Chapter 219
Effie had no intention of wasting any more time with Nelly. She said briskly, “I’ve sent you my purchase record. Check your work email.”
Nelly gave a disdainful snort, pulled out her phone, and glanced at the screen- her expression shifted ever so slightly.
“Nelly, you drive a Porsche. Don’t tell me you can’t even afford to pay me back a measly thousand dollars?”
Nelly’s eyes flickered. That Porsche wasn’t even hers.
“Fine, I’ll pay. Just wait.”
It wasn’t long before Effie received the payment from Nelly.
With another huff, Nelly stomped back to her desk, furiously tapping away at her phone. Whatever she was texting or whoever she was texting, Effie didn’t care in the slightest.
Shirley shot Effie a thumbs-up. “You’re amazing, Effie.”
“Did you know Nelly would try something and that’s why you brought that scarf?” Shirley asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Effie shook her head. “I’m not psychic. How could I have predicted that? You’re the one who threw yourself in the line of fire—I couldn’t do much about that.”
She glanced at the snagged threads in her expensive scarf and winced. “Such a waste of a good scarf.”
“By the way, what were you about to tell me earlier?”
Shirley paused, suddenly blank. “What was I going to say?” She squeezed her eyes shut, racking her brain.
Then, as if struck by lightning, she snapped her eyes open and looked at Effie. “I remember!”
Her exclamation drew a few glances from nearby desks, and Shirley offered an awkward smile before lowering her voice. “Effie, are you and Mr. Etheridge… together?”
Now it was Effie’s turn to panic. Her hand jerked, knocking over her water bottle, and she scrambled to mop up the spill.
“W-what are you talking about?” she muttered, shooting Shirley a warning look.
This girl really was a little too sharp sometimes.
Shirley just grinned. “It’s obvious, you know. Mr. Etheridge looks at you like you’re the only person in the world. I swear I could see the hearts in his eyes.”
She went on to describe how she’d seen Lyman at the stables, gazing at Effie like he couldn’t look away.
Effie blinked. She’d never thought about how Lyman looked at her from someone else’s perspective. What kind of look was that, anyway?
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. Honestly, people’s relationships aren’t anyone else’s business,” Shirley said sincerely.
Effie trusted Shirley, and she nodded. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Shirley gave her a playful wink.
That afternoon, Effie got ready to head out. She stopped by Irving Butler’s office to
ask for leave. “Mr. Butler, I need to step out for a bit.”
Irving Butler didn’t even look up from his paperwork. “Where to?”
“I’m meeting with The Hoffman Group to discuss the next stage of our
collaboration,” Effie replied.
At that, Irving Butler finally looked up, fixing her with a level gaze. “That won’t be
necessary. I’ll be handling the follow-up from here.”
Effie’s brow furrowed as she stared at him, unblinking.
He met her eyes with maddening composure. Clearly, this sort of thing was nothing new for him.
“Effie, do you really think you’re ready to handle a project of this size? You’re still new-you don’t have the experience yet,” he said smoothly. “I’m doing this for your own good.”
Effie scoffed inwardly. Butler’s skin was thicker than the grime on a street beggar. Did he really not feel a shred of shame stealing credit from his own team?
“Effie, you’re young. Still a lot to learn,” Butler finished, his lips curling in a smile
that never reached his eyes. “Don’t you agree?”