20
After Alex left, I got up and walked out.
Maya stood by the door, holding her phone, watching me with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Boss, you are just too cool.”
She handed me an ice pack, then looked at me with adoration.
“When you first chose me and said you wanted to take down Harding Corp and build a
new empire, I thought you were joking.”
“And that last line, ‘please get lost, I totally saw Jax Ryder in you.”
“Boss, even though you told the reporters you’re just his boss, the way he looks at you is definitely not innocent.”
As she spoke, she opened her phone to show me.
That’s when I realized Jax Ryder’s name was trending again.
Only thic
<
Tue, 26 AUG
Only this time, it was with me.
#JaxRyder #EveCross
#EveCrossSunstoneMysteriousBoss
#JaxRyder #SugarBabyForLove
#TheWayHeLooksAtHerlsDefinitely NotInnocent
“Four trending topics? Why didn’t the team’s operations manager notify me?”
I quickly scanned them, then pressed the ice pack to my swollen cheek, looking at Maya.
“Has there been any sentiment management?”
She scratched her head: “Uh… I guess not needed, because everyone’s reactions are
pretty positive.”
I tapped into the comment section and realized she was actually telling the truth.
“Eve is so beautiful, if my brother had a boss like her, I’d be impressed.”
“Even if their relationship isn’t confirmed, rich people marriages, everyone does their own thing, what’s so strange about that?”
“Seriously, are you reporters blind? Why isn’t anyone interviewing Alex Thorne, that rotten scumbag who cheated dozens of times in four years, instead of harassing my
brother and his sugar mama?”
“I believe Eve, but I don’t believe my brother. The way he looks at her, it’s practically dripping with desire.”
The accompanying image was from the entrance of the gala that night.
Behind us, the grand hall glittered with lights. Jax Ryder and I stood side by side at the door.
My expression was calm as I looked at the camera, but he had turned his head slightly,
<
21:42 Tue, 26 Aug
Whether it was the light or the moonlight catching his pupils, his eyes, as he looked at
me, seemed exceptionally bright, tinged with lingering emotions.
So that’s how it looked from a bystander’s perspective.
I stared at the photo for a moment, deliberately ignoring the slight flutter in my heart, and
handed the phone back to Maya.
She watched me eagerly.
I smiled: “Notify everyone, meeting in forty minutes.”
Normally, these kinds of topics wouldn’t be discussed for long.
But I didn’t expect that in the following period, discussions about Jax Ryder and me would intensify.
Especially after the news of my divorce from Alex broke.
“Sugar mama is divorced, brother, go for it!!”
“Am I being too spoiled for shipping this couple so hard?”
“Okay, God Jax, if you win the national championship, we’ll all help you chase your wife.”
This comment had almost a hundred thousand likes and was pinned as the top
comment.
I asked Maya: “What exactly is going on?”
“The trending topics should have died down quickly, but a few days ago, that recording of
you begging Alex Thorne was leaked by someone.”
“At first, a lot of people in the comments were cursing you, but then that night, a fanfic writer published a story about you and Jax Ryder.”
Maya looked at me a little cautiously.
HOL
.
<
2%
“She wrote about you two being a ‘crazy–clingy golden retriever‘ and a ‘ruthless, ice–queen boss lady who’ll do anything to win.”
“These character archetypes are super popular now, and that story had particularly beautiful writing, and the spice? Oh, the atmosphere* she built in those intimate scenes… everyone was totally shipping them, heart and soul, and then more and more fan content
started churning out…”
“Due to the popularity of the ship, Sunstone Gaming has received several new sponsorship inquiries.”
She opened her phone gallery to show me.
I silently flipped through the images she had saved, my finger pausing on one particular photo.
“Keep your phone safe.”
I said, “Have the team operations keep an eye on it. As long as public sentiment is positive, it’s fine. The moment negative public opinion appears, suppress the heat immediately.”
She nodded repeatedly.
As I left, I heard her muttering: “Boss is truly stone–hearted, arranging work even in this
situation.”
“But, it’s even more shippable, hehe…”
