Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

She hadn’t drunk in a long time, and a sudden heat flared in her chest, one she couldn’t suppress.

She got up and went to the restroom, splashing her face with cold water to calm herself down.

’Georgia Thorne, you’re so pathetic!’

Seeing Elliot Sheridan again felt surreal, as if a lifetime had passed.

As Georgia Thorne returned from the restroom, she saw several figures walk past her.

The man leading the group had a cold look in his eyes. He didn’t even spare her a glance as he passed by with a frosty air.

He was like a hurricane, disturbing the calm she had fought so hard to find and sending ripples through her heart once more.

Her heart pounded. She had even thought he might stop to talk to her, or at least look at her.

But he did nothing, walking past her as if she were a complete stranger.

In that moment, Georgia Thorne could hear the sound of her own heart breaking.

She turned, her eyes fixed on Elliot Sheridan’s back until his tall figure disappeared around a corner.

Only then did Georgia turn back, lowering her head to stare at her feet as her vision blurred.

Georgia stood outside for a long time before returning to the private room, which was even livelier than when she had left.

She and Wendy Young were the only two women in their group. Wendy pulled her down to sit. "Georgia, where’d you go just now?"

"The restroom. What’s wrong?" Fearing someone would see her red-rimmed eyes, Georgia deliberately rubbed them.

Wendy said with great regret, "Guess who was just here?"

Seeing how excited Wendy looked, Georgia really couldn’t guess. She had just started to shake her head when Wendy blurted out, "Elliot Sheridan, the head of Sheridan Group! It’s such a shame you missed him!"

At those words, the color drained from Georgia’s face. The disappointment she had worked so hard to suppress surged back the instant she heard his name.

Wendy’s smiling face swam before her eyes. She couldn’t hear any other sounds, and it was a long moment before she found her voice. "Is that so?"

Her voice was faint, but Wendy still heard her and said proudly, "You bet! He even shook my hand! I’ve decided not to wash this hand for a whole week!"

"Not wash your hand? Wendy, don’t you think that’s gross?" a male colleague beside them suddenly interjected.

"Get lost! Who asked you to butt in!" Wendy roared back crudely. She caressed her hand as if it were a treasure, muttering, "This isn’t the hand of some ordinary person!"

Wendy Young had been a die-hard fan of Elliot Sheridan for a long time. She had once been determined to get into his company, but the opportunity had never arisen.

Listening to Wendy ramble on and on in her worship of Elliot made Georgia even more agitated. Remembering his cold gaze when they had just passed each other, she poured herself a drink.

Everyone else was drunk, but Georgia was sober. She watched them leave in groups, then started walking along the road by herself.

The night air was chilly. She clutched her clothes tighter, the cold wind gradually cooling her jumbled thoughts.

Georgia walked for a while, her body growing colder and colder. It wasn’t until she boarded a bus that the warmth inside began to get her blood flowing again.

What she didn’t know was that a black car had been following her at a steady, unhurried pace.

Owen Sawyer sat in the driver’s seat, driving slowly. After seeing Georgia board the bus, he glanced at the man in the back seat, unsure if he should continue following.

He just couldn’t figure it out. Ignoring Georgia Thorne in the hotel hallway, and now tailing her... what was the meaning of this?

’Silent protection?’

Elliot Sheridan smoked, his dark eyes profound, his brow deeply furrowed. He remained silent.

Ever since returning from the hospital, his boss had worn almost this exact expression, never changing.

Only occasionally, when his gaze landed on Georgia Thorne, would there be a major fluctuation in his mood.

As Elliot said nothing, Owen kept driving behind the bus until Georgia reached her home.

Owen Sawyer parked the car downstairs from the apartment building. He glanced back at Elliot several times, wanting to speak but holding his tongue.

They stayed downstairs for an hour. After finishing the cigarette in his hand, Elliot reached for another, only to find the one he just smoked was the last.

The car was filled with the acrid smell of smoke. Rolling down the window, Elliot gazed at the apartment building before them, then finally said, "Let’s go."

Hearing the command, Owen Sawyer stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

Owen had originally planned to take Elliot back to his private apartment, but halfway there, Elliot said he wanted to go for a drink. Owen made a turn and headed in the opposite direction.

Elliot had been in a terrible mood recently, and it was even worse today. Not only was he smoking, but now he was drinking too.

Owen gingerly tried to talk him out of drinking so much. The way Elliot was drinking, it seemed like he was determined to get completely plastered.

"President Sheridan, you’ve had too much!" Owen boldly snatched the bottle away. There were already seven or eight empty bottles on the coffee table.

Elliot gave a mocking smile. He had indeed drunk too much, yet his mind was only growing clearer.

