Chapter 25: Scandals
Wendy decided to set an alarm to avoid oversleeping. She set it for 11:50 A.M.
After being awakened by the alarm, Wendy rubbed her eyes and regained clarity. The nap had indeed been rejuvenating. She felt a lot more relaxed. Wendy made sure that she looked neat before returning to the vice president’s office.
Christian was sitting before his laptop.
"Mr. Lucas, I’ve taken a nap and l can resume work anytime now," said Wendy with a slight bow of her head.
Christian glanced at the time and smiled, "You’re very punctual."
Picking up his blazer, he stood up and said, "it’s time for lunch. You can resume work after lunch."
"Ah?" Wendy was not used to this at all. She said, "Why don’t you let me do some work first?Otherwise, I don’t think I’ll feel comfortable eating."
Wendy thought, the moment I arrived, he asked me to take a nap, and now he wants me to go have lunch. She initially felt grateful toward him, but now she was starting to feel flustered.
As Christian gazed at Wendy, his smile turned helpless. He said, "Wendy, even though I’m now a part of MC Enterprise, did you really think that my brother would assign me anything important?"
"Ah..."
Now, Wendy finally understood. Christian was the vice-president of the company, but he had nothing much to do. Naturally, her position as his personal assistant was an idle one.
"In that case, you should go ahead and have your lunch first. I’m not feeling very hungry yet, I’ll go to the cafeteria later," said Wendy. Not having any appetite was a lie-Wendy just wanted to avoid going out with Christian. She did not want other people to gossip about them.
Christian knew what Wendy was trying to do. He put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Wendy, please don’t tell me you naively believed that the reason why I hired you to be my assistant is so that you can actually do real work. Your responsibilities include cooperating with me and getting involved in scandals with me within MC Enterprise."
His goal was very clear-he just wanted to provoke Michael.
Wendy stepped forward to avoid Christian’s touch. She replied, "I can cooperate with you, but please don’t overdo it. I’ve told you before that don’t like physical contact."
Christian’s arm hovered in midair, but he did not continue to pressure her.
Retracting his arm, Christian said, "Fine. If you agree to eat at the cafeteria with me, we can avoid the physical contact."
He gestured for her to go ahead. After a moment of hesitation, Wendy walked out of the office She walked behind Christian as they entered the cafeteria together.
As it was lunch hour, the place was bustling with people. When the crowd caught sight of Wendy and Christian, discussions inevitably began.
"So, it is true that Wendy really did come back?thought the message in the group chat last night was just a rumor."
"She went from being the personal assistant of the president to that of the vice-president. At first glance, this appears to be a demotion, but someone who is able to shuffle back and forth between these two prominent figures should not be underestimated."
"The president hated her so much, but it doesn’t look like the vice-president feels the same. He’s even here to have lunch with her."
"Tsk, even though the president hated her, she still stayed with him for over a year. You guys should give some careful thought to their relationship."
"If that’s the case, then Wendy and the vice-president now..."
"Don’t spout nonsense. The vice-president is standing right there, you’ll be in trouble if he hears you."
Wendy was not surprised by the gossip popping up around her. In the past, rumors about her being the third-party and trying to seduce the president spread like wildfire throughout the company. During her time as Michael’s personal assistant, she had heard all kinds of gossip about herself. In fact, a few people took the liberty of scolding her to her face. She had grown used to this behavior a long time ago.
Wendy acted like she had not heard anything and continued walking into the cafeteria like nothing was bothering her.
Christian leisurely followed behind Wendy. Naturally, he heard the discussions happening around him as well. Wendy’s unchanging expression made Christian feel surprised about her once again.
He thought, this woman looks delicate and fragile, but inside, she is very strong.
Wendy did not have to lift her head to know that Christian had taken his seat opposite her. At this moment, all she wanted to do was finish her meal quickly so that they could leave.
Wendy took one bite after another and in no time at all, her plate was almost empty.
She grabbed a piece of tissue and wiped her mouth before saying, "Mr. Lucas, I’m done with my meal. Please enjoy yours."
Wendy knew that all eyes had been on her and Christian in the few short minutes she had taken to finish her meal. Even though she could remain expressionless, it did not mean that she was completely unbothered. After all, she was still Michael’s wife.
"Why are you in such a rush?" Christian reached out and grabbed Wendy.
She was just about to get up, but Christian’s gesture forced her to continue sitting there. And the employees who had been spying on them only saw Christian pull Wendy’s hand.
"My goodness, did the vice-president just hold Wendy’s hand?"
"I’m so envious of Wendy. She left the president’s side but she is hanging out with the vice-president now. I wonder what’s so great about her."
"If you’re not as skilled as her in getting close to men, there’s no point in being envious."
"Hey... No matter what you say, she’s indeed talented at this. Tell me, which single female in this company has not stolen glances at the president? He’s taken now, but the vice president just returned from abroad recently and he’s just as suave and attractive."
"I really want the vice-president to hold my hand, too."
Within a few short minutes, the various private group chats within the company were already exploding with messages. They were all centered around the sighting of Wendy and Christian together at lunch. A few people secretly took photographs of this sight and sent them to the respective group chats. News of Christian and Wendy swept across the entire company in an instant.
