and she had an idea.
"Grandpa, Mr. Jones, you keep chatting. I'll go wash some fruit."
Ava successfully escaped, feeling eyes on her back the entire walk to the kitchen. She felt like two pairs of eyes were watching her.
Seeing the expensive gifts piled at the kitchen entrance, Ava suddenly felt something was strange about this whole scene.
Lily was cleaning up in the kitchen.
Ava gently closed the kitchen door, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and asked Lily in a low voice,
"Lily, what is Mr. Jones here for?"
She had been married to William for three years, and guests often came to the house. But she'd never heard that the relationship between the Jones family and the Morgan Family was this close. The CEO of Jones Media brought his son and gifts for such a formal visit—there must be something important to discuss.
Lily also didn't dare speak loudly, afraid of being overheard. "Mrs. Ava Morgan, it seems the Jones family came to discuss a marriage alliance with Miss Emily Morgan. I don't know the details—I just overheard a few words while working."
Ava understood. "Where's Emily? Why isn't she here?"
Normally, in this kind of business marriage arrangement, Emily would be the main character. She couldn't be absent.
Lily sighed. "That's what's unfortunate about this. Miss Emily Morgan went to the countryside villa with Mr. Andrew Morgan and Mrs. Isabella Morgan. She won't be back until tomorrow."
"Oh, that is unfortunate."
Ava replied absentmindedly, taking some grapes and oranges from the fridge. As she washed the grapes, she kept wondering—could the Jones family have mistaken her for the Morgan Family's daughter? After all, she had called Howard "Grandpa" as soon as she came in, and Howard hadn't introduced who she was.
The thought was terrifying.
The water in the fruit-washing basin had overflowed without her noticing.
When she came out carrying two plates of washed and cut fruit, she was met with two pairs of eyes glued to her again.
Fortunately, the Jones family had finished their discussion and were preparing to leave.
Before leaving, Matthew looked Ava up and down again with the kind of gaze one gives a daughter-in-law—satisfied and kind.
"Ava, come visit our home when you have time. Let this boy pick you up."
Ava gave an awkward laugh. "Mr. Jones, when I have time, William and I will visit you together."
Matthew chuckled. "Alright, you young people spend more time together."
Ava felt her scalp tingle. She had mentioned William, but Matthew didn't seem to realize he'd made a huge mistake.
The Jones family had already stood up and was heading out.
"Ava, help me see them out."
Ava received this big task. As she followed the Jones family out, with every step she thought: this misunderstanding must be cleared up today.
Matthew exchanged a few polite words and got directly into the G-Wagon parked in the courtyard. Lewis leaned against the car door, looking at her with a smile in his eyes.
"Lewis, I need to talk to you."
Lewis smiled carelessly. "Surprised, aren't you? What good did blocking me do? I can find your house."
After he finished speaking, two dry coughs came from inside the car. Ava glanced sideways—the window was open. Matthew sat in the seat behind the driver, holding back laughter with a proud expression.
"Hey, Lewis, listen to me first. I'm not..."
Before she could finish, Lewis waved his phone and got in the car.
"This weekend, wait for me!"
"Hey, you..."
Ava watched the Mercedes G drive away and stamped her feet in frustration. That guy didn't give her any chance to speak. What a huge misunderstanding today. Good thing William wasn't home—who knows how he'd react if he found out.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
She went back inside. Howard was still in the living room drinking tea.
"Ava, have you eaten dinner?"
Ava wasn't reserved with Howard at all. She treated him completely like her own grandfather. She shook her head.
"Grandpa, not yet. I'm a bit hungry!"
Howard grunted. "The moment I don't watch you, you let yourself go hungry."
Then he called out to the kitchen, "Lily, prepare some dishes Ava likes."
Howard knew Ava's tastes inside and out.
With the weather getting hot lately, Ava had been craving Lily's delicious cooking.
Ava sank into the sofa, snuggling up to Howard affectionately.
"Grandpa, you're the one who really cares about me."