Free Web NovelChapter 105: Chapter 105: You Old Men Are Full of Tricks
"Anyway, until you sort things out with your fiancée, you’re not allowed to touch me!"
"Still jealous? I’ve never seen you get this worked up before!" Elliot Sheridan chuckled, his handsome hand caressing Georgia Thorne’s indignant face. "Joanne Donovan has nothing to do with me!"
"You old men are the biggest players. I don’t believe you!" Georgia Thorne slapped his hand away, picked up her clothes from the floor, and started walking out.
’Old man?’
Elliot Sheridan turned to the side, his eyes fixed on Georgia Thorne’s retreating figure. The young woman had a slender waist, and a suggestive image flashed through his mind.
Georgia Thorne’s throat was sore, so she kept drinking hot water. freёwebnoѵel.com
A leisurely holiday was supposed to be for sleeping in, lazing around at home, watching TV, and then sleeping some more.
She turned on the TV, and Joanne Donovan’s beautiful, delicate face appeared on the screen. It was a clip from that previous interview, where Joanne, with a shy look, boldly confirmed her relationship with Elliot Sheridan to the camera.
Georgia Thorne was instantly annoyed. She deliberately turned up the volume and shot a sideways glance at the "old man" beside her.
Since returning to the country, Elliot Sheridan had been busy dealing with business affairs. He had no time to watch this kind of sensationalist news.
Joanne Donovan had counted on this exact fact, using the media’s power to pressure him into marriage.
Joanne Donovan was afraid of Elliot Sheridan. The man was unpredictable; his smile didn’t mean he was in a good mood. It could very well mean he was thinking of how to punish you.
That was why she had chosen to break the story only after Elliot Sheridan had left Portmire.
While Elliot was abroad, he wouldn’t pay attention to the matter. By the time he returned, the storm would have already passed.
Joanne Donovan had planned it all perfectly. The next step was to play the part of a gentle and virtuous woman.
However, she never expected Amanda Thorne to suddenly interfere.
The incident at the hotel that day had caused quite a scene.
They were all prominent figures. Elliot Sheridan’s cold and distant attitude toward Amanda Thorne made Joanne Donovan happy.
At the very least, it was publicly known that she was the woman by Elliot Sheridan’s side.
And just like that, Amanda Thorne was branded a homewrecker.
Elliot Sheridan had his secretary mercilessly throw Amanda Thorne out of the hotel.
Amanda Thorne, crying, had said something. Joanne Donovan heard every word clearly and committed it to memory.
"Elliot, are you breaking up with me for this woman by your side? After I’ve been with you for three years, you’re just going to heartlessly cast me aside like this?"
Elliot Sheridan showed Amanda Thorne no mercy, but Joanne Donovan had to remain cautious.
Elliot Sheridan had high standards for women; he was very picky.
Very few women managed to stay by his side for three years.
A woman who had been his constant companion for three years—Elliot couldn’t possibly have zero feelings for her. Joanne Donovan had someone investigate Amanda Thorne.
She was determined to marry Elliot Sheridan, so she absolutely would not let any woman near him get away.
Amanda Thorne was a woman not to be underestimated—she was cunning and had her methods!
She had the face of a seductress; who knew how she had managed to hook Elliot Sheridan.
She wasn’t young, but her face looked incredibly fair and smooth. She must have spent a fortune on it.
How could a thirty-year-old woman not have a single wrinkle? Joanne Donovan never believed in all that talk about aging in reverse.
In the newspapers, Amanda Thorne’s face was pixelated. No one knew who the homewrecker was.
Joanne Donovan secretly leaked some information, claiming it was the "number one beauty" of the socialite circle.
She didn’t name names, but it was enough for people to figure out who it was.
Everyone was mocking Amanda Thorne. Ever since the news broke, she hadn’t dared to leave her house.
Elliot Sheridan leaned lazily against the sofa, propping his chin on one hand, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Joanne Donovan on the screen.
’She’s got some nerve, knowing I don’t like to watch entertainment news.’
Elliot Sheridan hated being manipulated, especially by someone like Joanne Donovan. He felt an irritated urge to smoke.
