Chapter 21

There wasn't much food left when Sophia arrived at the cafeteria that was on the basement level.She
ate a few bites of whatever was left and then dashed back.

A person dressed as she worked in General Administration Office walked over and stopped her as she
approached the elevator.

"Mr.Evans has requested for your presence in his office, Ms.Hill?” the person said.

Sophia looked around her and then hesitated, "Are you sure he called for me, and you didn't confuse
me for someone else?"

Despite the fact that the General Manager's Office was filled with secretaries, Sophia was certain that
she had never seen the person in front of her.

Was she a transfer employee? Furthermore, she had the impression that Patrick was not the type to go
out of his way to find his subordinates.

But even if he did, John would be the one to look for them.

"I'm not wrong, and you're the one that's being called.Now, go!" the person told her.

The woman had a very confident appearance.

After completing the task, she turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

Sophia considered whether she had anything else that she wanted to tell her, but she also felt the
discomfort between them.She felt that it was inconvenient to talk to her further, so she obliged and
went to Patrick's office instead.



Sophia thought that it was better if she met with Patrick as an employee and president of the company
in his office rather than in private.

It was the most reasonable thing to do.

The secretary on duty was not present as Sophia took the elevator to the top floor, confirming her
suspicions.

It was just that she didn't know what he was going to say.

She thought they had previously stated everything clearly, whether in work or relationship.

The president's office door was half-closed, and it appeared that Patrick was already aware of
someone arriving, so he had left it open.

Sophia knocked on the door a few times, waiting for a response, but after a few seconds, there wasn't
anything but silence.She stopped knocking and stepped aside.She thought about waiting for the lunch
break to be over; after all, it wasn't going to take long.

However, no one was around.The huge office was empty.

Sophia had a frown on her face.

If Patrick had summoned her, he should at the very least wait for her to arrive in his office.

He had to stay there, right? A familiar voice came from inside the half-closed door as she started to
turn back and go.

"Patrick, that dish that the French restaurant offer is authentic.You'll have to eat with me there in the
future.When Sophia turned around and looked for the voice, she saw that it was Adriana who talked.

An indistinct voice sounded from beside her coming from a man.



Sophia could imagine that he had a smile on his lips that carried a lot of indulgence and patience, even
if she didn't hear it very clearly.

The corridor was styled with a velvet carpet, very elegant and expensive.

Despite the carpet, which should be silencing the footsteps of the two, Sophia could still hear it.

Sophia was reluctant about seeing Patrick and Adriana at the same time because she was alone in
Patrick's office.

She feared that Adriana would misunderstand.

So, Sophia thought for a second before she clenched her teeth and retreated to the inner lounge.

Sophia regretted doing it as soon as she had shut the door.

She thought about why she was hiding as if she had done something wrong.

It would make her seem more suspicious as she hid from them.

Outside, a crystal-clear voice had sounded.

She couldn't go out, and she knew that what she had done was a mistake.She hoped that as the two
spoke for a while, Adriana would leave the office.

If they didn't, she would stay in this lounge for a long time.Then, she would regret her choice to hide in
this lounge.

"Patrick, can I go to your place tonight?" Adriana asked with her hands on the man’s neck.

"I haven't been there since you moved" Patrick didn't shove the woman away in front of him.



Instead, he stayed silent in response to her tempting statement as she flirted with him.

"Is it inconvenient?" Adriana asked, her face pleading as she waited for his response.

Patrick pulled her hand away from him and then sternly told her, "Don't be silly.I am obsessed with
cleanliness; you know that.

Patrick couldn't help but pull out a cigarette and light it as he walked to the window.

Blue smoke surrounded him, and his shoulders dropped in relaxation.

Adriana walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"But Patrick, I missed you very much" Adriana said, acting all cute and child-like.

She had a lot of things that she wanted to say, but she could only condense it all into one sentence.

Sophia could easily hear the two people's chat in the office.She wasn't sure if she was anxious or if it
was because it was her first time eavesdropping on someone.Her chest felt tighter, and her breathing
became more uneven.

The woman circled the man and then tiptoed to meet his lips.She had tried to kiss him.However, the
man frowned.He didn't respond, though; he didn't dodge as well.

