The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Charles sensed it and turned around to shoot Isaac a death stare.

Isaac suppressed his smile instantly. “I suddenly recalled a funny clip I saw on my phone just now, so I accidentally

let out a chuckle.”

Arching an eyebrow, Charles looked at Isaac sarcastically and said, “What clip? Show it to me.”

Isaac was startled. How am I supposed to respond to that?

“It was a video that showed up randomly. I didn’t like it or save it, so I don’t think I can find it again, Mr. Newton…”

“Well, tell me the story, then,” Charles uttered casually.

“Umm…” Isaac’s expression turned bitter, and he whispered, “Mr. Newton, I—”

“If you can’t recall the story, I’ll deduct your salary. Fair enough, right?”

That’s far from fair! Isaac racked his brain and decided to tell Charles a lame joke he heard before.

“Okay… It was a clip showing a pair of banana brothers walking on the street. The older banana had longer legs, so

he was walking in front. As he walked, he felt hot, so he decided to peel off his skin. Mr. Newton, you won’t believe

what happens next…”

While stifling a laugh, Isaac told the joke in the most animated way he could. “The younger brother stepped on the

peel and fell! Haha! The sound effect was hilarious!”

With one hand on the elevator wall for support, Isaac held his tummy with the other and laughed out loud. “How’s

that? Isn’t that joke funny?”

Charles stared at Isaac expressionlessly. The former’s gaze was so icy that it could freeze someone in sight.

Seeing that, Isaac immediately composed himself and bowed respectfully with a straight face. “Okay. I got it. It was

lame.”

Charles felt satisfied when he saw how disappointed Isaac looked. With a slightly eased-up expression, Charles

advised, “It wasn’t funny at all. You should stop wasting your time on such meaningless content.”

“Yes. I’ll never do that again.”

As they chatted, the lift arrived on the fifteenth floor.

None of the employees knew Charles was going to show up that day, so they were shocked to see him all of a

sudden. In fact, there were screams in every direction on the entire floor.

“Hi, Mr. Newton!”

“Mr. Newton had never visited the logistics department. Why is he here all of a sudden?”

“Could it be that we had made a mistake? Is Mr. Newton here to lecture us?”

One of Charles’ fan girls quickly said, “I don’t care if he’s here to scold us. It’s worth it because I’ll get to see him up

close! Mr. Newton is so handsome!”

“That’s right! Before this, we could only see him from a distance during general meetings. This time around, we’ll

see him up close!”

“Wow! He’s walking toward us!”

Due to Charles’ arrival, an uproar erupted in the building, and the employees could be heard whispering to each

other.

Meanwhile, quite a few of the employees had gone up to him and bowed respectfully.

With a friendly look in his gaze, Charles nodded and instructed, “Be at ease, everyone. I’m just here for a casual

visit. Please continue with your work and ignore me.”

Unsurprisingly, his presence was impossible to ignore.

Yet, no one dared to defy their CEO, so they quickly returned to their desks and continued working.

The employees, who were initially distracted and scrolling through their phones, all sat upright at their desks,

fearing they would get caught.

Meanwhile, Whitney, who was sitting at the desk in the corner, was focused on keying in some information. That

was when she overheard the conversation between her colleagues. What? Mr. Newton?

With that in mind, she lifted her head and saw Charles, dressed in a suit and exuding an intimidating aura, being led

toward her respectfully by Isaac. I’m doomed! It seems like he’s here to supervise our work!

She had been there since the morning, but she was new and drowning in work. She was so busy that she hadn’t

even had the time to find out who was the owner of the company.

Could it be Charles? Whitney’s heart was racing as she hunched over and hid her face before the computer. I

mustn’t let him see me!

Evidently, she was shocked to the core.

“Isn’t this NR Group? How is this Mr. Newton’s company?” Whitney asked her female colleague.

“Are you stupid? NR Group is the largest joint-stock company of Newton Group. Usually, everyone just calls it

Newton Group,” the colleague whispered.

