Chapter 7
The news that Latrina was called to the CEO’s office spread like wildfire.
Everyone assumed Latrina had been reprimanded by Gerhart, so when she ate in the company cafeteria on the 10th floor at noon, people pointed and whispered behind her back, making the theft rumors feel even more tangible.
But it didn’t stop Latrina from enjoying her lunch.
Calm as ever, she said to Laurence across the table, “Mr. Manning, I’d like to take some time off starting the day after tomorrow.”
Laurence noticed her tiredness, and considering the morning’s mess, he could only agree.
Monique, sitting beside him, quickly chimed in, “Yeah, take a break first. We’ll get to the bottom of it once the cameras are fixed.”
“I’m not taking leave because of this. I’ll sort this out before I go. I won’t cause you any trouble. I’m just really tired and need a rest.
Latrina didn’t elaborate. She pulled out her phone, transferred some money to Gerhart, and typed in the note: For breakfast.
Upstairs, in the middle of a meeting, Gerhart’s phone pinged.
In the tense atmosphere, where everyone held their breath, expecting a scolding for the unmuted phone, Gerhart unlocked his phone and opened the payment app.
When he saw the money, a faint laugh escaped him.
The executives in the conference room exchanged odd glances.
It was the first time Gerhart had smiled in front of them.
Kelvin, standing beside him, realized what was going on.
“The meeting’s adjourned. We’ll pick
this afternoon,” Gerhart announced.
Then he hit the “accept” button for the 10 dollars.
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“I heard from the HR Department that Mr. Crowley is hiring a secretary, and he specifically asked for a woman,” Monique said.
She glanced at the HR staff walking past before leaning in to whisper to Latrina, “Is the ice–cold Mr. Crowley finally in love with someone?”
“In love? I seriously doubt it,” Latrina thought.“He even took my money. I guess he will never fall for someone.”
Latrina didn’t contradict or argue with her.
After saying goodbye to Monique, she headed to the underground parking lot and called Eduardo from her car.
She’d blown him off last night with an excuse about her car breaking down, asking him to arrange a tow for repairs.
What was more ironic, though, was that Sonya and Eduardo had run into each other last night. They were so spooked that Latrina might see them that they’d acted like mere acquaintances.
Eduardo had waited at the cinema all night, only to be mocked by Sonya when Latrina never showed.
Eduardo was quite the actor. He sounded so genuinely fond of Latrina that he agreed at once to take care of the car repairs.
Latrina had known he would agree without hesitation. Guilty of underhanded deeds, he’d try to please her as much as he could!
Sitting in the car, Latrina adjusted the pinhole camera and touched up her makeup.
Then her mind drifted back to that morning, replaying the expressions of the colleagues in the Design Department. Most of those hurling accusations had blended into a blur, but one stood out, a woman smirking, watching it all unfold.
She was Shelby Aguilar, daughter of the minister of the Transportation Department, and a key member of the Design Department. Colleagues enjoyed getting along with her. Rich as Shelby was, she knew how to curry favor with small gifts, and she had pretty looks. Latrina didn’t dare jump to conclusions. Not yet.
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She left work ten minutes early. It was her first time to slip out early since joining Crowley Apparel.
Back in her car, she changed into a black jacket and pants, then hid in a shadow near the elevator, watching cars file out after work.
She clutched her phone, snapping photos at intervals, terrified of missing a thing.
It wasn’t until Shelby emerged, her high heels clicking, slid into that BMW 290, and drove off slowly that Latrina’s suspicions solidified.
Latrina lingered for a few minutes, then stepped out from the corner by the elevator.
In her hurry, she collided with a dark figure just exiting the lift.
Her white canvas shoe caught on a leather shoe. The phone slipped from her hand, and her body lurched forward.
A strong arm shot out, wrapping around her slender waist, yanking her upright and pulling her into a firm chest.
Latrina crashed into him, and at that very moment, the hair tie holding her blonde hair snapped. Her hair spilled down.
She grabbed his shirt, and two buttons popped off, bouncing onto her forehead.
Ah!”
In pain, she pressed her forehead to his chest. The faint sandalwood scent hit her nose at once.
She steadied herself, rubbed her forehead, then looked up at her rescuer.
“Mr. Crowley…” she whispered, her pink lips moving as a flush spread across her cheeks.
Their eyes locked, gazes tangled.
Latrina felt her hand resting on his chest, rising and falling with his steady breaths.
Kelvin averted his gaze, pretending not to notice.
Gerhart’s eyes
traced her loose blonde hair in the dim light, finally settling on his own shirt. Its chest was now gaping open.
Through the split fabric, his sharp collarbones and toned pectoral muscles were faintly visible.
“This is the second shirt you’ve ruined,” he said.
His voice was flat, as if stating a trivial fact.
He was right.
The first shirt had been torn in the car.
He slowly released his grip on her waist.
Latrina bit her lip, carefully pulling his shirt closed and straightening his tie.
Gerhart froze, rooted to the spot, every brush of her hand against his skin sending a jolt through him.
His body felt ablaze, heat coiling through him as his vision clouded. He couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze.
Once she’d fixed his clothes, Latrina stepped back, bowing deeply.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Crowley!”
Gerhart said nothing, just swallowed hard and held out her phone.
She took it with both hands, mumbled a quick thanks, then turned and hurried to her car.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, she covered her face with her hands, burying her forehead against the steering wheel.
She thought, “This is a disaster. Why am I so unlucky lately? Why couldn’t I avoid crossing paths with Mr. Crowley?
“And why did my cheeks have to flush like this? Damn!”
It took her a long time to calm down.
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Gathering herself, Latrina waited until Gerhart had indeed left, then hurried out of her car and into the elevator.
In the break room, she made two cups of coffee, crushed a sleeping pill in half, and dropped one half into each cup.
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The elevator descended to the second floor. She made her way to the monitoring room, set the coffee down at the door, and knocked three times
on the door.
The door creaked open. The security guard glanced around. He saw no one around, just two steaming cups of coffee with a note, “Thanks for your hard work.”
He smiled, picked up the coffee, and shut the door,
About ten minutes later, Latrina knocked again. No sound came from inside.
She scanned the area carefully, made sure no one was there, then slipped in quietly.
The cameras weren’t broken. The footage had been edited. She found the deleted footage in the “Recycle Bin” on the desktop, copied a backup,
then slipped out as quietly as she’d come.
Back home, she prepared the salad while watching the backup video. Sure enough, it was Shelby. The footage was timestamped just after 1a.m., explaining why she’d spotted Shelby hurrying to drive off in the underground parking lot earlier.
“Oh no
did she see me and Gerhart?”
Just thinking of Gerhart made Latrina’s cheeks flush for no reason.
Shelby’s family worked with Gerhart. The Aguilar Group handled all of Crowley Apparel’s product transportation. If this got out, Latrina
wondered if it would affect Gerhart’s business.
Latrina chewed her lip, deciding not to act hastily.
She picked up her salad, sighed, turned on a movie, and settled back on the sofa, eating slowly.
That was when she noticed his suit jacket draped over the arm of the sofa….
