The first thing he had to do was make it past the first obstacle. Only then would the journey get smoother."In that case, don't ask her about it and just get her something," Ben suggested. "You should get her some jewelry. All women love jewelry.""She doesn't. I've never seen her wear any," Elliot said."How about beauty products? All women use that stuff, right?" Chad proposed."She doesn't use any. When I went into her room, I didn't find anything but a cleanser."He could not just give her a measly face cleanser as a gift, could he?Ben did not expect Avery to be so different from all the other women he had met.What was even more unexpected was the fact that the great president of Sterling Group, Elliot Foster, actually snuck into a girl's room to observe things like this!"Buy her that cleanser, then!" Ben said."It was covered in dust. It didn't look like she uses it much," Elliot responded.Ben and Chad were at a loss for words."Clothes, shoes, bags! She obviously

Avery froze in her tracks.When she realized that her phone had just been snatched away, she began to run in the direction that the thief had sped off.However, she stopped running when she remembered that she was pregnant and made her way back toward the house.Mrs. Cooper was on the phone with Elliot about an hour later."Master Elliot, Madam Avery's phone was stolen when she was out on a walk earlier. I took her to the station to file a report, but we were told that it was nearly impossible to get the phone back. Madam Avery's eyes were so red when we got home. She said that there was a lot of important information on her phone. She's crying by herself in her room right now." She could not allow things to remain as they are, and she thought that if Elliot knew about the matter, he might be able to use his connections to retrieve Elliot's phone. In truth, she had never confirmed if Avery was actually crying in her room, but she said it on purpose in hopes that Elliot might fe

"That's her," answered Elliot."Got it! I'll remember her name!" responded the captain.Back at the Foster mansion, Avery was sitting at her desk and using her laptop to sign into her social media accounts so she could post a status update about her stolen phone.She continued to sit at the desk in a daze after that.Maybe it was a good thing if the thief wiped out everything in her phone and sold it off.What she dreaded was a stranger invading her privacy and going through her phone.She placed her hand on her spinning head and sighed heavily.If she knew this was going to happen, she would never have left the neighborhood.She could have just taken her walk in the neighborhood itself!Avery got up from her desk and went into the bathroom.After her shower, she climbed into bed and lay down.She had to get a new phone and number the next day.She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.The sound of frantic footsteps came from the hallway outside, followed by a k

Holding back tears, Avery turned in anger and stormed out of the station.She did not sign the release papers, nor did she take her phone back from Elliot.Elliot signed the papers and left the station.On the car ride home, he passed her phone to her and said in a low voice, "I didn't go through it."Avery took her phone and her breathing was heavy as she said, "But you already know what's inside.""Are they important? Those photos…"Avery gritted her teeth and warned herself not to lose her temper with Elliot.He was the one who had helped get her phone back after all.Her hand clenched around her phone as she asked, "If I told you that the baby you had forced me to abort wasn't Cole's but yours… Would you feel guilty at all?" Elliot turned his head and glanced at her.Avery's expression was serious, and it did not seem like she was kidding.He gulped and responded in a hoarse voice, "From the IVF treatments?""Yes," Avery answered. She met his gaze and said, "You killed

At breakfast the next morning, Avery and Elliot sat at the dining table in silence.She was having eggs and toast, while he was eating cereal."Thanks for getting my phone back last night," Avery said, shattering the silence between them."I'm sorry about my mother," Elliot said, finally expressing the apology that had been bothering him.Avery's cheeks flushed as she said, "You weren't the one who hit me. Why are you apologizing?""She shouldn't have slapped your face," Elliot said in a stiff voice. "If anyone touched my face, I would—"Before he could finish his sentence, Avery lifted her hand and gently caressed his cheek.His skin was surprisingly smooth and felt good against her fingers.Elliot's eyes were smoldering as his Adam's apple rolled in his throat, while his hand around his glass of milk trembled slightly."Okay, we're even," Avery said as she withdrew her hand and lowered her head to have a sip of her tea.Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest, and the sk

