Chapter 735

"Wow, Marin, your house is absolutely stunning!"

Penelope suddenly shouted in an exaggerated tone, finally alerting the two in the kitchen to their presence.

A flash of guilt crossed Ellison Jeffries's face, but he quickly covered it with a charming smile and walked out to greet them.

"Honey, you're back." Ellison had flour on his hands, but he still leaned in to wrap an arm around Marin's waist. He then looked at Penelope. "And who is this?"

Before Marin could speak, Penelope jumped in with a bright grin.

"I'm Marin's biggest fan!"

Ellison gave Penelope an assessing look. Perhaps noticing her expensive clothes, he offered a slightly forced, polite welcome. "Welcome to our home. My wife rarely brings friends over."

"Really?" Penelope's eyes sparkled. "It means so much that Marin thinks so highly of me. I'm thrilled!"

Marin held back a laugh. "Ms. Laurier is too kind."

Just then, Lavinia stepped out of the kitchen. She was wearing loungewear and an apron, beaming with the radiant warmth of a hostess welcoming guests—especially since she was carrying a plate of freshly sliced fruit.

"Oh, we have a guest! Please, take a seat."

She set the fruit platter on the coffee table and motioned for Penelope, and even Marin, to sit down.

Marin frowned. She was about to speak when Ellison cut her off.

"Honey, you're in for a treat tonight. Lavinia's cooking is out of this world."

Marin scoffed softly, but before she could get a word out, Lavinia chimed in again.

"Marin, I made all of my signature dishes. You have to eat a lot, okay? Otherwise, all my hard work will be for nothing."

"She shopped for the groceries, prepped the ingredients, and cooked everything herself. She's been working hard all afternoon," Ellison added.

"Thankfully, Ellison got off work early to come home and help me, so we really made this dinner together."

This secretary was playing the innocent victim card a little too well. Marin clearly didn't have much experience dealing with manipulative mean girls. Her face darkened with anger, but she was too furious to formulate a comeback.

"Marin, is this your live-in maid?" Penelope asked, pointing directly at Lavinia.

"Maid? What? No, I'm not-"

Lavinia tried to defend herself, but Penelope steamrolled right over her. "Because if she were my maid, I would have slapped her across the face by now!"

"You... you..."

"Making the man of the house get off work early to act as her sous-chef is one thing, but hand-feeding him directly into his mouth? It's a good thing Mr. Jeffries looks like an upstanding gentleman, otherwise anyone watching would think you two were having an affair! A little maid seducing the boss? Have you no professional boundaries? Have you no shame?!"

The brutal dressing-down turned both Ellison and Lavinia pale with shock and humiliation. They couldn't even find the words to argue back. After long, agonizing pause, Ellison cleared his throat awkwardly and stammered that Penelope had misunderstood-Lavinia wasn't the maid; she was his secretary.

"Oh my god, she's your secretary? I am so sorry, totally misread the room. But why would a secretary come to her boss's house and try to seduce him, especially knowing he has a wife? A secretary would never do something so utterly shameless Total misunderstanding. My bad!"

As she spoke, Penelope walked over and patted Lavinia on the shoulder. "You're not that kind of girl, right?"

Lavinia shot Penelope a covert, venomous glare and forced out a stiff, "Of course I'm not that kind of person."

"See? I told you it was a misunderstanding," Penelope said, flashing a brilliant smile at Marin.

Marin secretly shot Penelope a thumbs-up. Watching Lavinia get ripped to shreds was incredibly satisfying.

But Marin wasn't an idiot.

"Lavinia, why are you wearing my clothes?"

The loungewear Lavinia had on belonged to Marin.

Lavinia immediately morphed into a picture of wounded innocence. "Marin, I'm so

sorry! Please don't be mad, I'll go take them off right now!"

As she said this, she shot Ellison a pitiful, pleading look.