Susan let out a sigh of relief after receiving the flight booking confirmation from Frank.
Frank and she had been childhood friends, practically sharing a pair of trousers and he had harbored a crush on her for many years.
After she decided to marry Juan, Frank confessed his love and even said he wanted to elope with her.
After Susan turned him down, he moved all the family businesses abroad. She had thought they would never see each other again. But she hadn't expected...
A glint of mockery flashed in Susan's eyes as she began packing her belongings. She had spent the entire night going through her things, only to discover, somewhat comically, that the only luggage she could take with her had nothing to do with Juan.
It didn’t even fill a 24-inch suitcase.
She marked a red circle on her calendar. On the 6th of next month—22 days later—she would finally obtain her divorce certificate.
Juan’s voice suddenly rang out, “The 6th? Isn’t that the day our divorce takes effect?”
Before Susan could respond, he sneered, unable to conceal his sarcasm, “What? Are you worried I’ll make you withdraw your divorce application before the 6th?”
Susan’s face paled and she was about to deny it.
Juan hurriedly turned and walked away due to a sudden call from Ashley.
Before leaving, he managed only to remind her, “Remember to come to the office today. I have something important to announce.”
Susan had originally planned to go to the company to finalize her resignation. But to her surprise, everyone there seemed genuinely delighted to see her.
“Susan, congratulations! Now that the special assistant, Mr. Randall is leaving, it’s your turn to take over his position, right?”
“Yes, our secretariat will be relying on you to look after us.”
“You’ve been with Mr. Parkston for so many years. If not for your contributions, you've certainly worked hard. If Mr. Parkston wasn’t so used to being taken care of by you, you would’ve been promoted long ago. How could you still be where you are today?”
Susan was a little stunned. Was Juan really talking about this?
She couldn’t help but smile, then quickly waved her hand, politely insisting it was baseless.
But she knew better than anyone else that, apart from the poached Mr. Randall, she was the only one with both the qualifications and capability to handle the position of Chief Secretary.
But what a shame—she was leaving.
At the morning meeting, Susan carefully prepared an 80-degree Americano with milk for Juan, adding six ice cubes.
Juan pushed open the door and entered. Always meticulous and unerring in his appearance, he even had a red rose pinned to his high-end black suit.
“Susan, come here,” Juan said calmly, waving her over. “While everyone’s here, I have an announcement to make today.”
Colleagues close to Susan were already winking at her.
Someone joked, “Susan, don’t forget to treat us to dinner.”
Looking at Juan’s serious and determined gaze, Susan couldn’t hide her embarrassment but mustered the courage to refuse,
“Mr. Parkston, you don’t need to give the supervisor position...”
“You know?” Juan raised an eyebrow slightly, interrupting her with a hint of surprise. “I’ve decided to give the position of supervisor of the secretarial office to Ashley. She’s new and doesn’t have much experience in the business. Please mentor her for the time being.”
Almost everyone was stunned. Susan felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head.
Ashley walked in, wearing ten-centimeter high heels and clutching a large bouquet of red roses.
“Please take good care of me, everyone,” she said triumphantly.
Everyone noticed the roses—identical to the one on Juan’s chest. All the congratulatory smiles around Susan instantly turned to shock, curiosity and suspicion.
Her phone beeped. In a certain company chat room, everyone was engaged in a heated discussion.
[What’s going on? Mr. Parkston isn’t promoting Susan? Aren’t they still married?]
[You don’t know, huh? Susan earned the title Mrs. Parkston by clinging to him. She’s been chasing after Mr. Parkston since they were kids, even when he started working—insisting on being his assistant. What man could put up with that?]
[I heard Susan’s divorcing Mr. Parkston because of Ashley?]
[Do you really believe she’ll go through with it? Everyone knows she’s fought with Mr. Parkston 98 times and every time she’d end up tearfully begging him to take her back.]
[Stop talking. Look who’s in the chat room.]
All discussion came to an abrupt halt.
At that moment, Susan felt utterly exposed—like she had been stripped bare and roasted on a scorching stove. She didn’t dare look up at Juan and simply stood there stiffly, forcing herself to sound professional.
“Yes, Mr. Parkston. I understand.”
Ashley stepped forward and intimately hooked her arm around Susan’s, speaking loudly in front of everyone, “Susan, go make me some coffee.”
She smiled sweetly, her voice edged with irony, “You should remember what I like to drink, right?”
Of course Susan remembered. After all, they had once been close friends.
A sardonic smile flickered in her eyes and Susan nodded almost mechanically, “I remember.”
Ashley smiled with satisfaction. “When it’s ready, send it to Mr. Parkston’s office. I just have some work to report to Mr. Parkston.”
She had just assumed the supervisory position and didn’t even understand the business yet. What work could she possibly report?
Susan soon figured out what kind of “work” Ashley meant. From inside the room, Ashley’s unbearable moans echoed. Peeking through the door—which had been deliberately left ajar—Susan saw Juan’s intense eyes as he pressed Ashley against the large office chair, kissing her fervently.
Ashley’s high heels had creased the leather of the chair. Susan couldn’t help but recall her first days as an assistant at Parkston’s.
