Scarlett was shocked to see the woman sitting at the center of the room with her legs crossed and a soft smile on her face.
It was Betty. Jude's personal assistant was sitting like the madam of the Maguire mansion.
She sat as if she belonged to the Maguire family and didn't need permission to be there.
"Mrs Maguire, I was wondering when you would come down" Betty said as she looked at Scarlett immediately she noticed her.
Scarlett took the last step slowly with her controlled and calculated movements.
"I should be asking why you are here at this time because you are in my house", she said calmly
The smile on Betty's face was so bright, as if she had just won a lottery
"And yet, no one not even Jude stopped me", she said as she looked around the living area
Scarlett felt it but she didn't react towards her.
She felt something was behind those words and she didn't intend to have a back-and-forth with a personal assistant.
Jude stepped forward a bit to ease the tension between the two women.
"Betty, what exactly are you doing here at this time?", he asked quietly
Betty turned to him instantly as her expression lessened a bit
"I came to see you" she said
"You came to see me at this time? Why?" Jude asked her quietly
Betty who was still sitting, stood up and smoothed her dress as she walked toward him
"I heard about the meeting last night and I wondered why you didn't call me to join. You know I am familiar with things like that", she continued
She looked at him with eyes that weren't giving employee to employer but something else before she looked at Scarlett.
She wanted Scarlett to see how she stared at him.
"Well, after all, new subjects can be ….. unpredictable", she added gently
Scarlett felt it was a direct attack on her and it was intentional but she didn't panic
"Wow! That's interesting. I didn't realize your opinion was needed", Scarlett said as she fully stepped inside the living area
"Well, my opinion is always needed as his PA" she said softly as she locked eyes with Scarlett
Scarlett stopped a few meters away from her but it was close enough for Betty to see her face clearly
"Well, not anymore I suppose" she replied sharply
Betty didn't respond as she just looked at her.
"I brought something" Betty said suddenly as she held out a file
Nobody had noticed it or maybe they did but they didn't question it.
Betty opened the file and it contained a set of documents
"I took the time to review recent reports and there were a few inconsistencies that I think might interest you", she continued
Jude looked at her
"What kind of inconsistencies?"
Betty handed the documents toward him
"Small one though but you know how small things tend to grow, right?"
Scarlett watched Betty closely, but not the documents they were talking about.
She had a feeling Betty wasn't here to help but to effectively and subtly position herself.
Jude collected the documents as he looked through the numbers, and his expression changed slightly
Scarlett noticed as she moved closer to him to look at the documents.
"Those reports are internal" she said calmly
Betty looked at her
"Yes, they are internal", she said instantly
"And that's why we should address them quickly, don't you think so?" She added
Scarlett looked at her
"But you had access to them"
Scarlett accused Betty and didn't question her
"I've always been involved with things like this", she replied
Betty didn't respond as she faced the direct accusation
Violet who had been looking at the whole situation, finally stepped in
"Betty had been working closely with the Maguire family for years and she understands how things work", she said
Scarlett turned to Violet and nodded once
"Then I guess that explains the familiarity", she said
Betty smiled with a soft chuckle
"I'm only here to help where I can and not to overstep" she said
"But I guess help can be misunderstood, especially when people are still new to the system", she added lightly
Scarlett didn't react as she felt it was a direct shot at her.
She just stepped forward and collected one of the documents
She looked at it briefly and then looked up
"This figure was adjusted after the last review and so it is outdated", she said calmly as she pointed to a section
Jude looked at her immediately
Betty stopped smiling for a bit
"So, if you're going to pick out inconsistencies, you should work with the most recent data", she added calmly
Betty was shocked at how she noticed but recovered her confidence instantly
"You are correct and I may not have received the updated version" she said
Scarlett nodded in agreement but sarcastically
"Well, that happens when you have limited access"
Jude collected the documents from Scarlett immediately but firmly
"Enough", he said
His voice wasn't loud but it carried enough control
"We'll review this later and not tonight"
Betty nodded immediately
"Of course", she said softly
She turned towards Scarlett again and she had a very dark smile on her face
"I look forward to working with you", she said
Scarlett kept looking at her as she noticed the change in her facial expression
"You're already working with and for me", she replied with a smirk
Betty left a few minutes later.
Scarlett turned slightly towards Jude and then to Violet.
"Well, that was very informative, don't you think so?"
Violet looked at her carefully
"Don't underestimate her" she said
"Coming from you?" Scarlett replied immediately
Jude didn't say anything. He was still processing the documents Betty brought and what Scarlett said about them.
"Do you trust her?", Scarlett said as she looked at him
Jude finally looked at her and snapped out of his thought
"I have known her for a while and she has been working with me closely", he replied
Scarlett nodded her head in disagreement
"That's not what I asked you"
"Well, she's efficient", Jude said
"Hmmmn… so am I" Scarlett said as she looked at Jude
Later that night, Scarlett was in her room recalling everything that had happened downstairs earlier
"Betty didn't attack directly. She was trying to pass a message and she made it look like she was trying to help", she said as she paced around the room
Scarlett walked slowly to the bed and sat
"She's not careless. She is very patient and waiting for mistakes", she murmured
She placed her hand on her thighs as she was pondering
"She won't come directly at me and I think I shouldn't come at her as well. Let's see how the game works ...."
As she was about to conclude her statement, she heard a soft knock on her door.
She walked towards the door and opened it.
Jude was standing in front of her door again but this time it was with a different expression. No sense of urgency in his expression.
"You know she's my PA right? She will be around more often. So, I guess you should get used to it", he said
Scarlett didn't respond as she just watched him speak
"Don't engage unnecessarily with her", he continued
Scarlett looked at him with her side eye
"And if engagement becomes necessary. What should I do?" She asked
He didn't answer immediately as he was trying to put his words together
"Then handle it carefully"