Chapter 15: What’s the Big
Deal?
It wasn’t until Fletcher mentioned WhatsApp contacts that I realized what had been bothering him–the fact that I had deleted him from my friends list.
That was from days ago.
And he just noticed today?
But, after all, he was the investor. I couldn’t exactly be blunt about it.
That would make me seem petty.
So I had to find a way out for myself, muttering, “Sorry, Mr. Lynton, I have too many friends on there. I might have accidentally deleted you.”
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Before I could finish speaking, Fletcher let out a soft, almost mocking laugh. “Charlene, can you at least come up with a decent excuse? It’s just a WhatsApp contact. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
arew
His words came with the usual confident, almost condescending tone.
The kind that suggested he had me all figured out.
Suddenly, I felt a surge of frustration, anger rising up inside me at his arrogance. I met his gaze, saying, “Right, just a WhatsApp contact. Why are you making such a big deal out of it, Mr. Lynton?”
Fletcher was clearly caught off guard, at a loss for words for a moment.
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We stood there in the hallway, like two fools, staring each other down, neither of us saying another word.
My fingers dug deep into my palms, the tension spreading through me.
I could feel my heart trembling, the bitterness of the situation settling in.
After what felt like an eternity, Fletcher finally spoke, his voice sharp and dark, “Charlene, you really think too much of yourself.”
With that, he turned and disappeared into the cold night, leaving me standing there.
I leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath to steady myself, taking a moment to gather my thoughts.
Eventually, I didn’t add Fletcher back.
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Emails, work group chats, phone calls–if Fletcher really had something work–related to discuss, he could use any of those methods.
There was no reason for me to go back to the way things were, to grovel just because of a few words from him.
I wasn’t about to subject myself to his mockery again.
But despite all my resolve, I found myself wide awake that night, unable to shake off the sting of his words.
In my dream, Fletcher was telling me he was pulling the investment, and I woke up drenched in cold sweat, no longer able to sleep.
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So, the next morning, I dragged myself to work, wearing the evidence of a sleepless night–two dark circles under my eyes.
In contrast to my disheveled appearance, Davina looked positively radiant, her face alight with triumph.
She was handing out coffee and croissants to the rest of the team, one by one.
When she saw me, she beamed and came over with a smile. “Charlene, your black coffee.”
Given that my stomach had only just started to recover, I didn’t dare drink coffee, but since it was a gesture of goodwill, I couldn’t refuse.
“Thanks.”
I reached out to take the coffee, but the
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next moment, Aria’s surprised exclamation caught my attention. “Wow, a Cartier Love bracelet, and it’s the diamond edition! It’s gorgeous!”
I followed her gaze and immediately spotted the sparkling rose gold bracelet Davina had on her wrist. The color complemented her perfectly, making her delicate wrist appear even more slender and pale.
“Mr. Lynton is really generous, Aria said with a touch of envy. “When will I ever have a domineering CEO like him picking me up in a Maybach for work? If that ever happens, I could die in peace.”
Davina’s cheeks flushed, and she shyly replied, “It will happen.”
I had no interest in joining their gossip, so I turned towards my desk. But just as I was
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about to sit down, I overheard Aria again.
“Mr. Lynton is so romantic, not only the matching couple items, but also those couple avatars. How are we single folks supposed to live with all this?”
The mention of “couple avatars” made me pause.
As I sat down, almost on instinct, I opened the work group chat.
Fletcher’s profile picture had changed from a sunset photo to a cat wearing a bow tie.
It matched Davina’s avatar of a cat in a pink hat perfectly.
They were such a good match.
Davina had treated everyone to coffee for
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two days straight, and I had benefited from
- it.
Kaitlyn had just confirmed her travel
schedule and would be back tomorrow afternoon.
That meant this afternoon, I’d have to go to Lynton Group alone to do the weekly report.
I was considering whether to push it to the next day when Davina walked over, all excited, and asked, “Charlene, what time are we leaving this afternoon?”
I paused for a moment, then realized she was referring to the Lynton Group report.
It was a bit sudden.
But then I thought about it for a second, and it made sense.
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After all, she was now the planning department manager, so it was completely reasonable for her to be the one making the
Port.
I replied, “Three o’clock, I suppose.”
Davina nodded enthusiastically. “Great! I’ll go get ready.”
Before we left, I realized that “getting ready” for Davina meant applying a full face of natural–looking makeup.
Soon, we arrived at the Lynton Group building.
When the receptionist saw Davina, she politely greeted her with a “Ms. Bates,” then respectfully escorted us to the private elevator.
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Her attitude was nothing short of impeccable.
