As soon as she left the conference room, Niamh called Peter.
It wasn’t that she needed Peter to vouch for her–her real concern was that Marina might steal her designs, causing losses for FY.
But Peter reassured her not to worry.
Later, Niamh found out that Peter had filed a design patent with the intellectual property department as soon as he received her sketches. In the end, it was The Thomas Group that had to issue an urgent recall of their new jewelry line from the market.
Today, Jonathan was out of the office.
From her desk, Niamh could see the empty CEO’s office across the hall.
As Jonathan’s secretary, she knew his daily schedule inside out.
Including today’s.
She knew Jonathan had taken the day off to accompany Marina on a yacht trip–deep sea fishing. He had cleared his entire calendar for it, canceling every meeting and business engagement.
Niamh could never forget that during her own miscarriage and hospital stay, Jonathan had been off on a fishing vacation with Marina, not visiting her even
once.
“Do you guys think Mr. Thomas and Marina are married already?”
By the coffee machine, Jayne was gossiping with a few colleagues.
“They probably aren’t yet! Feels like he’s still chasing after her, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, otherwise why would Mr. Thomas say nothing when T&R’s new line was recalled? He didn’t blame Marina at all!”
“He didn’t just let it slide–I heard from my friend in HR that Mr. Thomas is even giving Marina a raise!”
“Wow… talk about being untouchable when you’re the favorite.”
Niamh listened quietly, sipping her now–cold coffee.
If the recall had happened because of her, she could only imagine how differently Jonathan would have handled it.
21:06
For once, she didn’t have to work overtime. After clocking out, Niamh went grocery shopping alone, eventually wandering over to the dairy section.
A tiny, niche brand of yogurt caught her eye.
There were countless yogurts on the shelves, and to Niamh, they all tasted more or less the same–but Jonathan had always insisted on this one.
Back when they were together, Niamh used to search multiple grocery stores just to find his favorite yogurt.
Almost without thinking, she reached out and picked up a container–only for her hand to bump into someone else’s.
She turned her head and found herself looking straight into Jonathan’s eyes.
Jonathan looked the same as ever–immaculately dressed in his tailored suit, the last person you’d expect to find pushing a shopping cart.
But here he was, shopping.
She noticed that his other hand was on the cart, which was already filled to the brim, even with a selection of fresh ingredients.
As far as Niamh knew, Jonathan had never cooked a meal in his life.
So why all the fresh produce?
Her first thought was that someone else was planning to cook for him.
Someone like Marina.
So caught up in her thoughts, Niamh forgot to pull her hand away. Jonathan’s hand remained gently wrapped around hers for several moments.
His smile deepened, making his already–charming features even more disarming.
“Jonathan, I found the halibut!”
Marina appeared around the corner, her smile vanishing the instant she noticed Niamh.
Jonathan was the first to let go of Niamh’s hand.
Only then did Niamh realize just how long he’d been holding onto her, her skin still tingling with heat. She felt awkward, suddenly worried Jonathan might think she still had feelings for him.
But if Marina saw it–well, that didn’t bother her at all.
How about picking up some yogurt?” Jonathan suggested to Marina
“But I’d rather have some milk, Marina replied, looping her arm through Jenathan’s
“Mikk it is then.”
Niamh watched as Marina grabbed a brand of milk Jonathan never drank, but he didnt say a word
Chapter 70
