Chapter 86: Cold Calculations
“It doesn’t matter who you talk to! I’ve already told you, I’m not the same person I was three years ago,” Easton declared, his tolerance for being threatened at an end, especially by Ellis, which only deepened his gloom. “I’d like to see who dares to control me now.”
Ellis cursed inwardly countless times, trying her best to conceal the intense irritation boiling inside her. “What good does dragging out this divorce do for you? I’m occupying the spot as your wife. Doesn’t anyone else mind?” she asked.
In the public eye, they maintained a basic level of decorum in their argument, saving face while avoiding the deadbeat’s marital infidelities. Instead, she simply questioned whether it wouldn’t be better for Victoria to promptly take over Easton’s wife’s place.
“There are plenty of benefits, starting with your discomfort,” Easton retorted, giving Ellis a once-over with a glare. “Drop that glaring look. The more you glare, the less likely I am to agree to the divorce.”
Ignoring her second question, Ellis was left with nothing but a desire to curse. She couldn’t hold back and blurted out, “Eas—”
She barely got two words out before he shot her a warning look. “You never address me properly, always coming up with nicknames. Just for that, I’m not agreeing to the divorce anytime soon.”
Blinded by rage, Ellis stormed out of the Civil Affairs Department with rapid strides. What’s left to say to him? Another word and I might really lose it here.
At Hudson Group, Easton had been unseen all morning, leading Jackson to think he would return in the afternoon. While reorganizing his schedule, a call came from Easton’s office.
“Come to my office.”
The brief directive had Jackson on his feet instantly. As an executive assistant, he possessed keen perception, but the chill that hit him upon opening Easton’s office door made him shiver, his mind racing that the air conditioning was perhaps too cold.
However, that thought vanished when he met Easton’s gaze. The chill wasn’t just from the air conditioning—a big part of it was emanating from Easton himself, who looked frosty enough to suggest his mood was extremely foul.
Jackson had seen Easton in bad moods before, but Easton usually kept his emotions under wraps. The last time he had seen Easton this openly upset was when Ellis and Victoria had been kidnapped, and Easton was coordinating with the police to catch the kidnappers.
Knowing full well that Easton was not in the best of spirits, Jackson proceeded with extra caution to avoid triggering him further.
“Mr. Easton,” he said softly, even his door closing gently to avoid noise. As he was handed a document, Jackson glanced down to read it while respectfully asking, “Mr. Easton, what do you need me to do?”
“Just follow the instructions on the paper,” Easton directed.
Jackson quickly understood the contents, but his thoughts slowed. “Mr. Easton, doing this might… Mrs. Hudson and Ms. Carly…”
He knew the boss had proposed divorce to Ellis, and Ellis had agreed to leave with nothing, but the progress seemed stalled, and he hadn’t received any updates. His previous checks hadn’t confirmed a divorce between his boss and Ellis; officially, she was still the lady of the company. And since Carly was Easton’s aunt who had made a scene at the office—though only for two days—everyone was naturally wary of offending her.
The document Easton now provided detailed a plan to impoverish both women in one fell swoop.
Jackson was worried. “Approaching your mother could lead to…”
Sophia was very pleased with Ellis as a daughter-in-law, and Carly had a good relationship with Sophia. If Carly and Ellis’s impoverishment kicked off and they didn’t turn to Sophia, he would be shocked.
He wanted to express his concerns and potential obstacles they might face, but seeing Easton’s furrowed brow and hearing his cold query, “Whose money are you working for?”
Jackson quickly bowed his head. “Mr. Easton, don’t worry, I’ll handle this perfectly!”
Jackson could think of the repercussions, and so could Easton, but he didn’t care. If Ellis and his aunt went to his mother, so be it. He was her only child; his mother cared for them. But could she really ignore the bond with her son?
With the documents in hand and free from his boss’s intimidating presence, Jackson felt a pang of sympathy for Ellis. With Easton’s old flame back in the picture, his wife’s position was at risk, and facing potential impoverishment, things looked grim.
Back in his office alone, the unrelenting silence echoed with Ellis’s words from earlier, and the image of her angrily leaving the Civil Affairs Department lingered before him. Easton clamped his lips tight.