Chapter 2

Kathryn didn't know how she made it out of the lounge without collapsing. She returned to the venue with an ashen look on her face.

When Tally saw her, she asked with concern, "Why do you look so pale? Did you get sick?"

Kathryn looked at Tally, who'd been her best friend since junior high, and her eyes immediately started to water.

Seeing that she was on the verge of tears, Tally quickly looked around. Noting that there weren't many people around, she took Kathryn by the hand and led her to the restroom. "What's wrong? Did Mr. Albert yell at you or something?" she asked.

Once they reached the restroom, Kathryn's knees gave way as soon as Tally locked the door behind them. She sat on the floor with a pale look on her face. Tally rushed over and held an arm over her shoulders. "What happened? Don't let Mr. Albert see you like this. You'll get into big trouble!" she said.

Everyone knew that Albert Group's president was a tough and uncompromising man.

No matter how beautiful a female employee was, they were nothing but an accessory to Chris. Crying during work hours was also a major taboo for him.

An employee had once cried in the office because of a broken heart. When Chris had found out, he'd fired everyone in the employee's department right away.

It didn't matter to Chris that men were supposed to love and cherish beautiful women. The man wasn't emotionally equipped to do that.

Kathryn sobbed her heart out. "Oh, Tally! I really don't want to get fired, nor do I want to leave Harborlean!"

"What are you talking about? What on earth did you do to Mr. Albert?" Tally asked, confused. She looked really worried at this point.

"I forced myself onto him," Kathryn admitted.

Tally was rendered speechless. Her face was frozen in shock. She remained quiet for a long moment, leaving only the sound of Kathryn's sobs to echo through the restroom.

Tally snapped back to her senses a long time later. "Wait, what did you just say? I think I heard you wrong." Was the restroom too windy? Why was she hearing things?

"I went to his room last night and stayed there until this morning!" Kathryn explained to clear things up.

Silence ensued once more.

Tally's lips twitched involuntarily. "You slept with Mr. Albert?"

Tally wondered if Kathryn had indeed succeeded. If she had, then the situation was simply outrageous.

Plenty of women had fantasized about sleeping with Mr. Albert over the years, but all of them had met terrible ends. Those who'd tried to force themselves on him and claimed that they were pregnant with his child had always ended up in the hospital.

Tally was the one to recommend Kathryn for the position of the president's assistant at the company. If Chris found out about what happened, not only would Kathryn be in trouble, but the Johnson family's business would also suffer dire consequences.

Tally jumped up in shock. "Kathryn! When on earth did you get so bold?" Then she backed away from Kathryn, as if afraid of being implicated by association.

Seeing Tally's extreme reaction, more tears began to stream down Kathryn's face uncontrollably. Her memories were hazy as she recounted what happened. "I don't know what exactly happened either. I drank three glasses of wine in his stead last night, and things got out of control after that."

"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me you jumped him right then and there!" Tally exclaimed with wide eyes and her mouth agape.

Everyone knew how Chris was. Although every female employee in the company idolized him, none of them dared get their hopes up because of his infamous cruelty toward women. Tally couldn't believe that Kathryn had slept with him!

Tally tried to calm her racing heart. "You've worked with him for three years already. Didn't you know that he's off limits?"

Kathryn's eyes turned redder. Her mind was in disarray. There was no trace of the boldness she'd had when she'd forced herself on Chris last night. "What do I do now? He wants me to find the woman he slept with last night in 24 hours," she said nervously.

She couldn't possibly hand herself over to Chris, right? Kathryn couldn't bear the dire consequences that were bound to follow.

Tally's brain short-circuited once more. "Hold on, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that he hasn't realized that the person he slept with last night was you?"

Chris didn't know that it was Kathryn and had asked her to find out who it was.

Kathryn continued to sob. She struggled to even breathe properly at this point.

Tally stared at the usually honest and modest Kathryn before her. Seeing her friend in such an awful state was quite a shock. She couldn't imagine how Kathryn had become bold enough to do what she'd done last night.

But they were in a crisis at the moment, so there was no time for her to think too much about it. "Does he really not know that it was you?"

Kathryn nodded fervently. "Yeah, he doesn't." If Chris had known, he wouldn't have asked her to seek out whoever it was.

This allowed Tally to breathe a sigh of relief. It was good news that the man was oblivious. If Chris found out that it was Kathryn, Tally's family would probably suffer the same tragic consequences that would befall her friend.

"If that's the case, then it makes things easier to deal with."

Tally turned around, opened the restroom door, and glanced outside. After making sure that no one was around, she shut it again. She bent over and whispered something in Kathryn's ear.

After hearing Tally's idea, Kathryn looked up at Tally anxiously. "Will that really work?" she asked.

"We don't have any other choice now, do we? Come on, we have to hurry. We don't have much time!" With that, Tally helped Kathryn up from the floor. The women left the restroom quietly and made their way to the surveillance room.

…

Chris walked off the stage after his speech two hours later.

Kathryn approached him respectfully and handed him a folder with a document enclosed. Then she accompanied him to the lounge.

After arriving there, Kathryn straightened her back. "Mr. Albert, I've found the person you were looking for."

Chris settled on the couch and swept an icy gaze over her.

Kathryn's back was covered in a cold sweat, yet she managed to force herself to maintain her usual calm composure. "I've checked the surveillance footage. After I walked you to your room last night, no one else entered the room. The pendant was probably left behind by the previous occupant," she said calmly.