Chapter 144: Treasure Hunts

The items had been tossed by the cleaning crew and carted off to the landfill by the city’s waste management three days ago. The chances of recovering them were next to none, but Jackson cleverly devised a workaround.

If he couldn’t retrieve the original items, he could try buying replacements. It wasn’t about deceiving Easton; it was more about Easton likely not knowing exactly what was in Ellis’s office, and this was a desperate measure to keep his job.

“Not convenient!”

Regardless of Jackson’s intentions, Ellis hung up the phone and promptly added his number to her blacklist.

Listening to the dial tone, Jackson shamelessly tried calling again. After several unanswered attempts, he realized he’d been blocked. Can I keep this job?

Panicking, Jackson borrowed the cleaning supervisor’s phone to make another attempt. Fortunately, as he stepped out of the conference room, he didn’t see Amelia lingering by her desk. Ellis pursed her lips in annoyance.

She had responded to Amelia’s overtures the night before with dismissive emojis, making her stance clear. Amelia’s attempt today to buy her favor with small gifts was exasperating.

Back at her desk, Ellis received another call from an unfamiliar local number, but she was almost certain it was Jackson using a different phone. Two calls in quick succession—it had to be Jackson.

Annoyed, she activated the feature to block unknown callers and noticed several new messages. “Transferred 260 dollars,” Amelia had written.

What? Amelia sent me money! In a split second, she refunded the transfer and added Amelia to her blacklist, adding to her irritation. She had gone through so much to finally get a divorce from that deadbeat, starting a new life. Can’t the people around me stop bothering me for a while! Even if they have to bother me, can’t it wait? I’m still basking in the relief of being divorced!

Jackson, overwhelmed, borrowed another phone as he still couldn’t get through to Ellis. The cleaning supervisor was also in a panic. “Jackson, Mrs. Hudson can’t help us: if we can’t recover the items, do you think Mr. Hudson will fire us?”

Easton was known for being reasonable to an extent; he wouldn’t mind his own office items not being recovered since he had ordered them thrown out. But Ellis’s office items were a different story; there was a clear distinction in responsibilities. The cleaning supervisor wasn’t in danger of losing her job, but he was!

Despairingly, Jackson stared into the harsh midday sun. “Why did you even bring up Ms. Harper’s office?”

The cleaning supervisor, realizing her casual question had sparked today’s disaster, clammed up.

Unable to get help from Ellis, Jackson dug through the landfill with the futile hope that something magical would happen—that he’d miraculously find Ellis’s belongings.

As the sun began to set, and after confirming multiple times with the landfill staff, the cleaning supervisor gave up hope. “Jackson, let’s pack up and go back to the office to get our severance and leave.”

Under Easton’s capable leadership, the company was thriving, and even if employees were terminated during their probation, they were compensated generously. As a long-term employee, she was sure to get a decent severance package and was ready to accept her fate.

Jackson’s face twitched. “Mr. Hudson didn’t say he’d fire you, just me.”

“That’s great,” her despair lifted considerably, as if resurrected from the depths.

Jealous, Jackson glared at the cleaning supervisor and then hinted darkly, “He hasn’t found the items. Who knows, he might…”

Her brief joy faded, and her face fell again. Unwilling to resign himself to fate like the cleaning supervisor, Jackson still tried to find replacements. He dragged her to the Elite Pavilion, a hub for luxury brands in Stonebridge.

Since Ellis had lived a life of luxury, it made sense to look for her items in a place that catered to the affluent.

Reluctantly, the cleaning supervisor accompanied him, and to their good fortune, they managed to purchase a few items identical to what had been in Ellis’s office.

Jackson knew they couldn’t replicate everything; the cleaning supervisor had mentioned Ellis’s office contained personal items like her wedding photo with Easton. Could a few items suffice to cover their tracks? With a heavy heart, he headed back to the office, debating whether to face Easton right away.

“Jackson, Mr. Hudson left this morning and hasn’t returned,” a colleague informed him as he paced nervously outside Easton’s office.

Relieved that Easton wasn’t there yet, Jackson caught his breath. Recalling Easton’s orders from the morning, he frantically tried to locate Ellis. He needed her help, no matter what it took!