Annie’s senses were lost in his tender gaze. His hands were strangely smooth against her skin as if caressing it.
Beneath his dark expression, a pained look loomed like a shadow. And behind that shadow, she had almost glimpsed the man from three years ago.
“Does it hurt?” Strangely, his voice was also warm and tender. Like a calm breeze, his voice floated into her ears and Annie found herself lost again.
Her throat went dry and she was suddenly thirsty for something she couldn’t point her fingers at. Instead of her heart to beat in chaos… strangely, it was calm.
“Uh.” She couldn’t open her mouth but she nodded her head. It hurt and she didn’t lie that it didn’t. Despite his gentle touch, the stinging pain from the marks was still there.
It was as if eternity had passed. From a horror movie, the scene suddenly transformed into a romantic setting.
The employees couldn’t believe their eyes. No, they wanted to believe they’d run mad. The CEO’s expression at the moment… were they imagining things?
Hearing her response and reading her body language, the man dropped his palm from her cheeks, his dark expression returning.
He faced the dumbfounded spectators and his eyes settled on no one but Priscilla. The man shut daggers at her and Priscilla was forced to come back to her senses.
She trembled under his gaze and quickly held onto Jason for support.
“M- Mr. Lim.” Jason was uncomfortable under the man’s gaze. He summoned up courage and opened his mouth. “Please… I-I’d like to apologize. Priscilla is only…”
He trailed off as the man shoved a hand into his pocket and brought out his phone. No one knew who he called when he uttered the words, “In my office… One minute.”
“Mr. Lim.” Priscilla didn’t like the man’s gaze, yet, she still held onto the belief that this man listened to her father.
“It is her fault! She is the one you should be angry at. Don’t you know that her job is seducing every man in this company? Mr. Lim, don’t just fire her. Please punish her until she can’t beg for mercy!”
“Be quiet, Priscilla,” Jason shushed her, giving her a hard look. It was as if the girl was too dumb that she couldn’t understand the enormity of the situation.
Even Layla who was standing in a corner didn’t dare to speak. The secretaries were even afraid to gossip skillfully.
The CEO’s anger was enough to make them think twice before making the slightest sound.
“Mr. Lim…” Jason summoned up courage again. “Please I can explain…”
“Explain what?” The man’s voice was calm, but only a fool wouldn’t detect the danger in it. “Is my office a playground that you will bring your wife here to make a scene?”
“I didn’t invite her. I came to see you, Mr. Lim,” Jason quickly defended himself, surprising Priscilla.
“H-Honey!” She looked at him. “Even if you didn’t invite me, aren’t I here to save our marriage? This bitch-“
“Shut up!”
Priscilla dropped the finger she pointed at Annie and hurriedly recoiled behind Jason. Throughout her life, this was the first time a man had ever yelled and commanded her to shut up.
Seeing that it was the CEO himself, the girl was intimidated and she wanted to cry. What was happening? Didn’t this man listen to her father?
“I told you to be silent,” Jason said in a low voice. “Look at the mess you’ve made, Priscilla. If you had calmed down, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Jason looked at the messy area and the broken devices and his fear increased. The guy didn’t miss the tender look Annie exchanged with the CEO. Even though it made his heart twist uncomfortably, he was afraid of what would come next.
“Mr. Lim…” He cleared his throat. “I was actually here to speak with you about merging both departments.”
The merging was about to happen yesterday, yet, no one spoke about it. Not even his father-in-law or the CEO.
So Jason thought it better to look for the CEO. Who would think he would land in such a mess?
“MystiArt Production’s reputation is in jeopardy and you speak of some merging.”
Because of the scandal going on, why would he think about something as insignificant as that?
“It seems Mr. Ju’an is only after his own benefits, not caring about the company’s well-being.”
“I- I’m so sorry.” Jason avoided his eyes. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to speak about the merging.
The CEO could listen to him if he hadn’t been angry, but he looked like he would skin someone alive.
Priscilla hid more behind him and he could hear her gritting her teeth. “Mr. Lim!” The girl wouldn’t learn.
She wanted to open her mouth and protest one more time when the elevator doors opened and three security men stepped out.
“Mr. Lim, you asked for us.”
“Mrs. Ju’an has broken every employee conduct in this company. Drag her to the HR Department and handle her resignation. As for slapping and insulting Ms. Lin.” He glanced at Annie. “Make sure she spends the night in the police custody.”
“Done, Mr. Lim.”
The security men nodded concurrently and they literally peeled Priscilla away from Jason and dragged her out.
The man’s command was like a clap of thunder to everyone’s ears so they weren’t able to react in time until Priscilla’s screams resounded in the area.
“Ah! What’s happening! I can’t be fired- Who has the right to fire me in this company! Honey, do something!”
What could Jason do apart from following the security to prevent them from handling his wife roughly?
He couldn’t plead with the CEO. He was afraid if he tried to do that, he would face the same kind of fate.
After Priscilla’s screams receded, the secretaries pretended as if they didn’t see what was happening.
Everyone stared at their computers and started typing rapidly.
Annie’s eyes were on him all the time. The word ‘astonishment’ was boldly written on her expression.
It was as if she was staring at a completely different man.
The girl was more shocked when he stepped forward and wrapped his jacket around her. “Come with me…”
Carefully, he pulled her into his office and Assistant Jiang didn’t care to follow.
Everyone was surprised. Most were frantic and looked as if they’d seen a ghost. But it was only the Assistant who had on a happy expression.
One would believe the assistant had lost his head.