Chapter 87 Eyes in the Dark

Chapter 87 Eyes in the Dark

"I did not! Don't make things up!"

With Alexander's playful tease, Olivia immediately stood up, then took two steps back, her voice urgent. "Thanks, but I need to go!"

She turned and walked briskly toward the elevator.

Alexander watched her hurried departure and chuckled silently to himself.

He didn't follow her, instead turning to enter the executive elevator.

Once inside her elevator, Olivia deliberately waited a moment, but Alexander never appeared. As she considered peeking out to check, she remembered the awkward moment they'd just shared and simply pressed the door close button instead.

Back at her workstation, Olivia opened her water bottle. Just as her lips touched the rim, an image of Alexander's thin lips flashed through her mind.

She paused, no longer in the mood to drink, and set the bottle back down.

"Damn, why do I keep thinking about him?"

After another unwelcome thought of Alexander, Olivia patted her slightly warm cheeks, feeling increasingly frustrated.

To forget Alexander, Olivia tipped some instant coffee directly into her mouth, then opened her design software to start on a new project.

She immersed herself completely in her work, the caffeine keeping fatigue at bay. When she finally paused, three hours had passed.

"Done."

After hitting save, Olivia arched her back and leaned against her chair. She massaged her sore shoulders and hands, admiring the results of her morning's work with satisfaction.

She was so engrossed in reviewing her design that she completely missed the pair of eyes watching her every move from the corner.

His eyes never left her. Hidden behind the potted plant, he watched Olivia through the narrow gap he'd made, breath held, fascinated.

When she turned to the side, he quickly dropped the leaves and tried to minimize his presence.

Fortunately, Olivia was only speaking to a colleague beside her and didn't notice him.

Seeing how diligently she had worked all morning, the employee concluded she must be designing her competition entry. He took out his phone and confidently typed something in a message box.

Soon, it was lunchtime.

"Olivia." The junior assistant gently tapped on Olivia's desk.

Olivia was browsing a food delivery app and looked up, puzzled to see the assistant hiding her face behind a file. "What's wrong? Why all the secrecy?"

Thinking the young college graduate might be struggling with her low internship salary, Olivia offered, "If you need to borrow money, that's fine."

"No, it's not about money!" The assistant hurriedly denied, "It's... it's..."

Her eyes darted around nervously before she finally whispered, "I wanted to say I'm sorry..."

She'd been feeling increasingly guilty, regretting that she'd let personal matters interfere with work. If she had accompanied Olivia to the materials factory that day, Olivia wouldn't have been injured and forced to take such a long leave of absence.

Understanding immediately, Olivia wasn't angry. Instead, she reassured her. "You don't need to apologize. This wasn't your fault. Nobody wants accidents to happen."

"It's on George." If he hadn't asked her to follow up on the project at the factory so late at night, none of what followed would have happened.

As for the two of them, they were just employees being exploited by demanding clients.

Hearing this, the assistant felt somewhat relieved, but still insisted on apologizing and offered to treat Olivia to lunch in the cafeteria.

She wanted to take Olivia to a proper restaurant, but with rent just paid, her budget was stretched thin.

Recognizing the assistant's discomfort, Olivia didn't refuse further.

The two left chatting cheerfully, while the rest of the office staff gradually filed out for lunch.

The employee lurking in the shadows waited for a long time. Once certain the area was clear, he snuck over to Olivia's workstation, logged in using his employee account, and began copying all of her morning's design work onto a USB drive.

"That delivery guy was completely insane. I told him I was at the entrance, but he insisted on putting my order in the locker, wasting ten minutes of my time!" A colleague's annoyed complaint suddenly echoed down the hallway.

"Why not give him a bad review?" another voice suggested.

Hearing the voices drawing nearer, the employee stared anxiously at the transfer progress on the screen, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

If he removed the USB drive now, the computer would definitely record the interruption, but if he didn't leave quickly, they would catch him!



Just as the door opened, the computer displayed "Transfer Complete." The employee swiftly removed the USB drive, shut down the computer, and ducked down in one fluid motion.

After crawling back to his own desk, he was drenched in sweat.

He glared hatefully at the two colleagues who had nearly ruined his plan, mentally adding them to his list. When he made it big, he'd make them pay!

In the company cafeteria, Olivia and her assistant found a corner table to sit. Before they could start eating, a commotion arose at the entrance.

Olivia looked up curiously, and the assistant appeared equally confused. "What's happening? Is an executive making an inspection?"

When Olivia recognized James, she rolled her eyes with annoyance and picked up her utensils. "Not an executive. Let's eat."

The assistant had also spotted him. "Mr. Kent? This is the first time I've seen him here."

It wasn't just the assistant who was surprised. Many young female employees were amazed to see the handsome and wealthy James actually eating in the cafeteria with them. They watched his every move, planning to switch to seats near him.

Some bolder women pretended to walk unsteadily or not watch where they were going, deliberately bumping into him to start a conversation.

James caught a female employee who nearly fell, asking with concern and gentleness, "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine." Looking at his handsome face so close to hers, the woman blushed uncontrollably, her heartbeat accelerating enough to make her forget her prepared lines.

She shyly avoided his gaze, her voice barely audible. "Thank you."

Though it was just a simple, clichéd interaction, the surrounding female admirers watched with flushed faces, silently screaming that they liked James even more.

James released her hand, reminded her to be more careful when walking, then promptly ended the conversation and strode quickly toward Olivia's direction.

He had no time to waste on these irrelevant, scheming women.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, James stopped right in front of Olivia.

"I bet Miss Harper is angry with Mr. Kent."

"If I saw my partner hugging another woman in public, I'd be mad too."

"What right does she have to be angry? Have you all forgotten? She's the one two-timing."

The whispers spread through the cafeteria, but no one expected James to question Olivia first. "Were you with Alexander Blake last night?"