An Affair With The Ceo (Natasha and Jared) novel Chapter 198

Chapter 198 Are They a Couple?

Chapter 198 Are They a Couple?

The team dinner was held at Golden Bay Entertainment City. Leigh had booked a private room in advance. As Natasha walked in with a few colleagues from the secretarial department, she ran into Lizzie.

Lizzie was also there with some friends for a team dinner, and the lobby manager, Jack Dorsey, followed behind her respectfully. “Ms. Hopkins, why didn’t you let us know in advance you were coming?” he asked.

Lizzie waved her hand. “It’s just a casual get-together with some friends. No need for any special arrangements,” she said.

While talking, Lizzie caught Natasha out of the corner of her eye as she walked in with Leigh’s group. “Natasha,” Lizzie called out, waved, and headed over to her.

“Ms. Hopkins,” Natasha nodded and greeted her. The secretarial colleagues around Natasha all greeted Lizzie warmly. Everyone knew she was the heiress of the Hopkins family; nobody dared to cross her.

“Are you all here for a team dinner too?” Lizzie asked, smiling.

“Yeah,” Natasha replied. Lizzie immediately turned to Jack behind her and said, “Send two bottles of the wine I drank with Mr. Rundell yesterday to their private room.”

Jack nodded quickly. “Yes, Ms. Hopkins.”

Lizzie smiled at them again. “Jared has really picky taste when it comes to drinks. If he likes it, you know it’s top-notch. I’ let you all have a taste of it too.”

The secretarial girls immediately squealed with excitement. “Wow, the wine Mr. Rundell drinks costs more than what we make in months! Ms. Hopkins, you’re so generous!” someone complimented.

“Ms. Hopkins, you really are our future lady boss, always so generous!” another chimed in.

Lizzie was soaking up the compliments, grinning from ear to ear. Natasha stood by the side, watching Lizzie act as if she really was their future lady boss. She lowered her gaze and smiled, not taking any of it to heart.

The more a person shows off, the more it reveals what they lack. It only proves Lizzie is feeling insecure. She doesn’t have full confidence she can truly secure the lady boss’s position, which is why she’s spending money to buy off these employees, Natasha thought to herself.

However, Natasha picked up from Lizzie’s words that Jared was here drinking with her yesterday. ‘Is that why he didn’t reply to my messages?’ Natasha wondered.

Before Natasha could think any further, her colleagues swept her along into the private room. Lizzie joined them as well. Naturally, everyone centered their attention on Lizzie, repeatedly toasting her and showering her with excessive flattery.

Natasha got her share of toasts, too. Ever since Natasha had moved to the CEO’s office, she had been hardworking and super friendly to others. Everyone could see it.

Dinner like this didn’t come around often, so Natasha wasn’t about to kill the vibe. Whenever someone raised a toast to her, she would happily drink along. And she would always return the gesture, raising her glass to toast them back.

Before she knew it, Natasha had already knocked back quite a few drinks, laughing and chatting with her colleagues. Lizzie, on the other hand, started turning down drinks after just a couple.

“I can’t drink anymore. If I have a few more, I’ll be totally tipsy,” Lizzie said.

“Ms. Hopkins, you’ve barely had a few drinks, and you’re already drunk?” one of the girls teased.

Lizzie leaned back on the couch, pressing her forehead. “Seriously, I can’t drink anymore.”

Truth was, she could have kept going, but she didn’t feel like drinking with this crowd. She had only joined them because she realized they were all from Jared’s secretarial team, so she could fit right in and maybe pick up some gossip about him.

But to her disappointment, none of them knew anything about Jared. At this point, she had no interest in sticking around with them. Just as she was racking her brain for an excuse to leave, she saw Natasha get up and head for the restroom. Lizzie stumbled to her feet, saying she needed to use the restroom too. But before she left the private room, she overheard the secretarial girls complaining about why Jared still hadn’t shown up. Only then did she realize Jared was coming, too. “Natasha!” Lizzie called out to her in the restroom. She greeted Natasha, looking perfectly sober, not a hint of drunkenness on her face.

Natasha stepped out and gave her a polite nod. “Ms. Hopkins,” Natasha replied.

She had no intention of engaging with Lizzie any further. But before she could leave, Lizzie suddenly called out, “Congrats! I heard Percy has successfully become the heir to the Grosso family.”

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Chapter 198 Are They a Couple?

Natasha paused in her tracks. She turned back and replied calmly, “Thanks.”

Actually, it wasn’t something she cared about. She and Percy were already divorced; even if they were still married, it still wouldn’t matter to her. But Lizzie didn’t know this. To everyone else, Natasha was still Percy’s wife.

“Has Jared been seeing anyone lately?” Lizzie asked, sounding casual but watching Natasha closely.

Natasha paused, caught off guard. She shook her head guiltily and said, “I don’t think he is.” She didn’t know why she suddenly felt so guilty. When she said this, she could hardly bring herself to meet Lizzie’s eyes.

Lizzie looked puzzled. “No? But I’ve seen him here lately, drowning his sorrows all by himself, looking all troubled as if he just fought with his girlfriend or something.”

Natasha was stunned. “Drowning his sorrows?”

“Yeah, I had a few drinks with him yesterday,” Lizzie said, sounding a little smug.

Natasha stared at her, lost for words. ‘So that’s what happened. Lizzie drank with Jared under such circumstances. Looks like I’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion,’ she thought.

When Jack heard that Lizzie was drunk, he decided to bring over some hangover remedy. He was passing by the elevator with a tray in his hand when the doors slid open. Jared stepped out.

He was wearing a black limited-edition suit, his hair styled to perfection, looking noble and cold. An air of prestige radiated from him. Jack instantly recognized him.

He rushed over, clearly anxious. “Mr. Rundell, what brings you here?” Jared just gave him a cool glance, his aura intimidating.

The manager soon realized. “You’re here to see Ms. Hopkins, right? She’s in the private room just ahead. Let me show you the way,” he said.

He earnestly made an inviting gesture for Jared to follow. Jared set off with long, confident strides, Jack following closely behind. Suddenly, Jared stopped in his tracks, lowered his voice, and instructed, “Put their private room on my tab tonight.”

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