Ellinor said, âIâm here for work, not for fun. Even if youâre not dropping me home, you could at least leave me somewhere I can hail a taxi, right?â
Balfour squinted, âMs. Mendoza, youâre asking for a bit much hemâ
Ellinor stared him down, âAny boss with some decency wouldnât treat their employees like thisâ
Balfour chuckled lightly, âWhatâs wrong, Ms. Mendoza? Canât handle a little adversity?
You were the one who confidently told me you werenât like my sister. She wilts like a flower in a greenhouse at the slightest breeze. But you can thrive in any situation Ms. Mendoza, if youâre so sure you can survive anything, letâs see how you handle tonightâs challenge.
I believe in you, Ms. Mendoza. Iâm sure you can find your way off this highway just fine.â
Ellinor bit her lip and held back her anger as she listened to Balfour.
She wouldnât be playing secretary to this jerk if it werenât for her motherâs case. But now that she was in it, she was in it till the end.
With this in mind, Ellinor smiled, âFine, Mr. Howard. I wonât disappoint you. Have a smooth ride, and Iâll see you at the office tomorrow.â
With that, she opened the car door and hopped out without hesitation.
Youâre not supposed to stop on the highway, but Balfour had the driver pull over just to let her out.
And the sudden detour to the highway was definitely a setup.
To think this guy was her own brother Once Ellinor was out, the car took off without wasting a second.
Quinton, sitting in the passenger seat, watched Ellinor disappear into the darkness and felt a pang of sadness. He turned to Balfour, âMr. Howard, itâs not safe for Ms. Mendoza to be out on the highway this lateâ¦â
Balfour glanced at him, âWhat? Are you smitten with her too?â
Quinton blushed and quickly shook his head, âNo, Mr. Howard. I just think that if anything happens to Ms. Mendoza, it would look bad for you and the company.â
Balfour smirked, âDonât worry, sheâs not the type to let anything happen to her.â
What type? What did Mr. Howard think of Ms. Mendoza? Quinton couldnât make sense of his bossâs sudden change of attitude.
On the way, Mr. Howard was all gentlemanly, worrying about Ms. Mendoza getting cold and asking him to give her a coat.
But now he was leaving her on the highway?
Weird Shutting his phone, Balfour looked out into the night, his face unreadable.
He had just been playing cards at Pearl Moon with Jonah when Patri called him over to show him the coat he had lent Ellinor, which was found by the mansionâs servants in the yard.
Based on the servantsâ account, the coat was found right under the bathroom window of the second floor room.
Which meant Ellinor was indeed up to something she shouldnât have been with York Mayes in the room. But when he knocked on the door, she jumped out of the bathroom window in time and pretended to have just come in from outside to prove her innocence.
She was nimble and cunning. She seemed honest and straightforward but was actually deceitful and good at disguising herself.
She effortlessly got Bartlett to keep hitting on her, and just now, during the blackout, she even ended up in the arms of Theo, whom she claimed she didnât want to see Patri was right, Ellinor had ulterior motives for becoming my secretary.