Elliot smiled as he eyed her teasingly. “Are you asking me for a favor?”
Anastasia shrugged nonchalantly and said, “I’m only doing this on behalf of my dad.”
“Well, seeing as he’s your dad, I don’t think it’d be right of me to refuse him the favor. Get your sister to
come into work on Monday,” he declared readily.
She gaped at him in astonishment and realized that he was granting favors out of his gratitude again.
Just then, he tipped his head to the side and glanced at whatever was behind her, drawling, “You’ve got
guts bringing me here, though.”
Upon hearing this, she turned around, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the
amphibians and reptiles that were preserved in formalin. She shuddered and shrunk against Elliot like
she wanted to put as much distance as she could between herself and the morbid exhibit.
Elliot seized the chance to wrap an arm around her. She gasped, but before she could react, she found
herself in his embrace. She could smell the fresh and pleasant scent of him, and she pushed him away
as she snapped, “Contain yourself, Elliot.”
“Hey, you were the one who pressed up against me first,” he pointed out with a grin. When he saw that
there was nobody around this section of the exhibit, he dipped his head and placed a chaste kiss on
her lips. Then, he broke into a mischievous smirk as he muttered, “Consider this a repayment for the
favor just now.”
Blood rushed to Anastasia’s face as she shoved him aside, and she thanked the heavens that Jared
and Rey weren’t nearby.
After that, she gave Francis a call to tell him that Erica could start work on Monday.
Over at the Tillman Residence, Erica had just gotten off the phone with Francis. Then, she flew down
the staircase gleefully and found her mother. “Mom! Mom, I’m going to start working at Bourgeois on
Monday! President Presgrave was the one who personally hired me!”
Naomi was elated to hear this. Does this mean Erica has a chance to get close to Elliot now?
“Dad told me that President Presgrave himself agreed to this. Do you think it’s because I made a really
good impression last night?” Erica asked happily and somewhat delusionally.
Naomi thought the same thing. Erica had sat next to Elliot during the banquet last night, and there was
no denying how gorgeous she had looked in her evening dress! “Erica,” she began. “Make sure to
seize every opportunity there is while you’re at Bourgeois.”
“I’m sure that if I get a chance to run into President Presgrave often enough, I could make him fall for
me,” Erica said confidently. She vowed to use every last trick in the book to see this plan through.
She couldn’t care less about making an honest living by working at Bourgeois; instead, she wanted to
seduce Elliot so that she could one day marry rich and have a jet-setting lifestyle.
At that moment, Naomi clutched her daughter’s arm and said, “Erica, there’s something I have to tell
you.”
Erica blinked. “What is it, Mom?”
“You see, Elliot actually owes our family a huge favor. I’ve never told you this, but Anastasia’s mother
only died because she sacrificed herself to save Elliot. Without her, he would have died when he was a
toddler!”
“What?” Erica’s eyes widened in surprise. She knew that Anastasia’s mother was a cop who had died
while on duty, but she didn’t think that the reason for her death was a great sacrifice to save Elliot’s life.
“Given that the Presgraves owe Anastasia big time, you’ll have to watch your back at Bourgeois. It
might only be child’s play for her to snag Young Master Elliot.”
A vicious look flashed in Erica’s eyes as she seethed, “I ought to tell President Presgrave about the
time Anastasia got screwed over at Abyss Club. No man in their right mind would think of her so greatly
after they hear about that.”
Naomi wasn’t the least bit worried that Erica would let her down, for she was certain that her daughter
had picked up her skills and affinity for schemes. “You just have to remember that we’ll be in deep
trouble if Anastasia ends up marrying into the Presgraves. Erica, once you get into the company, you
have to do everything in your power to stop her from marrying Elliot, even if it means that you won’t be
able to marry him yourself.”
Both mother and daughter were on the same page about this. However, neither of them knew that
Erica only got the job at Bourgeois courtesy of Anastasia, seeing as Francis withheld this detail from
them.
Meanwhile, following their excursion to the museum, Elliot dropped Anastasia and Jared home. He
watched them walk into the apartment building and left to take care of his work.
Having had a lazy Sunday, Anastasia started to pour herself into competing for the position of
associate director. She heard that Alice had already gone to the shop she had chosen to survey it last
Friday night.
As things were, Alice seemed intent on beating Anastasia out for the promotion.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda