?Chapter 238:


    Early in the morning, while in the bathroom, Eileen looked at the marks on her neck and began contemting what to wear. She was in a dilemma. The lingering heat made choosing an outfit to cover the marks tricky since she couldn’t wear much.


    Meanwhile, Bryan acted as if nothing was wrong, preparing breakfast for her. Despite her frustration, Eileen was determined not to skip a meal. She nned to eat first and pick her attire afterward. Bryan took a call from Denzel and rushed out, skipping his breakfast.


    Left alone in the apartment, Eileen hastened her eating pace. Suddenly, the doorbell chimed. Eileen stood up and hurried to the door, saying, “Why are you back so soon? Did you—”


    Her sentence was cut short when she saw Ste standing outside the door.


    Ste’s eyes lit up upon seeing Eileen. “This brat actually lives here! I’ve been searching for him for ages.”


    Eileen was only wearing one of Bryan’s shirts, which did little to hide the marks on her neck. Besides, the shirt barely reached her thighs, making it quite inappropriate for her to meet Ste looking like this. She moved aside ufortably and said, “Mrs. Dawson, pleasee in.”


    “Are you having breakfast?” Ste peeked toward the dining room and said, “I’m a bit early. Did I interrupt?”


    Eileen shook her head and responded, “No, not at all. Have you had breakfast?”


    Ste nodded and replied, “Yes. Go ahead and continue to eat your food. Don’t mind me. I just thought I could stop by.”


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    As they talked, Eileen noticed two crumpled pieces of clothing in the living room. She quickly gathered them up and tucked them under a pillow.


    With a flush of embarrassment, she said, “Bryan’s not here.”


    “It doesn’t matter. I didn’te here to see him anyway,” Ste responded nonchntly.


    If Ste wasn’t here for Bryan, then why was she here? Eileen wondered if Ste was here to see her. She felt a bit uneasy. “I have some work to take care ofter.”


    “That’s okay. I just came to check on you. I’m quite exhausted from the trip. Could I rest here for a bit before I leave?” Ste asked.


    Eileen nodded. “Of course.”


    Returning to the table, she quickly finished eating. Then, she cleared the dining area and encouraged Ste to rx. She told Ste to reach out to either her or Bryan if she needed anything.


    “Go ahead and do your work. I’ll give you a call if anythinges up.” Ste’s smile broadened as she watched Eileen leave, even more so than when she had arrived.


    When the elevator doors opened, Eileen stepped inside. She felt that something was amiss about Ste’s demeanor, but she brushed it off.


    She quickly headed to the education agency with Bailee. Back at Bryan’s ce, Ste made her way to the master bedroom. Theforter was in disarray on the huge double bed, with one pillow on either side of the bed.


    Ste nced around, walked over to the nightstand, and opened it to find it filled with new packs of condoms. Stunned for a moment, Ste’s expression then shifted. A needle gleamed in the sunlight as she held it.


    With a wicked grin, she stabbed at the packs of condoms. “Great-grandchild, this is as far as I could help you. The rest is up to you—make your way to your mom as soon as possible,” she muttered.


    After squatting for a while to stab at the condoms, Ste was satisfied.


    Meanwhile, Eileen apanied Bailee to the educational agency. It was her first time visiting the branch in Onnd. The receptionist, a young woman around 25, immediately stood up upon seeing Bailee. She then greeted Bailee and gave Eileen a polite nod and smile, not recognizing her.


    “This is…” Bailee began, intending to introduce Eileen. But before Bailee could finish, Eileen quickly interjected, “Just call me Ms. Curtis.”


    The receptionist promptly responded, “Okay, Ms. Curtis.”


    In addition to the receptionist, there were also two technical staff present, responsible for handling software issues rted to the online courses.


    Bailee had hired some teachers, yet the agency was still short of the number required for the uingrge-scale program. Bailee quickly introduced Eileen to the others and moved on to organizing the interviews.


    The interviews started at 9:30 AM. Each of the more than twenty candidates had ten minutes. By noon, the interviews concluded, and Eileen had chosen fifteen teachers.


    Eight of them were ready to start teaching immediately, four would function as online tutors, and three were appointed as temporary teaching assistants.


    “Eileen, I n to have them sign their employment contracts tomorrow at work. Do you have any particr suggestions for the contract details?” Bailee mentioned this topic during lunch. Eileen, while eating, said, “I’d like to hear your thoughts first.”


    Bailee pondered briefly before saying, “They’ll receive eighty percent of their sry during the initial three-month probation. Once they formally join the agency, we’ll cover their full insurance. After three months, they’ll receive bonuses…” What she said covered all the benefits, which were clearly stated in the contract.


    Eileen said, “ording to the contract, the eight lead teachers should be tied to a three-yearmitment. The four online tutors should have a two-year term, and the assistant teachers will have one-year contracts.”


