Chapter 163
"You have such great skin, how do you take care of it?" Kurt became bolder, reaching out to touch Nora's hair.
Nora's whole body stiffened, her heart racing.
That suffocating feeling surged up again.
She felt disgusted.
But she had to hold it in.
To help Michael get rid of Kurt, she had to let him get carried away.
"Cosmetics are expensive too." Nora spoke shakily, trying hard to calm herself down.
Kurt smiled and moved closer to Nora, thinking she was hinting at something, "Ms. Adams, I heard quite a few rich people in Emerald City know you. Seems like you're pretty capable."
Kurt was implying something, "How about we grab dinner together on your day off?"
Nora nodded, "Sure."
There was a knock at the door.
Kurt was displeased, clearly annoyed that someone was interrupting his fun.
Nora was good-looking with a nice figure and smooth skin. A player like Kurt could naturally tell at a glance that Nora was top-tier.
If Michael's assistant was eagerly trying to please him, it must mean Michael was desperate to win him over and wary of him.
"Mr. Lowe, Mr. Smith asked me to ask you what conditions you have for the VP position. Feel free to name them, and he'll try his best to meet them. He just hopes you..." Nora took the opportunity to move away from Kurt, speaking meaningfully.
Kurt nodded with a smile, naturally understanding what Nora meant.
Michael was showing one hundred percent sincerity.
"I'm an old employee of the company too. I'm not greedy, but I can't bear to leave my team in the investment department. After all, they've been with me for over ten years. If Mr. Smith could merge the investment and project departments and let me manage them both..."
Nora looked at Kurt with feigned surprise, "Mr. Lowe! The investment department has always been an independent department. You want to merge it with the project department..."
Kurt was really greedy.
But this was all part of Nora's plan.
Now he was getting carried away and daring to make such demands.
That meant he wasn't far from making a mistake.
"Is it too difficult?" Kurt looked at Nora probingly.
"Not really." Nora smiled, "Mr. Lowe, I'll talk to Mr. Smith about it. If it works out, on your end..."
Kurt got it immediately, "Don't worry, when the time comes, I'll cover all your cosmetics and skincare expenses for the year." Kurt smiled meaningfully, lifting his hand to touch Nora's chin.
Getting more and more brazen.
Nora stepped back, opened the door with a smile, and practically fled from Kurt's office.
That feeling almost suffocated her.
Hiding in the restroom, Nora felt her stomach churning violently and hugged the toilet, throwing up.
Her eyes were very red. Nora clenched her hands tightly.
She couldn't give up.
She had to help Michael.
She needed to hurry.
When Luna came out, she would destroy her trump card and give her a big gift.
After vomiting for a long time, Nora sat weakly on the toilet, taking a long time to recover.
Her depression and anxiety had clearly improved since meeting Michael, but it still wasn't enough.
Whenever she was triggered, her whole body would still go numb and stiff, her limbs feeling like they were turning to stone, with obvious physical symptoms.
All she could think about was Kurt's disgusting face and how he looked when he got close to her.
"Nora?" Outside, David was looking for her.
Nora stood up with trembling fingers, hurriedly washed her hands, looked at her pale face in the mirror, and took a deep breath.
"Nora, Mr. Smith is looking for you."
David was helpless. He had really become Nora's errand boy.
Nora had only been gone for ten minutes, and Michael had already sent him out to find her.
This was the office—could she just disappear into thin air?
"Okay." Nora nodded.
David saw that Nora didn't look well and moved closer, "Are you..."
"Don't touch me!" Nora recoiled from David in terror, breathing rapidly.
After coming to her senses, Nora stood there in a daze, "Sorry, sorry, I spaced out."
David was startled by Nora's sudden reaction. Her eyes were full of fear, "It's okay."
Nora lowered her head awkwardly, her eyes red.
"Mr. Smith is waiting for you. Are you alright?" David felt something was off about Nora's state.
He pulled some candy from his pocket and handed it to Nora, "You look really pale."
"I'm fine, maybe I didn't sleep well last night." Nora explained quietly.
"Nora." At the end of the hallway, James stood there waiting for Nora, "Come here."
Nora flinched and instinctively hid behind David.
David frowned and stood protectively in front of Nora, "Sorry, Mr. James Smith, it's work hours now, and Mr. Michael Smith is looking for Nora."
"Assistant Jones, aren't you being a bit too nervous?" James sneered, "I'm just doing a normal work handover. It's work hours."
David said nothing.
"Nora, there's a document on my desk. Bring it to Mr. Michael Smith for me." James told Nora to get it.
"I'll go." David volunteered, smiling and gesturing for Nora to go back to Michael while he went to get it.
James sneered.
After David left, James spoke in a low voice, "Nora, your mom's getting out of prison soon. The daughter of a con artist and human trafficker—what kind of dirt is that? How do you think Michael is going to whitewash that for you?"
Nora's footsteps froze, her back to James, breathing rapidly.
Seeing Nora stop, James knew he'd hit her weak spot.
He slowly walked over, grabbed Nora by the back of her collar, and dragged her into the stairwell.
"Let go of me." Nora looked at James in panic, wanting to shout, but James covered her mouth.
"Nora, try shouting once and see what happens. Believe it or not, I'll rape you right here and we'll make headlines together tomorrow?" James's voice was extremely vicious, his grip on Nora tightening, full of rage.
Nora looked at James in terror, her gaze trembling.
"Nora, I warned you before—if you dare mess with Michael, I won't let you go."
Nora stared hard at James, her eyes showing disgust and revulsion.
James couldn't stand seeing Nora like this and became even more agitated, "Nora! I'm telling you, you're mine. Even if I don't love you anymore, you're not allowed to love anyone else."
His voice was full of threat, yet still couldn't hide the hoarseness and pleading.
He was selfishly hoping Nora wouldn't love anyone else.
Nora was his entire youth.
She was his pure white rose stained with dirt.
She was the thorn forever embedded in his heart.
"Did you hear me!" James grabbed Nora's chin, trying to force a kiss on her.
Suddenly, James cried out in pain.
Nora raised her knee and forcefully hit James in the lower abdomen, picked up a nearby broomstick, and hit him hard on the head.
James's forehead split open, blood gushing out.
Nora was scared to tears, trembling as she cowered in the corner, threw down the broomstick, and desperately tried to escape.
But James reached out and grabbed her collar.
That feeling again.
That feeling of almost reaching hope, only to be violently dragged back into the depths of hell.
Just like six years ago.
She had almost made it to the bedroom door, was about to open it and escape, but that man pinned her in the corner and dragged her back.
The stairwell door was kicked open. Just as Nora thought she was about to be dragged into the abyss by James, light from outside shone in.
A strong arm grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an embrace.
In that instant, Nora felt like she'd been pulled out of the water and into the sunlight.