Chapter 171: Chapter 169: He Has Always Been a Man Who Moves My Heart (9)

As it turned out, Jean Grant didn’t say any more.

Money really was a wonderful thing. Once you had it, you never wanted to go back to being poor.

Mrs. Marshall slipped back into her room and looked in the mirror. She noticed how radiant she’d been looking lately and couldn’t help but break into a smile.

While watching TV earlier that evening, she had asked her son if he used contraception when he had sex. His answer had left her quite satisfied—they hadn’t done it at all since getting married. It was also possible that Jean Grant, in her inexperience, hadn’t even considered the issue.

Even if her son didn’t like Jean, Mrs. Marshall felt it would be better if they had a child. It would be the best way to control Jean Grant, because a child is a mother’s treasure, and no woman would give one up unless she had absolutely no other choice.

Recently, a few of her mahjong partners had taught her to read better and use the internet. She’d met a few men online she enjoyed chatting with, and Mrs. Marshall found it all incredibly new and exciting. She had been barely literate before and certainly didn’t know how to go online. Only now was she discovering how interesting life could be. As long as you had money, you could have anything.

Ever since Herman Hawthorne rejected her, Jasmine Walsh had spent all her time trying to think of a foolproof plan to seduce him, but none had ever succeeded.

This time, with Herman taking a few team members abroad, Jasmine instantly felt another opportunity had arrived.

On the private jet, she deliberately sat down next to Herman, but a single glare from him frightened her so much she immediately stood back up.

’Even getting near him is a problem,’ Jasmine thought. ’I should try playing dumb and making small mistakes on purpose to get his attention. After all, I’ve had a crush on him for years, and he still has no idea. I need to learn some tricks from romance novels.’

So, after arriving in Morovia and checking into the hotel, Jasmine deliberately messed up the tasks Herman assigned her, or pretended she hadn’t heard his orders. The result? After three such incidents, Herman summoned her to his room.

Jasmine sat before him, her gaze feverish.

"Do you know why I called you in here?"

Jasmine shook her head. "I don’t, Boss. I know I haven’t been performing well these past few days. I didn’t do it on purpose."

Herman scoffed. "I don’t know whether it was on purpose or not, but it’s a fact that your performance has been demonstrably poor. So, when we get back, pack your things. You’re returning to the military academy."

Jasmine was stunned. "Boss, why? People make mistakes! I swear it won’t happen again."

"And how do you know you won’t make the same kind of elementary mistake next time?"

"Because I won’t do it on purpose next time," she blurted out. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"So, you were doing it on purpose." Herman’s eyes turned cold. "All the more reason I can’t keep you. I remember warning you. You didn’t listen."

Jasmine looked like she was about to cry. "Boss, I won’t do it again! Please, just give me one more chance, won’t you? Think of the hellish training I went through just to stay by your side. I don’t want to leave."

"If you went through so much hardship, why wouldn’t you treasure this opportunity? Why do this on purpose?"

"Boss, I won’t, I swear. Just give me one more chance. I really mean it."

Herman looked at her. "There’s pen and paper on the table. Write me a formal pledge. This is your only warning. If there’s a next time, I’ll have you kicked out, and that’s final."

Jasmine nodded frantically. "Okay, okay."

As she left his room, she felt like she’d just shot herself in the foot. ’The boss has a heart of stone,’ she thought. ’How could I ever hope to soften him up?’

She returned to her room, sullen. Shea Rhodes was there and looked at her. "So, the boss found out what you were up to?"

Jasmine nodded. "Yeah. What kind of woman do you think the boss is even into?"

Shea paused to think. "Once, I saw a really innocent-looking girl go into his room. She was in there for a long time. My guess is the boss likes the pure, innocent type."

"What? When did that happen?" Jasmine was furious. She’d been chasing him for ages and hadn’t even made it into his bed, yet some other woman had already managed it.

Shea looked at her. "Jasmine, stop being so delusional. A man like the boss is never going to be interested in you. Your personality isn’t his type."

Jasmine snorted. "What, so he likes Nora Ainsworth’s type?"

Shea replied with a steady gaze. "I don’t know whether he likes Nora’s type or not, but Jasmine, I’m certain the boss doesn’t like your type. Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. I really think that if you changed your personality, things might turn around for you."

Jasmine’s mind raced. ’I’ve been this way since I was a kid. Can I really change?’

"But don’t you want nothing more than to be with the boss? You’ve held on for years. Shouldn’t changing your personality for him be easy?"

Jasmine fell silent, deep in thought. She sat dejectedly on the edge of the bed. "A leopard can’t change its spots. Do you really think I can change? I don’t think I can."

Shea tried to comfort her. "Just give it some serious thought."

"I asked you a minute ago, who was that woman in the boss’s room? Hurry up and tell me."

Seeing her impatience, Shea said, "Don’t do anything rash. Just think, if you act impulsively again and the boss finds out, he really will send you back to the academy."

"In that case, you’d better not tell me," Jasmine finally said, gritting her teeth.

Shea watched her for a moment, then lowered her head, her thoughts a mystery.

After breakfast, Nora Ainsworth went to the makeup room. Sure enough, yesterday’s male makeup artist was doing Madam Shaw’s makeup, while Nora was stuck with a female artist who looked thoroughly unwilling to be there.

Nora knew that no matter what kind of attitude Madam Shaw gave the makeup artists, she would still tip well. But as a newcomer, Nora was probably seen as unprofitable.

She sat down in front of the mirror and said to the disgruntled woman, "You can take a break. I’ll do my own makeup."

She picked up some skin cream and applied it to her face, followed by primer and liquid foundation, finishing with pressed powder. Then, picking up an eyebrow pencil, she filled in her brows while looking in the mirror. She put on false eyelashes, created a smoky eye with mascara, and effortlessly finished the look with blush and lipstick.

The result was stunning.

She picked up a pair of earrings from the table and put them on.

She stood up and gave her long hair a flirtatious toss. With a final, confident glance at the makeup artist, Nora Ainsworth strode out of the room in her high heels.

The makeup artist looked as if she’d been slapped across the face. Nora’s makeup, which she had done herself, looked better than anything the artist could have produced. What did that say about her professional skills?

When Nora arrived on set, Ethan Ellsworth was already there waiting.

Holding his script, he said, "Nora, let’s run through the scene."

Nora picked up her own script and flipped through it. "Alright."

They had a kissing scene to film today—an accidental one. The thought made Nora smile. "Ethan, we know each other so well, we’re definitely going to break character and start laughing."

Ethan’s eyes crinkled in a smile. "I don’t mind if we laugh. I’m more worried someone’s going to get jealous and murder me."