    Upon hearing that, Bailee expressed her concern, saying, “Isn’t a three-yearmitment too long?”


    “Our goal is to establish a stable teaching environment. Frequent changes in faculty won’t be good for our agency.” Eileen’s idea was focused on the long-term interests of the educational agency.


    This didn’t mean she didn’t care about the students’ feelings. After all, the benefits Bailee had mentioned were already quite generous.


    “Eileen, you’ve really considered everything,” Bailee said, enlightened by Eileen’s words.


    In the afternoon, they delved into the online course details. Eileen appointed one of the four online tutors as the head of online teaching.


    Donnelly Garcia will oversee the online courses. His experience as a former online instructor makes him exceptionally qualified. The one-on-one tutors will be chosen from our top eight teachers.


    At six o’clock in the afternoon, after finalizing the details with Bailee, Eileen left the education agency. As the hosts of the business event, Bryan and Denzel were tied up with responsibilities, leaving Eileen to go there by herself. Bryan had selected a dress for Eileen ahead of time. Eileen’s natural beauty meant she needed no makeup.


    Raymond arrived to drive Eileen to the event as soon as she was dressed. “Ms. Curtis,” Raymond opened the car door for Eileen. She thanked him and climbed in. Once inside the car, she started texting Phoebe.


    Phoebe was still in West Land. Jacob was also there, dealing with some unfinished work. Since Eileen and Bryan had left West Land, Jacob had been clinging to Phoebe, who often shared her frustrations about Jacob with Eileen.


    “Everything’s stable at the education agency, but I just can’t stand Jacob anymore. I need to get away from him soon!” Eileen responded with a voice message. “Escaping won’t fix anything because you’ll eventually have to face these issues. You’re not getting any younger. How long can you keep running away from your problems?”


    “That’s easy for you to say, Eileen! Bryan abandoned Vivian and Z for you, cutting ties with his own father to be with you. This is nothingpared to him! He surrounds himself with others yet bothers me all day saying he loves me—shameless!”


    In the car, Phoebe’s voice message filled the space, causing Eileen to squirm slightly in her seat. Phoebe then bombarded Eileen with more voice messages, which Eileen didn’t y this time, opting to convert them into words to read instead.


    The messages were filled with harsh words for Jacob. It was at this moment Eileen realized something: she hadn’t yet cut ties with Megan.


    After a moment of thought, Eileen sent a message to Jacob. “People are different.”


    Jacob was nning to go see Phoebe when he received the message. He pondered Eileen’s words for a long while.


    The business banquet started at six in the evening, and Eileen arrived ten minuteste. “It’s alright. Mr. Dawson mentioned that you are part of the circle now; you can arrive anytime, and there’s no need to worry about beingte,” Raymond said.


    After parking, he stepped out of the car and opened the door for Eileen. He continued, “Besides, that dy was my oversight. I didn’t realize the route I chose was congested.” Eileen exited the car and smiled reassuringly at Raymond. “It’s fine. I’m not in any rush. You can go on with your duties.”


    It was already dark outside, and the hotel entrance was brightly illuminated. Eileen quickly approached the entrance.


    She entered the hotel lobby. A waiter promptly came to show her the way. The entire third floor was dedicated to business dealings. Bryan was notably adept atworking, particrly now that his rtionship with Brandon had improved.


    The area was bustling. As Eileen exited the elevator, she immediately noticed how crowded the ce was. “Thank you, I can manage on my own from here,” she said to the waiter.


    The elevator doors opened directly opposite two borately carved wooden doors. Clustered near the entrance were some men in suits and elegantly dressed women. Eileen proceeded into the hall.


    She overheard a man and a woman speaking in hushed tones. The man nced her way and said, “See, that woman doesn’t seem like she belongs in the business world. She’s probably also here for Bryan. So why can’t you be here without knowing much about business?”


    “I just think you shouldn’t have brought me here. Even if your goal is to let me meet Bryan, I’d prefer a different approach. With so many women around, I can barely get near him. It feels like a waste of time!” the woman said.


    “That’s true. It’s all these women’s fault. Why are they even at this business banquet anyway?” the man grumbled.


    Eileen had never met them before. They were likely among the people who had gotten rich recently in Onnd. Theirments caused Eileen to frown slightly.


    She approached the banquet hall door, feeling a bit overwhelmed upon seeing the people inside the hall. The men’s suits were uniformly ck, white, or gray—simple and monotonous. And there were many men there. The women’s attire was all vibrant, each in stunning fashion.


    The room was filled with the scent of perfumes the women wore. Standing in the crowd, Eileen stood out; with no makeup and her ssic-style evening dress, she looked strikingly beautiful.


    Not far from her, Kian looked at her coldly. He leaned closer to the woman in ck beside him and said, “Miss Ferguson, that’s Eileen Curtis.”


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