Chapter 18

After hanging up the call, Jacob asked Simon, who was standing outside his office, to come in. "Bring Mrs. Blake up." Mrs. Blake? Simon blinked his eyes. It was as if he didn't understand what Jacob meant. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to say it because of Jacob's cold gaze. "I'll bring her up now!" "Wait," said Jacob suddenly. Simon turned around. "Is there anything else, Mr. Blake?" "Change the receptionists. Ask the HR Department to get someone to replace the receptionists." Jacob thought about what Nicole had just said and buried his face in his hands. "Get someone intelligent." Simon had many questions, but he didn't dare to ask them at the time. He could only nod and leave the office. Nicole walked past Sarah beside her and walked straight to the elevator. When Jacob called Nicole moments ago, she was far from the receptionist's desk. Thus, the receptionists didn't know who the call was from. When the two receptionists saw that Nicole was heading toward the elevator, they immediately stood forward to stop her. "You can't enter if you don't have an appointment!" Leisurely, Sarah walked over and said, "Don't stop her. Let her go up with me." Nicole was expressionless. Her temples throbbed. "Does she have an appointment? How can she go up?" The receptionists glanced at Nicole disdainfully. "She's Mr. Blake's girlfriend. Of course, she doesn't need an appointment. Who are you to compare with her?" "She's Mr. Blake's partner!" Simon's voice suddenly rang from behind them, shocking the two receptionists. Simon would usually smile, but he appeared behind them quietly, and his expression was serious. "M-Mr. Radfield…" One of the receptionists looked guilty. Meanwhile, Sarah smiled and changed the topic. "Mr. Radfield, you didn't have to come down yourself. I can bring Ms. Barnes up." It was only then that Simon noticed Sarah. He was taken aback. He didn't expect her to be here. Upon thinking of Jacob's instruction, Simon smiled at Sarah politely before turning to Nicole. He explained to Nicole, "Mr. Blake's meeting has just ended. His phone was on silent, so he couldn't answer your call. Mr. Blake is waiting for you in the office. Please come up with me." "By the way, you two should go to the HR Department to settle your salary." Simon glanced at the two receptionists. One of the receptionists had a pale face. "M-Mr. Radfield, what do you mean by this? We stopped her according to the company's rules…" Simon glanced at her coldly. "Does the company's rules allow you to slander the company's partners?" Then, without a care for the expressions of the receptionists, Simon reached his hand out to lead Nicole forward. Sarah felt as though she was humiliated. She clenched her fists. Standing in the elevator, Nicole felt stuffy. Her face became pale. She held onto the railing secretly. When the elevator reached the floor of the president's office, Simon brought Nicole and Sarah out. Simon knocked on the door before pushing it open. "Mr. Blake, Ms. Barnes has arrived. Ms. Green… brought lunch for you." Sarah strutted over to Jacob first with a smile. "Jacob, I made this myself. I know you're busy at noon, so I brought it to you." Nicole didn't care what Sarah and Jacob were doing. With the document in her hand, she went to sit on the couch next to the coffee table. When they entered the office, Jacob's attention had been on Nicole. Upon noticing that her face was a bit pale, he frowned and got up. Sarah was about to take out the vacuum flask when Jacob walked past her. He sat on the couch opposite. "Have you eaten lunch?" Jacob asked Nicole. Nicole leaned on the couch and handed him the document. She said impolitely, "If you didn't let me wait for you for two hours downstairs, I would have been eating lunch already." Sarah put the vacuum flask on the desk lightly. She glanced at Nicole. She sounded like she was blaming the latter. "You can't blame Jacob for this. He's busy with work. You should have made an appointment earlier." "Who isn't busy with work?" Nicole glanced at Sarah. With a smirk, she said, "Oops. I forgot that you're a celebrity. You aren't busy with work since you have the time to send lunch." Sarah's face turned pale from Nicole's words. She looked at Jacob pitifully and opened the vacuum flask. Immediately, the fragrance of the food filled the office. At this time, Sarah put on a fake smile and looked at Nicole. "Since you haven't eaten lunch, do you want to eat together?" She was about to sit next to Jacob when a hand reached out from the opposite and took the vacuum flask. Before Sarah could react, Nicole had picked up the cutleries and began to eat. Sarah's face flushed. She held back from cursing at Nicole. "Ms. Barnes, what do you mean by this?" Holding the plate, Nicole blinked. "Didn't you invite me to eat together?" Sarah was at a loss for words. She turned around and held Jacob's arm. "Jacob, I'll make something else for you next time. Since Ms. Barnes is angry, let her eat first. "When you're done with work, I'll accompany you to a meal at a nearby restaurant." This time, Jacob didn't dodge her hand in front of Nicole. He stared at Nicole, who had her head down to focus on eating and grunted perfunctorily. Sarah thought that Jacob's impression of her had improved. She became excited. Her voice grew softer. "Let's go to the Jordinese restaurant nearby. It's delicious." "Whatever," said Jacob. Based on Sarah's considerate actions, she had already considered herself as Jacob's girlfriend. With her head down, Nicole continued to eat. She suppressed the urge to puke and swallowed the last mouthful of food. Due to the fever, her head felt heavy. She couldn't control her mind at this time. She suddenly thought about her past. The faraway memory that appeared in her mind was always Jacob's cold expression when looking at her. Nicole clenched the cutleries in her hand. It was as if a ball of cotton was stuck in her throat. Her eyes turned red. She put down the cutleries. When she raised her head, her eyes were cold. "I'm full now." Sarah glanced at the vacuum flask mockingly. "Since you liked it, you can bring the vacuum flask back. You can eat the rest for dinner." "I don't really like it." Nicole's cold gaze landed on Sarah's face. "The food from Grove Restaurant is just alright. I advise you to order food from another place next time." Sarah felt as though Nicole had slapped her in the face. Her face was burning. As she felt humiliated, she became furious. "Ms. Barnes! Please stop with the slander. I made the food myself!"