MR. JETHRO PARKER.

Judith's pov.

After my last encounter with Maxwell, I made up my mind to be distant from him and never give him a second glance.

I had purposefully ignored him as he passed my office area that morning. He seemed astonished, but I could also see he didn't mind.

The CEO had given my responsibilities to a lower-ranking employee that Friday to make up for the stress I had endured with Maxwell, so I had less work to accomplish that Friday. The fact that Maxwell had not been racing around like he usually did made me believe he had been granted the same liberty. Not that he was assigned challenging assignments the way he made them seem by exaggerating how busy he looked. He had fewer responsibilities than other lower staff members and was always given preference by the CEO, making him his favorite. An opportunity that should have been saved for distinguished employees was presented to Maxwell on a silver platter without any prior experience.

When my phone rang, I went for it in my bag