Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Liz paused in her tracks, a smile playing on her lips.

"I did knock, Mrs. Laura. You were probably too engrossed in your phone call to hear. I just came in to grab my phone. See, I accidentally left it on the chair."

Pointing towards the chair, Laura indeed spotted the phone lying in the corner.

Liz picked it up, giving it a little shake.

Laura's face stiffened slightly. "Oh, I see. Well, good luck then, Miss."

Liz nodded, heading towards the door, then suddenly turned back to Laura.

"Mrs. Laura, please, just call me Liz at work. Thanks."

With that said, she didn't wait for Laura's response, her expression soured as Liz left the room.

Back at her desk, Liz quickly skimmed through the project file in her hand.

It was rough and lacked originality.

She swept it aside, deciding to start afresh.

Her phone buzzed. Liz picked it up to find a message from an unknown number.

Curious but slightly annoyed, she opened it.

"When are you treating me to lunch, Ms. Madden?"

Remembering her promise to treat Remington for his help, Liz randomly picked a restaurant and set the time for noon.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Better to get this over with quickly!

Remington's reply came almost instantly.

"I'll pick you up from your office at lunch."

Given Remington's flashy car, Liz wasn't keen on him picking her up. If anyone from the office saw, it would only invite unnecessary gossip. She quickly texted back.

"No need. Let's meet at the restaurant."

The reply she got back threw her off.

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

"?"

"My apologies, you must be looking for our CEO. He borrowed my phone just now. Should I hand him the phone again?"

Staring at the new message, Liz felt an awkward cringe.

Embarrassed, she replied.

"No need, sorry for the bother."

At the Starlight Group CEO's office, Remington looked at the message Liz just sent, a smug smirk on his lips as he expertly deleted all traces of their conversation.

Handing back the phone and some signed documents to his assistant, he thanked him.

The assistant, all too pleased, replied, "No need to thank, Mr. Remington."

As the assistant left, Cedric, who had been waiting to report, couldn't help but comment.

"Mr. Remington, constantly borrowing employees' phones isn't really ideal. Should I get you some burner phones?"

Remington, who had always been

strict about separating personal from professional, wouldn't typically use an employee's phone for personal reasons, especially not for chasing a lady.

Cedric felt this was beneath Remington's dignified image.

Looking through a planning document, Remington said, "Give the secretarial department a bonus equivalent to two months' salary this month."

Cedric, also part of the secretarial

department, suddenly saw this in a new light- as Remington's way of providing benefits to the entire department under the guise of his courtship.

His mood lifted instantly.

"Actually, sending a few texts using someone else's phone is no big deal. She'll probably block you after a few days anyway, so it's not like it's a habit." Remington nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Just as Liz was getting ready to leave for lunch, her phone rang. It was Jerome.

Picking up, she was greeted by his cheerful voice.

"Liz, you off now? I've booked a restaurant. I'll come pick you up, let's have lunch together to celebrate your new job."

While packing her things, she gently declined.

"Lunch on the go is fine with me today. My joining the company isn't that big of a deal, no need for a special celebration." Jerome's voice lifted, playfully insisting.

"Who says it's not a big deal? Joining the Madden Group is a milestone. How about we call Grandpa together and see what he thinks?"