Second Vows Adored by the Billionaire novel Chapter 41

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Eloise looked at her calmly. "That's completely normal. Beatrice calls him 'Daddy,' so of course he treats her like a daughter. What's weird about that?"

"You think that's normal?" Anita's voice shot up.

She stared at Eloise in disbelief, and that creeping sense of unease in her chest kept getting stronger.

Eloise isn't even angry? She is actually defending Victor?

Anita was finding it harder and harder to read Eloise these days, and she had this nagging feeling that Eloise was planning something big. The thought made her inexplicably nervous.

A cold smile tugged at the corner of Eloise's lips. "Ms. Sterling, why are you asking me that? Unless there's something not normal going on between you two?"

Anita's face went stiff. "Of course there's nothing going on."

Eloise's smile took on an icy edge. "Good. Let's keep it that way."

Anita's eyes darted around quickly, and then she suddenly leaned in close to Eloise's ear and whispered in a taunting voice, "And even if there was something going on, what are you gonna do about it?"

With that, Anita walked upstairs carrying the soup, her whole attitude screaming victory.

Eloise's eyes went cold, and her voice drifted up after Anita, light but unmistakable. "Then I guess you'll just have to wait and see what I can do about it."

Anita almost thought she'd misheard. She spun around, but Eloise was just looking down at her phone with a calm expression on her face, like that icy threat had never even happened.

Eloise's finger tapped the screen and sent a message. Then she walked into the kitchen, ladled out what was left of the soup, and sat down at the table to eat it slowly and methodically.

She hadn't even finished the bowl when Anita came rushing down the stairs in a panic.

She'd already changed out of her pajamas and into a business suit, and she hadn't even bothered with makeup before she ran out the door like there was some kind of emergency.

*****

In the Seafort Group CEO's office, Kevin sat on the couch with a coffee, his gaze drifting over the expensive gifts they'd brought—premium cigars, top-shelf wine, luxury supplements. They'd really pulled out all the stops.

Anita sat next to Victor looking terrified, her hands clenched together so tightly she barely dared to breathe.

She'd been swamped with stuff lately and somehow managed to send the wrong file in the project proposal to Seafort Group.

It should have been a simple fix, just resend the right document, but somehow, Kevin had gotten involved.

He'd called and said he wanted to cancel the whole partnership, which sent Victor into full panic mode. That was why they were here now, with Victor practically groveling.

Victor kept his tone humble and apologetic. "Mr. Dean, Ms. Sterling has always been a hard worker. This mistake only happened because she wasn't feeling well. I'm asking you to please be understanding and—"

"Mr. Clarkson," Kevin cut him off coldly, "last time, I let it slide out of respect for your wife. How long has it been since then? And now Ms. Sterling's made another careless but major mistake! You think saying she 'wasn't feeling well' is good enough to brush this off?"