Five minutes went by, the assistant did not return.
The man’s frown grew deeper as the voices kept increasing, and Layla who couldn’t leave without the CEO’s permission, could feel her heart beating apprehensively.
She wasn’t mistaken that it was Priscilla’s voice. And she was afraid that the girl was here to cause trouble for her friend.
“M-Mr. Lim, please have a taste. I- I hope you’ll like this one.” The coffee was getting cold, and Layla didn’t want to be scolded again.
She wanted more than anything to leave this scary man’s presence. Standing in front of him, it was as if she had been plunged into an iceberg. The cold was nervewracking and her teeth chattered.
“Ms. Ju’an.” The man looked at her after taking his attention off the noise. “Didn’t you work as a barista once?”
Layla gulped and lowered her head. She wanted to cry… No, she wanted to break down. “I- I…”
“Tell me the truth!” His hard voice was enough for Layla to spill out everything.
Going down on her knees, she grabbed the man’s leg. “Ah! Mr. Lim, please it’s not my fault. I swear I was here for something else. It’s Assistant Jiang! He didn’t call me to make any coffee. I was here to tell you that-“
Layla’s lips were trembling so much that her eyes reddened with tears. Damn! Who said this man was her idol?
He was like the devil straight from hell. She would give anything to leave his presence. She couldn’t handle the suppressing atmosphere around him.
It was as if she was about to be butchered up, and her heart beat wildly at the man’s angry expression.
“Please don’t fire me, Mr. Lim- I swear It’s the Assistant’s fault.” And she couldn’t wait to get a hold of that assistant.
If she didn’t teach that guy a lesson, she wouldn’t live up to her reputation as the badass girl she was.
“Mr. Lim-“ Layla was about to continue begging but loud screams from the outside interrupted her.
It was all the secretaries that screamed at once and one could hear Assistant Jiang yelling.
Instantly, the man sprang to his feet, shaking his leg off the girl’s hold. He didn’t even care to glance at the surveillance, and he strode out of the office.
Layla wiped her tears and scampered to her feet, hurrying after him to see what the hell was happening.
When they came out to the secretaries’ area, Layla almost fell from shock. She wasn’t surprised to see Priscilla. What surprised her was that the once tidy place now looked as messy as a battlefield.
“A-Annie-“ She looked at her friend who was being protected by Assistant Jiang and words actually failed her.
The place sank into silence. The secretaries who all looked as if they were watching a horror scene from a movie immediately felt the CEO’s presence.
Priscilla, on the other hand, couldn’t be restricted by Jason. Shattering Annie’s computer wasn’t enough. She had scattered all the reports in the girl’s cubicle, and now, she was about to destroy her tablet by chasing after her with it.
“I swear I’ll break her head!” Priscilla screamed, trying to bypass the assistant. “Let me at her and she will be unrecognizable forever!”
“Mrs. Ju’an, please compose yourself.”
“Priscilla, are you crazy!?” Layla exclaimed. She glanced at her brother who appeared helpless, then she glanced at Annie’s scattered cubicle, next her eyes fell on Annie before she looked at the CEO.
Silently, Layla left the man’s side, feeling the chilling cold emanating from him.
“What is going on here?”
Saying the man’s expression was dark was an understatement. This man, even though he never smiled, looked as if he would commit a mass murder.
All the secretaries rang back to their cubicles and shrank in their seats. Jason’s attention came to the man and he looked uncomfortable.
As for Priscilla, she wasn’t over her anger fit yet. She was so blinded by jealousy that the only person in her vision was Annie. All she wanted was to destroy the girl.
“Priscilla! Wait!” Jason’s voice was filled with fear more than helplessness as he tried to stop the girl.
But it was too late. Although the tablet didn’t manage to hit Annie, it shot to the wall behind the girl and broke into pieces.
The atmosphere became colder, even Annie couldn’t help but shiver from the man’s look. The silence was now prominent and Jason was finally able to hold Priscilla. That was when she saw the CEO.
“Mr. Lim!” Priscilla screamed like a spoilt brat. “You have an employee who is seducing other people’s husbands. I want you to fire her! Chase her out of this company!”
One could tell Priscilla had lost her mind. She spoke to the CEO as if she was speaking to someone below her.
To Priscilla, the CEO was on her side because he was always following her father’s orders. So she thought this was a great opportunity to get Annie fired once and for all.
With a heart filled with rage, she watched the man slowly walk towards Annie. The other employees watched in anticipation. And Assistant Jiang who was seeing this familiar look on the man’s face after so many years quickly fled from the girl’s side.
At this moment, the man’s features were so hard and his eyes were narrowed. If his current look could be compared with his usual cold expression, one would conclude he was smiling at those times.
Never had they seen a man so enraged that they wanted to dig up the ground and bury themselves in it.
And what did he do when he approached the girl?
They all watched in astonishment as he slowly lifted his hand and gently held the side of her cheek, lifting it and accessing the slap marks.
Seconds passed by, then it turned into minutes. The man appeared to be in a trance.
“Mr. Lim…” Annie was surprised by his action. What she didn’t know was that this man wasn’t in the present.
Like a spell, the sight of the glaring red mark against her supple fair skin had pulled him back to the past.
Three years ago, on a hot afternoon, the man was resting inside the backseat of his car when his eyes strayed to the window and he saw a horde of crowd gathered around a young girl.
She looked so weak that even the most stone-hearted person would melt at the sight of her. But the crowd was heartless as they threw horrible remarks at her.