Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Your Kissing Is So Bad, and You Want Me to Take Responsibility?
###Chapter 53: Your Kissing Skills Are That Bad, and You Still Want Me to Take Responsibility?
The air seemed to freeze in that moment.
But the shyness and panic one might have expected didn’t appear on Maxine Rhodes’s face. A flash of understanding crossed her eyes, and she tilted her head up slightly, her red lips curling into a bright, charming smile.
"Take responsibility?"
Mimicking him, she took a tiny step forward, instantly closing the distance between them until their breaths were clearly audible.
She raised a hand, her fingertip tracing faintly over the top button of his shirt. Her voice was light and sultry, like a feather tickling the heart. "Hawthorne, your technique is so bad, and you want me to take responsibility?"
Ethan Hawthorne had meant to be the one teasing, but the tables had been turned on him.
Looking at the woman smiling like a sly little fox before him, his eyes suddenly darkened, a dangerous yet captivating light swirling within them.
"My technique is bad?" he repeated in a low, husky voice. Instead of backing away, he took advantage of her proximity, his warm fingers gently closing around the wrist she hadn’t yet pulled back.
He leaned in closer, and the crisp scent of cedar mixed with a potent masculine aura instantly enveloped her.
"Is Mrs. Hawthorne critiquing me?" he asked, his tone slow, his burning gaze locked on her. "In that case... why don’t you give me a chance to practice until you’re satisfied?"
This time, it was Maxine’s heart that began to race. He was too close—so close she could see her own reflection in his eyes, along with the undisguised, possessive darkness that promised he would get what he wanted.
The little bit of bravado she had mustered moments ago crumbled instantly before his absolute sense of power and direct aggression.
Heat shot up her cheeks. Maxine frantically tried to pull her hand back, her voice softening. "I... I’m going to go take a shower!"
Watching her back as she practically fled, Ethan Hawthorne straightened up. The delicate feel of her skin still lingered on his fingertips.
He rubbed his fingertips together gently and chuckled. ’Looks like I’ll definitely have to find more opportunities to practice in the future.’
「Monday morning, Sterling Group.」
The moment Maxine stepped into the office area, the receptionist, Joy, ran up to her with an anxious look.
"Maxine! You’re finally back! Something big has happened!"
Joy lowered her voice. "A new vice general manager was parachuted into the Project Department. Right now, she’s tearing into Coco and Bubbles!"
Maxine frowned slightly. As she got closer, she saw Rose Joyce intimately linking arms with another woman. The woman was elegantly postured in a sharp, white skirt suit.
When their eyes met, the woman flashed a smug, challenging smile at Maxine.
’Lydia Thorne? What is she doing here?’
Maxine was stunned for a moment, but then it all clicked into place. This was a setup, and she was the target.
Seeing Maxine, Rose Joyce’s smugness practically spilled over. "Maxine, you’re here! Let me introduce you. This is Lydia Thorne, President Thorne. She’s the new Vice General Manager of the Project Department, and she’ll be your direct superior from now on! President Thorne is wonderful. With her leadership, the Project Department will surely get better and better!"
Only then did Lydia Thorne take an elegant step forward, her gaze sweeping over Maxine like a scanner, a superior’s smile playing on her lips.
"Maxine Rhodes," she began, her tone openly condescending. "Long time no see."
Maxine heard the challenge in those words loud and clear.
The air seemed to freeze again as all the colleagues held their breath, watching the scene unfold.
Maxine suppressed the turmoil in her heart. Meeting Lydia Thorne’s gaze, her red lips curled into a cold, sharp smile.
"Yes, it has been a long time."
Her tone was calm, but every word was clear. "So it’s Vice President Thorne. It seems that despite your many years of advanced study abroad, you still haven’t learned one thing: true status isn’t about your position, but your perspective."
As Maxine spoke, she put special emphasis on the word "Vice."
The smile on Lydia Thorne’s face froze.
"Maxine!" Coco came forward, looking aggrieved, and whispered, "Vice President Thorne said there are problems with the project data we submitted last week. She wants us to re-sort all the raw data immediately and submit it by the end of today!"
Bubbles chimed in indignantly, "Exactly! We already checked that data three times, and the raw data is over ten gigabytes! There’s no way we can finish that today!"
Rose Joyce fanned the flames from the sidelines. "President Thorne is just being strict about work standards! If you can’t do it, it’s a problem with your abilities!"
Lydia Thorne crossed her arms, her posture elegant. "Director Rhodes, is this the kind of work efficiency I can expect from your team?"
Hearing this, Bubbles looked like a lit firecracker about to go off, but Maxine pulled her back.
She stepped in front of Bubbles and Coco, her gaze fixed on Lydia Thorne. "Vice President Thorne, I personally reviewed and signed off on the data for this project. If you have questions about it, you can come to me directly instead of giving my people a hard time."
After speaking, she turned to Bubbles and Coco. "Continue with your original tasks. You don’t need to re-sort the data."
"Maxine Rhodes!" Lydia Thorne’s face darkened. "I am the General Manager of the Project Department now. I have the authority to demand they re-sort the data!"
Maxine chuckled. "A correction: you’re the *Vice* General Manager. Also..."
Her tone, however, carried an unquestionable authority. "Vice President Thorne, if you’re so eager to manage the Project Department, then show some real ability."
She leaned forward slightly and said, word by word, "Trying to establish your authority by bullying subordinates just makes you look... cheap."
"You!" Lydia Thorne was so choked with anger she was speechless.
Maxine ignored her. Seeing that everyone else had returned to their desks, she walked straight to the president’s office.
"Benjamin Sterling, I need an explanation."
Maxine pushed the door open, her voice as cold as ice.
Benjamin Sterling put on his usual smile and stood up to placate her. "Oh, Maxine, don’t misunderstand! Vice President Thorne is a top-tier talent I hired at a high salary, all for the company’s growth... Lydia Thorne has powerful connections and can bring us much-needed resources. But you are still the indispensable core of the Project Department! Do you think I don’t know what you’re capable of?"
He stood up and poured her a glass of water. "Don’t worry, your position and compensation will remain unchanged! With Lydia Thorne above you to take the heat, you can relax a bit and just focus on the projects, right?"
Maxine watched his hypocritical performance and sneered inwardly. She now saw the true measure of this man.
"Fine, I understand." Maxine knew there was no point in saying more and turned to leave the office.
’I was originally planning to boil the frog slowly, but this works too. With this parachuted-in vice president drawing all the fire, it’ll actually be easier to advance my plan to sideline him.’
’I’ll let Lydia Thorne have her moment of triumph for now. We’ll see who gets the last laugh.’*****
