Chapter 24: Vice secretary gets bullied
"John, why do you call me Maddy? Have you been using me as a replacement for her?"
Elly stared at John Elliot with sorrowful eyes. John just wanted to be able to call her once again, but he hurt her deeply.
"Maddy, you misunderstand. You are different, you are nobody's replacement."
While explaining, John reaches for her hands but she rejects him.
She lets out a painful smile "You just called me Maddy again."
"That was my mistake." John grabs her hand tightly even though she pushes him away. "In my heart, there is only you, Elly, I just said that so Alexis would leave us alone, I got jealous, I'm sorry."
"Is that so?" Elly doesn't know if she could trust his words, "You will never lie to me again, right?"
"You know that I love you to death, Elly." John Elliott grins, avoiding to answer.
Elly blushed in embarrassment John leans forward to kiss her forehead and he told her to get some rest. Elly was glad that John wouldn't stay there for the night, as she was not yet ready to sleep together like other couples.
John Elliott left the room hastily, he was afraid that he would not be able to hold back if he took another look into her innocent eyes.
Elly couldn't get a hint of sleep, she kept thinking about the conversation she heard from the hall.
John says Madeline was dead, but Alexis thinks that she was Madeline.
Who was this Madeline? And what did they have in common?
What happened three years ago?
When she woke up three years ago, John Elliott also called her Maddy, then he created another nickname for her, Elly.
John told her that she got involved in a terrible car accident, her brain was severely damaged to the point that she would not be able to recall any memories. Since then, her life, her identity has been organized by him, her so-called fiancé.
Elly had asked about her past many times. But each time, John would only say that the accident was a blessing in disguise, and he hoped that she would live happily from now on.
But inside, Elly also felt incomplete, she felt as if there was a missing piece in her heart that she couldn't find. That's why she visited New York.
Due to sleep-deprivation, Elly gets distracted in the morning's meeting.
Alexis has called for her many times, but she doesn't respond. The board of directors is getting tired of her behavior.
Is the new secretary openly disobeyed the CEO? They ask themselves.
Before Alexis explodes in anger, secretary John tapped Elly to wake her up.
"Hand the papers out."
Only then did Elly focused more on the meeting.
After getting out of the conference room, Alexis glares at her "We don't take in incompetent people here. You won't get your bonus this month."
Elly blamed herself for zoning out of her job in the meeting.
Secretary John pitied her, walked up to her, and say "You just need to pay more attention. Your salary would be raised in no time if he sees your effort."
Elly laughed forcibly, looks around then whispered into John's ears "How long have you been working for Alexis."
"More than four years." John looked at her sneaky endeavor.
Elly opened her eyes wider, flaunted her innocent look "Do you, by any chance, know who Madeline is?"
John goes into panic mode, he looked around to make sure there are only two of them. He looked at Elly's clueless face, John couldn't help but empathized with her "This name is a taboo. You would not want to mention it in front of Alexis."
"But why? Who exactly is this Madeline?"
John loosed all his patience, he warned her "If you want to work here any longer, just do as I said. Curiosity kills a cat, remember that."
Elly knows that she won't get more information out of John, so she turned away. But there were still so many questions inside of her.
The news that Elly got promoted by Alexis and that he didn't scold for getting distracted at a meeting has reached Emily Russel. Emily is both anxious and scared to death. She must put a stop to this.
Emily immediately called John Elliott.
"Why haven't you taken Madeline out of this city? You want her to get back with Alexis or something?"
"What do you mean?" John Elliott calmly replied in contrast to Emily's shaking voice.
"Aren't you afraid of them getting back together? They always stick together at work. Madeline is Alexis's secretary."
"Maddy had lost all of her memories."
Emily cannot utter another word.
"After the car accident three years ago, she cannot remember anything. She doesn't even remember who I am."
Only now did Emily realize that when Madeline acted like she didn't know her, it was not an act. Madeline really lost her memories.
Emily feels relieved, but she isn't gonna let the fact that Madeline was Alexis's secretary slide.
Emily comes to Alexis's company, smiles, and ask the receptionist
"Is Alexis upstairs?"
"Oh, miss Emily." the receptionist smiles "The CEO has gone away to sign a contract half an hour ago."
"When will he come home?"
"I don't know about that, miss."
"Then I'll just wait in his office. Thank you!" In front of outsiders, Emily Russel always acts all firm and proper. She is the only woman that takes care of Alexis's only son, so everybody wants to impress Emily.
Emily stepped into the office, breaking the hustling atmosphere of the employees. As soon as they saw her, they started to talk behind her back.
Elly was just about to step out of the office when a coworker pulled her back, "Elly, that's our boss lover, bring her some coffee."
Elly laughed out loud "So besides Emily, who has mistreated Kitten, Alexis has screwed around with many other people huh?"
Elly brought in a cup of coffee and placed it on the table. When she looked up, she realized that the woman was Emily Russel.
'Isn't this the girl who took care of Kitten and lives with Alexis? How come they are lovers now?'
"We meet again, you are John Elliott's fiancé, right?"
Elly had yet to reply when Emily came up with more things to say.
"John Elliott has an elite background, his family is wealthy. Why do you have to work as a secretary here?"
Elly gets angry when she heard those provocative words. But this was office hour, she cannot be rude to a guest.
So she doesn't say anything.
Emily did not care for Elly, she took a sip of coffee and continue.
"I like my coffee with both milk and sugar. You are the secretary of the CEO, how can you make such a disgusting thing?"
"Let me make another one for you."
After that, Elly came back with another cup, just like Emily wanted, more in milk and sugar.
Emily Russel looked at the smoke coming out of the cup, asked angrily "Do you want me to burn my hand?"
Elly suppresses her anger and tried to smile "Then let me change it again."
Elly saw she was still able to smile, Emily still wants to make her suffer more.
Some other employees stepped in to help Elly out "Emily is trying to provoke you, she does this every time she's here."
Elly shakes her head, she wore a bright smile "It's fine, if I don't make another cup of coffee, she would make the whole office uncomfortable even more."
They saw how professional Elly handled the situation, all the other employees admired her.
Emily Russel puts one leg over another, didn't even glance at the new cup of coffee.
"Too cold, change it."
"You haven't even tried it, how do you know it is cold?"
Emily became more hostile than before "If I say it is cold, then it is, do you drink it, or do I?"
Elly shrugged, as she was bending over to get another cup, she hears a cold voice coming from behind.
"No need to change it!"