Seven Years a Fool One Day a Queen (Kristine and Colton) novel Chapter 38

The banquet wasn’t the first time Everest had hosted it at this hotel, so Eliza was very familiar with the layout and knew which areas were quiet and undisturbed.

Recently, a cold wave had moved south, and the temperature kept dropping.

The cold wind blowing against her skin was invigorating but biting.

Luckily, she hadn’t worn a dress today, or she wouldn’t have been able to stand it.

Ottilie sent a message reminding her to drink less alcohol.

Eliza replied that she knew.

Then her mother told her to convey her congratulations to Calvin.

Eliza hesitated for a few seconds before replying, “I will.”

After sobering up a bit, Eliza stood up to return to the banquet, only to see someone push the door open from the inside.

She didn’t expect Calvin to come.

And to her surprise, he had come alone.

Eliza instinctively looked behind him, expecting to see Medea, who was always attached to him.

“Waiting for someone?” Calvin half–lowered his eyes, looking at her. His handsome features seemed even sharper, but there was no warmth in

his eyes. “Josh?”

Eliza’s slightly relaxed expression immediately tightened again.

She really didn’t like the tone Calvin was using now.

He was belittling her.

“Could you please move aside?” She kept her tone as calm as possible.

Calvin stood still, his gaze on her was deeper than she had ever seen, radiating a heavy pressure.

Before Eliza could no longer tolerate it, Calvin spoke again, almost like a reminder or a warning. “Eliza, the Kallis family is a family that cares a lot about status. They wouldn’t look at someone like you. I advise you to stop having such thoughts and stay obediently at Everest

Eliza froze for a moment before realizing what Calvin meant.

He was implying that she wanted to climb the Kallis family’s social ladder.

A sharp anger rose in her chest, and she couldn’t help but retort, “Is that how you see me? Is that how you think of me?”

“Isn’t that how you’ve been acting?” His tone was full of malice.

“Frequent contact with Josh, thinking you’ve found a new stepping stone, now you think your wings are strong enough to resign from me.”

His eyes were filled with an ominous black storm, and a mocking smile slowly appeared on his lips. “Eliza, do you know what it means to leave

me?”

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Seven Years a Fool, One Day a Queen

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Chapter 38

Calvin’s voice dropped to an even colder pitch. “Without my permission, no one in Washington would dare to hire you! Not even Josh! Go ahead, try it. Without me, you’ll be stuck in Washington. You’ll be back to beg me in three days!”

He took another step closer, his eyes colder than ever.

Eliza stood still, calmly looking at him.

It was as if she wanted to imprint his vicious expression into her mind, to remind herself, whenever she thought about turning back, of how ruthlessly he had treated her.

Finally, when the tension had reached its peak, Eliza spoke, her tone calm but resolute, “Then let’s see. Let’s see if I will come back and beg you.”

As soon as Eliza returned to the banquet, someone came to talk to her.

“Secretary Grant, I’ve been looking for you for ages!”

It was Mr. Tyler from Starlight, one of Everest’s partners, who had one star in his rating.

“Mr. Tyler, long time no see.” Eliza greeted him politely.

Mr. Tyler slapped her on the shoulder, “It’s been a while. Secretary Grant, you’ve become even more beautiful!”

“Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Tyler.” While saying this, Eliza subtly moved back to maintain some distance.

Mr. Tyler had a rather notorious reputation in the industry, especially for his greed and lecherous behavior.

However, he had a good eye and made a lot of money in various investments, so he had accumulated quite a bit of wealth over the years, earning respect from others in the industry.

Earlier, when the two companies had been in contact, Mr. Tyler had made various insinuations toward Eliza.

He had told her that if she followed him, she wouldn’t have to work so hard in business. She could just shop, travel, and make him happy.

He promised her an unlimited black card, with which she could buy whatever she wanted. He would even buy her a house, a car, and a private

jet.

Unfortunately, Eliza hadn’t wavered and had politely turned him down without making things awkward.

Although Mr. Tyler was regretful, he didn’t continue to pursue her.

But his nature hadn’t changed, and whenever he interacted with her, he tried to take advantage of her.

“Mr. Young’s taste is impeccable, isn’t it? His secretary is not only beautiful but also capable. If I had a secretary like Eliza, I think I could make even more money than Mr. Young!”

“Mr. Tyler, you flatter me. I’m just a small secretary. Mr. Young’s success is all his own hard work.”

“Secretary Grant, you’re too modest! Everyone knows that half of Everest’s successful projects over the years have been thanks to you. Being just a secretary is really beneath you.” Mr. Tyler moved closer to Eliza as he spoke,

She quickly avoided him while holding the drink. “Mr. Tyler, let me toast to you.”

Meanwhile, Medea noticed the situation between Eliza and Mr. Tyler and asked Amanda, “Who is that talking to Secretary Grant?”

Amanda looked over and said, “That’s Mr. Tyler from Starlight. They’ve been doing pretty well these past few years. Though they’re not as good

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Chapter 38

as Everest, they’re not far behind.”

As soon as Medea heard this, she immediately walked toward them.

Eliza was just steering the conversation back to the project with Mr. Tyler.

After listening, Mr. Tyler became very interested. “The game project you mentioned? I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t had a chance to get in touch with the project lead. Secretary Grant, if you don’t mind, could you introduce me? We’ll make money together!”

Before Eliza could answer, Medea interjected, “Mr. Tyler, hello, I’m Medea, the investment director of Everest’s third department. You can discuss the project with me.”

Mr. Tyler didn’t know who Medea was, but upon seeing how beautiful she was, he immediately smiled, “I didn’t know Everest had such a

beautiful investment director. How come I didn’t know about you?”

“I just started recently,” Medea said, casually flicking her hair and turning to Eliza. “Secretary Grant, could you get me a glass of wine?”

Her tone was more of a command than a request, treating Eliza like a subordinate.

Eliza didn’t argue. While getting the wine, she lowered her voice and warned Medea, “Mr. Tyler has some questionable character. Be careful.”

Medea, however, thought she was just worried about her network being affected and didn’t take it seriously.

After taking the wine, she clinked glasses with Mr. Tyler, saying, “Mr. Tyler, you can discuss the project with me. Secretary Grant is only responsible for secretarial work, so she doesn’t have the authority to be involved in the project.”

This subtle insult made Eliza want to roll her eyes.

But since she had already warned her, and Medea was an adult with her own judgment, she just went about her business.

Not long after Eliza left, Mr. Tyler, under the pretext of discussing the project, took Medea away.

After Calvin returned to his senses, Gideon found him and asked if he had seen Medea. He hadn’t seen her around for a while.

Calvin looked around and didn’t spot her either. So, he asked Amanda.

Amanda replied, “You should ask Secretary Grant. She should know where Director Wynn is.”

Calvin walked over to Eliza and immediately asked, “Secretary Grant, where is Director Wynn?”

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