Chapter 92
Joycelyn was not angered by Octavia’s sarcasm. Selene wanted to argue with her, but Joycelyn stopped her.
Looking at Octavia, who had applied exquisite makeup, Joycelyn calmly said, “You’ve got something stuck in your teeth.”
Octavia, who had been arrogantly gloating, was immediately shocked by the words. She pursed her lips and rushed to the restroom to check.
With just one remark, Joycelyn had effortlessly put Octavia in her place.
“Well done,” Selene said, giving Joycelyn a thumbs-up.
Joycelyn pulled Selene down the stairs through the emergency exit toward the restroom downstairs. She didn’t want to waste time arguing with someone like Octavia.
After washing her hands and waiting for Selene at the doorway, Joycelyn decided to send a message to Ellison to vent her frustrations.
Joycelyn: [Do you often see Mr. Johnson from the subsidiary? Octavia is his secretary.]
Ellison was busy but glanced at the message on his computer and replied.
Ellison: [The Mr. Johnson from the subsidiary that Ruby works with?]
Joycelyn: [Yeah.]
Ellison: [What’s his status? He can’t just see me.]
Joycelyn laughed softly at Ellison’s reply, which had an arrogant tone.
Joycelyn: [I think it’s better to be careful and keep a low profile.]
Ellison: [If you need my help, just let me know. He’s just a vice president.]
Joycelyn immediately switched from typing with one hand to using both hands.
Joycelyn: [Nah, I’m good. I have no personal grudge against him. I’m just afraid you’d expose yourself.]
She thought, After all, Mr. Johnson is the project lead. There’s no need to have him fired just because of my concerns and suspicions. That would be too inhumane.
Selene hummed a tune as she walked out, and upon hearing that, Joycelyn told Ellison that she wanted to focus on her task and stop chatting. Without waiting for his reply, she tucked her phone away.
Even though they were using alternate accounts, Joycelyn remained cautious.
Selene, noticing Joycelyn’s subtle smile and the way she pursed her lips, teased, “Oh, chatting with your dear hubby, huh? Even using little moments to nurture the relationship. You really are head over heels.”
“I just replied to a message,” Joycelyn said with an awkward smile, looking a little sheepish.
Selene grinned. “Your stepsister said he’s a gigolo. When I answered his call for you the other day, he sounded very commanding. He’s somebody, right?”
Selene recalled answering Ellison’s call that day. His authoritative voice had made her heart skip a beat.
“He’s good-looking, but he’s not a gigolo,” Joycelyn said. “He works very hard.”
Selene didn’t discriminate based on profession and said truthfully, “I’ve heard selling insurance can make a lot of money if you perform well.”
She reckoned that with his commanding aura, Joycelyn’s husband was probably at the level of a sales manager or sales director, as average people didn’t have that kind of presence.
“Luckily, when he makes money, he lets me spend it,” Joycelyn said, not daring to say more for fear of giving herself away. Fortunately, Selene is straightforward, she thought. She has sharp eyes, but she doesn’t suspect my claim about my husband selling insurance.
“Great,” Selene said, linking arms with Joycelyn as they headed upstairs. After such a long meeting, everyone was probably wrapping things up at the office.
As soon as they emerged from the emergency exit, they heard a commotion in the corridor—shouted curses, cries, and screams.
“What’s going on?” Joycelyn and Selene looked at each other for a moment and quickened their pace.
When they craned their necks to look, they saw Octavia being grabbed by a middle-aged woman dressed in expensive clothing, her blouse and skirt being torn apart. The scolding woman seemed to be Peter’s wife, Emily, who had come to catch him in the act.
“Little bitch, going down the wrong path, huh? How dare you seduce Peter? You’re a bitch who sleeps with lots of men for money! If I don’t put you in deep shit today, I’ll eat my hat.”
Emily Johnson shouted, “All of you, come and look! This young bitch sleeps with middle-aged men for money. She’s a lowly thing.”