The entire office appeared to become even more silent once they stopped talking.

They were quiet, so quiet that Sophia could clearly hear the sound of the two people's ragged
breathing as they kissed for quite a while.

Their kiss sounded of urgency, some kind of disorder that had appeared.



Despite Sophia warning herself over and over again not to feel the tiniest disappointment for Patrick,
she couldn't help but feel sadness, and the corner of her eyes welled with tears.

She thought about biting her lower lip hard enough, hoping that the tears wouldn't stream out of her
eyes.

"I'm not in the mood today."

The man turned his head away and avoided the girl.

From the reflection of the bookcase's glass, Patrick accidentally noticed a black cloth.He had realized
that it was a woman's skirt.

"Alright, you go first.I'll be there later.The meeting is about to start, and I hope that what I've done for
the company's employees has always been an example” Patrick told Adriana.

Patrick yanked her hand away once again.

In his eyes was profound fatigue.He strolled over to the huge table and put his cigarette out.

"Got it, Mr.Evans" she responded delightfully, imitating the tone of her staff.

Patrick, Adriana knew, was a person who knew how to separate personal and business matters, and
he was also self-disciplined.

Patrick reclined back against his office chair and lit another cigarette after Adriana left.

He was agitated as he looked at the corner of the cloth that reflected in the glass.

"Come out" he ordered.



Sophia held her breath, intimidated as she wondered who he was ordering around.She didn't want to
come out of where she was hiding.

The sound of his footsteps grew louder and louder as he approached her, and then the door swung
open.

Sophia had nowhere to hide now.

A huge and tall man towered over her, and behind him, showed his room.

There was a big bed, and the room was spacious, doused with a scent that would inadvertently tell you
he owned it.

There was an excruciating moment of silence, filled with awkwardness and painful wondering of what
would happen next.

Sophia tried to keep her fear hidden as much as she could and met his gaze as if she wasn't
intimidated.

However, his gaze was drawn to her reddened eyes that seemed fresh from crying and her bruised lips
from biting.

Her lips still bled from her bite.

He looked at her, observed her deeper, and noticed that there was a mixture of delicate and scared
emotion plastered across her face.

Sophia felt blood rushing through her head, and she was ashamed.

We could say that she felt her conscience filled with guilt rather than embarrassment.



In any case, she wanted to keep her mouth shut.

She didn't want to explain anything, so she held her tongue and just waited for him to say something.

"Is it a coincidence that I found you, hiding in my office to creepily peep?" he asked.

The smell of smoke that surrounded Patrick still lingered.

When he spoke, she felt like she was choking.

In the past, she remembered that he never drank or smoked.

However, upon seeing him again, his cigarette addiction grew stronger, and she couldn't put her finger
on what had started it.

Upon hearing Patrick's question, Sophia realized he didn't ask her to his office.She had a suspicion that
someone else asked her to his office deliberately.

However, she had no idea who the other party was, and no one would believe her if she told them.

In this circumstance, she could say thousands of true words, and no one would believe anything that
she had just said.

Patrick sneered and continued, "Or have you always been carrying double standards with your words?
You said that we'd better have nothing more to do with each other, and yet, you are still hiding here
because you want to see me?"

Although Sophia didn't mean to peek, she knew that it was weird.

She knew that any other normal person would be irritated in this situation.

"I am utterly sorry,'' she said in a low voice.



She would be transferred anyways, so it was better to have less trouble, put up with it.It would all be
over soon.

"Sorry?"

He was propped against the door and looked at her as if he wasn't interested at all.

"Nothing else?"

"Mr.Evans, it's probably best if we get to work."

Sophia firmly shook her head, standing up straight.

Adriana's footsteps suddenly sounded once again from outside as the two of them finished talking.

She then asked, "Patrick, are you in there?"

Sophia felt anxiety crept into her skin, and she quickly turned pale at the sound of Adriana’s voice.

Patrick, who was in front of her, quietly stood as he looked down on her.

Sophia waited for him to respond, but he didn't.

"Patrick, what are you doing in there?" Adriana asked again, noticing the strange silence that occurred
upon her question.

"Can I come in?"


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