Chapter 2 The Boss and I
A long and suffocating silence ensued.
Those who had been dozing off, on their phones, and fidgeting with their fingers in the conference room all sat up straight, eyes glinting as they stared at the projection screen ahead. Someone even sneakily turned on their phone camera.
I turned to glance at Mr. Hall, then looked back at Ms. Sanders, whose face was contorted in disbelief. After hesitating briefly, I turned back to Mr. Hall. “I put it away in the bedroom cabinet, the one beside the bed.”
Between Ms. Sanders‘ and Mr. Hall’s questions, I chose to answer Mr. Hall’s first. Ms. Sanders‘ face contorted even more.
As Mr. Hall seemed to have just realized I was in a meeting, he walked over to look at Ms. Sanders on the screen. He asked, “Were you the one who said something about April having a poor work ethic? So, what did she do? Do enlighten me.”
I had to admit that the way he said that made it sound like he was standing up for me, but I swore on my healthy hairline that he was just asking out of curiosity. Maybe he even did it with a bit of schadenfreude.
However, Ms. Sanders clearly misunderstood. She stood up and lowered her head, saying, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you and April were living… together…”
“Then, there’s no problem, is there?” Mr. Hall glanced at his watch, adding, “This meeting has gone on long enough. Let’s wrap it up. April has other things to do.”
Not daring to say another word, Ms. Sanders ended the video call in a panic, as if looking at me for one more second would make her explode.
Meanwhile, the secretarial department’s private group chat was already buzzing with gossip. “So, April and Mr. Hall are living together? That’s insane news!”
“He even asked about his underwear. Of course, they’re living together!”
“Didn’t you guys hear Mr. Hall saying she still has other things to do? What else would she be doing in his house? We all know what that means!”
“Isn’t it kind of inappropriate to discuss this here? April’s also in this
group chat.”
“She has never sent messages here. She probably has this group muted.”
“Even though she’s living with Mr. Hall, she keeps pretending to be a nobody. How could she just say nothing when she got picked on before this? She sure can put up with anything.”
“I bet Lady Overlord is panicking right now.”
“Of course, she is. Mr. Hall totally backed April up just now. Maybe she’ll be fired by tomorrow.”
“Lady Overlord has always been so condescending, but she’s finally put in her place. It’s so satisfying!”
“I agree!”
Lady Overlord was their secret nickname for Ms. Sanders.
While some were enjoying the drama, others began throwing shade.
Lindsay Fisher remarked, “Don’t tell me you guys actually think April is Mr. Hall’s girlfriend?”
“Isn’t she? They’re already living together.”
“Oh, please. As if Mr. Hall would like someone like April.”
Lindsay had gotten her job in the secretarial department through connections. Rumor was, she had a relative on the board of directors.” That
Overlord didn’t dare be rude to her.
As soon as she said that, others naturally believed her.
“Then why did Mr. Hall stand up for her?”
was
why even Lady
Lindsay merely replied, “She probably got him to do it by doing him certain kinds of favors. Regardless, there’s just no way that she’s his girlfriend. Mr. Hall would never go for her. Maybe she used the excuse of delivering the document to deliver herself instead.”
“For real? Could April be that kind of person?”
“Who would have thought? She always seemed so proper.”
Lindsay remarked, “She’s just putting on an act. I went to university with her, and her reputation had always been bad. I even heard she had two–timed before.”
“You two are from the same university? Didn’t you graduate from a world–class institution? April had that good an education?”
“So what? She’s still just a good–for–nothing. Enough about her. It’s boring. Let me show you guys my new handbag.”
As I was staring blankly at the group chat, Mr. Hall urged, “What are you still sitting around for? Go clean.”
Turning to look at him, I said with a serious expression, “Mr. Hall, rumor has it that you and I slept together.”
Mr. Hall stopped in his tracks. “Who said that? That’s ridiculous.”
I nodded fervently. “Yeah! How could they twist our perfectly professional relationship like that?”
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Mr. Hall continued, “What makes them think I’d be interested in you?”
At that moment, I was sure that I saw a look of genuine confusion in his eyes.
I said humbly, “Exactly, Mr. Hall. They’re questioning your sense of taste. Could it be that maybe your sudden appearance during the video call just now was a bit misleading?”
After considering what to say next, I continued, “A man and a woman staying alone together is bound to raise eyebrows. After all, you’re incredibly brilliant, handsome, and eloquent. It’s only natural that most women would fall head over heels for you…”
Chapter 2 The Boss and 1
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Mr. Hall’s expression hardened as he looked at me warily. “Could it be that you yearn for me?”
Having grown up abroad and being unfamiliar with sarcastic analogies, he thought I was genuinely complimenting him.
Realizing I had overdone it, I waved my hands frantically. “No, I would never! I merely respect you from the bottom of my heart!”
“That’s good.” Like every shrewd boss ever, Mr. Hall began to dangle a carrot in front of me. “Just keep working hard. I read your performance report. It was decent -definitely better than your department head’s.”
After mulling it over, I believed that he was hinting that if I worked hard, I might one day replace Ms. Sanders and become the next Lady Overlord. Unfortunately for him, I had no such ambition. Still, I thanked him. “Thank you for speaking up for me today, Mr. Hall.”
“What, was I supposed to just sit back and watch you get yelled at?” Mr. Hall shot me a sideways glance. “You’re already stuck here because of work. Would you have preferred to also be accused of having a poor work ethic? That would be nonsense.”
He then added in an unexpectedly gentle tone, “Stop overthinking things. Your brain capacity is limited. If you keep considering nonsense, it’ll crash.”
Since I was already used to his constant passive–aggressive jabs, I didn’t bother to retort. I merely agreed and went off to clean. Well, calling it cleaning would be a stretch. The only thing I needed to do was hit the power button on the robotic vacuum cleaner and watch it go in circles.
With time to spare, I pulled out my tablet and opened the design report I had written earlier to review it. Just as I was concentrating, a voice drifted over. “Who wrote that report?”
Startled, I turned to Mr. Hall. “Why do you ask? Is it well written?”
Sipping his coffee, he replied disdainfully, “It’s terribly written. This part is a mess as there’s no clear logic.”
He snatched my stylus and drew a few strokes across the screen. “And here. This should be listed out in bullet points.”
After he fixed the report with just a few strokes, he skimmed through it again, and a look of sudden clarity settled on his face. “But I do think that whoever wrote
this has potential.” Mr. Hall handed the stylus back and took another sip of coffee. “If the writing were more polished, it’d be a solid design report.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle upon hearing that.
Mr. Hall looked at me with a puzzled expression. “What are you laughing at?”
