Semua Bab Opening My Eyes to Reality: Bab 731 - Bab 740

After saying her part, Lucille's gaze drifted past Cheryl's shoulder. "Oh, Mr. Zimmerman, what brings you here?"In an instant, Cheryl's back went rigid.Benjamin's footsteps drew closer and closer until he stopped beside Lucille, saying casually, "Didn't you call me and ask me to come?"The tear tracks on Lucille's face hadn't dried yet. When she heard Benjamin say that, a spark of joy lit up in her heart."Mr. Zimmerman, I ran into some trouble earlier. Thankfully, Cher and Mr. Ballas are well acquainted, so he agreed to let me off the hook."On the surface, there was nothing wrong with what she said. But if one gave it a bit more thought, the phrase "well acquainted" carried quite the suggestive undertone.Cheryl stood rooted to the spot, every muscle in her back still taut with no sign of relaxing. She turned her head toward Benjamin. "Since you're here, Mr. Zimmerman, I'll leave your employee to you."She didn't know how much Benjamin had overheard—maybe a little, maybe a l

Benjamin's expression had long lost its earlier warmth, and all that remained was a chilling coldness. "Found anything?"Whatever the person on the other end said only deepened the coldness in his eyes, and a trace of lethal malice flashed across them.Cheryl watched him walk away, a complicated feeling rising in her chest. She didn't understand why Benjamin was doing any of this or what he was planning to do next. But she was clear on one thing—he was not the type to let things go so easily.Not long after, he returned with a cup of hot milk in hand. He set it down in front of her and said, "You didn't look well just now. Drink something warm. It'll help settle your stomach."Cheryl stared at the steaming cup, a tangle of emotions flooding her heart. She looked up at him and happened to meet his gentle, tender gaze.Her own eyes darkened.Seeing this, Theodore tactfully rose to his feet. "It's getting late. Let's call it a night. Ms. Shaw, here's to a successful partnership."W

Cheryl finally met Lucille's eyes. There was no anger in her gaze, only a detached kind of indifference. "Who he's good to is his business. What I do is mine. If you're bored, you might as well go to the firm earlier and do your job. Mr. Zimmerman likes diligent employees."With that, she didn't spare Lucille another glance and turned toward the entryway. She grabbed her bag, slipped into her high heels, and walked out the door.It wasn't until she sat down at her desk and turned on her computer, watching the screen light up, that she drew a deep breath and pushed down all those complicated emotions.Marcel's incident wasn't an accident at all. But why would Benjamin do something like that? Because of her? No. No, it couldn't be. There was no way Benjamin would carry out such a pointless act of revenge for something that happened three years ago. The reason he did it had to be because of Lucille. She was his employee now, after all, and it was only natural for him to protect one o

Benjamin's hand paused mid-motion before he set his glass down. The soft clink of the base against the table broke the brief silence.He slowly stood from his seat and turned, his gaze landing on Elias. There was no warmth in his eyes, yet his tone was casual, almost unbothered."Mr. Mansfield, I don't think an outsider has any right to comment on my personal matters with my former assistant."Elias sneered as he met Benjamin's gaze. "Cheryl has already left the firm. She's no longer the assistant at your beck and call, and she certainly has no obligation to run errands for you."Jessica shrugged, as if it didn't matter. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before saying in a mocking, passive-aggressive tone, "We were just chatting. Aren't you being too sensitive, Mr. Mansfield? "Besides, Ms. Shaw and I used to get along quite well. Asking her to buy something for me isn't exactly anything serious now, is it?"Cheryl couldn't hold back any longer. "You're imagining things,

Cheryl paused, neither advancing nor retreating.She spoke first, her expression hardening, and her voice sharp as she questioned, "What exactly are you trying to do, Benjamin?"Benjamin stopped just two steps away, the sleeves of his black shirt rolled up to his forearms. Instead of answering her directly, his gaze lingered on her tightly pressed lips. In a calm, almost matter-of-fact tone, as if he were stating something mundane, he said, "Picking you up after work."Cheryl said nothing. She turned and headed straight for the glass doors. Her heels clicked sharply and hurriedly against the marble floor.Footsteps followed immediately, steady and deliberate, even heavier and more oppressive-sounding than hers. "Heading home, or dinner first?"His voice sounded right beside her ear, carrying the faint coolness of a rainy night. "Let's eat first. It's quite late already. How about we go have Calinese food? You like that."Cheryl spun around abruptly. "I don't like Calinese food,"