Free Web NovelChapter 149: Chapter 145: Georgia Thorne Lifts Her Head
Nancy Hughes groggily opened her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. "Wait, let me rest for a bit, then we can continue!"
She was clearly still drunk, completely unable to recognize who was in front of her.
"Nancy, it’s Georgia Thorne. I’m here to take you home!"
"Georgia! What are you doing here? Are you here to drink with me? But you’re such a good drinker, I can’t keep up with you!"
Georgia: "Er..."
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ’You really can’t reason with a drunk.’
Grabbing Nancy Hughes’s sleeve, she looked at the coworker beside her. "Could you help me get her up?"
The female coworker helped pull Nancy Hughes up, and Georgia Thorne supported her by the shoulders. "Wake up, don’t fall asleep. It’s time to go home."
Nancy Hughes, half her face buried in Georgia Thorne’s shoulder, suddenly lifted her head, her eyes wide with surprise. "Georgia, what are you doing here!"
"Er..."
Georgia Thorne thanked Nancy Hughes’s coworker and started helping Nancy toward the private room’s exit.
Before they even reached the door, she heard a collective gasp from the crowd. Georgia Thorne looked up, her gaze landing squarely on the man standing in the doorway.
Nancy Hughes was at a company-wide event, not one for just her small team.
The Sheridan Group had always been wealthy and never stingy with its employees, having booked the entire bar for the staff party.
But for an event like this, among employees, what was he—the ultimate decision-maker—doing here?
Georgia Thorne’s scalp tingled. Remembering her wild behavior at his door that night, her heart couldn’t help but start pounding.
Her gaze fell unabashedly on the man before her.
Elliot Sheridan was always in a black suit, his handsome face stern, exuding an oppressive aura.
Owen Sawyer, who had entered behind Elliot Sheridan, spotted Georgia Thorne immediately and shot a startled glance at his boss.
The man’s face showed little expression as he took a bottle from Owen Sawyer’s hand and filled a glass.
His gaze seemed to flit past Georgia Thorne’s face, almost imperceptibly, before he raised his glass to the employees behind her.
He offered some high-minded pleasantries. The employees in the room, both surprised and excited, quickly poured themselves drinks and drank with Elliot Sheridan, full of ambition.
The first impression Elliot Sheridan gave was one of being lofty and aloof.
After finishing his drink, Elliot Sheridan didn’t linger, turning to leave without a hint of reluctance.
Owen Sawyer glanced at the cold indifference on his boss’s face, then looked back at Georgia Thorne. Disregarding the others present, he gave her a polite and respectful nod.
Then, he hurried to catch up with Elliot Sheridan.
’This is killing me! Portmire isn’t exactly small, so how do I run into him everywhere?’
After the big boss left, the tense atmosphere in the room instantly relaxed.
The female coworkers gathered to discuss how handsome and dashing Elliot Sheridan was, while the male coworkers just went back to drinking.
Georgia Thorne watched his retreating figure with disappointment, her eyes downcast, an indescribable ache in her heart.
She gave a dry cough and helped Nancy Hughes leave.
Outside the bar, Georgia Thorne finally managed to get Nancy Hughes out, breaking into a sweat in the process.
"Hang in there, wait until we’re home to sleep!"
Nancy Hughes, draped over her shoulder, mumbled limply, completely devoid of strength.
Late at night, it was hard to get a taxi, especially while supporting a drunk who couldn’t even stand steady.
Georgia Thorne’s head was pounding. The moment she loosened her grip, Nancy Hughes would crumple to the ground.
A black car was slowly approaching them.
Inside, the man in the back seat had a grim expression. His suit jacket was tossed on the seat beside him, leaving him in just a thin black shirt—mature and sexy.
Owen Sawyer spotted Georgia Thorne and her roommate standing at the bar entrance and deliberately slowed the car.
At the same time, he glanced in the rearview mirror. Elliot Sheridan’s dark eyes were filled with anger as he stared at Georgia Thorne ahead.
Owen Sawyer secretly tried to guess Elliot Sheridan’s intentions. ’Should I stop the car or not?’
Although the boss and Georgia Thorne had officially broken up, the look in his eyes didn’t seem like that of a man who had moved on.
Owen Sawyer stepped on the accelerator, about to speed up, when the man in the back seat issued a command, "Stop the car. Get her in!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Owen Sawyer slammed on the brakes, stopping perfectly in front of Georgia Thorne.
’As expected, the boss still can’t let Miss Thorne go.’
Her path blocked, Georgia Thorne looked at the car in front of her with displeasure. When she saw the license plate, her first instinct was to walk away.
Unfortunately, with the dead weight of a drunken Nancy Hughes, walking away was easier said than done.
Owen Sawyer resignedly got out of the car, walked up to Georgia Thorne, and said respectfully, "Miss Thorne, our boss requests you get in the car."
The car’s windows were tinted, making it impossible to see the man inside.
Georgia Thorne averted her gaze and refused coolly, "No, thank you. We can get back on our own."
Georgia Thorne tried to help Nancy Hughes walk past, but Owen Sawyer also took a step to the side, deliberately blocking her path.
Remembering the simmering anger of Elliot Sheridan inside the car, Owen Sawyer knew he had to stop Georgia Thorne, no matter what.