He pulled out a cigarette case, glanced at Georgia Thorne opposite him, and remembered she was sick. He took his cigarette and walked out onto the balcony.
Georgia Thorne watched Elliot Sheridan’s back as he stood on the balcony, smoking. He looked incredibly lonely, yet so cold that no one dared to approach.
’What does he mean by this? Does he even care about the news or not?’
Huffing, she grabbed her phone, left the room, and went to see her cat.
She left him alone to reflect on his actions!
After smoking a few cigarettes outside, Elliot Sheridan called Owen Sawyer.
"Have all the news stories taken down!"
Owen Sawyer nodded in agreement on the other end.
"Um, the Old Madam called earlier. She said you should call her back," Owen Sawyer said timidly over the phone.
The "Old Madam" referred to Elliot Sheridan’s mother, Sharon Ennis.
As soon as the story broke, Sharon Ennis had called her son.
But just as with Georgia Thorne, his phone had been off.
After returning, Elliot had been preoccupied with company matters. When he saw Sharon Ennis’s call, he couldn’t be bothered to answer.
Elliot Sheridan was getting on in years. After the New Year, he’d be a thirty-five-year-old man. At his age, his older brother’s daughter, Selena Sheridan, was already old enough to run errands!
But this younger son of hers couldn’t care less, always doing as he pleased and getting caught up in scandals with one girl after another.
There was that last one. They had a messy breakup for some reason, it ended up in the papers, and she was even labeled a homewrecker.
Every time Sharon Ennis called, she had only one goal: to push him to get married.
After a while, Elliot couldn’t be bothered to answer anymore, so Sharon, knowing her son’s personality, started calling his secretary instead.
Elliot Sheridan grunted in acknowledgment and hung up.
Owen Sawyer could never figure out what Elliot Sheridan was thinking. Did that grunt mean he heard, or that he didn’t?
’Still, the news has been circulating for so long, it really is time to take it down.’
’If it continues, Elliot Sheridan really will be forced by the pressure to marry Joanne Donovan.’
’Of course, this pressure won’t come from the media, but from the Sheridan Family.’
James Sheridan was a man who cared deeply about his reputation. The Sheridan Family had always maintained a good public image, and he would never allow a word like "abandon" to tarnish their name.
Elliot Sheridan called Sharon Ennis.
Sharon Ennis seemed to have been waiting for his call, as she answered almost instantly!
"Mom!" The warm sun was dazzling. Elliot called out lazily.
Finally able to speak to her son, even if it was just over the phone, Sharon Ennis said angrily, "I’m surprised you still remember you have a mother!"
"Ms. Sharon, I heard you were looking for me?"
Sharon had originally planned to scold her son for being unreachable every other day, off doing who knows what.
But this matter was more important. "Have you seen the news these past few days? Joanne Donovan publicly announced your engagement to her in the media."
Elliot grunted in acknowledgment, and Sharon continued, "As soon as the news came out, Quincy Rhodes eagerly brought Joanne Donovan over. You know your father—he’s so old-fashioned. The moment Quincy brought up what happened back then, he insisted you get engaged to Joanne. Isn’t he infuriating!"
Over this very issue, Sharon had been fighting with James Sheridan for days. They were still giving each other the silent treatment, and she was refusing to speak to him.
"What did Joanne Donovan say?"
"What could she say? Her mother did all the talking!" Sharon Ennis sighed. "You weren’t there, so you don’t know how silver-tongued that mother of hers is. She’s got such a glib tongue—truly worthy of someone who moves in government circles. Every other word out of her mouth was about how our Sheridan Family owed her, how we owed her daughter. I was so angry I could have died!"
Quincy Rhodes was an eloquent speaker. She brought up the past and relentlessly pinned all the blame on Elliot Sheridan.
James Sheridan, being a man and not as perceptive as a woman, only felt guilt as he listened. But Sharon Ennis felt a bitter taste in her mouth hearing it.
Why should all the blame be placed on her son?
Sharon Ennis was fiercely protective; even if her son was in the wrong, she wouldn’t let anyone else say a single bad word about him.
