Ellison And Joycelyn A Love Beyond The Rules novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20 

Chapter 20 

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“I have no relation to Mr. Grant. Joycelyn denied Linda’s insinuation. She could see right through her strategy. Linda didn’t have a leg to stand on, and she was threatening her before pretending to throw her a bone. “And this project is your responsibility,” she said firmly. 

“Then I’ll give it to you straight. You look like Mr. Grant’s first love. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was bedding you for that reason,” Linda said as she looked for a picture of Ellison at their university graduation ceremony. 

Ellison had been in his early twenties, sporting the same chiseled face and oozing an aura of calm and reserved temperament. Even at that young age, he stood out from the crowd. 

The girl who stood next to Ellison was smiling sweetly with her head tilted towards him. As Linda said, she did bear some resemblance to her. Joycelyn only took a quick glance at the girl before she looked away. 

Her attention wasn’t on the girl but on Ellison. He’d always been handsome and alluring, so it wasn’t surprising that there were countless women who adored him. 

She knew that Ellison and she had only entered a mutually beneficial agreement for their convenience, and she didn’t harbor any hope that he would fall in love with her. 

That kind of relationship was never portrayed on movie screens for a reason. 

Linda assumed Joycelyn was just putting on a strong front and continued her snide remarks. “Don’t think you’re such a big shot. This project is vital to our department. If you don’t work out a deal with the investors, then our bonuses will smoke. Can you shoulder that blame?” 

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Joycelyn suppressed the dissatisfaction in her heart and retorted. “If the project doesn’t get completed, the blame lies with management, not on mere office workers like us.” 

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The smug look on Linda’s face was wiped off in an instant. Her voice took on a harsh tone as she spat, “In that case, prepare for you and everyone in your little group to get fired. After all, the company doesn’t need any deadweight. I’m not playing around with you right now.” 

Joycelyn scowled, knowing Linda was using her friends to force her to do her bidding. 

“You have two choices. Either go with me to meet those investors or get the hell out of this company,” Linda threatened. 

Joycelyn clenched her fists. As reluctant as she was to go, it was true that her whole team would be implicated in the fallout, and she didn’t want that to happen. 

If it did come to that, all their bonuses would be reduced to nothing, and they might not even be able to hold on to their jobs. 

“Since it’s for the sake of the company, I’ll go with you,” Joycelyn said through gritted teeth. 

“Good. Now get out of here,” Linda smirked and said. 

As soon as Joycelyn left the office, Linda picked up her phone again and looked at the graduation picture. Even a socialite who’d been wooing Ellison for seven years had not gotten any success, so she had complete confidence that he wouldn’t take any interest in Joycelyn. Linda took comfort in that fact. 

Then she started to contact the companies involved in the joint venture agreement, promising them that the most beautiful woman in Grant Group would be gracing their dinner at the hotel that night. 

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Joycelyn walked out of the office in a bit of a trance. She couldn’t shake the image of Ellison with the sweet–smiling woman from her mind. 

Selené and Aurelia saw that she looked distracted, and they immediately approached her in concern. Selene asked, “Are you alright? Did she give you a hard time?” 

Joycelyn shook her head. 

Aurelia held Joycelyn’s arm and led her to the latter’s desk, advising her, “Joycelyn, you aren’t to blame in this matter. If she really wants to make you take the fall, you should go to Mr. Grant. He’s a man of reason.” 

“I’m alright. I just have to think this matter through and come up with a way to resolve it,” Joycelyn replied with a soft laugh. She was trying her best not to let it get to her. 

Aurelia expressed her empathy. “Yes, of course. Now’s the time to look for new joint venture partners. With Grant Group’s reputation, it shouldn’t be difficult. 

“The key problem is Linda. She’s strong–headed and competitive by nature. She wants to outshine the other departments and submit an even lower budget. Plus, she and Mr. Grant belong to the same university alumni, so she wants to protect her dignity in that respect.” 

“Well, yeah. I’m accompanying her to meet the joint venture members tonight to discuss things,” Joycelyn explained. 

As Joycelyn’s team leader, Aurelia took the initiative to volunteer her time. “I’ll go with you too. These events inevitably involve drinking and entertaining.” 

“That would be great,” Joycelyn replied in relief. If Aurelia were around, she would feel more at ease. Then, turning on her computer, she let out a determined breath. “Well, let’s get to it.” 

Closer to noon, her phone began receiving an onslaught of messages. When she unlocked her phone, she noticed they were all from Ellison. He was asking her what she’d like to have for lunch, and if she’d like to eat with him. 

Replying with a single message, Joycelyn said: [I’m going to have lunch with my coworkers.] 

After she replied, she noticed there was also a new friend request with the message. [It’s Ellison, add me.] As soon as she accepted the request, she received a message from that number saying [If it’s inconvenient to use the other contact number, you can use this one instead.] 

Joycelyn replied with a mere okay before she shifted her focus back to her work and stopped paying attention to her phone. 

From her point of view, the president of a company had to work hard every minute of the day to keep the company running smoothly. She didn’t dare to distract Ellison from his work, so she threw herself into her own work as well. 

After busying herself the whole morning, Joycelyn finally had a chance to catch her breath. She went to the office pantry to get herself a much–needed cup of coffee. 

As she made her way out of the pantry, she caught a glimpse of Ellison walking towards the lift lobby. He was dressed in a sharp black suit. It was tailor–made and fit him like a glove. 

The image of them in the house that morning came rushing back to Joycelyn. She had shyly helped him to button up that very suit jacket. 

Ellison caught sight of her too; and his deep, piercing eyes immediately softened. The both of them looked at each other in that moment with no words exchanged. 

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Chapter 20 

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Her coworkers had immediately stopped to greet him as soon as they saw him. Ellison responded with a nod, but he kept his eyes locked on Joycelyn. 

Linda had heard people greeting Ellison and rushed out of her office with a document. “Mr. Grant, you didn’t have to make the trip down to this floor. I was just about to bring the documents up.” 

As soon as Linda appeared in front of him, Ellison averted his gaze and looked away from Joycelyn. Joycelyn, in turn, also looked away, staring through her long eyelashes at the cup of coffee in her hands as she returned to her desk.