Chapter 16: Chapter 16

For as long as she could remember, Rayne had chased that man relentlessly without any avail. She had almost convinced herself that he was severely cold to the point that he was incapable of love. So imagine her surprise when he grew an interest in that girl three years ago.

She had investigated the girl and used her situation in her favor. As she was in dire need at that time, Rayne had stroke up a simple deal with her. Break the man’s heart so that he would never develop an interest in chasing after any romantic relationship.

And Rayne’s plan worked. Because not long after he divorced, Andrew finally agreed to marry her. He became less cold toward her because she had always been there for him. He no longer cared about his personal life and would marry any nearby girl.

Rayne had slowly wriggled her way into his heart but the appearance of this girl again just shattered everything. Andrew no longer wanted to marry her. Imagine his reply when she proposed to hold their wedding in two weeks’ time.

“Rayne, let’s break off our engagement.”

“Haha–Haha!” Rayne’s laughter ripped through the air as tears trickled down her eyes. “Annie or whatever you’re called, you’re not even worthy of walking on the same ground as Andrew. If it wasn’t for me three years ago, would his family have let you be his wife?”

…

It was now common knowledge in the Arts Department and everyone was talking about it. Ever since the CEO’s assistant came to summon Annie, they no longer needed to be told what was happening.

Fuelled by Priscilla’s last words when she said ‘The CEO gave their Manager a hard time during the conference because of Annie,’ the employees now found their earlier assumptions reasonable.

“Annie, it is okay to be greedy. Besides, most people are born that way. While many do well to hide their true colors, in the long run, they get exposed.”

Priscilla was at Annie’s desk again when she returned to the department. The girl just couldn’t digest the fact that Annie had challenged her father at the meeting.

“Ms. Wang.” Annie was working on her half-finished work and she didn’t look up from it. “I know you don’t care about money. You might not even get fired even if you slack off.”

“You– what are you trying to imply?”

“Clearly our mission in this company is different. While I’m here to solely make money, Ms. Wang might just be catching fun. Why don’t you find something else to entertain yourself with? I’m not available, Ms. Wang.”

Annie’s gentle words were like needle pricks to Priscilla’s hurt pride. She just wanted to get back at this girl for crossing her father. However, no amount of insult seemed to affect her. In fact, her sharp tongue hurt more than a knife.

“Annie.” She folded her hands, lifting her chin in arrogance. “Apologize to me and I might forgive you. Even better, log into the company’s forum and write a page-long apology to my father.”

Ah! The other employees looked up from their work. They had gone back to minding their business due to being fed up with Priscilla’s tantrums since morning, but what she just said piqued their curiosities.

“Are you going to apologize or not?” Priscilla glared down at Annie.

Annie shook her head with a sigh then dropped the tablet she was holding. Laughing softly, she stood up and faced the girl.

“Is it true that I challenged your father? Ms. Wang, please tell me the difference between respect and professionalism. Your father and I both work for this company, and the presentation I made was in favor of this department–“

“So what?”

“So you should know the differences, Ms. Wang. Maybe look up each word I said during the presentation in a dictionary. And see if I have insulted your father.”

The other employees also found Priscilla’s accusation unreasonable, but none of them dared to interfere. Priscilla’s father wasn’t a normal employee in the company.

Apart from being close friends with the former CEO, he was also a shareholder and had fired some employees in the past. So who wanted to get into the man’s bad books?

“You are not going to apologize?” Priscilla was dragging on the argument.

Annie sat down and returned to her work, ignoring her, and Priscilla clenched her fists. “Fine, Annie. I’ll let you go this time.”

But Priscilla was not someone to forgive easily. She had only said those words because the manager was coming out of his office.

“Why are you all disoriented?” Jason looked at the employees. “This is a crucial time in our department, no one is allowed to lazy around. Remember the CEO is keeping an eye on us.”

Heeding his gentle command, the employees returned to their work and peace descended. Jason walked around the cubicles to survey every employee. It was his everyday routine to ensure accuracy and diligence in the department.

When he reached Annie’s cubicle, he took the tablet from her and looked at the character she was sketching. “Are you distracted?” Was the first thing he asked.

To the normal eyes, the character she sketched could be termed perfect. But Jason could sense something off with the cartoon. It didn’t give off the same vibe as the other characters she had drawn in the past.

“I am fine.” Was Annie’s simple reply to him.

But Jason doubted that. Even he wasn’t fine. He’d been in his office, thinking all day about why she took so long in the CEO’s office.

And when they got off work, he couldn’t help but speak his mind as he drove her home. “I know you have a past with the CEO which you don’t want to talk about. But, Annie, will you keep seeing him? Won’t you consider the effect it might have on our relationship?”

Annie’s head rested on her hand as she stared out of the car’s window. She seemed lost in her thoughts and he wondered if she even heard what he said.

“Annie–“

He didn’t get to continue speaking because her words interrupted him. Still looking out of the window, the girl blew out a sigh and murmured softly, “Jason, let’s get married.”