Chapter 281
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“Who are you talking about?” Daron looked up at Joyce, his eyes cold as ice, not a trace of warmth in them.
For a moment, Joyce couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze.
After all these years, it felt like Daron was finally ready to confront her head–on.
Joyce bit her lip, but in the end, she just couldn’t bring herself to say Marina’s name.
She had this feeling that Daron would always protect Marina, no matter what.
Jealousy was driving Joyce crazy. She drew in a sharp breath, trying to steady herself, and forced her voice to stay calm and
low.
“I just feel like there’s some kind of misunderstanding between us,” she said
“I don’t know if someone’s been whispering in your ear, but I really hope you won’t let a few careless words from others turn things cold between us.”
Daron’s eyes were cold and distant as he looked away.
“What kind of relationship could we possibly have?” he said.
“Seems like you’ve really misunderstood, Joyce. The connection between the Milner and Zamora families is just something between our elders. I only ever cut you a bit of slack out of respect for them. Didn’t expect you to read so much into it.”
Daron delivered those words stone–faced, and Joyce’s face drained of color.
She bit down hard on her lip, closed her eyes for a moment, then stood up from her seat, her voice calm and subdued.
“Looks like you’re in a bad mood today. I won’t bother you any longer. Goodbye,” she said.
She was worried that if she stuck around any longer, she’d lose it.
Daron didn’t try to stop her. His face stayed as cold and unreadable as ever.
As Joyce walked out of Daron’s office, she took a deep breath. As she closed the door behind her, she couldn’t help but look back over her shoulder.
Daron just kept his head down, focused on his work, acting like she didn’t even exist. Joyce felt like she could barely breathe.
She realized she really had messed up this time.
She never should’ve made those sly remarks about not liking Marina in front of those two.
If Daron was going to fire them, they’d do anything to keep their jobs, including throwing her under the bus.
She never thought those two would be so amateurish about it.
Joyce took a deep breath, steadied herself, and forced a faint smile as she greeted the staff she passed by near Daron’s office.
Then she headed over to the office area, greeting everyone as usual, just like nothing had changed.
People were still polite to her, but it wasn’t like before. No one was falling over themselves to please her anymore.
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Chapter 281
Some folks just gave her a quick hello and immediately buried themselves in their work.
Joyce could feel the shift in the air. Her hands clenched slightly at her sides, but she kept smiling as she spoke.
“I brought some afternoon tea treats for everyone,” she said.
But when she said it, no one cheered like they used to.
Chloe walked over, her smile polite as ever, and spoke in a gentle voice.
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“Miss Milner, I’m really sorry, but Mr. Zamora has made it clear that no outside food is allowed for anyone in the Zamora Group executive office,” she said.
Joyce arched a brow, keeping her smile in place.
“Wait, when did that become a thing?” she asked.
“Things were fine before, weren’t they?”
Chloe replied, “It’s a recent rule and just started not long ago.
“Everyone’s been swamped lately, so we really can’t risk anyone getting sick. If a competitor tried to tamper with the food, it could cause problems for everyone.”
Joyce’s face froze, her expression turning serious as she looked at Chloe.
“So you really think I’d bring in something people shouldn’t eat?” she asked, her voice tight.
“Chloe, I’ve brought food for everyone before. There’s never been a problem…”
Joyce shot Chloe an annoyed look, but Chloe just kept that polite smile on her face. There was nowhere for Joyce to vent her
frustration.
After all, this was Daron’s territory. With the way he’d just treated her, and Chloe being his favorite, Joyce knew she didn’t stand a chance here.
Joyce didn’t finish her sentence. She just took a deep breath and said quietly, “Alright then.
“Since it’s company policy, there’s nothing I can do. Maybe next time I’ll just bring some small gifts instead. It should be fine, right?” Joyce said, her tone a little tentative.
Chloe kept her polite smile. “For the time being, it’s better not to bring anything to Zamora Group at all.”
Joyce’s smile faded, her face turning cold.
Chloe kept her polite smile, but still referenced Daron.
“It’s Mr. Zamora’s orders, after all,” Chloe added.
Joyce took a deep breath, gave a quiet huff, and let her gaze settle on Marina.
Marina hadn’t looked her way once, and Joyce hit back her frustration.
Joyce bet Marina was secretly thrilled to see her get rejected by Chloe.
Joyce made a beeline for Marina.
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Chapter 281
They never really gave her a hard time about it.
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So now, Joyce was still a rookie at playing the part, but she was trying to throw her weight around in front of Marina, acting like she was some big shot who could put her in her place.
