Chapter 106
Nancy looked confident, graceful, and poised.
Zach couldn’t help recalling the moment Ariel threw herself at Jayson.
“Who exactly is Ariel?” he asked.
Frederick thought for a second. “She’s with Faye Technologies now as Mr. Hockney’s assistant. But if you ask me, their relationship doesn’t seem strictly professional.”
Why would a man of Chad’s status pay that much attention to a married woman like Ariel?
Frederick couldn’t think of any other reason other than a romantic one, which only made him see Ariel as completely shameless.
Zach was genuinely surprised.
He understood exactly what Frederick was implying.
Chad had a spotless reputation in the industry, with no gossip or scandals. He didn’t even entertain women at business dinners. He was practically a symbol of self–restraint.
So Ariel had Chad wrapped around her finger and was also making moves on Jayson?
“Why the sudden curiosity?” Frederick asked, raising a brow.
Zach clicked his tongue and clinked glasses with him. “I just think that we really can’t judge a book by its cover. You never know what kind of demons are hiding behind a pretty face.”
And just like that, he found himself feeling sorry for Nancy. She was being targeted by Ariel just because the latter wanted to catch the eye of her man.
“Gentlemen, what are you talking about?”
Smiling, Nancy approached with one hand lifting her dress slightly as she walked. She gave Zach a small nod in greeting.
Frederick, spotting her, immediately lowered his voice. “We were just saying that some people really shouldn’t bother competing with you. It’s embarrassing, honestly.”
Nancy raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know what had happened, but she could tell exactly who Frederick was talking about.
She simply gave a faint shake of her head without saying anything.
That alone made Zach realize why Jayson was so enamored with her. She really did carry herself with class.
“Frederick, who exactly are you talking about?”
Janice just happened to walk by and caught the tail end of Frederick’s thinly veiled remark. The sarcasm was impossible to miss.
It infuriated her, especially since he was trash–talking Ariel to Nancy, of all people. Nancy acting like she was Jayson’s wife only fueled Janice’s anger even more.
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Chapter 106
+25 BONUS
What did they even know? Ariel was the real victim here!
Frederick saw Janice’s glare and felt a headache coming on. “I didn’t say any names. Seriously, you’re not a kid anymore. When are you going to start using your head? Don’t always jump to defend people. Look at the kinds of people you’re protecting!”
Janice had been spoiled since childhood. She never studied hard, and her parents never pushed her. She spent most of her youth wasting time, drinking, and partying.
When she got older, she asked the family for 50 million dollars to invest.
Luckily, she chose Chad, and that was how Faye Technologies came to be.
That was probably the only smart thing she’d ever done.
Now, she was blindly defending some woman who had nothing going for her. Frederick wasn’t about to let Ariel cling to Janice and drag the Swanson family into this mess.
Just then, Jayson and Ariel returned one after the other.
They immediately saw Janice staring straight at Nancy as she blurted out a sharp, pointed question.
“Ms. Stanton, you and Mr. Larkin are always together, but you’ve never really clarified your relationship. Are you his girlfriend or his future wife?”
Even Ariel’s eyes flickered at that.
Janice’s question was a deliberate challenge.
Since Ariel was standing right there, if Nancy gave a clear answer, Ariel could step up and announce that she was Jayson’s wife.
Nancy’s image would shatter in an instant, and she’d be branded the mistress.
