My Clingy CEO Husband

### Chapter 34: Is Director Rhodes Jealous Again?

Ethan Hawthorne listened quietly, his gaze shifting slightly when he heard the part about hiding one’s wounds.

He replied in earnest, "Miss Summers, I understand your concerns, and I thank you for telling me this."

"Rest assured, I, Ethan Hawthorne, never go back on my promises. It is my responsibility to respect and protect you. As for everything else," he paused, his tone inscrutable yet sincere, "time will prove all things."

Susie Summers stared intently into his eyes, trying to gauge the true meaning behind his words.

Five seconds later, the fierce aura around her suddenly vanished. She leaned back slowly into the chair, scooped a large spoonful of tiramisu into her mouth, and a sweet, harmless smile instantly blossomed on her face. "That’s for the best. The dessert here is delicious. I’m already looking forward to next time!"

Twilight deepened, and the streetlights outside the car window blurred into a flowing river of light.

Inside the car, Maxine Rhodes gazed at the rapidly receding streetscape and couldn’t help but ask, "What did Susie say while I was out taking that call?"

Ethan Hawthorne glanced at Maxine Rhodes, his tone gentle. "She said it’s great to have a friend like you."

... 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

「Two days later, on Monday morning, outside the President’s office at The Sterlings.」

Rose Joyce sat primly behind the solid wood secretary’s desk just outside the President’s office. Her tight, hip-hugging skirt deliberately accentuated her curves. In front of her sat a gold-stamped business card holder and a dedicated internal phone line, her posture radiating an irrepressible, triumphant smugness.

When Maxine Rhodes approached with a file, Rose Joyce immediately looked up, the corners of her lips curling. "Maxine, good morning! Here to see Benjamin? Just a moment, let me ask for you~"

Her voice was gentle, but it carried an undeniable subtext: she was the gatekeeper now.

"Secretary Joyce," Maxine Rhodes said, stopping in front of her with a placid expression, "then I’ll trouble you to inform President Sterling that this urgent file requires his immediate signature."

"Of course, one moment." Rose Joyce unhurriedly picked up the receiver. Once connected, her voice jumped up an octave in sweetness. "Benjamin, Maxine has a file that needs your signature. Is it a good time for her to come in?"

This simple inquiry sent a thrill of pleasure through Rose Joyce. ’The great Maxine Rhodes, always so high and mighty she wouldn’t even deign to look my way... and now she has to stand there and wait obediently for me to deign to announce her? Perfect.’

Only after permission was granted did Maxine Rhodes walk into the office. She placed the file on Benjamin Sterling’s desk.

"President Sterling, your signature." Her words were terse.

He didn’t look at the file right away. Leaning back in his chair, he folded his hands on the desk and said in a tone that suggested he saw through everything, "Maxine, I know having Rose here makes you uncomfortable. But there’s no need to look so sour..."

Maxine Rhodes cut him off, her voice laced with impatience. "President Sterling, please look at the file first. The other party is waiting for my final confirmation. If this project runs into trouble because of an internal delay, neither of us can afford to take that responsibility."

The more professional and impatient she acted, the more it confirmed Benjamin Sterling’s suspicion. ’She’s panicking.’

’She’s afraid Rose Joyce’s presence will truly affect her position in the company and on the project, so she’s panicking. She’s trying to use work and responsibility to pressure me, to win back my attention.’

Just then, Rose Joyce walked in carrying a cup of coffee, her voice syrupy sweet. "Benjamin, here’s your coffee. I added an extra sugar cube, just how you like it."

She placed the cup by Benjamin Sterling’s hand, shot a provocative glance at Maxine Rhodes, and then walked out.

Maxine Rhodes’s brow furrowed for a moment—not because of the coffee, but because she felt these two were hindering the efficiency of her project.

She tapped the file on the desk again. "President Sterling!"

To Benjamin Sterling, her subtle frown and insistent tone were clear signs of jealousy and impatience.

Benjamin Sterling confidently tossed out his conclusion: "Is Director Rhodes feeling jealous?"

Maxine Rhodes: "?"

She picked up a folder from Benjamin Sterling’s desk and—THWAP—stood it on its end right in front of him.

"President Sterling, look at this folder. Given your powers of comprehension, I’m guessing you think it’s standing up because it’s fallen in love with the pen holder next to it and is trying to get its attention, right?"

Benjamin Sterling: "What?"

Maxine Rhodes gave the folder a gentle push, and it fell flat. "But in reality, it was standing simply because it *could* stand. Just like I take on a project simply because I *can* get it done. Is such a simple concept really so hard to grasp that I need to explain it over and over?"

Benjamin Sterling stared, mouth agape, at the fallen folder, his brain practically short-circuiting.

Maxine Rhodes picked up the signed document, turned, and left. Back in her office, she looked at the file in her hand and smiled faintly.

’He thinks I’m fighting over him out of jealousy, but he has no idea his own delusions are the perfect smokescreen for me to sideline him.’

「In the breakroom that afternoon.」

Several female colleagues, each with their own agenda, were gathered around Rose Joyce, watching her show off the sparkling new necklace around her neck.

"Oh, Benjamin is just too much. I told him no, really, but he insisted on buying it for me. He said the secretary is the face of the company and can’t look shabby, so he made me wear it."

She sighed dramatically, her eyes darting toward Maxine Rhodes, who had just walked into the breakroom. "If you ask me, there’s no point in a woman being too ambitious. You just run yourself ragged and end up with no one to look after you. Unlike me. Benjamin told me all I have to do is look pretty every day to make him happy~ Isn’t that right, *Maxine*?"

She called her out by name, the provocation palpable. The entire breakroom fell silent in an instant. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the drama to unfold.

Maxine Rhodes acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing, continuing to operate the coffee machine. Only when the machine BEEPED, signaling the coffee was ready, did she pick up the white porcelain cup and slowly turn around.

Her gaze drifted lightly to the dazzling necklace, as if she were assessing an asset for valuation.

"Nice necklace," she said, her tone flat.

A triumphant smile had just begun to form on Rose Joyce’s face when Maxine Rhodes’s next words made it freeze solid.

"It seems President Sterling’s cash flow has been quite healthy lately, what with disposable income for non-essential purchases."

Rose Joyce was unfazed. "Is that just a case of sour grapes, Maxine? Then again, a powerful career woman like you probably never even gets the chance to receive gifts~"

Maxine Rhodes looked down, gently blowing on the steam rising from her coffee. "Secretary Joyce’s necklace... has reminded me of something, actually. The budget for phase two of the Apex project is still short five million. I’ll go get President Sterling’s signature for it this afternoon."

Rose Joyce’s expression changed. "What are you trying to say?"

She lifted her eyes to look at Rose Joyce. "After all, every single cent the company spends should ultimately be reflected in returns for its projects and employees. As for personal decorations... a necklace worth hundreds of thousands is fine to wear for fun, as long as it makes you happy. Just don’t forget that a secretary’s duty is to assist with official business, not to become an additional, unofficial expense."

With that, Maxine Rhodes took an elegant sip of her coffee and departed gracefully, leaving a room full of admiring onlookers.

The breakroom immediately erupted.

"Director Rhodes is so badass!"

"She elevated a personal grudge to a matter of company profit in a single sentence. What a power move!"

"The queen reigns supreme!"

"What bullshit is that?! Director Rhodes and President Sterling broke up ages ago. Our queen is thriving all on her own!"

Rose Joyce shot a vicious glare at her gossiping colleagues and stalked away resentfully in her high heels. A fire of humiliation burned in her chest. ’I swear I will get my revenge!’

*****