Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Jessica Keller Is Just a Smokescreen

Cecilia Croft was so disgusted by Jude Sheridan that she’d lost her appetite. She waited for Big Mason to finish his meal, then asked Assistant Zimmer to set up a workstation for him before returning to her own office.

She continued reviewing suspicious contracts in the system, flagging any that seemed questionable. She planned to report the matter to Sebastian Hawthorne later.

After all, she was working for Sebastian Hawthorne now. When a problem like this arose in the company, she had a duty to report it promptly.

Jude Sheridan had been very discreet. Or perhaps six months had only been enough time for him to pull off one scheme. The notes on the subsequent contracts showed no issues.

However, some of the contract projects still had some issues.

Cecilia Croft noted down all these contracts and projects separately. Just as she put down her pen, there was a knock at the door.

She casually slipped the notebook into her drawer.

"Come in."

Big Mason walked in, carrying a food container with a smile on his face.

"President Croft, Mr. Hawthorne heard you didn’t have lunch, so he ordered some food for you. Please, have something to eat."

Cecilia Croft stared at the meal placed on her desk, stunned for a moment before asking.

"You told him?"

Big Mason nodded and said in a low voice, "I just mentioned it in passing while I was reporting to Mr. Hawthorne."

Cecilia Croft had no intention of blaming Big Mason. After all, he was Sebastian Hawthorne’s man.

The office area on her floor was still empty.

All her future staff would be personnel assigned by Sebastian Hawthorne.

Plus, with Jude Sheridan’s constant pestering, Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t trust her completely, which Cecilia Croft could understand.

"I understand. You can get back to your work."

Cecilia Croft took the food container and opened it. The dishes inside were all her favorites.

A flash of astonishment crossed her eyes. ’I can’t believe Sebastian Hawthorne knows my preferences so well.’

But she quickly dismissed it as a coincidence, and her mood settled.

Still, her big boss had sent her food, and a thank you was definitely in order.

Cecilia Croft took all the containers out of the delivery bag, arranged them neatly, took a photo, and opened her chat with Sebastian Hawthorne to send him a message.

[Thank you for the meal, Mr. Hawthorne. I’ll work twice as hard to complete the tasks you’ve assigned as soon as possible.]

Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t reply.

Cecilia Croft added another message.

[There’s a bit of a problem with Vantage’s finances. And I suspect Jude Sheridan might be embezzling company assets.]

Just as Cecilia Croft was about to send over the documents, Sebastian Hawthorne replied.

[I’m busy. Come to my house after work to discuss it.]

Cecilia Croft: [Okay.]

After she replied, she didn’t hear from Sebastian Hawthorne again. ’He must be really busy.’

Cecilia Croft put her phone away and focused on her meal.

After eating, she threw all her energy back into her work.

Assistant Zimmer had already investigated the representative of the clothing company Jude Sheridan invested in.

He sent all the information directly to her phone.

Cecilia Croft opened the chat and reviewed the files.

The legal representative of the clothing company Jude Sheridan had invested in was named Jasper Willowby. When Cecilia Croft opened his photo, she found him vaguely familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

Then, Assistant Zimmer sent over another picture.

The woman in the photo had her hair in a bun and a sweet, lovely smile.

When Cecilia Croft saw this photo, she froze for a second, her hand tightening around her phone.

She knew this woman.

Lynn Willowby.

Her and Jude Sheridan’s high school classmate.

Cecilia Croft had transferred back to Silvercrest when she was seventeen.

Her first deskmate had been Lynn Willowby.

Back when she first returned to Silvercrest, her parents’ marriage was falling apart. She was also in a bad emotional state, so she had no interest in making friends and kept to herself.

Lynn Willowby, on the other hand, was her complete opposite.

She was lively and practically the darling of the class.

She and Jude Sheridan had been classmates since middle school and were very close.

Since they were deskmates, over time, Cecilia Croft grew close to her as well.

Jude Sheridan confessed his feelings to Cecilia Croft for the first time during the second semester of their junior year of high school.

At the time, Cecilia Croft had no interest in dating, so she turned him down.

Later, after graduating from high school, Jude Sheridan asked Lynn Willowby to find out which university she planned to attend.

Her mother’s health was failing at the time, so she needed to stay in Silvercrest. Because of that, Jude Sheridan applied to the same university and also chose to remain in the city. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Lynn Willowby, however, went to the far north, and their contact gradually dwindled.

When she was twenty, Jude Sheridan confessed his feelings to her again.

Three years had passed since his first confession.

Her mother passed away from illness on a dusky evening, leaving her a savings passbook with hundreds of thousands inside.

This was the seed money for Vantage.

Even though she hadn’t yet accepted Jude Sheridan’s confession, he still volunteered to help out at the company she had just founded.

Starting a business as a university student, with no connections or background, was incredibly difficult.

Jude Sheridan worked very hard, and after six months, the company began to see some success.

Cecilia Croft knew about Jude Sheridan’s family situation, so she gave him all the profits from those six months.

But Jude Sheridan didn’t take the money. Instead, he used the profits to invest in Vantage and become business partners with Cecilia Croft.

He was so sincere, and he only had eyes for her. For the first time, Cecilia Croft was moved.

Lynn Willowby, who hadn’t contacted her in a long time, also sent her a message around then.

She said, "Cecilia, true sincerity is rare. Jude Sheridan has been quietly in love with you for three years."

She said that she also had someone she’d loved for many years and knew better than anyone the pain of loving someone you couldn’t be with, so she hoped Cecilia would give Jude a chance.

She said, "Cecilia, you named the company ’Vantage.’ Isn’t that revealing? Deep down, you must like him a little, too."

Between her friend’s persuasion and Jude Sheridan’s fervent pursuit, she gradually gave in.

At the end of that year, she agreed to be with Jude Sheridan.

Now, she could hardly recall the look in Jude Sheridan’s eyes, filled with tears of joy, when she first agreed to date him. What she remembered with perfect clarity, however, was the true reason she had named the company Vantage.

Because the goal felt so far away, she needed every possible advantage to strive for it.

Cecilia Croft pulled her thoughts back from her memories. She searched through her contacts for a long time before finally finding Lynn Willowby’s number.

She tapped her profile to view her feed.

But a single horizontal line appeared.

She had been blocked.

Just six months ago, when she sent Lynn Willowby a wedding invitation, she could still see her feed.

Back then, Lynn Willowby had even chatted with her for a while.

She’d said that she had also gotten together with the man she had loved for years.

Cecilia Croft had even congratulated her.

’Looking at it now, the man she’d loved for years was probably Jude Sheridan.’

Cecilia Croft stared silently at her contact information.

Assistant Zimmer sent a message, asking.

[President Croft, what should we do next?]

Cecilia Croft’s eyes grew cold. She tapped her right hand on the desk, one beat at a time. Holding her phone in her left hand, she pressed and held the voice message button and spoke.

"You focus on your own work for now."

"As for them... I’ll deal with them personally."

’Jessica Keller was probably just a smokescreen Jude Sheridan used to hide Lynn Willowby.’