In the afternoon, Riley Hawthorne made an effort to adjust her mood, ready to throw herself fully into her work.
"Riley Hawthorne, you stop right there!"
Riley was about to head to Zachary Sutton’s office to ask when they could depart.
Ellie Adler’s voice came from the hallway, and Riley stopped, turning around impatiently to see her approaching aggressively.
"Is there something you need, Secretary Adler?" Riley asked coolly.
"I heard President Sutton specifically asked you to accompany him for market research, and even left me, his secretary, out. Riley Hawthorne, just how did you seduce President Sutton?"
Upon hearing this, Riley understood that Ellie was here to accuse her.
"Seduce?" Riley couldn’t help but laugh. "Ellie, do you think everyone is like you, always thinking about climbing the ladder?"
After saying this, Riley deliberately glanced at the cleavage visible from Ellie’s outfit.
Ellie, hearing this, turned crimson with shame and anger. "You, I think you’re just jealous of my better figure. I can dress however I like, none of your business!"
"Me, jealous of you?" Riley pointed at herself, then at Ellie. "Are you out of your mind? Am I jealous because you’re older than me, or because you’re older?"
Since the exchange became hurtful, Riley didn’t hold back, ready to show that she, the Hawthorne Family’s young lady, wasn’t easily trifled with.
Ellie was flushed with anger at Riley’s words, "You’re too much! You’re just leaning on your looks to seduce President Sutton, aren’t you? Do you think he’d pick you?"
Riley snorted, "Ellie, don’t project your own devious thoughts onto others. President Sutton and I have a professional relationship, not what you think. Besides, so what if I did seduce him? Why don’t you try if you think you can?"
Ellie was trembling with rage, "You... you’re just unreasonable!"
Riley didn’t want to entangle with her any longer and turned to leave. But Ellie was unwilling to let her go, reaching out to block her path.
"You’re not leaving! You must clarify today!" Ellie shouted.
Riley frowned, "What do you want?"
Ellie gritted her teeth, "Stay away from President Sutton! Or I won’t let you off!"
"Fine!" Riley replied, putting her hands on her hips defiantly, "Bring it on, I’d like to see how you plan not to let me off!"
"You..." Ellie, maddened, exclaimed, "You bitch!"
With those words, Ellie rushed forward and slapped Riley across the face.
Riley was stunned by the unexpected slap, covering her cheek, her gaze filled with fury.
"How dare you hit me?" Riley glared at Ellie, "Do you know who I am?"
Ellie, somewhat regretful after the slap, stubbornly replied, "Who are you? Just a small employee. So what if I hit you? I’m President Sutton’s personal secretary, and you were trying to seduce him!"
"You’re dead!" Riley, who had never been hit in her life, couldn’t tolerate the humiliation.
So Riley rolled up her sleeves, grabbed Ellie’s hair, and slapped her in return.
One slap didn’t suffice. Riley slapped her again from the other side.
"Ahhh! Riley Hawthorne, I’m going to kill you!!!" After being slapped twice, Ellie clutched her face, going berserk.
Saying this, Ellie madly charged at Riley, and the two immediately got into a scuffle.
"What are you doing?" At that moment, Zachary Sutton’s furious voice came through.
Hearing Zachary Sutton’s voice, Ellie immediately let go.
Zachary Sutton strides over quickly, and seeing the mark on Riley’s face, his expression darkened. Latest content published on novel·fiɾe·net
Seeing Zachary, Ellie panicked and quickly ran to him to accuse Riley first, "President Sutton, she provoked me first. I just said a few words to her, and she hit me."
Saying this, Ellie clutched her face, posing as a victim.
"President Sutton, look, she made my face swell."
Zachary looked at Ellie’s face, then at Riley’s face. Clearly, Ellie’s side had been hit harder. He frowned slightly and couldn’t help but ask, "Did you hit her?"
Riley never imagined Zachary’s first question wouldn’t be about her well-being but questioning if she hit Ellie first.
At that moment, Riley’s heart was pierced with pain.
Could it be that in his heart, their childhood bond was less than his personal secretary?
Riley took a deep breath, responding staunchly, "Yes, I hit her, but she hit me first."
Zachary gazed at Riley, stubborn yet wounded, and his heart clenched. He realized his earlier words were inappropriate.
"Riley, that’s not what I meant," Zachary quickly explained, "I was just anxious seeing you both ."
Riley turned away, not wanting to hear his explanation. "President Sutton, you don’t need to explain. Since you trust your secretary so much, I have nothing more to say."
With that, Riley’s eyes reddened, and she turned to leave.
Seeing this, Zachary sighed helplessly and turned to Ellie, speaking sternly, "Ellie, fighting and causing trouble at the company violates company policy. You’re fired. Go to HR and process your departure immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Ellie looked incredulously at Zachary, "President Sutton, I’ve been with you for so many years, and you’re firing me for some small employee?"
"She is not a small employee. She is..." Zachary was about to reveal Riley’s identity but stopped himself.
As the daughter of the Aethelgard Circle’s wealthiest, Hawthorne Family’s eldest, it’s best not to let other employees know. Firstly, to protect Riley’s privacy. Secondly, he had agreed to help Riley conceal her identity.
"In any case, Riley Hawthorne is not someone you can provoke. The Sutton Group will no longer employ you."
Even if Zachary hadn’t fired Ellie, if Caden Hawthorne knew about this, with his protective nature, he wouldn’t spare Ellie.
Ellie, though unwilling, could see Zachary protected Riley fiercely, likely meaning she wasn’t just a small employee — maybe even President Sutton’s mistress.
At once envious, Ellie had to bow, quickly kneeling before Zachary, crying out, "President Sutton, I... I know I was wrong. Please give me another chance. I don’t want to leave the company."
The Sutton Group is a top company in Aethelgard; without it, where could she find such a good job?
Zachary remained unmoved by her apology, "Even if I don’t fire you, someone else won’t let you go. Just leave!"
With that, Zachary turned to leave, hurrying to catch up with Riley.
Ellie watched Zachary’s decisive retreat, realizing she had no chance to reconcile, wiping her tears before leaving in disgrace.
"Riley, wait for me!" Zachary chased after Riley, both of them running out of the company.