Chapter 501: Chapter 501

How could Hailie possibly say no to the man she fancied? She nodded gently and said, “Sure thing, Balfour. Don’t you worry, I’ll get Patricia right away.”

A feeling of indescribable joy washed over her. The fact that Balfour entrusted her with taking care of Patricia affirmed her special place in his heart.

As for Ellinor, she was just an average secretary.

After Haillie left, Balfour glanced at the remaining crowd. His eyes were polite but cold, “Anyone else here for the show?”

The crowd fell silent. Everyone quickly caught his drift and left.

Balfour turned to Ellinor, “Ms. Mendoza, how do you feel about running into someone you’d rather not see?”

Ellinor could sense the sarcasm in his words, but she simply replied, “Not great.”

Balfour smirked, “Ms. Mendoza, you’re brutally honest.”

Ellinor sighed, “Mr. Howard, if there’s nothing else for me to do here, can I knock off early?”

Balfour looked at her, “Taxis are hard to come by around here. How do you plan on getting home?”

Ellinor was aware that it was indeed hard to hail a taxi in this affluent neighborhood. She initially planned to call Chase for a ride, but she couldn’t let Balfour know about her connection with the Crescent Society. Otherwise, she’d lose her job as a secretary.

“Don’t worry, I can book a ride online.”

“An online ride?” Balfour scoffed, “Ms. Mendoza, you’re a full–time employee of the Howard Group now. If something happens to you on your way home, the company will not only be responsible but also be blamed by the public. Are you trying to cause trouble for the company?”

Ellinor forced a smile. Was he cursing her? Why would she get into an accident so easily on the road?

If he was truly concerned about the safety of his employees, Balfour could have arranged for someone to give her a lift home.

But he didn’t. That proved he wasn’t genuinely concerned her; he was just being difficult.

“Fine, I’ll wait until the party’s over and leave with you.”

Balfour nodded and stood up to leave.

Ellinor followed him. After a while, she spotted a restroom.

“Mr. Howard, I need to use the restroom.”

“Go ahead.”

Ellinor entered the restroom, locked the door, and let out a long sigh of relief. She was sweating bullets.

She sat on the toilet lid, lifted her skirt, and saw a large scrape on her thigh that was raw and bloody.

She got it when she climbed out of the window from one room to another. She hit a broken window edge, which hurt so bad, but she kept a poker face, afraid that someone might find out about her escapade.

After cleaning and tending to her wound, Ellinor exited the restroom.

But Balfour was nowhere to be seen.

She figured, why would Balfour wait for an insignificant secretary like her?

Moreover, Balfour was genuinely annoyed by her.

Whatever, she didn’t care about Balfour at the moment. She just wanted to find a spot downstairs to sit and rest.

Ellinor slowly headed toward the stairs. No one could tell she was injured.

Suddenly, a large hand landed on her shoulder. The palm was rough and slightly cold.

Who was it?

Ellinor jumped out of her skin!