"Miss Thorne, I’m just following orders. Please don’t make things difficult for me!" In his haste, Owen Sawyer’s tone grew more anxious than usual; he was practically ready to kneel before her.
Georgia Thorne looked at him. "That’s your problem, Secretary Sawyer. If there’s nothing else, please excuse me."
There was no way Georgia Thorne was getting into Elliot Sheridan’s car. She supported Nancy Hughes and prepared to leave.
Owen Sawyer had no choice. He grabbed Nancy Hughes’s wrist. "My apologies!"
Owen Sawyer was a man, after all, and much stronger than a woman.
With a firm pull on her wrist, he forcibly yanked Nancy Hughes off of Georgia Thorne and into his arms.
Nancy Hughes let out a grunt, her delicate brows knitting in discomfort, but that was all.
He single-handedly pulled the dizzy Nancy Hughes and pushed her into the front passenger seat, the entire motion swift and seamless.
Finally, he shut the door, turned to Georgia Thorne, and asked, "Miss Thorne, are you willing to get in the car now?"
Georgia Thorne only felt the weight lift from her shoulder. Before she could even react, she had witnessed the entire process of Nancy Hughes being put in the car.
She took a deep breath. "Secretary Sawyer, you..." ’How could you do this!’
"Miss Thorne, if you don’t get in, we can’t guarantee where your friend will be spending the night."
Georgia Thorne’s eyes widened as she glared furiously at Owen Sawyer. ’Like master, like man.’
"Miss Thorne, if you please!" Owen Sawyer said, flashing a placating smile as he opened the car door.
He sighed internally. ’Ah, life is hard, but being Elliot Sheridan’s secretary is even harder.’
Inside the car sat Elliot Sheridan, looking different from the stern man she’d seen in the private room.
His black tie was hanging loosely around his neck, and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his sexy collarbone.
His short black hair fell naturally, shielding his sharp eyes.
This man had always been handsome. Honed by more than a decade in the business world, he possessed a mature and steady presence that ordinary men couldn’t hope to match.
A perfect family background, outstanding abilities, and a face handsome enough to make the heavens jealous—it was no wonder the women of Portmire flocked to him.
’But what exactly does he mean by this now? One moment, he’s ignoring me in the private room; the next, he’s forcing me into his car.’
Reluctantly, she got in, keeping her distance from him.
The car was dead silent. Georgia Thorne turned her head to look out the window.
The car suddenly made a sharp right turn, and Georgia Thorne’s body was thrown uncontrollably to the left, directly into the man.
Her hair fell across her face, fanning out like an alluring black flower on Elliot Sheridan’s thigh. The silky strands brushed against his wrist, soft and smooth.
The sensation couldn’t help but remind him of the times he’d made love with Georgia Thorne.
In a fluster, she pushed against his body with both hands, trying to sit up.
As she pushed, she noticed something important.
Her wide, clear eyes trembled violently as she looked up at the man before her.
This small incident on the road had made the atmosphere in the car ambiguous.
There were no further incidents, and they drove the rest of the way to Georgia Thorne’s apartment building in silence.
Without a single word of thanks, she got straight out of the car.
She opened the front door and helped Nancy Hughes out of the car.
Georgia Thorne had at least thought Elliot Sheridan might try to stop her, to say a word or two.
But by the time she was inside the apartment building, he still hadn’t come after her.
’It’s even more baffling. Did he just want to give me a ride home?’
Remembering what had happened in the car, Georgia Thorne’s thoughts were a tangled mess.
She forcefully splashed cold water on her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The blush on her cheeks was still there.
’Georgia Thorne, get a grip. He’s clearly just messing with you!’
’Besides, he has Nathan Rhodes waiting in the wings.’
「Monday.」
Nicole Kane took her to a meeting.
There were twelve people in total going to Akashima for the training event.
Georgia Thorne glanced around; it was about half men and half women.
The company had arranged the tickets. Georgia Thorne took a look; the flight was on the last day of the month.
Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
For the next few days, Georgia Thorne completely buried herself in her work.
After two weeks of constantly running around for work, Georgia Thorne had lost a good seven or eight pounds.
Every time Nancy Hughes saw her, she would cluck her tongue, partly envious that Georgia Thorne had lost weight, and partly heartbroken for her.
Recently, Leah had been staying at their apartment, sleeping with Lynn Thorne, so Georgia had to squeeze into one bed with Nancy Hughes.
After turning off the lights, the two friends would either close their eyes to sleep or chat.
Nancy Hughes later found out that it was Elliot Sheridan who had driven them home after the company dinner, and she couldn’t understand his intentions either.
’It seems so obvious that Elliot Sheridan is interested in Georgia, so why didn’t he try to stop her?’
Georgia Thorne was a softy; if Elliot Sheridan would just soften his attitude and say a few nice words, they’d get back together in a heartbeat.
Nancy Hughes sighed. "Look at you, losing so much weight you look like a different person just because of a broken heart. Is he really worth it?"
Georgia Thorne didn’t say anything, so Nancy Hughes continued, "Elliot Sheridan is a once-in-a-lifetime catch. There are plenty of women eyeing him like a hawk. Look, the moment you two broke up, didn’t that Nathan Rhodes guy just stick to him!"
"I’m telling you, don’t be heartbroken over him anymore. What’s yours will be yours. If it’s not, you can’t have it no matter how hard you fight for it!"
