Chapter 11
Benjamin's face had been terribly gloomy since morning.
Now the entire office was filled with a chilling atmosphere.
Chase groaned inwardly—things that couldn't be changed wouldn't change even if it scared him to death.
"Maybe we could start with the person who uploaded the video?" He racked his brain hard to save his own skin.
Benjamin, sitting behind his large desk, narrowed his eyes and stared at Evelyn beating Matthew with a broom in the video.
He wasn't sure how far she would go for Matthew.
But if she really wanted to anger Preston and fight for inheritance rights... if she truly had such intentions, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"Get Sophia here."
"Yes," Chase answered reflexively, then realized something was off. His brain worked faster than his mouth. "Mr. White, don't tell me this incident suddenly made you see your true feelings and realize you like Sophia?"
Others might not know, but as Benjamin's assistant, Chase knew better than anyone how Sophia felt about Benjamin, and how many times she'd tried to throw herself at him.
She'd just never succeeded.
However, because of Sophia's relationship with Evelyn, Sophia's behavior was never exposed and was instead covered up.
Could it be...
As he thought this, he felt a chill, his neck instantly going cold.
"Like gossiping so much? Want to become a paparazzo?"
"No, don't want to, won't."
Three refusals in a row, Chase shook his head vigorously to express his position.
"Then get out!"
"Okay!"
After the office door closed, Benjamin half-closed his eyes, his gaze falling on Evelyn's furious face in the video.
Did she care about Matthew that much?
"Are you Evelyn?"
Evelyn was still brooding over how her past foolish behavior had cost her Stella's trust when she suddenly heard this question.
No basic courtesy, just obvious resentment.
She lifted her eyelids and looked over to see three college-aged girls, all looking indignant.
Seeing her silence, the first girl to speak became even more upset.
"I'm talking to you! How can you be so rude!"
"You're polite, the most polite person in the world." Evelyn didn't argue or make a fuss, just made a sarcastic remark, then looked at the nearby shop assistant.
No shop should just watch customers being harassed without stepping in.
But when the assistant noticed her gaze, they looked away instead, with a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.
In on it together?
She curved her lips slightly, eyes narrowing. "You know who I am and still dare to cause trouble. What, you think the Thomas family is easy to bully?"
"What does the Thomas family have to do with you? You shameless thing, having a fiancé but seducing someone else's boyfriend!"
"Exactly, how could Sophia have such a disgusting friend?"
"Thank goodness Mr. Thomas isn't blind and knows Sophia is beautiful and kind-hearted. She's better than you in every way!"
Stella had a fiery temper—how could she stand people talking about Evelyn like this in front of her?
"You all look decent enough, so why are your mouths so foul? Did you forget to brush your teeth before leaving home?"
After all, they were young girls who could say anything about others but couldn't handle being criticized themselves. Their faces instantly turned red with anger.
"You're defending her now because she hasn't come after you yet. Wait until she seduces your boyfriend and see what you do!"
Stella rolled her eyes. "A man who can be seduced away—why keep him? Don't you know not to pick up random things from the trash?"
The girls were left speechless and prepared to get physical.
Evelyn moved quickly, grabbing the juice in front of her and splashing it at the girls.
Amid the chaotic screaming, she said calmly:
"Fans' actions, the celebrity pays the price."
"I wonder if news about instructing fans to harass ordinary people would bring her some traffic, and whether she'd like that."
Evelyn's smiling face and soft tone somehow made people afraid.
"We just wanted to ask you a few questions. You attacked first!"
"Do I have any obligation to answer you? As for attacking..."
Evelyn's gaze swept over them, landing on the cashier who was still sneaking glances but showing no reaction.
"Call the police. I can go all the way. But how did you know I was here? Can you stand up to investigation?"
Stella caught on: "Those shop assistants leaked it!"
"No, don't make things up, we don't even know them!"
"Denying it so quickly," Evelyn's smile became more relaxed. "But it wouldn't be hard for me to find out you're all Sophia's fans, with shared group chats or other connections, right? Then this matter really couldn't be separated from Sophia."
Evelyn gave a cold smile. She pulled Stella up to leave, completely ignoring the girls.
"We're just leaving like that? You're not going to teach them a lesson?"
"I will, but their Sophia getting into trouble will hurt them more."
Taking out her phone, Evelyn arranged to cancel Sophia's latest perfume endorsement.
"That's it?" Stella clearly thought this punishment was too light. "You're not afraid Matthew won't forgive you later, so you're deliberately using something that can be changed anytime to get back at Sophia, are you?"
Evelyn didn't even dare show a wronged expression, only saying: "It's not that I don't want to hit harder, it's just that there's too much negative talk about me right now. If I go after Sophia now, yesterday's incident will be even harder to explain."
Before, she'd been chasing after Sophia all the time, being good to her in every way.
Now that Sophia and Matthew's relationship was exposed, if she went after Sophia, it would look like jealousy, no matter what, making it even harder to clear her name.
"How about... You go find Benjamin?" Stella said carefully, her eyes fixed on Evelyn, wanting to see into her heart.
Clearly, she thought Evelyn had other motives and wasn't really over Matthew.
"Okay! Let's go find him right now."
The White Group branch office reception room.
Sophia wore a white shirt with a black pencil skirt that showed off her figure.
This office-style outfit would give Benjamin a different impression, wouldn't it?
As Sophia daydreamed, she heard sounds at the door. She immediately stood up, her face showing a pre-prepared expression, her voice taking on a soft tone.
"Benjamin, what did you want to see me about?"
She ignored the coldness in his eyes and walked toward him instead.
"What's so important that it had to be said here?" She was very close to him but maintained the necessary space. "Is it about Evelyn?"
Sophia sighed, helplessness flashing in her eyes. "She's devoted to Matthew; I can't talk her out of it. Maybe you should just give up on her."
"Give up on me and choose you instead?"
The reception room door suddenly burst open, and Evelyn's mocking voice rang out.