The Slap!
Emma's palms were sweating. The sticky feeling made her even more nervous.
Suddenly, Charlotte sat down across from Emma. "Emma, yesterday the general manager asked you to get James's signature on those documents. Did James sign them already?"
Emma looked up to see Charlotte quickly blinking at her.
Emma understood almost instantly. "Signed already. He had me take them back down yesterday."
Marcus pondered for two seconds, his gaze sharp. "What documents? Why were you hem-hawing when I just asked?"
Before Emma could respond, Charlotte spoke up. "President Marcus, it was my resignation report. I didn't have time yesterday, so after the general manager signed, he had Emma bring it upstairs." Charlotte's back was soaked in sweat.
Facing Marcus's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, she was barely holding it together.
Just now, after she and Sophia returned to the office, Sophia insisted she wasn't full.
Charlotte had no choice but to come back for more food. Passing their table, she overheard Marcus interrogating Emma.
"Emma, go back to the office and get it from me quickly. The general manager wants it now."
"Okay, let's go." Emma didn't want to stay a second longer.
Once out of the cafeteria, Emma patted her chest. "Good thing you bailed me out! You turned that around quickly. Solid excuse!"
"Don't compliment me. My back is soaked!" Facing Marcus's piercing eyes felt like torture, even for Charlotte.
She and Sophia had just returned to the office when Sophia complained that she was still hungry.
Charlotte had no choice but to come back for more food. Passing their table, she overheard Marcus interrogating Emma.
"That won't work. Marcus is very prudent. He may go confirm with James and our GM..." Emma worried he would stubbornly dig for the truth.
"Don't worry, I'll give the GM a heads up."
Recalling what just happened, Emma felt she owed her subordinate an explanation. "James and I are actually..."
"You don't have to say it. I get it." They had reached the entrance to the entrance to the legal department. Charlotte stepped back and lowered her voice: "Yesterday, seeing you at the company entrance, James was thunderstruck. Then he abused his power to coerce you into servicing him. But you and Marcus are the real deal. Today Marcus almost found out. As just a general manager, he's no match for the VP. So for love, you endure in silence, not daring to reveal to your beloved that James coerced you. Right?"
Charlotte always looked utterly serious, signaling the gravity of the situation.
Her measured tone almost convinced Emma, who knew the truth.
Emma: ...I'll give you the pen. You wrote it!
Charlotte couldn't help laughing. "Kidding! At a glance, you can tell James isn't the type to indulge in pleasures. I understand why you were anxious. The company prohibits office romances. Marcus is too sensitive, making a big deal of normal colleague interactions."
Emma hung her head guiltily.
Last night, she seduced James with her charms.
What she and James had was not normal colleague interaction. It was an intimate, friendly interaction...
That afternoon, Emma received an address from Marcus for a gown shop David Brown had booked for them.
Tonight was a formal wine tasting event. David Brown had already selected a gown for her, clearly attaching great importance to tonight.
Marcus had to work late and told Emma to go first.
Arriving at the entrance, the store manager was already waiting to respectfully usher her inside.
"Ms. Emma, your grandfather notified us ahead of time that tonight's event is a wine tasting. We've prepared six evening gowns appropriate for the occasion. Please try them all first before deciding."
"Thank you." Emma followed her inside to the VIP dressing room.
In the spacious, luxurious VIP room, six tall models elegantly displayed evening gowns in the center, showcasing the available options.
The store manager led Emma to sit on the soft leather sofa.
Someone immediately brought over a hot drink and placed it in front of Emma. "Ms. Emma, you may be drinking tonight, so we prepared this sobering tea in advance."
"Thank you." Eyeing the warm drink, Emma sensed something amiss.
Her grandfather had brought her here to select gowns before. It was never this special treatment!
"I knew I wasn't seeing things!" Suddenly, the VIP room door opened, and Ava Brown strode in, followed by her best friend, Daniel Parry.
Ava wore a flashy crimson evening gown, staggeringly high heels, and more glamorous makeup than usual. With haughty poise, she addressed the store manager: "You're serving the wrong person. I'm the brown family's daughter, Ava. I was selecting my own gown in the main hall! You have over a dozen people here waiting on this pri—"
Ava stopped herself from saying "bastard.".
That would disgrace the Brown family.
Daniel had been Ava's companion since childhood and always looked down on Emma.
Learning from Ava Brown that Emma had married the Collins family's eldest son, her dislike deepened.
Daniel cast Emma a cold glance. "A slut who slept her way up. Get out!"
Emma suddenly understood.
The shop mistook her for someone else?
She didn't want to quibble with Ava over this petty issue.
But Daniel's words were too crude. Emma couldn't stand it. "How did the Parry family raise you so poorly? Do you really think you're hot shit on a silver platter?"
"You—" Daniel's face flashed green, then white.
Ava Brown wanted to retort but held back.
She could never get the better of Emma verbally.
Now, with so many strangers around, losing a verbal spat would be too embarrassing.
"If you can't speak properly, get your head examined. Or pay me to teach you some manners!" Emma said it arrogantly.
Yet her actions were the opposite— heading for the exit.
Her vicious tongue felt great, but she couldn't exactly squat in the VIP room.
Daniel perked up at this. "Seems the one needing a re-examination is you!"
Emma pretended not to hear, though she had already cursed out Daniel's ancestors dozens of generations ago.
She had only taken two steps when the manager respectfully blocked her path with a bow. "Ms. Emma, please sit. We did not mistake you."
Emma was slightly startled.
The manager's eyes flicked to Ava and Daniel. "Ms. Emma, Young Master Marcus is our gold card member. You're his companion tonight, so naturally you should be served here."
Hearing this, Ava was shocked.
Her gaze stabbed Emma like a knife.
This private custom boutique catered to a high-society clientele. Not just the clothes, even simple accessories were exorbitantly priced. In recent years, the Brown family's important occasion outfits have come from here, but they have never entered the VIP room.
No wonder the Brown family was suddenly enjoying this treatment today.
Because of Marcus!
Ava had tried getting close to Marcus before, drawn only by his flawless looks, build, and aloof, coldly handsome air.
But now, from this one minor incident, she truly realized for the first time that Marcus could provide his partner with a lofty status lording over others, a class leap beyond reach, and unimaginable extravagant wealth.
Ava had never envied and hated Emma as much as she did right now.
She had also never wanted to replace Emma as much as she does now.
Daniel lacked Ava Brown's restraint. Her voice instantly turned shrill. "Young Master Marcus is Young Master Marcus. She is her, just a filthy mongrel. A cheap mistress. How can she compare with Young Master Marcus!"
Emma's anger flared.
But before she could react, there was a loud "slap!"
A man's heavy palm cracked down on Daniel's face with daunting force.
Daniel's body lurched violently to the side. She stumbled back two steps and crashed to the floor. Dazed, she felt a rush of blood in her mouth as her head spun from the impact of the slap.
The VIP room occupants gasped in fright.
The silence in the VIP room was so palpable that even a whisper would have echoed.
All eyes turned to the newcomer.
Marcus's imposing figure radiated an aura of intimidation. His chin tilted up arrogantly as his dark eyes looked down at Daniel, her mind already growing hazy on the floor.
"Go home and ask your father if the Parry family is too idle lately, provoking me, Marcus!"