If Ben had mentioned this when he arrived at the house, Avery never would have gotten into his car."Mr. Schaffer, I know that all of you want to get on Elliot's good side—" Avery began to say."What do you mean? Haven't you ever gotten presents for your friends?" Ben interjected with a smile. "He always gets us something for our birthdays.""So, you don't get him gifts just because he told you not to? That just shows that you don't see him as a friend at all, but as a boss," Avery said. "I don't think you should drag me into this. If I accept your gifts on his behalf, it would be the same as me accepting gifts from him. If that's the case, I won't be able to take pleasure in reprimanding him when he makes me angry in the future."Ben was bewildered.Took pleasure in reprimanding him?How exactly did Avery treat Elliot every day?Ben began to suspect that his boss had a masochistic side to him."You should think of something else! I'm leaving," Avery said, then turned and began

Avery was distracted until a thought suddenly popped into her head."Did Elliot have anything to do with what happened to Cole Foster?" she asked.Ben was dumbfounded."Why do you think he did? Didn't Cole Foster get into trouble himself with his gambling? What does that have to do with Elliot?"Avery took a sip of water, then said, "He said he was the one who planned it. He even told me to get down on my knees and beg."Ben was at a loss for words.He picked up his own glass of water and took a sip, then said, "What are you two doing? What couple is always getting into fights like the two of you… It turns out you both do it on purpose. Do you both find joy in fighting with each other?!"Naturally, Avery refused to admit it."I don't have such a weird hobby. He's the one who's always provoking me.""Exactly! I'm sure he feels the same!""Which is exactly why we don't get along," Avery said, taking another sip of water."Disagreements are normal in a relationship. Some people

Avery was certain that they did not buy this necklace that morning.How was it now right in front of her?She walked out of her room and bumped into Elliot who was walking down the stairs.She tried to calm the nervousness inside of her and asked, "What's up with this necklace?"On the surface, it might look like this had nothing to do with him, but her instincts told her otherwise.She was sure that Ben told him about it.Elliot's expression was slightly uneasy as he answered, "Ben bought it."After a pause, he added, "I took a look at the price, and it was too cheap. Nobody wanted it so I brought it back to you."Avery was piecing together the words in her head trying to figure out a way to return the necklace to him, but his words made her mind go blank.He gave it to her because it was so cheap that nobody else wanted it.Great!If that was the case, then she would just accept it!"Let's have dinner together," Elliot called out.Avery wanted to refuse, but her body was

"You have the power to reject," Elliot said."Just eat your food!" Avery said. "Even if I decide to work with Charlie Tierney, it doesn't mean that I will fall in love with him. Why do you think that I'll give in to his advances? Do I seem that easy to you?"Elliot fell silent.Avery returned to her room after dinner, opened Charlie's email, and looked through its contents.A wave of uneasiness washed over her after she finished reading it.She did not know a thing about running a company, but she understood Charlie's proposal very well.If they went in the direction that he suggested, Tate Industries might just be able to come back from the dead.If it were not for the fact that Charlie was Chelsea Tierney's brother, she would have immediately agreed to work with him.Avery shut her laptop and lay down on her bed.She picked up her phone and saw a text from Tammy.[I slept with Jun Hertz! Ugh! I think I'm in love with him!]Avery did not expect things to turn out the way th

Jun nodded and said, "That's him! I met him when I was abroad. He's eight years older than I am. We were neighbors when he was in college. I was always following him around back then.""You kept in touch with him despite the huge age gap?" Tammy asked."Yes! I always go to him when I'm troubled," Jun answered.Tammy glanced at his face and teased, "What kind of troubles could a young man like you possibly have?""I want to start my own business, but my family is against it. He has a successful career. Even my dad admires him, so I need him to help me convince him."Tammy was suddenly filled with excitement."What's his name? I'm sure I've heard of him before if he's a successful businessman.""You probably have heard of him," Jun said as he took a sip of water. "It's Elliot Foster."Tammy's eyes widened in astonishment.She let go of Jun's hand and exclaimed, "He's married?! Oh my god! I have a friend who worships him… She'll be devastated if she finds out about this!""Your