Chapter 4

　　The next morning, as usual, Jade arrived at work earlier than most employees.

　　She hurried to Lucian's desk and arranged the day's schedule on his table, her fingers moving automatically while her mind replayed last night. She had one mission for the day— avoid him for as long as she could. After arranging the documents properly on his table, she proceeded to make his morning coffee.

　　Just as she was about to leave, the door flung open and Lucian walked in. His footsteps halted when his eyes fell on her.

　　"Good morning, Mr Ashford," Jade managed, straightening her posture.

　　His expression was unreadable as his eyes traveled over her silhouette. The next second, he silently brushed past her and to his leather chair behind the table.

　　"Are you going to stand there all day or inform me of today's schedule," his voice cut through the air, cold and gruff.

　　She wheeled around. "Yes, sir. You have a meeting with the representative of the Harrington Corporation by 11 am and after that…"

　　"Why the hell does this have sugar?" He grumbled, glaring at the mug of coffee.

　　"I-I didn't add any sugar." He'd never complained about how she made his coffee until today. "I'll make another."

　　"Forget it," he bit out. "Continue."

　　"Also, the Port's company has requested someone from our team to be present when signing the contract…"

　　"Send someone to get it."

　　"I'll go," Jade replied almost immediately. "I can represent the company and get the document."

　　She would do anything to get far away from him at this point. He gave a curt nod.

　　Throughout her meeting in the Ports industry, she purposely spoke slowly and delayed things. By the time she returned to the company, it was almost the close of day.

　　As she finally perched on the counter stool at the lounge of the secretary department, she sighed in exhaustion. She brought the mug of coffee to her lips.

　　"Did you hear? Mr Ashford hired another secretary."

　　She went still as footsteps and voices echoed from the other side of the wall, their words hitting her.

　　Jade placed the mug down.

　　"So I heard. They say her name is Vivienne. Chief Secretary level," the second voice rang out in a low voice.

　　"Wow…Another Chief Secretary…Then what

　　happens to Jade?" Another asked.

　　"Maybe they let her go. One chief secretary is enough."

　　"I think so too. The new girl is with him right now. She looked like a walking bombshell." Their voices faded as they walked away.

　　Jade pressed a hand over her chest as it tightened as though someone was pulling strings over it.

　　A new chief secretary?

　　The mug shook in her hands, and she didn't flinch even when a few hot drops spilled on her skin.

　　He was replacing her.

　　She knew she had no right to feel this way, but a sudden surge of anger washed over her.

　　Was it because of his engagement with Victoria? Did he no longer need her?

　　Just last night, he got angry because she didn't give him feelings… and today, he already found someone else.

　　What a hypocrite he was.

　　Standing from the chair, she began to make her way to the CEO's office. Since he was discarding her, he could as well say it to her face instead of keeping her around like forgotten furniture.

　　However, just as her fingers closed around the handle of his door, it opened from outside. The click of heels against the floor reached her ears before the owner came into view.

　　Jade stumbled back a step.

　　It was the same half-naked woman from Lucian's hotel the previous night.

　　Her hair was messy, red lipstick smudged, and the first three buttons of her overly tight shirt were undone, exposing part of her breasts. Her flare skirt was incredibly short and rumpled.

　　"Oh, secretary," the woman flashed her a smile as she stopped before her and extended a perfectly manicured hand.

　　"Since we're going to be working closely together, my name is Vivienne."

　　Jade stared at her outstretched hand. So he was truly replacing her in every way. The truth slapped her horribly. Although she knew the kind of man Lucian was, witnessing it filled her with disgust.

　　"You should fix your shirt," She bit out sharply. "Your breasts are almost out."

　　Grunting, Vivienne rolled her eyes and dropped her palm, the smile she'd been wearing dropping to the floor. Instead of buttoning her shirt, she tugged it even lower. "Well, you should fix your bitterness. It's glaring, don't you think? Mr Ashford didn't seem to mind how my shirt looked." She sized Jade up. "Actually, I feel like you have a lot to learn from me and not the other way around. I guess that's why he needs a new chief secretary.

　　Her shoulders bumped against hers as she brushed past her.

　　The sound of heels clicking against the floor echoed until it faded away. For a moment, Jade stood there unmoving, her fingers bunching the hem of her blouse tightly.

　　It was her fault for clinging onto a good memory of the man he was on their business trip to Paris, the man who'd stayed up all night to monitor her fever after a stressful 12 hour flight.

　　She'd hung onto that memory as if waiting for him to recreate it.

　　Looking back now, Jade wondered if she'd imagined it. She thought about whether the man in that Paris had actually been Lucian at all.

　　Maybe it was his legendary twin brother, Sebastian, who accompanied her.

　　Ridiculous.

　　Casting one last glance at the closed door, she walked away.

　　For the days that followed, Jade perfected the art of disappearing whenever Lucian appeared. She took any opportunity to leave the office for a while, even if it were performing errands that weren't her job.

　　On Thursday evening, a colleague had entrusted her with a set of documents to deliver to a client at the club. As per her usual routine of escaping the company, she'd agreed.

　　Right after delivering the document, she walked out of the booth and began to make her way toward the exit of the loud club.

　　She'd barely taken a few steps when a hand suddenly caught her wrist.

　　"Not so fast, beautiful." A tall figure blocked her path.

　　Mid-twenties. Messy blonde hair. Dark eyes. Recognition dawned on her. Chadwick Harrington. The notorious youngest son of the Harrington family.

　　"Mr Harrington."

　　"You know me?" His lips curled into a smirk.

　　"Perfect. You caught my attention the moment you walked through that door."

　　His eyes traveled shamelessly over her body, and the black corporate gown that she wore suddenly felt too short.

　　"Have a drink with me, baby."

　　"No. Please, let go of me, Mr Harrington."

　　"To be honest, that wasn't a request."

　　She tried tugging her hand away, but his hold was tight. Amusement mixed with thick lust flashed across his eyes for a second.

　　"Come." Before she could protest, he began to drag her in the direction of a private VIP lounge.

　　"Mr Harrington…."

　　A gasp tore from Jade's lips as the door of the VIP lounge flung open. Her eyes met a familiar pair of blue ones.

　　Lucian?

　　Her breath caught.

　　He sat on the long couch, and beside him sat a woman.

　　It was her again. Vivienne.