Andrew pushed the door open and stepped in.
“You are wrong.” Annie looked at him. “I wasn’t desperate for you to return.”
They both hung up at the same time and the man walked into the living room. “Aren’t you brazen, Annie?” He stopped in front of the couch and stared down at her.
“About what?” Annie tilted her head to the side. “Mr. Lim, are you offended by what happened during the day?”
“Stop thinking too far.” Andrew dropped his briefcase and removed his jacket. “Work is work. I just hope Mrs. Lim realizes what she’s in for.”
“If you’re speaking about working as your secretary, I can handle the challenge. I fought for this position, Mr. Lim. I won’t let it go easily.”
Andrew stopped what he was doing and he looked at her. “The attack you dodge today might return double next time. If you want to give up now, I won’t stop you.”
His words baffled the girl, however, she masked her surprise with a smile. Standing up, Annie lifted her head, leveling her gaze with his.
“You told me yourself that only cowards back out of a challenge. Mr. Lim, are you uncomfortable with me being your secretary? Or is there something else you know?”
“Unfortunately, I won’t tell you anything.” He walked past her and headed to the bedroom. “Annie, this is your game. Play it alone.”
Annie had on an amused smile as she watched the man’s back. A double attack? Her game?
‘What happened today might be more than a glitch from the IT Department. I am very well aware of that, Mr. Lim. However, the double attack…’
Annie shook her head, dispelling those thoughts.
She went into the kitchen and warmed up the food. When the man came out, she served it to him. And as she was about to head into the bedroom after locking the apartment, she didn’t fail to tell him what was on her mind.
“It’s too late to back out of this challenge… Mr. Lim, I won’t be a liability. You’re right, this is my game and I’m going to play it alone.”
The spoon in the man’s hand halted mid-air and his eyes followed her back. Shaking his head, he returned his attention to the food and resumed eating.
…
The next day, At MystiArt Productions…
The HR Department looked like a fashion parade ground. The newly hired secretaries, now twenty in number, all sat on the waiting chairs in front of the Manager’s office.
Because of the uproar yesterday, they couldn’t come and handle their transfers yet. Now that everything had been finalized, they were free to walk around without fearing that anyone would dare attack them.
The girls who had been hiding their presence yesterday, afraid that the other employees would bully them now looked haughty and full of themselves.
The IT Department’s Manager’s announcement on the forum managed to shut up the employees who were doubting the result. They couldn’t pin the blame on anyone anymore and the matter was settled.
“Is that her?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Oh. This is not good. I hoped she was less beautiful.”
“Who cares about beauty? Every girl in this place is beautiful.”
The girls weren’t even whispering. They looked at Annie in amazement, gossiping among themselves.
Because of what she posted yesterday on the forum, the employees who didn’t know her before wanted to see what she looked like.
And those who already did were the ones more shocked.
“Surely, Ms. Lin is brave. None of us would have done something like that if we were treated that unfairly.”
“Everyone was thinking the CEO would punish her. The opposite happened. Who would ever dream that the CEO himself would post an explanation on the forum?”
“I was quite surprised, but not that much. Have you forgotten our CEO is a good person? You guys have been so traumatized by the cunning Mr. Wu. Maybe that’s why you think every CEO is a strict person.”
The girls didn’t particularly dislike Annie. In fact, they found her act of bravery very commendable. They didn’t directly compliment Annie, though. Each girl spoke with her colleague from the same department. As if they all found it downgrading to speak with the other girls.
“Ah, Ms. Lin, aren’t you the most perfect girl?” Stacy from the HR Department had just come to work.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Annie and Layla sitting on the same chair and she hurried to them.
“Ms. Ju’an, I must congratulate you too. You girls are very lucky. Everyone wanted to look down on the Arts Department but Ms. Lin proved them wrong.”
“Thank you, Stacy. Now could you give a call to your Manager and tell him we have been waiting for almost an hour now?” Layla was losing patience.
Since yesterday when the announcement was placed on the forum, she had been in a jolly mood.
But this morning, she dreaded seeing the HR Department’s Manager. She just wanted to get her transfer done quickly without having to see the man for long.
“Ms. Ju’an, please be patient.” Stacy smiled at her. “Mr. Zhang is on his way. He is not usually late. I believe something must have held him back.”
She wasn’t Mr. Zhang’s assistant. Stacy was a simple receptionist, so she didn’t have the power to give the man a call.
Sadly, his assistant was always a late person. So no one even anticipated the guy’s appearance soon.
“Ms. Lin.” Stacy stared at Annie. “You are very brave, judging from the way you reacted yesterday. Layla, I hope you girls won’t forget me once you begin working in the CEO’s area. In return, I’ll treat you all nicely.”
“That’s nice of you.” Annie looked at her without smiling. It was as if she could tell Stacy’s smile was fake.
“Hehe.” Stacy touched her nose, feeling a bit uncomfortable. “Then I’ll leave you girls alone. If you need anything, please let me know.”
Everyone’s eyes went to the elevator doors that just opened and their expectations came true when Mr. Zhang finally appeared.
However, the man looked as if he was just released from a hospital.