Chapter 4

There was a company get-together that night, with lots of drinking involved.

Since Leticia was a newbie, our colleagues continuously filled her glass with alcohol, making sure it was always filled.

The manager, Charles Clifford, then made another toast to her. "Leticia, you're incredible—landing the chairman's personal secretary role right after joining! Here, this toast is for you. Bottoms up!"

Leticia tried refusing it at first, but as the people around her started cheering her on, she kept downing drinks for the rest of the night and grew more and more tipsy.

Austin just continued looking at her quietly.

Charles then handed me a mug of beer. "Serena, you're the only one left who hasn't given her a toast yet. Come on. Give her a toast!"

I took the mug from him. But before I'd even said a single word, Leticia suddenly turned to me with tears in her eyes as she cried, "Serena, please, have mercy on me. I really can't drink another drop!"

Her words now made me seem like the bad guy, forcing her to drink half a dozen mugs of beer earlier.

I set down my mug at once. However, the rest of my colleagues just continued cheering us on. Suddenly, Leticia covered her mouth with both her hands and stumbled out of the restaurant.

Austin's face darkened immediately. He angrily slammed down his knife and fork and lost his temper with me. He yelled from across the table, "Serena Jacobson! Are you fucking done causing a riot?"

Everyone at the table jumped in surprise. Suddenly, I was made the center of everybody's attention.

"You can drink yourself to death for all I care if that's what you want to do! But what's the point of ganging up on her with the rest of them?"

Without even waiting for me to explain myself, Austin then sent his chair flying and stormed out.

My colleagues exchanged nervous glances with each other. Charles then came up to me and softly apologized, "I'm sorry, Serena. We were just trying to liven up the mood. We never thought that Mr. Lockhart would think of it that way."

"He can't possibly think that you told us to get her drunk on purpose, can he?"

"We're so sorry, Serena. We didn't mean to make you the scapegoat."

"It's fine," I said, my smile forced..

If Austin wanted to accuse me of a crime, then he would definitely find a way to do it. And since he thought of me as an evil, scheming woman, there was nothing I could do to change his mind. I would have to take the blame anyhow.

He had probably already forgotten everything else between us anyway.

My colleagues were still whispering and murmuring among themselves. "This is a low-alcohol beer, though. It's less than 5% alcohol. Is it possible for her to even get that drunk?"

"That's right! Say, you don't think that she's just pretending to be drunk, do you?"

"Who knows? Maybe she's just trying to get us to pity her. What a scheming person she is…"

I didn't hear the rest of what they said because my lawyer contacted me just then.

I stepped out to answer the phone. When I went back into the restaurant, I happened to catch sight of Leticia. She was being cornered against the wall by Austin, and her face was wrought with tears.

"What is it that you want from me?"

"Sign the agreement and accompany me. I'll give you an allowance of 150 thousand dollars a month!"

I had wanted to leave at first, but I suddenly heard Leticia exclaiming in determination, "No way!"

I stopped in my tracks. Suddenly, Leticia no longer seemed like the kind of woman I’d thought she was.

Austin chuckled lightly and asked, "Are you sure? You were the one who came to me first that night. You took the lead. And you have so much debt out there that you can't pay up. I bet that life's not so great when thugs and creditors are chasing you, hmm?"

Leticia looked furious. She raised her hand and slapped Austin hard on the cheek. "You bastard! Are you taking revenge on me now?"

"I am! You have a choice—be with me, or I'll send out a memo to everyone in the industry so that you'll never be able to find a job for the rest of your life!"

Austin's voice softened all of a sudden. "Lettie, I just want you to know that nobody else in the world can love you the way I do."

"I don't want to be your mistress."

He went silent for a short while. However, he then grinned and said, "Are you asking me to get a divorce? Over my dead body!"

I left as soon as I heard this.