Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Dead Wrong
Wren Sutton nodded, her eyes still lowered.
"I wasn’t careful enough. My categorization was too subjective and arbitrary. I didn’t strictly follow the core properties of the documents..."
"It’s not just that you weren’t careful, and it’s not just that you were arbitrary." Adrian Lancaster cut her off. His tone was level, but it carried a piercing, undeniable authority.
"Wren Sutton, your biggest mistake was that the moment you felt even the slightest uncertainty about where a document belonged, you didn’t come to me immediately. That is a fundamental dereliction of duty."
At his words, Wren Sutton’s head snapped up, her gaze crashing into Adrian Lancaster’s deep, dark eyes.
Their eyes met.
The disappointment in his eyes was like a fine needle, pricking her nerves.
"My thinking at the time was..." Wren began to explain instinctively, her voice tight, "You were busy, and I didn’t want to bother you over something so minor."
"Completely wrong," Adrian snapped, his tone sharper than before. The calm facade seemed to crack, revealing an unyielding sternness and an even deeper disappointment beneath.
Wren’s heart clenched, and her fingers dug deeper into her palms.
"At this company, you are the secretary, and I am the president. Your primary duty is to ensure the absolute precision and efficiency of information flow and task management."
"Any uncertainty, especially when it involves key information in core business documents, is never a minor issue."
"You have a responsibility and an obligation to confirm with me through the most direct channel the moment a question arises."
"That is not a bother. It’s a requirement of my job, and more importantly, it is the most basic, most fundamental requirement of your position."
Adrian Lancaster paused, his gaze fixed on Wren Sutton, never leaving her.
"If you can’t even grasp this basic professional logic,"
His voice dropped lower, but every word landed with immense weight, "then you are not a competent secretary."
As Adrian’s words faded, a heavy silence fell over the office.
The soft hum of the air conditioner seemed to amplify, pounding against Wren’s taut nerves.
Her fingers, hanging by her sides, trembled slightly. She bit her lower lip hard to choke back the wave of bitterness and tears that surged up from the bottom of her heart.
All the explanations and apologies she had prepared beforehand now seemed pale and useless.
She stood there, frozen stiff, as if stripped of all her defenses, leaving only the raw shame of her failure.
Her eyes began to burn uncontrollably and her vision blurred. Wren quickly lowered her head, staring at the small, bright patch of floor in front of her shoes.
"I’m sorry. I’ve disappointed you."
Wren thought a harsher reprimand would follow, or perhaps a cold directive reassigning her.
She had braced herself for it.
However, the icy words she expected never came.
She heard the soft scrape of the executive chair against the floor.
Then, the sound of steady footsteps rounding the large desk.
The next second, a pair of gleaming men’s leather shoes stopped within her downcast line of sight.
A familiar, crisp scent of cedar, mixed with the faintest hint of tobacco, enveloped her.
A warm, dry hand gently lifted her chin. The pressure was firm, impossible to refuse, yet it held a tenderness completely at odds with his earlier harsh tone.
Wren was forced to look up, and the tears that had welled in her eyes finally spilled over, trailing down her cheeks.
She saw Adrian Lancaster’s face, just inches away.
Those dark eyes, which moments ago had been filled with severity and disappointment, were still deep, but the ice within them seemed to have quietly melted, giving way to a complex, unreadable emotion.
There was concern, a hint of helplessness, and a trace of heartache.
"What I said just now was from my position as the company’s president. Those were issues that had to be pointed out."
"Objectively, your mistake could have led to serious consequences. You must understand that clearly and learn from it."
The pad of Adrian’s thumb brushed lightly against Wren’s wet cheek, wiping away a tear stain with a gentle touch.
"But," he took a shallow breath, pulling her into his arms. He rested his chin on the cool crown of her head, his voice rumbling in her ear with the slight vibration of his chest.
"Right now, I’m not President Lancaster."
"As your husband, I see your guilt, your fear, and that sweet, timid little thought about not wanting to bother me."
Wren’s body stiffened slightly in Adrian’s arms.
"You silly girl," Adrian’s voice softened. "With me, you always have the privilege to bother me, especially when you’re feeling anxious or unsure."
He released Wren, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking down to gaze at her reddened eyes and nose, his expression focused and earnest.
"What I want is a partner who can stand by my side, who trusts me and relies on me—not a perfect machine who’s constantly walking on eggshells, afraid of making a mistake."
"The system is partly to blame for what happened today, but so am I. It’s my fault for not making you understand that with me, you can always let go of those unnecessary worries."
"Professionally, the necessary reflection and improvements can’t be skipped, and the procedures that need to be refined must be implemented. But personally, you’re not allowed to bottle things up like this and scare yourself."
"Other people might not know, but don’t you? Besides being my secretary, you’re also my wife. You’re the boss’s wife. You don’t have to be afraid of anyone, including me."
Wren gazed at Adrian, her vision blurring with tears once again.
This time, it wasn’t from pure grievance and shame, but from the bittersweet warmth of being understood and accepted.
Her throat was tight, and she couldn’t speak, so she could only nod emphatically.
Seeing her like this, the last trace of severity in Adrian’s eyes finally vanished.
He pulled her back into his arms, kissing her damp eyes and comforting her with gentle patience.
"Alright, no more crying. What do you want to eat tonight? We can have the housekeeper make your favorite, or we can go out."
Wren slowly calmed down, leaning against Adrian’s chest. "I want to eat at home."
A doting smile flashed in Adrian’s eyes. "Okay, we’ll eat at home."
"Also..."
"What?"
"You’ve cried so much your face is a mess. If you go out like this, people will think I was bullying you."
Wren shyly wriggled out of Adrian’s embrace and turned away from him. "I’m not crying."
Adrian hugged her from behind. "Right, you’re not crying. My eyes must be playing tricks on me."
Wren finally smiled.
