Chapter 42

“Alright then. If you do a good job as my secretary, I promise I’ll treat you well,” Haley said with a hint of satisfaction.

Perhaps it was the way Yarrick had phrased things that made him seem pitiful—or maybe it was just his looks. A faint smile lingered on her lips.

“Thank you, Ms. Jardon,” Yarrick said, sounding appreciative.

“I heard from Mr. Chapman that your cellphone is old. I got you a new one. Why don’t you open it and see if you like it?” As she spoke, she took out a box from her bag and handed it to him.

Yarrick was completely caught off guard. This was their first meeting, and she had already gifted him the test model of the H-phone, which came with the highest specs.

He couldn’t believe Haley had gone out of her way to show concern for an employee. Then again, for someone like her, spending this much wasn’t a big deal.

“Ms. Jardon, my phone still works fine,” he said with a bashful grin, unknowingly holding the phone in his hands with a tight grip.

“You can think of it as a work phone. Don’t overthink it and just take it.” Noticing his hesitation, Haley spoke up before he could protest, “Alright. Thank you, Ms. Jardon.”

He didn’t hesitate either. If she said it was for work, then that was what it was. He accepted the phone without an ounce of burden. Since she insisted, he didn’t argue. He wasn’t one to hesitate.

“Trick, do you have a girlfriend?”

“I do,” he replied with a smile and a nod.

To his surprise, Haley seemed interested in his personal life. Little did she know that not only did he have a girlfriend, but he was even married.

“That’s not surprising. A handsome young man like you must’ve stolen the hearts of many women, right?” she teased. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, and her smile deepened. “Mr. Jardon, you’re too kind.”

“Your girlfriend is pretty!”

“Yes, Ms. Jardon. She’s incredibly beautiful,” he added.

As he spoke, Haley’s face appeared in his mind. He suddenly remembered he could finally see his wife after work. The thought alone made it hard for him to hide his excitement.

“You’re truly a faithful man, aren’t you?” she complimented. “Yarrick, I’ll still need to stay home for my recovery for quite a while.”

“No problem, Ms. Jardon. Please let me know if anything comes up.”

The meeting had gone well, and Yarrick was finally relaxed. It seemed Haley was pleased with him.

While they chatted, he noticed her eyes lingering on him. She kept checking him out, scanning him from head to toe.

“Let’s keep in touch. If I need you to come over, we’ll…”

He wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but he had already made it clear that he had a girlfriend—and that she was a stunning beauty. After some thought, he chose not to dwell on it. He would just let things flow naturally.

They continued their conversation until it was almost 11:00 a.m.

“Yarrick, unfortunately, I can’t have lunch with you. Why don’t you head back to the office and wait for further instructions?”

“Yes, Ms. Jardon,” he nodded.

Then, he bid goodbye and left with the new phone she had given him.

As she watched him leave, Haley smiled at her phone and spoke into the microphone:

“I assume you’ve heard everything, Hailey?”

Yarrick had left the coffee shop and was on his way back to the office.

Today’s meeting with Haley had gone extremely well, and she seemed quite satisfied with him. Still, something about it left him uneasy.