She Took The House The Car And My Heart

Chapter 209

Chapter 209 Melvin Had A Thing For Freya

Gerard had one plain thought spinning in his mind.

No matter how much heartbreak Melvin might be carrying from a breakup, he'd never let it tip onto his face

Working with a heart that's not in the right place is no easy feat, and even the tiniest hiccup can push someste

over the edge.

Back when his grandfather passed, Gerard couldn't keep it together at work. When Kristian found out, be

stretched Gerard's three-day bereavement leave into a full month without question

That was the reason Gerard had always stayed loyal to Kristian.

Besides being a little clueless when it cto love, Kristian was sharp and reliable in every other way-or ar least

that's how Gerard saw him.

At first, Freya hadn't given the matter much thought.

But Gerard's words had been far too pointed to brush aside.

"Ms. Briggs, are you still there?" Gerard asked, his voice gently prodding after a long silence-

"Are you sure what you said is true?" Freya asked, her brows knitting together just slightly.

"Yes. I'm sure."

"Did you cause it?"

Gerard was too stunned to form a single word. His face was a picture of confusion. What exactly did she think

he caused?

His silence read like guilt to Freya. She pinched the bridge of her nose and, in a tone muddled with emotions,

murmured, "I see."

"Thank you, Ms. Briggs." Gerard didn't give the conversation much more thought after her reply. "If you need to

make adjustments to the salary, just letknow."

"That's not necessary." Freya wasn't even sure how she felt at that moment.

After hanging up, she sat there, mulling over how to bring the matter up with Melvin

She had been curious-but she never imagined Melvin would pay such a steep price.

More than anything, Gerard just didn't strike her as that kind of person

Melvin had noticed that since Freya ended the call, she'd barely touched her food, fork in hand, completely lost

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Beading the conversation, vegantly placed a gass of water in front of her. "Was that Gerard on the phone

44 he bay?"

Freys passed mid bite, and her calm eyes flickered with a tangle of emotions.

to wonder Melvin had been so reluctant to talk about it earlier. If she were in his shoes, she wouldn't have

wanted to talk about it either

"Nothing much she knew Melvin got embarrassed easily. He coff cold and aloof, but when it cto

romance, he was honestly pretty clueless. “He just asked if you'd cback to work"

Briggs

"Do 1 seem naive to you?"

"Not at all." Freya gave him a genuine compliment. "You're smart."

"Then why did you lie to me?" Melvin's voice suddenly shifted-low, edged with hurt. "You two were on the phone

for ages, that couldn't have been just a simple chat."

What bothered him most was that he hadn't heard what Gerard said, but he had seen Freya's expression

change.

Freya was at a loss for words. How was she supposed to respond to that?

Melvin was completely in the dark. What on earth had Gerard told Freya? Why did she look like that afterward?

"He said you hit a rough patch in your relationship," Freya gave him a half-truth. "And askedto lighten your

workload a bit."

She left out the part about Gerard's offer to cover his salary. After all, she didn't need him to pay for it.

Melvin thought back to the he he had fed Gerard the night before. He figured Gerard was still as gullible as ever,

unable to tell a fib from the truth.

"Don't worry about him. I'm fine." Melvin decided it was the had a talk with Gerard himself. "You go and eat.

I'll talk to him."

ahead

"Alright." Freya nodded softly.

Melvin walked toward the door.

Freya hesitated for a beat before calling out, "Melvin."

He turned, his expression open.

"In the future, you don't have to go to such lengths. Your well-being means more than any news report." Freya

had been wrestling with how to say it without adding

to his burden. "If you ever need a break, just say the word,"

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Chapter 209 Melvin Fred A Thang Forfreys

Melvin paused, barely hearing anything after, "Your well being means more than any news'

He didn't linger on it. "Okay," he said simply

Then he stepped out, ready to set things straight with Gerard

Freya suddenly had no appetite at all. She never imagined something like this conds until wont for Jo

alone involve her own assistant.

The more she thought about it, the more unreal it all felt.

Meanwhile, Melvin called Gerard.

As soon as the call connected, even before Gerard could speak, Melvin's dear, even voice cthrough led to

you last night. | didn't actually go through a breakup."

Gerard blinked, baffled.

"I made it up so you'd tellwhat Kristian Shaw and my boss's grandpa about."

Melvin was blunt, even offering a quick apology. "Sorry about that.”

"Hold up." Gerard caught the important part right away.

Melvin didn't say a word.

Gerard was fully alert now, adjusting his glasses. "Did you just say 'my boss' grandpa? Isn't Ms. Briggs your

director supervisor?"

Sure, Freya was likely successor to the Briggs Group, but she hadn't officially taken over yet, so technically, she

was a higher-up-not the actual boss. Melvin was at a loss for words, realizing he had slipped.

"I remember you tellingyour boss took a two-year break and just cback

to work. Gerard's instincts were sharp. "Was the boss you talked about all this tactually Freya Briggs?"

All he knew was that Melvin worked for stop-tier company, but the nhad never cup-not once.

And he was pretty sure it wasn't Briggs Group.

"No." Melvin was as smooth as ever. "My former boss went on another leave. Now

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I'm working part-tas Freya's assistant. She's my current supervisor. | only report to her-not the company

itself."

Gerard's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't adding up.

Melvin had called her "my boss" too naturally just now. The tone matched the way he always talked about her.

And more importantly, when Gerard had said Freya was selite hacker, Melvin had said the sa own boss.

When Gerard praised her fighting skills, Melvin said his boss could take on ten of him. that be a coincidence? It

was starting to sound like Melvin had been talking about Freya all along.

bout his #could

"Then why don't you just take toff like before?" Gerard asked.

"There are still sloose ends at the office. | need to wrap things up before stepping away." Melvin's words

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Chapter 209 Melvin Had A Thing For Freya

were airtight.

"How did you meet Ms. Briggs?"

Melvin didn't answer. He wasn't planning to. Was Gerard ever going to let it go?

Gerard was nearly certain. "Ms. Briggs is your boss all along, isn't she?

"You've got it wrong."

"That's impossible!"

"I've got things to do. Gotta go now. You'll never guess who my boss really is.

Melvin out the call night then, giving Gerard no tto dig further.

If they kept talking, Freya's identity would be out in the open.

Gerard stared at his phone, dumbfounded.

He had been seventy percent sure it was Freya. But the way Melvin handled the call-so calm and sudden- made

him question everything again.

Now he was only twenty percent sure. Had he gotten it all wrong? Then why was Melvin working part-tfor

her? Didn't his job pay well enough already? And all of a sudden, a light bulb went off in Gerard's head, eyes

widening in

disbelief. Could it be... Melvin had a thing for Freya?

Once that idea planted itself, it took over completely.