Chapter 3 There's Something Fishy

[Mr. Williams has something going on with this woman!]

[When has Mr. Williams ever looked at someone like that? Never!]

[Any news from Ms. Wilson? Dying to see what this beauty looks like!]

Meanwhile, Elaine was irritably flipping through interview resumes, and her eyes lit up when she saw Adeline's.

Her office phone rang—her assistant reporting that Ronald hadn't arrived at the company yet.

Elaine clicked her tongue. "You guys have the meeting. I'll go find him."

Arriving at Ronald's office, she pushed the door open without knocking. "Where the hell did you disappear to last night?"

As cousins as well as colleagues, with Elaine being his senior, she didn't bother with formalities when they were alone.

Ronald replied coldly, "Something you need?"

"The meeting!" Elaine glared at him through gritted teeth. "Without a secretary, you could at least keep track of time yourself. And your phone was off?"

Ronald lowered his gaze, his tone even, "Sorry. Battery died."

His previous secretary had worked for him for three years before she started deluding herself that she could become Mrs. Williams. When he fired her, things turned ugly.

Since then, he'd refused to hire female secretaries.

Thinking of the resumes in her hand, Elaine cleared her throat. "Mr. Williams, perhaps you should consider selecting a secretary? Some of these new candidates look promising."

Ronald glanced at the resumes in her hand, the first one was Adeline's.

In her photo, she wore business attire, her eyes curved into an attractive smile.

New candidates?

Seeing his interest, Elaine quickly handed over the resumes, deliberately tapping Adeline's photo. "These all have excellent qualifications, though none applied for the secretary position."

She'd noticed something off between them yesterday. The fact that Ronald hadn't immediately rejected the secretary idea confirmed her suspicions.

Ronald scanned the resume, his finger lightly tapping Adeline's name. "Not interested."

He stood and left the office.

Elaine smirked. The way he'd looked at Adeline yesterday had been anything but normal. If he wasn't interested, why single out her name?

Typically, he would have flat-out refused. Something fishy was definitely going on!

When Adeline was escorted to the top floor, she felt nervous. The HR staff member brought her to the door, then scurried away.

The top floor of Opulent Treasures was the domain of the company's two bosses—Ronald and Elaine.

Nobody except their trusted confidants dared come up here.

Adeline anxiously clutched her phone, ready to call the police if things went south.

"Adeline, come in." A cheerful female voice called out.

Adeline looked up to see Elaine and jumped in surprise, then felt awkward. "It's you?"

"Small world, right? Come on in." Elaine smiled warmly, which helped Adeline relax a bit.

Last night was just a one-night stand. Ronald probably wouldn't mention it to anyone.

Adeline wasn't sure what relationship Elaine had with Ronald, but noticing their similar features, she guessed they were relatives.

What she hadn't expected was Elaine offering her the position of executive secretary.

"I'm sorry, but I applied for a design position," Adeline firmly refused. "Besides, I've never been a secretary before. I doubt I could handle the job."

"I've reviewed your resume—it's quite impressive. You're more than qualified for the secretary role," Elaine maintained her smile. "Plus, the CEO is quite satisfied with you."

In Elaine's mind, Ronald not objecting meant he approved.

"The CEO?" Adeline looked at Elaine in confusion. She didn't know any CEO.

Elaine shrugged. "It's the CEO's directive, I'm afraid. But don't worry, your starting salary will be calculated at the senior secretary level, four times what a junior designer would make."

"What?" Adeline's eyes widened in disbelief.

Four times? At that rate, she could achieve financial independence in just a few years!

"And you can still participate in design department projects with additional commission. What do you say?"

Elaine's offer was exceptionally generous, but Adeline maintained her composure. "I'm sorry, I—"

"Why don't you meet the CEO first, then decide?" Elaine didn't give her a chance to refuse, pulling her toward the CEO's office.

Just as they reached the door, they heard the sound of breaking glass.

Adeline's heart skipped a beat. No wonder the salary was so high. Could it be that the president was a psychopath?

As she debated whether to run or knock Elaine out first, the office door swung open, and Ronald's cool voice cut through the air, "Elaine, come with me to Valor Auctions."

"I have three meetings scheduled. You think I can be in two places at once?" Elaine rolled her eyes, then pushed Adeline forward. "This is the secretary I selected for you. Adeline, go prepare the car. You'll accompany Mr. Williams."

"Me? Go?" Adeline stared at him in shock, her voice quavering.

Ronald was Opulent Treasures' CEO?

Her one-night stand was about to become her direct boss?

Ronald glanced down to see Adeline's panicked expression and the faint hickeys on her neck, momentarily thrown off balance.

When he didn't respond, Elaine quickly added, "Today's auction features the 12th Valorian Queen's sapphire necklace as the highlight piece. It's our company's target acquisition."

"The Nebula's Heart?" Adeline's eyes instantly lit up.

This jewelry auction had been publicized for months, and royal jewelry design had been the focus of her thesis.

The opportunity to see such a legendary piece up close made her forget all about potential dangers or complications.

"Yes, Ms. Wilson, I'll go prepare the car right away!" She awkwardly ran toward the elevator before turning back, looking embarrassed. "CEO, I don't know how to drive."

"Follow me," Ronald strode toward her.

Elaine pressed her lips together to suppress her amusement. Ronald hadn't refused, which meant he'd accepted Adeline as his secretary. She'd finally offloaded this massive headache!

After they left, Elaine burst into laughter. Her assistant, Cade Turner, approached and whispered, "Ms. Wilson, what's so funny?"

"Get me everything on this Adeline. And I mean everything."

Meanwhile, Adeline sat uncomfortably in the passenger seat of the CEO's car.

First day on the job and the boss was driving her around? Who would believe that?

Even more shocking—her boss was her one-night stand.

The pain radiating from her lower half constantly reminded her of what had happened last night.

Adeline massaged her throbbing temples, feeling like the world had gone mad.

Earlier, when she'd heard about the Nebula's Heart necklace, she'd forgotten to refuse the secretary position.

Now that she'd come to her senses, she felt the need to clear things up. "Sir, about yesterday—it was all a misunderstanding."

"I apologize. I didn't realize you were a virgin," Ronald replied, eyes fixed on the road, his tone completely neutral.

On his way to the office, he'd reflected on the previous night. Adeline had been passionate but inexperienced, not even knowing how to kiss properly. Thinking back to the blood on the sheets, it all made sense to him now.

Adeline was about to explain that it wasn't her first time when Ronald made an unexpected turn.

"Sir, we should be going straight here," Adeline gently reminded him, checking the navigation.

"We're stopping at the hospital first."

Ronald's casual statement sent Adeline's mind into overdrive. Was he taking her for a medical exam? Or checking if she had some disease? Or worse—was he planning to force emergency contraception on her, afraid she might try to trap him?

Panicking, Adeline quickly explained, "Sir, I told you yesterday—"

"That you wouldn't hold me responsible," Ronald pulled over to the curb. His face was shadowed by tree branches, making his expression unreadable.

"Do you think I have a poor memory?"