“However… I went through the company’s information on the internet. He isn’t the founder…”

The colleague rolled her eyes at Whitney. “Are you a dimwit? Newton Group is a family business, and it has been

passed down through the generations. Obviously, the company wasn’t founded by Mr. Newton himself. However, if

you had kept digging, you would’ve seen that Mr. Newton was the company’s CEO!”

Err…

Whitney blushed in embarrassment. I was so proud of myself when I told Charles I found a job last night. Who

would’ve known I had found a job in his company? What is he going to think of me? Would he think I deliberately

came to work here so that he would see me all the time and fall for me? He would surely think I wanted to get his

attention. He has an unpredictable temper. Would he mock me?

Distress was written all over her face as she was very close to sprawling on the desk to hide herself.

Whitney’s colleague was weirded out, so she asked, “Why is that a big deal for you? Could it be that you know Mr.

Newton personally?”

“I don’t know him.” Whitney shook her head.

Charles was standing not far away as he swept a glance at all the office desks.

There, he saw everyone sitting straight and seemingly focusing on their work. That wasn’t the case for the two

employees sitting in the corner of the office. Those two skinny ladies at the back are sprawling on their desks and

hiding from me.

Charles furrowed his brows in displeasure. I don’t bite, do I? Why is she so scared of me?

With that in mind, he walked toward her casually. Whitney and her colleague were talking softly, but he could still

make out their conversation, as the only sound in the office was the clicking of keyboards and mice.

With that in mind, he walked toward her casually. Whitney and her colleague were talking softly, but he could still

make out their conversation, as the only sound in the office was the clicking of keyboards and mice.

Coincidentally, Charles heard Whitney saying that she didn’t know him.

Charles’ expression turned grim immediately, as though a thunderstorm was brewing. I found her a simple job out

of kindness. Not only is she not grateful, but she doesn’t even have the guts to tell others she’s an acquaintance of

mine. What an ingrate! Indeed, I shouldn’t be too nice to her.

Enraged, Charles pointed at the two in the corner and deliberately asked Isaac, “Who are those two gossiping at the

back?”

Isaac instantly approached the ladies and said, “Mr. Newton has questions for you. Stand up! Hurry!”

The colleague, Lana Anfield, rose to her feet timidly.

Whitney took a deep breath and stood up as well. As her heart raced wildly, she gripped the hem of her shirt and

fidgeted with it restlessly. At the same time, she had her head hung low to avoid Charles’ gaze.

“Why do you have a problem showing me what you look like? Are you too ugly or are you so beautiful that you think

you’re going to take my breath away?” Charles asked in an icy tone.

Whitney didn’t know how to respond to that. Judging by his tone, I’m pretty sure he recognized me.

“Lift your head.”

Whitney lifted her head stiffly and greeted, “Hello, Mr. Newton. I’m Whitney Mellor, an intern in the logistics

department. I’m responsible for making photocopies and coffee—”

“Did I ask you?” Charles uttered coldly, radiating a powerful aura.

“No…” Whitney fell silent after that.

With a stern expression, Charles berated, “Why were you two gossiping when everyone else in the office was

working? Are you two slackers?”

Lana bowed repeatedly and apologized, “I’m sorry, Mr. Newton. I won’t repeat my mistake, and I’ll never gossip

with her again. Please give me a second chance, Mr. Newton. Please don’t fire me.”

Whitney remained quiet and kept bowing alongside Lana.

Charles was annoyed when he saw Whitney behaving meekly.

Right then, Isaac stepped forward to defend Lana. “Mr. Newton, Lana is a full-time employee, and she has been

working here for two years. She had never committed any grave mistakes. I’m sure she won’t repeat her mistake

after this.”

Charles’ expression was still as gloomy when he asked Isaac, “How about the other one? She was so engrossed in

gossiping moments earlier. How do you think we should deal with her?”

Isaac glanced at Whitney when he heard that. Whitney seems like she’s on pins and needles. She has never worked

in such an environment, so she doesn’t even know she needs to apologize as Lana did. Having said that, she’s Mr.

Newton’s wife.