“What can I do to her? I’m innocent.” Garrett lifted his hands, shaking his head. Then, he quickly walked up to the sofa and sat beside Sebastian. “I only did what you asked me to do. I didn’t expect her to misunderstand me. Trust me, I have nothing to do with her. But think about it; I’ve been helping her time and again. It’s only natural for her to think I’m interested in her.”
Sebastian closed the file in his hand and sneered. “Wow! That’s great! I did everything, but you got the credit.”
“That’s because she has never seen you here. I have been standing up for her every time she has encountered a problem. Look, I don’t want things to be this way either.” Garrett shook his head and put on his glass.
“Don’t put me through anything like this again. Even if I’m required to help her, I have to do it on behalf of Mr. Larson. Otherwise, she will continue to misunderstand me.”
Sebastian pursed his lips and stared into the distance. After a moment’s thought, he realized Garrett was right. Things couldn’t go on this way. He had been Natalie’s secret savior and helped her every time she encountered a problem, but he didn’t get any gratitude from her in return. She always thought someone else had helped her.
Sebastian had to find a solution.
In a daze, Natalie trudged back to her desk.
“Gerda, Mr. Harding wouldn’t make a huge fuss out of us employees, would he?” Natalie whispered to her colleague, her voice riddled with anxiety.
“Nah, I don’t think so. After all, a boss should be open-minded. But maybe he’s capable of making mountains out of molehills. Who knows? I can’t read minds.”
Gerda’s cryptic answer only served to make Natalie even more uneasy. What if she had offended Garrett?
The next day, when Natalie rushed to work, she ran into Garrett at the gate of the company.
Eyes darting around nervously, she managed to pluck up the courage to approach him to apologize. “Mr. Harding, excuse me. About what happened yesterday…”
But before she could finish her sentence, when Garrett saw her approaching, he immediately turned around and rushed back inside the car. He shouted at the driver anxiously, “Go! Get me out of here! Hurry!”
Natalie’s steps faltered as she watched the car zoom off. She was speechless.
When she sat down at her desk, Natalie felt so dejected that she lowered her head to her table and muttered, “Gerda, I think my career’s over.”
Garrett didn’t even want to see her. He was probably so offended.
With a sandwich in her mouth, Gerda handed Natalie a bottle of milk. “Don’t talk like that. Ms. Fisher might hear you and give you an earful.”
“Oh, thanks.” Natalie gratefully accepted the milk. “You’re too mean. I think Ms. Fisher’s a good person.”
As Natalie turned on her computer and checked her inbox, a notification suddenly popped up in the work group chat.
“Brandon Larson sent you a friend request.”
What the hell?!
Startled, Natalie nearly choked on the milk she was drinking.
Brandon was the ever-elusive CEO of the Larson Group.
How the heck did she fall under his radar? Brandon’s position was even higher than that of Garrett!
Worse yet was the fact that the request was sent last night.
Mind whirling, Natalie cautiously accepted Brandon’s request. It had been hours since he had sent the request. Would the CEO think that she was arrogant?
Natalie hurriedly typed, “Good morning, Mr. Larson. I’m sorry. I went to bed early last night, so I didn’t see your request until just now.”
As Sebastian was pouring over the financial statements of the new quarter, his phone suddenly buzzed.
When he saw the text, he couldn’t help but smile and started typing out a reply.
“I see. The company is currently running an investigation on its senior executives. Has Garrett Harding harassed you in any way?”
When Natalie read this, alarms went off in her mind.
Did Brandon know that she had gone to Garrett’s office yesterday?
But Garrett had done the opposite of harassment. At the mere sight of her, Garrett had turned around and ran just now, as if he had seen a ghost.
Frowning slightly, Natalie answered, “No, I rarely interact with Mr. Harding.”
Brandon then asked, “You’ve been working in the Larson Group for a while now. How’s the experience? If you encounter any problems, just tell me. I’ve seen your designs, and I think you have great potential.”
Natalie’s heart skipped a beat. This was the Brandon Larson of the Larson Group. The CEO had noticed her, a faceless employee amidst a hundred others.
She replied obsequiously, “Thank you for your praise, Mr. Larson. I will do my best for the sake of the company.”
“What’s your plan for the future in terms of your career?”
Natalie hastily replied to express her loyalty to the company. “I enjoy it here with the Larson Group and would be honored if I could grow here. If I can, I’d like to spearhead projects in the future. That way, I can learn a lot more.”
“Okay. I won’t disturb you anymore.”
After that, Brandon didn’t say anything more. Minutes ticked by, but Natalie didn’t receive any more notifications, so she closed the chat window.
The CEO’s words were so concise yet impactful, which made him look unprecedentedly cool.
“Hey, are you chatting with your boyfriend?” Natalie nearly jumped in her seat when Gerda’s voice suddenly sounded right next to her ear.
“What—? Of course not!” she immediately refuted, slapping her laptop shut. After a moment of thought, she asked in a low voice, “Have you ever seen Mr. Larson?”
Their CEO was so mysterious that, although he was a well-known public figure, nobody knew what he even looked like. There were no pictures of him anywhere.
“Not exactly… But one time, I went downstairs to buy breakfast and I saw Mr. Harding with a tall, buff guy. I figured the other man was Mr. Larson. I mean, his back alone had an incredibly domineering aura. Why’d you ask? Have you seen him?” Gerda asked curiously, as to be expected from the most gossipy employee in the company.
“No,” Natalie sighed helplessly.
Shaking her head, she decided to drop the subject and proceeded to work. Perhaps the CEO chatted up random employees as part of his routine…
The following Monday, Natalie showed up at the office with dark circles under her eyes.
