Chapter 133: You Know?
It took them a moment to process what had just happened. Keaton’s expression cycled through several different emotions, then finally settled into a helpless expression. He couldn’t determine whether Neville was being serious or just mocking them.
Grayson, on the other hand, relaxed a little. He had an expression of someone dealing with a particularly clever child who kept finding creative ways to avoid trouble but ended up in more trouble.
Keaton recovered fast, leaning forward closer to Neville’s face in an intimate distance.
"If they’re really good," Keaton said slowly, his eyes fixed on Neville’s face as if trying to read some hidden message there, "we’ll welcome them."
The way he emphasized ’welcome’ sent a small shiver down Neville’s spine. The man was smooth, Neville had to give him that.
Neville blinked once, twice, his expression remained pleasant and professional.
"I thank sir for his future consideration," he said formally, adding a slight bow that was just respectful enough to be polite but not so deep as to be fawning.
"I’ll see you later," Keaton said, his smile emphasizing ’later’ with uncertain meanings.
With one final nod to Grayson, he finally left.
The door hissed shut behind him; the atmosphere in the room changed. Neville found himself alone with Bryan and Grayson. From the look on Bryan’s face, he had been holding back for far too long.
"Not many companies would treat talented orphans like you this good," Bryan said. His voice was friendly, exasperated, and a warning. "At least, we haven’t heard any other like HW Corporation doing the same either."
Neville nodded, keeping his expression neutral.
"That makes sense," he said, as if he already expected this. "The orphanage always worries about the children being taken advantage of in the workplace."
It wasn’t entirely a lie.
Director Miller had indeed expressed her concerns about the children’s futures when they aged out of the orphanage system. But Neville was also keenly aware that this competitive workplace wouldn’t treat them well.
What he said earlier was just a strategic deflection. If he wanted to be a little crass about it, it was called talking bullshit.
He adjusted his glasses, cheekily smiling. "That’s why I’m so grateful to Maxwell Corporation for giving me a fair chance."
[Laying it on a bit thick there, aren’t we, host?] Shelly commented.
’It’s called playing to your audience,’ Neville shot back.
He felt the weight of Grayson’s gaze on him. When he turned to look at Grayson, he had an unreadable expression on his face.
"You’re playing a dangerous game," Grayson said quietly as he turned and moved back to the sofa.
Neville followed along and sat back down on the nearest sofa. "I know."
"Do you?" Grayson moved closer, stopping just in front of where Neville sat. "Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve made yourself a very valuable target."
From this angle, Neville had to tilt his head back to make eye contact. He was acutely aware of how the light caught in Grayson’s dark hair, how Grayson’s pheromones seemed stronger when he was this close.
"I can handle it," he said out loud.
"I know you can," Grayson said with an exasperated expression. "That’s what I’m worried about."
Bryan watched this puzzling conversation. He opened his mouth and closed it, then turned to look at Grayson.
"Did you know about this already?" Bryan asked.
"Not initially," Grayson replied in a casual tone if he didn’t want to disclose more. "It was interesting."
"When?"
Neville could see that Grayson pursed his lips. It seemed that he didn’t particularly want to share this information. But Grayson also knew that if he didn’t answer Bryan, Bryan would only ask it again and again, persistently.
Honestly, he was curious too. Neville thought.
"Since he got hired," Grayson said dismissively.
Neville felt like he was doused with freezing cold water. His mind immediately kicked into overdrive, rapidly reviewing every interaction he had had with Grayson through this new lens of information.
Wasn’t that basically from the beginning? Bryan’s internal exclamation was written clearly across his face.
He did? For real? When? How? Neville’s own thoughts were spiraling in a similar direction. Shelly, I want a refund on the basic secretarial skill! What was even the point if he knew from day one?
[Host, you didn’t get busted. You were noticed,] Shelly said smugly. [Remember how fast that favorability jumped to 3.5% in the early days? That was it. He appreciated the effort even if he saw through the act.]
Neville resisted the urge to actually scratch his head in frustration. Ugh. I really wanted a refund. My points are still depleted from that stupid effort-filled purchase.
[Hang in there, host. Think of it as an investment with future returns!]
’That’s what you said every time I purchase something that bankrupted my point account,’ Neville thought sourly.
Bryan’s attention had turned to Neville now, his expression contemplative.
"Is that why you weren’t that panicked when you rescued Hope at that time?" Bryan asked Grayson.
The question caught Neville off guard. He had almost forgotten about that incident, which was really dangerous due to the involvement of drugs. At the time, he had been operating on pure instinct. He really felt stupid for staying there.
"I wouldn’t say I wasn’t," Grayson interjected with a flat tone.
"But still," Bryan pressed.
"Do you think someone who could fight like that would just sit back and let himself be at a disadvantage?" Grayson pointed out, and his logic was infuriatingly sound.
Neville had remained silent through this exchange. But seeing them ignoring his presence as they talked about him like this openly made him feel the need to say something.
"It’s called being street smart," he said flatly.
Bryan looked at him and went silent. The silence stretched for a beat too long before Bryan’s expression cracked into a wry smile.
"Seems like I need to keep my mouth shut to the ladies," he said, referring to Sarah, Iris, and the rest of the secretarial department’s more gossip-inclined members.
"Thank you very much," Neville said, bowing slightly with a wide grin.
