Chapter 162

A cold, familiar voice called out from not far away. “Elise, come here.”

Gabrielle instantly stood up, turning in the direction of the voice.

Jonathan had stepped out of his office, dressed in a sharp suit, radiating authority.

The moment he appeared, nearly every employee in the area lifted their heads to look. The room seemed to pause, everyone holding their breath.

His presence was overwhelming. Even just standing there, he commanded attention.

That face of his was absurdly handsome, unfairly so, rivaling any A-list actor. But what really made him impossible to ignore was the power in his posture, the weight of someone used to being obeyed.

Gabrielle blinked a few times, and for some reason, she actually looked a little rattled.

“Elise… don’t go,” she whispered.

When I started to take a step, she instinctively grabbed my hand and shook her head.

I frowned, confused. “Didn’t you tell me to finish the resignation process? That means I have to talk to Jonathan.”

She seemed to snap out of it, realizing what she’d just said. She let go of my hand and forced a small smile.

“Sorry. I got a little nervous for a second. Go ahead.”

After a pause, she added softly, “Be careful.”

That made me want to laugh. Did she think Jonathan was some kind of wild animal?

Still, I patted her on the shoulder to reassure her. “I’ll be fine. Let’s grab dinner after work?”

“Okay,” she nodded, then sat back down at her desk, but her eyes kept darting back toward me, three times a second, like she couldn’t stop worrying.

I didn’t have much choice and followed Jonathan into his office.

Only once he shut the door behind us did he finally block Gabrielle’s line of sight.

His expression had darkened. He stared at me and said flatly, “I told you before. Stay away from her.”

I didn’t even acknowledge it. I walked straight over and sat down in the chair like I hadn’t heard a thing.

Jonathan stood behind me. I turned around and looked up at him. “When are you going to approve my resignation?”

He suddenly leaned down, planting his hands on either side of my chair. His eyes locked on mine. “When did I ever say you could quit?”

My fingers tightened around the armrests. “Didn’t you call me here to handle my handover?”

“One more or one less of you makes no difference. What part of your job is even worth handing over?”

The sheer bluntness in his voice made my teeth clench.

“You’re right, I’m not worth much. So why won’t you divorce me?”

Sure, I didn’t spend my married life playing the perfect housewife, lounging around with tea and flower arrangements, but what I did wasn’t any better.

The only reason I’d taken this job was to keep an eye on Jonathan–that was worse than doing nothing.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Exactly. Which is why I want to find a job that actually matters.”

“With whom? Frederick?”

There it was again, every other word out of his mouth was Frederick, I couldn’t help but throw it back at him. “What, are you jealous?”

Jonathan didn’t answer. He just gave me that mocking look, like jealousy was far too low-level an emotion for someone like him.

Honestly, it probably was. It was hard to imagine Jonathan being jealous of anything–his emotions rarely showed.

Even with Alicia, he indulged her, protected her, covered for her but did he ever feel something real? If he did, I couldn’t tell.

Maybe that’s just who he was, naturally cold and emotionally distant. He didn’t swing high or low.

So, compared to how he treated most people, he probably was really good to Alicia.

The 25-year-old me had to be completely love-drunk.

Watching him give all the affection I couldn’t have to someone else–no wonder she lost it.