...
Zen had been working on her design submission. The moment she heard the news, she immediately packed up and ran over to the cafeteria. She saw Christian and Wendy upon her arrival, just as she had expected. Zen knew that Wendy had been hired by the vice president.
After all, Christian was the one who personally sent out a mass email yesterday to inform everyone about it. She just never expected that the two of them would have a meal together at the cafeteria the very next day. On top of that, photographs of Christian holding Wendy’s hand were going around as well.
Zen really wanted to approach Wendy, but Christian’s presence made her back off. After all, he was the vice-president of the company. Just when Zen was deliberating her next step, Wendy saw her.
She waved and greeted Zen, "Hey, Zen.."
"Wendy," said Zen in return. Since Wendy had already caught sight of her, Zen had to approach her.
"Come and join us for lunch. Sit here," said Wendy as she pointed beside her.
Zen stood before her with an awkward smile on her face, "Hello, Mr. Lucas."
"Hello, are you a friend of Wendy’s?" asked Christian even though he already knew the answer to that.
As he had conducted a background check on Wendy prior to this, he already knew about the relationship that Zen had with Wendy.
"We were classmates in university," Zen replied to him honestly.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Christian," said Christian as he stood up and offered his hand.
Zen never expected Christian to be so approachable. The smile on his face felt like a spring breeze.
"It’s nice to meet you too," said Zen as she quickly shook his hand.
This gesture caused a stir among the gossipmongers once again. It appeared that. the new vice-president was not only close to Wendy-he was also kind to the employees that he was meeting for the first time.
"Miss Stewart and I are having lunch. Since you’re her friend, do sit down and join us," Christian extended an invitation to Zen.
If this had come from a superior other than Christian, Zen would never have had the guts to accept the invitation. But as she gazed at the warm, approachable vice-president, Zen nodded her head awkwardly as if she were possessed.
After getting her food, she sat down at the same table as them. Wendy was already more or less done with her meal, but Christian had refused to let her leave. Now that Zen had joined them, she no longer felt the need to rush off.
Christian kept his head bowed while eating. He would occasionally look around his surroundings and smile at the people who were staring at him. This gesture made many women’s hearts race.
As Zen dug in, she whispered to Wendy, "What is going on with you? How did you become the VIce-president’s assistant?"
Wendy shook her head helplessly. It was a long story. On top of that, there were some things that Zen was better off not knowing. As Christian was around, Zen dared not pursue the topic. However, she snuck a few secret glances at Christian. She thought that Christian looked very similar to Michael, but they had completely different personalities.
Michael’s attitude toward Wendy was obvious. He did not act as uncaring to his other colleagues, but overall, he was still a very distant person. Christian, on the other hand, had a perpetual smile on his face and a very peaceful, inviting aura to him. If Zen had to use a word to describe Christian, it would be ’elegant’. As she watched him, she forgot to raise her spoon to her mouth.
Wendy followed her gaze and reached out to nudge her. She reminded her, "Please remember to eat."
Zen returned to her senses. Feeling awkward, she immediately lowered her head and continued eating. Wendy glanced at Christian, and then at Zen. She could not help but frown.
"Look, guys, the president and Miss Taylor are here for lunch as well."
"What a coincidental day! Why did they choose to come to the cafeteria today of all days?"
The positions that Michael and Christian held within the company entitled them to exclusively catered meals. There was in fact no actual need for them to come down to the cafeteria. Even if they did choose to come, there were private rooms for them to dine in. For them to choose to eat out in the open with everyone else was a very rare occurrence. Not to mention, the both of them were here at the same time.
When Wendy heard this, she looked up and immediately caught sight of Michael and Yvonne approaching them. She grew so nervous that her eyelids started to droop.
Since news of Wendy and Christian eating at the cafeteria had spread across the entire company, it was only natural that Michael learned about it as well. He did not understand why he felt the need to come down to the cafeteria, too. It was completely up to Wendy and Christian if they decided to eat together. What did that have to do with him?
But when Michael first heard about this, he felt the impulse to make an appearance at the cafeteria. His eyes filled with hatred when he saw Wendy sitting opposite Christian. He thought, that woman rejected my advances last night and threatened to call the cops. Look at her today-she’s sitting with Christian and having lunch with him so calmly.
When Christian saw Michael, he maintained a smile on his face. Shifting his body to the side, he said, "Hey, Michael, want to join us?"
"You’re asking if I want to join you guys for lunch?" Michael snorted coldly.
"Michael is the president of this company, why would he possibly sit here with you guys in front of everyone?" said Yvonne while hugging Michael’s arm dotingly as she always did.
"Come on, Michael, let’s go to the private room. You’re right. Michael is the president after all, it’s not appropriate for him to have his meal here," said Christian as he shifted his body back to his original position. Michael freed himself from Yvonne’s grasp and turned around to get a set of utensils. When the caterer saw Michael approach him personally, he quickly took his order.
Afterward, Michael rejoined Christian at his table with a plate on his hand. He lowered his head and said condescendingly, "Give me some space."
