Semua Bab Opening My Eyes to Reality: Bab 641 - Bab 650

After Cheryl left, the entire law firm fell into chaos. Even Benjamin's performance suffered significantly. And the place only became more toxic after Jasmine became his assistant.Wanting to build her own circle of loyalists, Jasmine fired a number of good employees and brought in outsiders to form cliques. Plenty of staffers were complaining about this, but it wasn't that Benjamin didn't want to step in—he simply wasn't able to manage it all.He'd been incredibly frustrated, and even now, the assistant position remained vacant.Natalie couldn't help but chuckle at his pitiful state. She placed one of the pastries on his desk and said, "Ben, have you heard the saying—people who seem pitiful usually have something they did wrong? I honestly can't bring myself to sympathize with you right now."She stood up and added, "I brought these pastries from Velmont. Give them a try. Bella loves them."Benjamin's sharp eyes immediately noticed the boxed pastries in her hands. "Why is there a

Benjamin's expression darkened in an instant. The only reason he had brought up a penalty for breach of contract before was precisely because he didn't want Cheryl to leave. He never imagined that she would rather pay the enormous penalty than stay at the firm.His deep eyes glinted faintly with anger as he looked at her profile, his expression growing even darker. "If Ms. Shaw found someone higher up the ladder to latch onto, who am I to stop her?"Feeling Benjamin's hostile gaze, Cheryl finally looked up, her tone frosty. "Thank you for the trouble, Mr. Zimmerman. You can hand the box to Mr. Mansfield."Benjamin's brows furrowed even more tightly, as if they could snap a twig in half. "To him?"Elias smiled, not bothering to answer. Instead, he reached for the box of pastries in Benjamin's hand and said, "Give them to me, Mr. Zimmerman. Ms. Shaw and I are heading to dinner."Cheryl glanced up at Elias, then at Benjamin. Her feet didn't move.The three of them stood under the se

It was rush hour. Elias' car glided smoothly through the streets, while Cheryl seemed lost in thought, her gaze unfocused.After about half an hour, he finally broke the silence. "The place is tucked away in an old alley. We'll need to make two more turns."Cheryl nodded before he continued, "The owner's from Tamaria. They make their own beef tallow for the stew base, and the chili peppers are all handpicked. You sure you want it molten-level spicy?"She sat up straight, her tone calm. "Since we're having Tamarian simmering stewpot, we should make it as spicy as possible. That's the best way."As soon as the words left her mouth, she remembered something and added, "Wait. I forgot to ask if you can handle spicy food. And will that affect your court appearances? It won't be good if you lose your voice."She'd been so focused on eating simmering stewpot earlier that she'd forgotten about the demands of his profession. She quickly backtracked. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."El

Cheryl hurriedly averted her gaze, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the patterns on the rim of the bowl, her mind momentarily elsewhere.Benjamin's professional prowess was well-known. With 11 years in the field, he had never lost a case. As for Elias, she didn't know him well, but her intuition told her he was no slouch either.Seeing her fall silent, Elias once again speared another beef tendon and dipped it in eight times, carefully counting each dip. But the subtle anticipation in his eyes didn't escape Cheryl.No matter how she answered, it would still feel wrong. It felt destined to be an unanswerable question.She forced out a dry laugh and tried to change the subject. "Mr. Zimmerman specializes in financial cases, whereas you seem to be more adept at criminal cases, Mr. Mansfield. You're in different fields, each with your own merits."As she spoke, she picked up the beef tendon Elias had just placed in her bowl, but her hand trembled slightly.Elias caught her fluste

The distance was too close, and Cheryl barely had any time to react. Just as she thought the scalding broth was about to hit her, someone gave her a hard push, shoving her out of the way.A muffled grunt sounded next to her ear, and she looked up in a daze. She was utterly shocked to see that it was Elias who had shielded her.By then, the restaurant staff had rushed over, quickly restraining the crazed Jasmine.Cheryl had no mind to deal with Jasmine, as all her attention was focused on Elias."Hold on, I'm taking you to the hospital right now."Large beads of sweat formed on Elias' forehead, but he didn't show a trace of pain on his face. On the contrary, he managed a faint smile. "Don't worry. I'm fine."Cheryl didn't respond and merely helped him out of the restaurant. As she walked past Oscar, she didn't forget to tell him, "Please call the police for me."Oscar nodded and immediately dialed the number.Elias sat in the passenger seat while Cheryl drove. This was the first