Chapter 47\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine glanced over at them. Each secretary was attractive and well\u2013groomed, yet different from what she had imagined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mainly, their clothing surprised her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nobody had told her the dress code was this casual!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tracksuits, T\u2013shirts, shorts, plaid shirts with jeans\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most importantly, aside from her, not one of them wore high\u00a0<\/p>\n
heels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine scratched her head awkwardly. \u201cDo I look a little out\u00a0<\/p>\n
of place?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, not at all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
One secretary frantically waved her hands. \u201cWe have business\u00a0<\/p>\n
attire, too. And heels as well. We can change right now!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I meant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The secretaries exchanged glances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 47\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then what did she mean?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wasn\u2019t she obviously criticizing them for dressing too casually?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, wear whatever you like. Never mind. Just get back to\u00a0<\/p>\n
work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine smiled and waved, leaving under their nervous\u00a0<\/p>\n
gazes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment she walked out, the secretaries immediately gathered together in hushed voices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Mrs. Livingston is something else. First day here and already setting the tone. Our days of casual wear are over.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUgh, so annoying. Now we\u2019ll have to wear business attire every day, even without client meetings.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she\u2019s here to spy on us. Haven\u2019t you heard? There was trouble at the branch office. They say Mrs. Livingston was behind it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? But this is her own family\u2019s company. Why would she do that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get it. She\u2019s in love with the Carroll Group\u2019s CEO. Her\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 47\u00a0<\/p>\n
loyalties are elsewhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh\u2026 poor Mr. Livingston.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Far down the hall, Madeleine felt a chill down her spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone must be talking behind her back!\u00a0<\/p>\n
All morning, Madeleine followed Gerry around the company,\u00a0<\/p>\n
familiarizing herself with the environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her feet were already aching terribly, but she didn\u2019t dare show\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damn it, if only she had known, she never would have worn\u00a0<\/p>\n
heels!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gerry noticed her discomfort and stopped walking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Livingston, are you tired?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine shook her head and then suddenly thought of\u00a0<\/p>\n
something. \u201cBy the way, Gerry, I still don\u2019t know where my office\u00a0<\/p>\n
is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Based on her experience from novels and TV dramas, her office\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 47\u00a0<\/p>\n
should be right next to Roderick\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t tell me you really put a tiny desk for me in Roderick\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
office.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gerry\u2019s lips twitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Livingston, our company isn\u2019t so cramped that we can\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
spare a single desk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that, Madeleine let out an embarrassed laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Novels and dramas were so full of lies!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her office was set up in the secretaries\u2018 area of the CEO\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
office, but given her special status, they had arranged a private\u00a0<\/p>\n
corner for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally able to sit down and rest, Madeleine let out a long sigh\u00a0<\/p>\n
of relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She glanced toward the CEO\u2019s office, not far away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick must be inside working. Since stepping into the\u00a0<\/p>\n
company, he seemed like a different person, exuding a cold,\u00a0<\/p>\n
unapproachable aura. That must be his working mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was nothing like the \u201cRicki\u201d she remembered from the\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 47\u00a0<\/p>\n
past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I get haunted? Or\u2026 is this actually a parallel world?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her imagination ran wild, and she thought to herself that it was indeed a real waste that she was not a playwright.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The morning passed quickly, and Madeleine managed to get\u00a0<\/p>\n
acquainted with Roderick\u2019s secretaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The one in sportswear who spoke loudly was Teresa Cooper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Next to her, the pale\u2013skinned girl in a T\u2013shirt and shorts was\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yvonne Osborn. The other two were Sophia Dunlap and Olivia\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kinney.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet Madeleine couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that when she greeted\u00a0<\/p>\n
them, they were guarded against her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she asked if they had any work for her, the four of them\u00a0<\/p>\n
all answered in unison that there was nothing for her to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was it because she was the CEO\u2019s wife?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yes, that had to be it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine nodded to herself, completely unaware that the four\u00a0<\/p>\n
had already started a heated discussion in their private chat\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 47\u00a0<\/p>\n
group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teresa: \u201cStay alert, ladies. If Mrs. Livingston asks you for any\u00a0<\/p>\n
confidential documents, don\u2019t you dare hand them over.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophia: \u201cGot it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Olivia: \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know what Mr. Livingston was thinking,\u00a0<\/p>\n
letting a spy into the company\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yvonne: \u201cDon\u2019t worry. She won\u2019t last long here anyway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, Madeleine felt that chill again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMust\u2019ve kicked the covers off last night and caught a cold.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
By noon, it was lunchtime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine went over to their desks with a cheerful smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere do you usually go for lunch?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company cafeteria, or the mall across the street.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes lit up. \u201cThere\u2019s a cafeteria here, too?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The four girls exchanged glances, silently reading Madeleine\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ed to get close to them,\u00a0<\/p>\n
* the ecle, and steal secretal\u00a0<\/p>\n
at you w\u00a0<\/p>\n
Apps extend Mst, jumping up. \u201cOh, I just remembered. I\u2019m www someone from the Sales Department for lunch. Gotta\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash 47 Chapter 47\u00a0 Madeleine glanced over at them. Each secretary was attractive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29310\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}