I couldn’t help but think back to just over a month ago when Kaitlyn and I first arrived here. The receptionist had looked at us as though we were beneath her, her gaze as lofty as if her eyelids were attached to the top of her head. She acted all high and mighty.
Clearly, having someone powerful backing Davina made all the difference.
“Charlene, wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back,” Davina said politely, as she headed toward Fletcher’s office with a familiar ease.
It was as if she were walking into her own home.
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I could only wait.
But I hadn’t expected that I would be waiting for over an hour.
Davina still hadn’t come out.
“Mrs. Lynton, what are you doing here?”
I looked up to see Duke standing in front of me, holding a pile of documents, his eyes filled with surprise.
“Duke,” I took a breath and asked, “Is Mr. Lynton still busy?”
“No, he only has one meeting this afternoon, with you all,” Duke replied, glancing at Fletcher’s office, and added enthusiastically, “I’ll go check.”
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“Let’s wait a bit longer, it’s not urgent, I called after him. “Also, Duke, just call me by my name from now on.”
He probably still didn’t know that the so–called “Mrs. Lynton” was someone else
now.
Duke paused slightly, glanced at the office again, and sighed, “Mrs. Lynton… no, Charlene, don’t be upset, I…
Before he could finish, the office door opened.
Davina cast a quick glance at Duke, then turned to me and said, “Charlene, you can come in now.”
Her tone was neutral, neither warm nor cold.
I didn’t think much of it, proceeding with my
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work report.
At the end, I glanced at Fletcher, who was sitting directly in front of me, but I saw him wering his head, speaking with Davina.
The young woman’s lips were curled in a smile, her eyes bright with joy.
Suddenly, I felt like I was the extra one in the
room.
“If Mr. Lynton has no further comments, I’ll take my leave,” I said, not planning to stay as a third wheel.
But just as I was about to leave, Davina, who had remained silent up until that point, suddenly spoke, “Charlene, I have a suggestion, though I’m not sure if I should bring it up.”
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I paused and heard Fletcher’s voice, “You’re also one of the project leads, it’s your right to offer suggestions.”
Davina turned to me, as if waiting for my
sponse.
I replied in a businesslike manner, “Please go ahead, Ms. Bates.”
“I was looking at our game interface last night, and… I feel the color saturation isn’t enough,” Davina said, glancing at Fletcher, “Since it’s a romance simulation game, the overall tone should be brighter, more vibrant. It should have the feel of romance.”
The feel of romance.
I silently mulled over those words and asked, “What exactly do you mean by ‘the feel of romance‘?”
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Davina froze for a moment, her big eyes lowering, looking like she was about to speak but stopped herself.
It was as if I had done something to upset her.
I softened my tone, responding kindly, “Ms. Bates, I’m just addressing the matter at hand.”
“It’s fine, feel free to speak your mind,” Fletcher suddenly interrupted, his tone gentle. “Ms. Grande isn’t a stubborn person, and besides, I’m here too, right?”
Should I thank him for that?
Davina seemed encouraged, smiling as she said, “Love should be beautiful and dreamy. I think a pink main color would be more
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fitting.”
She quickly added, “Fletcher, what do you think?”
Right now, we were using a light aqua blue.
The theme was bright and refreshing, meant to give players a clean and comfortable gaming experience.
But Davina felt it lacked the romance.
“Ms. Grande, what’s your opinion?”
The deep timbre of Fletcher’s voice brought me back to the moment. I lifted my lashes, meeting his gaze, and said, “I think the current interface is fine, but if Mr. Lynton insists on a change, we can make some adjustments.”
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This was the biggest concession I was willing to make.
As a project lead, I had to hold firm to certain
ings.
The man furrowed his brows slightly, his long fingers tapping gently on the desk before asking, “What’s the reason behind that?”
I replied seriously, “Love comes in many forms. It’s not limited to a single color.”
What was sweet for one may be poison for another.
No one understood that better than I did.
But as soon as I finished speaking, Davina’s face suddenly turned pale.
I was merely addressing the matter at hand.
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“Since that’s the case, Fletcher’s deep eyes fell on my face, and after a pause, he made the final decision, “Then please, Ms. Grande, integrate the dreamy pink into the current interface.”
That settled it.
This report took more effort than I’d anticipated.
By the time we finished, night had fallen.
As I was gathering the files, I overheard Fletcher and Davina discussing where to go for dinner.
Davina spoke cautiously, “Fletcher, I haven’t finished work yet.”
She then glanced at me surreptitiously.
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I pretended not to notice, preparing to make my exit.
But before I could leave, Fletcher’s voice reached me.
“This is simple, Ms. Grande, come join us.”
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