Elliot had been working overtime for several days straight and was in a state of exhaustion. Owen helped him up and they left.

The world kept spinning, changing for no one.

「A week after the celebration dinner」

Over the week, Seth Shields had been leading them in revising the design proposal. Georgia’s responsibility was to organize research on the mainstream elements of fashion in recent years.

Seth Shields received a call from the manager at Sheridan Group in charge of the collaboration, who said they had a meeting at one in the afternoon at their company to discuss the partnership.

The thought that it was Elliot’s company made Georgia not want to go.

Entering Seth Shields’s office, Georgia mustered her courage and asked, "Team Leader, is it possible for me not to go?"

Seth was preparing materials. He looked up at her words. "Give me a reason."

Georgia was speechless.

’I can’t just tell him I don’t want to go because I don’t want to run into Elliot Sheridan, can I?’

Seth stood up and handed her a stack of documents. "If you can’t give me a reason, then take these and familiarize yourself with them."

Georgia numbly took the files. They were all materials related to the collaboration. "These are...?"

"Go over them carefully. You’ll be presenting the PowerPoint this afternoon."

"Understood."

Not only had she failed to get out of it, but she had ended up with a heavy responsibility.

Georgia walked out with the files and spent the entire morning poring over them.

At lunch, Seth Shields asked how her review was going, and Georgia said she was more or less ready.

At one in the afternoon, they sat quietly in a conference room at Sheridan Corporation.

Wendy Young couldn’t hide her excitement. Sitting next to Georgia, she looked all around, occasionally tugging on Georgia’s sleeve to whisper something.

At one o’clock sharp, the other party’s representatives entered the conference room.

After they exchanged greetings, Georgia scanned the people opposite her. Not seeing a familiar figure, she breathed a sigh of relief.

The meeting began. Georgia had done a lot of preparation beforehand and remembered the gist of the documents. With the help of the PowerPoint slides, her presentation was very smooth.

The other party seemed very satisfied, looking at the documents with approval.

Georgia sat back down in her seat. Wendy leaned over and secretly gave her a thumbs-up. "Georgia, that was amazing!"

Georgia had never presented in front of so many people before. Her heart was still tight in her chest, pounding uncontrollably.

She curved her lips into a knowing smile and refocused on the work.

The other company also had a design department, and two of their designers were sitting across from them.

The PowerPoint Georgia had just presented was a collaborative effort from her team. After reviewing it, the other company’s designers raised several specific questions.

After some discussion, they established a general direction.

Sheridan Group was planning to hold an exhibition at the largest mall in Portmire. The timeline was tight—it was at the end of this month, so they didn’t have much time.

This was undoubtedly a challenge for everyone. The designers from both sides would need to work together. After negotiations, Seth Shields announced that they would have to work here until the exhibition was over.

This was something Georgia had not anticipated.

Her first reaction was to quit the team. ’Work in his company? Won’t I run into him?’

Georgia hesitated for a day. Before she could proactively go see Seth Shields, he summoned her first.

Seth had been following the competition. Of the five newcomers, he valued Georgia’s work the most.

It was just a pity that incident happened later. Plagiarism was something no one wanted to be associated with.

But after observing her these past few days and seeing the things she casually sketched, he found them all beautiful. Some of her creative designs were things even he wouldn’t have thought of.

Without a doubt, Georgia had talent. As for the plagiarism incident, there was probably more to the story.

Georgia hadn’t been in Seth Shields’s office many times, only two or three, and she sat tensely in her chair.

"Georgia, regarding the collaboration with Sheridan Group, what are your thoughts?"

Georgia was stunned for a few seconds. ’He called me in just to ask for my thoughts?’

She glanced up and saw the expectant look in Seth’s eyes. She nodded, and Seth gestured for her to speak.

"The exhibition they’re planning is targeted mostly at senior designers. If we want to capture everyone’s attention, besides focusing on innovative clothing styles, we could also approach it from the perspective of color. Winter is approaching, so what’s the first color people associate with winter..."

Georgia was usually a quiet person, but once she immersed herself in work, she became much more talkative, explaining a whole host of ideas.

Some of her unique ideas struck a chord with Seth. His gaze filled with growing admiration for Georgia. It seemed he had truly unearthed a treasure.

After she finished speaking, Georgia felt a little embarrassed. She twisted her fingers together under the table and looked at Seth nervously.

Those words were just her personal opinions.

Seth was extremely satisfied. "Based on your ideas, write up a proposal for me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Georgia’s eyes lit up. "Team Leader, do you mean..."

"You still don’t get it?"

"I get it, but aren’t there already two people working on the proposal? I..."

"They’re doing theirs, and you’re doing yours. Once all of your proposals are out, we’ll select two of them."