The plump Emily grabbed Octavia’s hair and slapped her repeatedly. Each slap echoed loudly on Octavia’s delicate cheek. Octavia cried out as her face swelled, looking like a pig’s head. She tried to dodge, but the slaps kept coming.
Peter rushed over, wanting to intervene, but he was stopped by two tall bodyguards.
“Stop it!” Peter berated, clearly enraged.
Octavia, tear-streaked, looked at Peter, pleading, “Mr. Johnson, save me. It hurts so much.”
But Peter, restrained by the bodyguards, could only watch, feeling sorry for his beautiful secretary.
Joycelyn and Selene exchanged a look and decided to step back and go around.
Unexpectedly, Octavia spotted them and immediately shouted, “Joycelyn, save me! That’s my sister. She believes I’m innocent. She’s an employee of Grant Group, and it was she who introduced me to work here.”
Octavia pointed at Joycelyn’s back, quickly defending herself.
The crowd’s gaze shifted to Joycelyn, curiosity filling the air.
Joycelyn, irritated but calm, wanted to ignore her, but a woman suddenly blocked her path.
The middle-aged woman gave Joycelyn a once-over. Seeing her flawless skin and beauty, her eyes became full of superiority as she spoke sarcastically.
“Could it be that this pair of sisters sleeps with men to climb the social ladder?” she said. “The elder sister looks like a vixen, and the younger one is a slut who seduces men for their money.”
Joycelyn’s clear eyes darkened as she gave the woman a piercing look. “Old bag, I’ll take it that you’re praising me for being beautiful,” she said coolly. “But being beautiful is my business. If you slander me, I’ll call the police and sue you.”
The words “old bag” sent the woman into a rage. She opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by Joycelyn’s cold voice.
“There are plenty of young and beautiful women out there. Could it be that good-looking people sleep with others for money? If that’s the case, wouldn’t that make Grant Group a place where people trade their bodies for money? After all, there are lots of handsome guys and beautiful women in the company. Are they all the leaders’ lovers?”
Joycelyn turned to face Emily.
Her words struck a chord. This was Grant Group, not a small family business. And everyone had noticed Joycelyn’s wedding ring.
“Ma’am, you don’t even have basic judgment skills,” Joycelyn continued. “No wonder you’re fooled by your husband. One remark from someone and you’re strung along. With such intelligence, you deserve to be manipulated and used by others.”
Emily scowled angrily at Joycelyn. “What are you getting at?” she spat.
Joycelyn raised her work pass. “My surname is Maynard, and hers is Mercer. What kind of sister are we? Ma’am, you’re no match for this young lady.”
With that, Joycelyn smiled faintly, watching as Octavia’s eyes widened with rage.
She’s deliberately provoking me, Octavia thought.
But before she could react, Emily yanked her back and slapped her twice more. The slaps were crisp and loud.
Octavia screamed, her face swollen and bruised, but Emily continued to beat her without remorse.
Joycelyn didn’t even look back. She linked arms with Selene and walked away to the conference room to pack up.
Being dragged into this situation and labeled as a mistress who sleeps with men to climb the social ladder was revolting.
In the end, Octavia was publicly stripped of her outerwear, lying on the ground as she was kicked a few times. Linda, who had been standing by, stepped forward to act as peacemaker. She covered Octavia with clothes and comforted Emily.
The crowd began to disperse, leaving only Linda and Octavia.
“Octavia, Joycelyn has a grudge against you, right?” Linda said. “She humiliated you so badly. A stepsister is still a sister. She’s really heartless, watching you get humiliated like this.”
Linda shook her head, her sarcastic tone igniting Octavia’s anger.
“I won’t let her off,” Octavia swore. Her face was bruised, her body covered in contusions. She clenched her fists, wishing she could tear Joycelyn apart to vent her fury.
Seeing Octavia’s intense hatred, Linda smirked.
“Rest and recover for now,” she said. “After some time, I’ll introduce you to a sugar daddy who’ll back you up.”
“Who?” Octavia’s eyes lit up.
“A powerful scion. If you coax him well, even ten other people like Joycelyn will have to bow down and serve you, let alone Joycelyn herself.”
