Forbidden Passion

Chapter 612 Phoebe Got Drunk and Was Plotted Against

Phoebe figured it was 'cause she hadn't job hunted since graduation. She'd never seen a company hire someone and then drag 'em to a fancy shindig right off the bat. But hey, it was urgent, so Phoebe rolled with it.

She spent half the afternoon going through the banquet stuff the HR manager gave her until Raphael Upton, fresh from a meeting, called her into his office.

Raphael, in his thirties, rocked a gray suit and had that slick, successful vibe. His eyes, sharp behind his glasses, screamed "businessman."

Phoebe stood in front of his desk, meeting his gaze.

Raphael checked her out for a sec before motioning for her to sit. "Ms. Ziegler, I looked over your resume. You were the chief secretary at the Reynolds Group and did a stint as operations director at an entertainment company for three months."

Phoebe nodded, "Yep."

"You had a solid gig at the Reynolds Group. Why'd you wanna switch?" Raphael asked.

Phoebe bit her lip and decided to keep it real. "Mr. Upton, honestly, my boss and I didn't vibe. To keep us both from going nuts, I bailed."

Raphael chuckled. "You're a riot."

"Thanks," Phoebe said.

Raphael seemed done with the resume talk. He closed the folder and said, "We've got a financial circle banquet tonight. You checked out the materials. Any questions?"

Phoebe looked down, saying, "Nope. I've been to over a hundred banquets with Mr. Reynolds. I got this."

"Cool. Get ready. We're outta here in ten." Raphael ordered.

left the office, freshened up her makeup in the restroom, and then joined Raphael in the

banquet was at a swanky five-star hotel on the east side. As their car rolled up, a bunch of business folks with their secretaries and assistants were heading

Raphael spotted some buddies and led Phoebe over to say hi. They chatted

rushed to open the door.

his suit jacket all smooth-like, and headed into the hotel,

Phoebe held a glass of fruit wine and stuck close to Raphael. She wasn't nervous. No matter who Raphael was chatting with or what they were talking about, she could jump in whenever needed. Raphael was digging

You handle this like a pro," Raphael said,

at the entrance caught her eye. She looked up and

Edward, surrounded by fans. He raised an eyebrow. "That's Edward Vanderbilt, a

her lip, not wanting to deal with Edward. "Mr. Upton, I gotta hit

waiter's tray

Phoebe until she vanished

sharp; that's how he climbed the ladder. Everyone in his company knew his secretary could be clueless, but she had to be

his spot by sending his

up to

As long as the guy had

Phoebe could snag Edward, Raphael's company would be

Theodore had people guarding the hospital room,

she couldn't dodge Edward forever. She washed her hands, dried them, and headed back

she re-entered the banquet hall, Edward and Raphael were

her over. "Phoebe, come meet someone. This is Mr. Vanderbilt

not blinking. "You've lost

She calmly said, "Mr. Upton, Mr. Vanderbilt and I go way back. We're

you're all Harvard alums. We gotta have a drink to that, right?" Raphael signaled a waiter to bring over