Chapter 9 Be Good
Iliana stopped in her tracks.
She had been with Bryson for many years. He had only blown dry her hair twice.
Once, she had to pester him until he did it. As a neat freak, he had done it for few people.
“Sure. Sit down.”
“Thank you, Brys. You’re so nice.”
Iliana’s eyelashes couldn’t help fluttering when she heard Bryanna’s soft voice.
Her fair face now presented a deathly paleness.
She couldn’t believe Bryson had agreed so readily.
A bitter smile spread across her face.
Instead of going downstairs, Iliana returned to her room. The sound of the blow dryer came flooding into her ears.
Despite the hallway and two doors, she still could hear it vaguely.
Iliana didn’t remember when she fell asleep. When she woke up the next morning, neither Bryanna nor Bryson were home.
One less day to go before her departure.
Yet the desolation in her heart had reduced.
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She freshened up quickly and hastened to the company.
Soon after she sat at her desk, she saw Bryanna and Bryson going to the meeting room side by side.
First, they came to work together. Now, they attended the meeting together.
Bryanna took not only Iliana’s position but also the place by Bryson’s side.
Never mind.
Iliana was getting married, anyway.
“Hey, did you see? Ms. Vaughn and Mr. Jefferson came to work together this morning.”
‘No kidding? They did?”
“Yeah. I saw it with my own eyes. Mr. Jefferson even bought breakfast for Ms. Vaughn. It seems they’re very close.”
“She joined the company as a supervisor. Is she Mr. Jefferson’s girlfriend? I hear he has a girlfriend, but none of us has seen her. Way to be protective.”
The female colleagues gathered to gossip.
They kept their voices low.
But still, Iliana heard everything.
She stood up to make coffee. The gossip bugged her.
When she came back, her coworkers had returned to their respective
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positions.
Iliana sat down in her seat and concentrated on writing a planning scheme.
She hadn’t quit yet.
As long as she was in her position, she’d do her job.
In the afternoon, the scheme was finished. Iliana brought it to Bryson
at once.
She knocked and went into his office. He and Bryanna were talking. They were gonna meet a client in the evening.
“Iliana, Bryson wants to teach me business. He’s taking me to meet a new client tonight. You don’t mind, do you?”
Bryanna was asking her opinion, but the provocation in her eyes didn’t escape Iliana’s attention.
Before Iliana could respond, Bryson explained, “Lia, Bryanna is new. She isn’t familiar with our company’s business. It’s just an ordinary meeting with a client.”
Iliana replied briefly, “Since it’s business, do what you see fit.”
She didn’t care even if he was lying.
“Well, I’m off. Brys, I’ll come again when we get off work.”
“OK.”
As soon as Bryanna was gone, Bryson came to Iliana.
“Lia, that was considerate of you. You’ve been very understanding
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lately.”
“Wasn’t I before?”
She put the scheme on the desk and stepped back a little.
Bryson saw it but didn’t take it seriously.
Leaning against the desk, he looked at her with captivating amorous eyes. With a careless smile, he replied, “No, you never let me go to a meeting with a female coworker before.”
Iliana thought, “Because I cared. But now, I don’t.”
“As I said, I’ll be more understanding.”
Iliana made her way toward the door.
Bryson’s eyes dimmed for a moment as he watched her leave
She had changed a lot lately.
But he couldn’t pinpoint how.
It was past 8 p.m. when Iliana got home from work.
She went to bed after a bath. Suddenly, her belly ached. The pain was insufferable.
Iliana thought it was something she had for dinner. She went to the bathroom. But when she came out, she still trembled from pain.
She got changed and went to see a doctor in a cab.
The diagnosis said she had acute enterogastritis.
“It was caused by alcohol. Don’t drink anymore. Or it’ll get worse.”
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The doctor reminded her repeatedly. Iliana nodded with a dull look.
She left the doctor’s office with the medical bill. The pain made her wanna cry.
She had drunk a lot with clients recently. To win back the client Bryanna stole from her, she had drunk excessively. That was probably when the problem developed.
In the end, she lost the client and her health.
To imagine the irony.
What was worse, she had no money now.
When she paid the bill, she found out there were only several dollars on her bank card.
In the years she was with Bryson, he paid all the daily expenses. So, Iliana offered to cut her salary to one–third of her peers.
She spent some of her pay on a financial management product. The rest was spent on Bryson. So, she had no money to save up every month.
The payment wouldn’t be made until two days later. Iliana had thought she could make do. Now, she was stumped.
She opened her contacts and called Gregory.
The phone rang and rang, but he didn’t answer.
“Miss, are you ready to pay? There’s a line here,” the cashier urged her.
“Them first. I’ll pay later.”
Iliana covered her belly with one hand and held her phone with the
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other, shivering all over from pain.
She moved aside and found Bryson’s number.
Left with no option, she had to call him now.
It was a long while before he answered.
Iliana cut to the chase. “Bryson, I’m having acute enterogastritis. I’m at the hospital, but…”
Before she could finish speaking, Bryson interrupted her, “Lia, you’re playing your little trick again. You know I’m meeting a client today. Why are you making trouble for me?”
Iliana froze.
She lowered her voice and said, “This isn’t a trick. I mean it.”
“Lia, you want my attention. I understand that. But this isn’t a good time. The client is waiting. Be good. OK?”
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