The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 279 Autumn's Jealousy

"Long time no see, "Autumn returned coolly, but without a hint of joy on her face.

"You may go out now," Charles told Leila as he turned around.

"But Mr. Lu, this document..." Leila was reluctant to leave.

"Yes you may leave. I will sign it later after checking it." Charles said, sounding a bit irritated. He didn't like repeating himself.

Leila was taken aback. "Well, Ok then I will leave now. Let me know if I can be of any more help," she nodded, looking disappointed.

Before leaving the office, Leila cast Autumn a dissatisfied look.

"What brought you here so early today?" Charles asked Autumn after Leila had left. "Things with the event plan went smoothly today, so I came here early. How about you? When will you be done with work?" Autumn asked.

"I need a bit more time." Charles replied. "We can leave as soon as I'm done." Charles continued, looking at his watch.

"Okay." Autumn agreed. Charles returned to his desk to focus on his work, lifting his head to look at Autumn's face now and then. "There are some refreshments on the table. Just help yourself if you feel hungry." he added.

Autumn nodded, and let him get on with his job.

She grabbed a magazine from the table, intending to read it. But at the thought that Rachel's wedding with Edward had been the headlines these days, she put the magazine back immediately not wanting to see anything that could annoy her. She just sat there, looking around an already familiar room, idly killing time.

All of a sudden, "Let's go, " Charles said to Autumn, getting his suit hanging from an adjacent chair.

"Are you done?" Autumn sighed with relief. How long had she been sitting there? It was so dull there that she almost fell asleep.

"Yeah." Charles answered. "Mr. Lu, are you done with work?" Leila stood up from her desk, as she saw Charles and Autumn walking out of his office hand in hand.

"Yes I am." Charles said impatiently. "David, we are leaving now. Call me only if it is really important."

"Got it, boss." David responded. "Mr. Lu, are you leaving now? I still have these documents for you to sign..." Leila said while running after to Charles, seeing him almost at the door with his wife.

"I will handle those tomorrow." Charles called out, not looking back. "Mr. Lu, but I..." Leila insisted, gripping Charles's sleeves as she caught up with them.

"Leila," David called, as he strode to her. "Mr. Lu said that he would deal with these tomorrow. What did you not understand?" he continued, removing her hand from Charles.

"Mr. Lu, see you tomorrow." Alice came forward. Leila had been increasingly crossing her bounds.

Leila watched Charles and Autumn leave hand in hand. Although she didn't utter a word, her resentment towards Autumn was evident.

After they left, David let go of Leila's hand. "Leila, what are you doing? Can't you just mind your own business? Mr. Lu won't always tolerate your interference. If you can't control your emotions, you may not need to work here. Mr. Lu will be happy to accept your resignation."

David had gotten fed up. Leila never stopped throwing herself at Charles. He had to do something about it. Leila had gotten intolerable.

"He's right, Leila. You shouldn't have blocked Mr. Lu's way like that." Alice seconded. Although she never interfered with other people's matters, she agreed that Leila had gone too far. "Don't forget who you are around here. If you continue to do those inappropriate things to your own boss, you will end up on the street one of these days." she pointed out.

Leila wrinkled her brows. 'I know that I shouldn't have acted in such manner, but I just can't help myself. Each time I see the chemistry between those two, I get really crazy jealous of Autumn that I even wish to be her.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Leila lowered her head. David and Alice's voices got stuck in her head. 'If I continue to act like this, Mr. Lu will fire me. Then I won't be able to see him every day. No more moments alone with him when that damn Autumn is not around. I must control myself.' she told herself and took a deep breath.

"You always say that. Can you, really?" David responded doubtfully.

Leila returned to her desk silently without any retorts. She continued to sort out the files which she needed to turn in to Charles the next day.

'At least I have to show Charles that I'm competent in my job,' she thought.

After getting into the car, Autumn kept thinking about Leila's words and expressions in Charles's office, which dampened her spirits.

"What's wrong? You look unhappy. You've been like that since we left the office." Charles looked concerned, noticing Autumn's displeasure. "What do you think of Leila?" Autumn asked with a bit of sarcasm.

"She is an excellent secretary who can finish all the work I give her perfectly," Charles said, matter-of-factly, oblivious to what Autumn was feeling. Upon hearing his praises to Leila, Autumn felt more angry.

"What I'm asking is, how do you like her look?" she asked with a stern face.

"Well..." Not until now did Charles realize what Autumn really meant. "Ohhh, honey, are you jealous?" Charles asked, feeling delighted.

"Well? Tell me." Autumn urged, her arms crossed, shooting a sharp look at her husband

Charles had never actually thought about how Leila looked. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of anything. "Well...She is pretty... the normal kind. I only remember that I couldn't stand the heavy perfume she wears."

"No...no... She is actually beautiful. You're telling me that you've never looked at her for longer than 5 seconds? You've never even noticed the pretty dresses she wears? No crushes? Nothing?" Autumn's voice didn't hide her irritation.

Charles was enjoying this moment. Autumn's jealousy was kind of cute. "Well, do you think she is more gorgeous than Rachel?" Charles was grinning from ear to ear.

In her mind, Autumn tried to compare Leila and Rachel. 'Rachel is prettier.' She didn't say anything to Charles

"Ok. But no matter how fabulous she is, I only care about you. You know that, don't you? If you're still worried about it, I can fire her tomorrow, "Charles reassured her.

"There is no need, "Autumn responded. Autumn blushed. She was contented to know that Charles only loved her. She couldn't believe that he would fire Leila just like that, to appease his wife. 'It's not easy to replace Charles a competent secretary. Just let Leila continue to work there. There will be no problem... as long as I keep an eye on her.'

When they arrived at the Zhao family's house, Arthur greeted them at the door.