Chapter 17 Annoying Woman

"Yes. I don't want to continue to stay here. I don't like my job. I want to open a bakery to sell all kinds of delicious cakes," Ellie replied.

Ellie's announcement was a great delight to Fiona. "Really? When you open the shop, you have to let me know. I will be your first customer!" she gushed, gaping at Ellie with her expectant eyes.

"Of course I will. How could I forget you?" Ellie beamed as she pinched Fiona's chubby cheeks.

'It felt comfortable. I finally understood why Ashley always pinches her face, ' she thought.

"But are you really going to leave the Luo Group?" Fiona's lips curved downward as she remembered that was Ellie's intention.

The smile on her face faded off and her mood darkened.

As Ashely detected Fiona was upset, she reached out and touched Fiona's head fondly. "What's up?" she nudged in a sisterly tone.

"I don't want you to leave. If you leave here, I will have to work here alone," Fiona blurted. Her thoughts escaped her mouth in a rush and her face still carried the weariness of her fear and frustration.

"How about you take me with you?" she proposed. Her eyes lit up in expectation, staring at Ashley and Ellie.

Then she lowered her head and fixed her eyes on the delectable food on her plate. 'The food here is yummy, ' she thought.

Ashley observed Fiona's actions. 'She still acts like a child, ' Ashley chuckled to herself.

"It has not been decided yet. You should do your job. You got the chance to work here because your school works with this company. Unfortunately, you can't just leave here any time you want," Ashley said.

Fiona sighed. Ashley's reminder that she was a mere intern caused her shoulders to slump even more and she thought to herself, 'Why me? I don't want to continue to work in this stupid company.

I just became friends with Ashley and Ellie. Now they're leaving.' Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.

The three women noticed the lunch rush entering the canteen. Ashley, who was acutely aware of the other customers' disrespectful remarks and scornful gazes, said, "Girls, I think it's time to head back to the office."

They stood up, pushed in their chairs, and let their eyes search through the crowd for a way to exit gracefully, but there was no easy way out.

On the most direct route out of the canteen, Ashley looked up and saw Rita. This was not going to go well.

Rita knew about Ashley's relationship with Raymond and was filled with envy. She raised a corner of her lips and said in her most derisive voice, "Are you leaving so soon? We just arrived. The lunch hour is far from over. What's the rush?"

Rita had learnt about Ashley's relationship with Raymond by accident, but she was still envious of her. She worked for Luo Group for many years and since she knew that Raymond's father owned the company, she had tried every means to seduce him to become his girlfriend. But to her dismay, he wasn't interested in her.

Initially she thought that she wasn't enchanting enough to make Raymond fall for her. But it turned out that her boss had a girlfriend - Ashley.

And it wasn't just Ashley's relationship with Raymond she envied. It was also her role in the company. She had paid her dues and worked like mad in the Luo Group, but she was passed over for the promotion and now Ashley, a newcomer, was her superior.

That was why she had teamed up with Lena to kick Ashley out of the Luo Group.

Ashley looked around the hall, dismissed Rita's snide commentary and again began weaving her way through the crowd toward the exit. With knitted brows, Ashley squared her shoulders and pointed her eyes straight ahead.

But when she walked past Rita, the latter grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear, "I bet you have seen the posts in the forum. When are you going

to quit your job?"

"When did I say that I was leaving the Luo Group?" Ashley countered, shaking her arm free from Rita's claws.

"I have never seen such a shameless mistress. Miss Mu didn't come to you because she didn't want to embarrass you. You should be smart and quit," Rita quipped, as she looked at her fingernails, still grasping at Ashley's arm. Obviously she didn't take Ashley as her opponent.

"You accused me of stealing another woman's fiance with several photos. It's ridiculous! If I took several pictures of you at a hotel, can I say that you are a whore?" Ashley snapped back with an eerie calmness. However, her eyes threw daggers at Rita.

"You..." Rita's voice trailed off. A dash of fury flashed across her face. "Don't think too highly of yourself. If you are a wise woman, you'd better resign office. Otherwise, you will get yourslf into bigger trouble," she warned.

"Well, thank you for your warning. But that's none of your business. You'd better take care of your own things," Ashley shot back. Then she took Ellie's and Fiona's hands and dragged them through the crowd to the exit.

The onlookers, shocked by Ashley's eloquence, parted the sea of people so that the three women could exit the canteen.

As soon as Ashley was out of sight, they all fixed their eyes on Rita. Rita threw a steely look at the crowd and shouted, "Go away. What the heck are you looking at?"

Upon hearing this, the onlookers dispersed. Rita thought to herself, 'Looks like I underestimated Ashley.' Her cheeks started to burn with rage.

"Don't get angry, Rita. Ashley was playing tough. She is in an awkward situation. It's impossible for her to continue to stay here," a girl piped up. The girl noticed the animosity spreading on Rita's face, so she tried to please her superior.

"I agree with her. There is no need to be angry at a shameless girl. You gave her those warnings out of goodwill. However, she was ungrateful and refused your kindness. You should let it go," another girl followed.

The anger on Rita's face slightly faded as she heard their flattering words.

...

Ashley let go of Ellie and Fiona when they came to a quiet place.

"That was very impressive, Ashley. You rendered her speechless," Fiona delivered the authentic praise, gazng at Ashley with admiring eyes.

"Is that so?" Ashley took a resigned look at Fiona and let out a helpless smile.

She didn't particularly enjoy talking to others, but she also was not one to sit quietly by and let others bully her.

When she felt threatened, she fought back. Generally, she was nice to others, but she did have a temper.

She resolved to quit her job in the Luo Group, and it was only a matter of time. But before she resigned, she planned to give Lena a "gift" in return.

Ashley hadn't made up a story about Rita's being at a hotel. She had once watched Rita who was not properly dressed get out of a hotel by accident, and she had some speculation. Rita's response confirmed her assumption.

"You shouldn't have acted rashly like that. Now all the people want you to leave the Luo Group. You're putting yourself in a more embarrassed position," Ellie said, giving Ashley a worried look.

"Don't worry. They will not have the guts to do anything to me," Ashley assured her friend.

"I agree with Ashley. Don't think too much. It's going to be fine. Look what I got, a candy," Fiona said to Ellie, taking out a candy out of nowhere and putting it on her palm.

Amazement spreading over their faces, Ashley's and Fiona's jaws nearly hit the floor. 'What's going on in there?' they wondered.

Under their keen gazes, Fiona was slightly embarrassed. 'As a foodie, I always bring some food with me. It's not a big deal, ' she thought. Fiona fluttered her long eyelashes at the two.