Chapter 748

Brice gave her a kiss on the ear.

Juniper shivered and instinctively wanted to look at Anthony, but she restrained herself.

Why should she care what he thought? Instead, she subtly pulled half her shoulder away.

"Is it appropriate for you to cling to my girlfriend like this?" Brice asked with a smile.

The other man, who was of a lower rank, immediately backed down, "I'm sorry, Mr. Darden, I didn't know she was your girlfriend..."

"Now you know."

"Sorry to bother you." The man scurried away.

"Your hand," Juniper whispered.

"Just acting," Brice smiled.

The girls around them started gossiping. "She hooked up with my crush so quickly, how annoying!"

"I confessed yesterday and got rejected. He said he had a girlfriend. I thought he was lying, but it turns out... This is so infuriating."

"Where did this bad woman come from?"

"Bitch!"

Juniper didn't want to deal with them and said, "I'm going back to work."

"Wait..." Brice chased after her.

Joey shook his head, thinking, 'He doesn't even realize he's in trouble, poor guy.'

"Wait a minute, I'm just trying to help you," Brice caught up and grabbed Juniper.

"Your kind of help is actually harming me. I don't want any more scandals."

"This project will take at least three months. Do you want to be pestered every day? I think that's a bigger waste of time. If you have a boyfriend, they'll back off, and you won't have to deal with so much jealousy."

Juniper couldn't argue with that and huffed, "Are you sure you're not just taking advantage of me?"

Brice shrugged and smiled, "I admit, maybe a little."

Juniper was speechless.

"But isn't this a win-win? I often get random women confessing to me, and it's quite a headache. Let's just help each other out."

"I don't like acting. I think it's childish and stupid. I'm here to work, not to play."

"Maybe not now, but in the future, who knows? Just saying it in advance, no big deal."

Seeing his confident look, Juniper didn't know how to respond.

"When can we have dinner?"

"How about the weekend? I need to get back to work." Juniper entered the elevator.

"I'll be waiting," Brice waved.

The elevator doors closed.

A hand patted Brice's shoulder. He turned around to see Joey.

"Just a friendly reminder, you can't afford to mess with this woman. Stay away from her."

They were childhood friends who had a falling out after joining the same company.

Now, their relationship was complicated, both friends and rivals.

Brice, hands in his pockets, calmly asked, "What? Do you like her too?"

"I think she's average-looking, not my type."

"I smell jealousy..."

"I'm not joking. This woman is trouble, a rose with thorns. She's using you for this project, and you're not the only one."

"Who else? You? Did she dump you?"

Joey was exasperated by Brice's playful attitude, "Can you be serious for once? I'm not joking."

Joey huffed, "If it weren't for our past friendship, I wouldn't bother warning you."

"Then tell me, why?"

"I can't say specifically, but trust me, she'll get you fired."

"Really? The more challenging, the more I like it. I insist on picking this so-called poisonous rose." Brice whistled and walked away.

Joey shook his head in exasperation. 'Even now, he's joking. I can't be bothered with him. Let him do whatever he wants.'

In the afternoon, while working, Juniper felt a heavy atmosphere in the office, making it hard to breathe.

When she needed to consult Anthony, he seemed a bit cold.

Juniper recalled that she hadn't done anything to offend him.

To avoid provoking him further, she kept her questions to herself, not daring to ask him.

She replied to a few work-related messages in the middle of their conversation.

"Multitasking, is this your work attitude?"

Anthony's cold voice rang out.

Juniper was puzzled.

'Isn't this normal at work? If you only focus on one thing, efficiency would be low. And it's just replying to a message, it doesn't affect work.'

"You have quite the charm with the opposite sex."

Anthony's tone was emotionless.

Juniper pondered. Was he complimenting her or mocking her?

Given the current strange situation, she leaned towards the latter.

She didn't respond, but Anthony asked again, "Don't you think so?"

"Uh, it's okay, I guess."

"I think it's more than okay. Every man in the company wants to talk to you."

Juniper felt a bit overwhelmed, "It's not that exaggerated. I'm not a hundred-dollar bill that everyone loves."

She tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Anthony's gaze grew colder, "I think you're more attractive than money."

That was really exaggerated.

Juniper, usually quick-witted, didn't know how to respond.

"You have admirers and protectors. A new boyfriend?"

"Are you talking about Brice? Don't you think... this is a personal matter?"

Answering this question felt awkward.

It seemed like any answer would be wrong.

"Do you think I care about your personal life? It's just that it affects your work. Checking data while texting men, are you sure it doesn't affect your work?"

Juniper was confused, "I wasn't texting men, I was replying to work messages."

'What was he thinking? So frustrating. They say women overthink, but he overthinks more than women.'

Anthony felt a bit embarrassed but tried hard not to show it. He must be crazy, saying so many spiteful things. Did she realize it?

The ring on his finger burned him again, like a curse, reminding him every time he strayed.

"Who knows what messages you're replying to?"

"Do you want to see?" Juniper held her phone up to him.

But Anthony turned his face away, "Not interested."

'That is a bit arrogant,' Juniper thought, feeling helpless.

"Mr. Eilish, although I'm just a secretary, please don't question my work attitude and ability."

"If you don't want to be doubted, don't just say it. Focus, and no one will question you."

Juniper was speechless, "Okay, it's my fault. I'll be more careful. If it's not urgent, I won't check my phone. Is that okay?"

"You're not my employee, I can't force you."

Juniper suddenly felt that Anthony was hard to please.