Chapter 1969
After much internal debate, Ivy weighed her situation with a heavy heart and reluctantly decided to let go of the opportunity that had come knocking.
After all, she had made a promise to Balfour, and she couldn’t just ignore his warning and act recklessly, breaking the agreement for her own sake.
“Nolan, I’m really sorry, but I have to decline. I deeply appreciate your offer, but the job isn’t the right fit for me. Thank you, though,” she said with a regretful tone.
Nolan looked surprised that Ivy would actually turn down the job. After all, the position offered a great salary and benefits, and once she walked out that door, chances like this wouldn’t come by easily. It was clear she needed a job, yet she was passing up this golden opportunity.
“May I ask why?” Nolan wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
As Ivy was about to make up some excuse, her phone suddenly rang.
Glancing at the caller ID, she saw it was Balfour calling her.
Muttering a quick apology, she stepped away to answer the call. “Hello?”
“Are you at the Harris Group?” Balfour’s tone was less than pleased.
Why was Ivy at the Harris Group now that Nolan had taken over the company?
Balfour, just out of a meeting, had seen the message from Ivy and quickly called her back.
The woman seemed compliant enough, but she was far from straightforward and had a knack for trouble.
“Yeah, I was here for a job interview,” Ivy replied, initially surprised by Balfour’s call but then remembering the text she had sent him on the bus. “It’s all good now, Mr. Howard. You can go back to what you were doing.”
It’s all good now?
She sent a message asking for help, and now she’s saying everything’s fine? Was she playing with him?
Balfour’s face darkened a bit more, and after a few seconds of silence, he hung up.
As the dial tone buzzed in her ear, Ivy pursed her lips in annoyance. What was the point of that call? He didn’t say anything and just hung up.
What was that about?
“Was that Balfour?” Nolan had been watching her expressions from a short distance away.
He had noticed the last time he saw them together that Balfour and Ivy didn’t seem all that affectionate. In fact, they seem somewhat distant from each other.
Ivy snapped back to reality, turned to face Nolan, and forced a composed smile before sitting down again. “Yeah, I thought you wanted to talk about the incident just now, sot texted him.”
“Nobody in the Howards dares to question you. Besides, you are Mrs. Howard. But Ivy, you don’t seem like you’re really Balfour’s wife. You seem afraid of him.”
Ivy hesitated as she said, “I…”
Nolan had a point. Of course, she understood that no one would dare to challenge Mrs. Howard.
But that was true for the real Mrs. Howard. Ivy was just a pawn Balfour used to appease his family elders; she had no real standing of her own.
