Sebastian’s enormous suit jacket seemed to cover every inch of Natalie’s body, revealing only her face. “It feels strange to wear a jacket. It completely covers the dress.”
Sebastian dragged her onto the sofa, gently pulled her hair out of the jacket, and placed his palm on the small of her back. “It’s alright. The party is about to end anyway.”
Then, he turned around and scowled at Garrett, who was watching them from a distance.
He was annoyed that Garrett had arranged such a revealing dress for Natalie. Garrett almost choked on his drink when he met Sebastian’s fiery gaze.
His cheeks turned red from the coughing. Garrett couldn’t fathom why Sebastian was staring at him.
He had specially arranged for his people to prepare a beautiful dress for Natalie. But Sebastian’s disapproving look made him question his decision.
It was past midnight when the party was over. Natalie and Sebastian returned home together.
Natalie sensed something was wrong. Sebastian hadn’t taken his eyes off her on their way back home. Unable to take it anymore, Natalie turned around and looked at him.
“What’s wrong with you tonight? Why are you constantly staring at me?”
Sebastian remained silent. Natalie shook her head and took the key from her bag. As soon as they entered the house, he grabbed her arm.
“Because you are beautiful.”
Sebastian slammed the door shut and pressed Natalie against it.
He cupped her cheeks and gently nibbled at her bottom lip. As Natalie’s lips parted, he slid his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss. Their tongues danced in rhythm, and they soon got breathless.
Natalie pulled back and leaned against Sebastian’s shoulder, panting for breath. Sebastian smiled and trailed his tongue across her earlobe.
“Put me down. The dress is already wrinkled. What if we end up tearing it?” Natalie whimpered as she tried pushing him away.
Her ears were sensitive to the kiss, and she shivered under his touch.
“Hmm…” Sebastian finally let go of Natalie and gently stroked her hair. “I’m going to take a shower. You go to bed early.”
With that, he turned around and walked into the bathroom.
Frustrated, Natalie leaned against the door and covered her flaming face.
They had been getting intimate at every given opportunity, and Natalie’s will seemed to crumble with every passing day. ‘What if we both lost self-control someday?’ she wondered.
…
The next day, Natalie carefully packed the dress and jewelry and went to the company. However, she had no idea where to return them.
Seeing that Garrett was walking past the design department, Natalie hurriedly stopped him. “Mr. Harding, I brought the dress and accessories.”
“Well, give it to Mr. Larson. They are his, not mine.” Garrett shrugged and went straight to the elevator.
Natalie sighed and sent Brandon a message again.
“Mr. Larson, whom should I return the dress I borrowed last night for the dinner party?”
“You don’t have to return it. We don’t reuse custom-designed dresses. It’s yours now.”
That was when it dawned on Natalie that wealthy people didn’t wear second-hand clothes. However, she was too embarrassed to accept it. “It’s too expensive, Mr. Larson. How can I accept it?”
“Well, you can save it for the future. Considering the Larson Group’s unshakable position in the fashion industry, how can an employee wear cheap clothes for dinner parties and ruin our company’s image?”
Natalie couldn’t argue with that. She had no choice but to take back the dress and jewelry. She carefully wrapped them up in a bag and hid them in her closet.
The next day when Natalie went back to work, Garrett called her to meet him.
“Mr. Larson wants you to have these,” he said, holding out several enormous bags. “Well, our company has collaborations with several fashion brands and enterprises. These are all complimentary gifts they have sent to us. You can take them.”
Natalie’s eyes widened when she saw the expensive clothes and shoes lying in front of her.
They were all from the biggest fashion houses. The clothes and shoes were in trend. Considering the demand, many of the pieces were out of stock, and most importantly, every single garment was expensive.
“These… These are too expensive and invaluable. Has Mr. Larson given clothes to the other employees as well?” Natalie asked, her face pale with horror.
“That’s not your concern,” replied Garrett.
Judging from his tone, it seemed obvious that no one else had received such expensive things.
Natalie’s stomach churned with unease, and her palms grew sweaty.
These were not just ordinary gifts. She couldn’t bring herself to accept them.
“Well, I only follow Mr. Larson’s orders. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him.” Garrett smiled as he continued to read the document.
Natalie left Garrett’s office and quickly sent a message to Brandon.
Thousands of people worked for the company. How could she be the only one to receive such expensive gifts?
The design department was indeed the most crucial component of the Larson Group. However, Tiffany was Natalie’s superior. Natalie was confused as to why she was the first one to get such expensive gifts instead of Tiffany.
“Mr. Larson, thank you for the clothes and shoes, but I’m afraid I can’t accept them. I’m not used to wearing expensive clothes, so why don’t you give them to other employees?” Natalie didn’t care if the message sounded rude. All she wanted was for him to know that she couldn’t accept expensive gifts for no reason.
It looked like Brandon was way too nice to her that it got real creepy.
Natalie had never seen the mysterious CEO, and perhaps Brandon hadn’t seen her in person either.
Although she tried not to overanalyze the situation, her intuition told her that something was wrong.
The day passed in a blur. Hours later, Natalie finally received a message from him.
“You may have to get involved in more collaborative projects in the future. As a designer of the Larson Group, you don’t seem to pay attention to the way you dress. It’s a matter of our company’s image. I don’t want people questioning the Larson Group’s design abilities. Wearing the right outfit is also an advertising strategy. As a designer, you have to carry yourself well.”
It was a long, reasonable, irrefutable speech.
Brandon was smart enough to persuade Natalie to accept the clothes even though she didn’t think it was appropriate for her to take them.
Natalie stared at the long message on her phone and took a deep breath.
She had no choice but to accept the clothes and shoes in the end.
She quickly sent, ‘thank you’ and turned off her phone.
After work, she received another message from Brandon.
“If you face any problems in life, you can also come to me any time. I will help you solve it so that it doesn’t affect your work.”
