Chapter 115

Ethan sat in his office, a beam of light streaming through his floor-to-ceiling windows and falling on his voice. His eyes softened as he listened to Janet’s voice through the phone.

“Yes, I did have a hand in exposing your sister’s substitution matter and your parents’ debt. The Lind family does business with a lot of notable partners, so it’s only a matter of course that they try to save their reputation as soon as possible. That’s probably why they decided to finally pay you what they owe. They have no other choice at this point.”

Garrett rarely heard Ethan speak this much in one breath.

With raised eyebrows, he pricked his ears and leaned forward slightly, trying to hear more of the couple’s conversation.

On the other side of the line, Janet frowned. Ethan sounded calm and casual about his explanation, but she knew it couldn’t have been so simple.

“Tell me the truth. Did you spend a lot of money to make this happen?”

“Of course not. It cost nothing just to spread a bit of news. You’re thinking too much.” Ethan’s tone remained patient. He swiveled his chair and looked out of his massive office windows.

Garrett struggled to contain his laughter and ended up snorting. The CEO of the Larson Group was so powerful that people were willing to bend over as soon as he gave the word. He didn’t even need to lift a finger to have them do his bidding.

Janet sighed. “I know, I know. Stop patronizing me.”

Her life was already a mess to begin with, and now she even got Ethan involved in her troublesome affairs.

He had neither the money nor the power to stand up against people like her adoptive family. He must have gone to great lengths in order to bring their selfish deeds to light.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Ethan’s lips.

He threw a pointed glance at Garrett, who was now openly and shamelessly eavesdropping.

The man immediately straightened and nodded.

He understood the message—Ethan was about to say things that weren’t meant for anybody else’s ears.

Garrett strode to the door and left the office.

When he was gone, Ethan leaned back against his chair and tapped his nose with his forefinger.

“Hmm?” he said on the phone, his voice quiet and lazy. “What is it that you know?”

“I know that you’re awfully good to me.” Janet’s voice had also fallen into a whisper. She covered her phone’s receiver and looked around to make sure no one could hear her.

“Is your husband reliable?’

“Yes, yes.”

“Come to my room tonight.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to fuck you senseless until morning,” Ethan rasped.

A delicious shiver ran down Janet’s spine. She looked around again as she felt her ears burn. “Stop it!

It’s still the middle of the day.”

“Why are you being shy all of a sudden?” Ethan chuckled.

“Ethan Lester!” Janet snapped. “Cut it out. I’ll cook something delicious for you when I get home.”

Despite her protests, she already felt hot all over her body.

She hung up the phone and covered her face with her hands, as if that could stop the desire and temptation from coursing through her veins.

It was well into the afternoon when she returned to her office desk.

Gerda saw Janet approach and gave her a wink. “Hey, I heard that the old couple downstairs earlier were your adoptive parents, is that right? The whole company is talking about it.”

Of course, they were. They were probably badmouthing her, too.

Janet looked around, and sure enough, her colleagues were staring at her with morbid curiosity.

She instantly lowered her eyes. “They came for some family matters.”

Gerda could tell that there was something else Janet didn’t want to talk about, something that wasn’t particularly pleasant, like a secret. She decided to offer the new girl some advice. “You had better make things clear as soon as possible. Everybody loves to gossip, and they tend to exaggerate every little detail. You never know what those silly rumors would eventually become.”

Janet said nothing and just sat at her desk.

She had been expecting this much.

After all, Fiona had raised quite a ruckus in front of so many people this morning. It didn’t help that Janet made no response and just walked out on Fiona and Bernie.

Without any explanation from Janet, the onlookers were naturally led to believe that she was an ungrateful daughter, just as Fiona had so publicly claimed.