Chapter 24

"If you are short on money, I still have some.I can let you borrow it, Giselle offered
enthusiastically.Sophia was grateful for Giselle's help in her most challenging situation, but she still
refused.

"No, I have enough money.She disliked having debts the most, and it was hard to repay favors.She had
already experienced it before.It was enough for her to experience it once in her life.Lunch break was
not over yet, but Lianna’s high heels rang through the evaluation department.

The employee who wanted to take a nap quickly rushed to the computer and looked like she was
working hard even during lunch break.

Lianna clapped a few times and attracted everyone's attention.

"Attention, everyone! Please make sure your desks are clean.President Evans will come to the
evaluation department later.When they heard that Patrick was coming, the listless women employees
became spirited and quickly tidied up their makeup and clothes to welcome him.

Giselle was the most excited.

She ducked under her desk and took the mirror to fix her eyebrows, and added a bit of lipstick.

After she examined herself in the mirror and was satisfied, she re-emerged.

Sophia tidied up the table and pretended not to see anything.

But this time, she finally saw the effect Patrick had on the female employees.

Sure enough, he lived up to his reputation.

Patrick entered the evaluation department at two o'clock.



Although people surrounded him everywhere he went, he was admittedly the most good-looking person
in the crowd.

Patrick was all the female employees’ dream lover in the evaluation department.

No, it should be he was all the female employees’ dream lover in the entire Evans Company.

Every woman in the building considered Patrick a gift from the heavens.

"I came to announce a personnel change.The general manager's evaluation consultant, Lilith, was
transferred to the Australian branch company and will serve as the evaluation manager of the overseas
branch.The next evaluation consultant will be voted in by the evaluation department” It was said that
Lilith had been the head of the evaluation department group and later was recommended to the
general manager's office to be an evaluation consultant.

Although Sophia had been in the Evans Company for quite some time, she had only seen Lilith
once.She was Patrick's close-range assessment consultant.

The previous business trip budget evaluation was all completed by her, following Patrick's instructions.

Therefore, she could be considered Patrick's second in command.

Although her position was lower than Lianna’s, her ability to work was not inferior at all.

Everyone erupted into thunderous applause.

The sounds of envy were endless.

However, Sophia looked at Lilith, and she could sense that she was not happy about the decision.

In a normal situation, Sophia would not worry about such things.



Perhaps, she was overthinking things.

After office hours, everyone suggested a gathering.

The evaluation department had not had a gathering for a long time, and it was also requested by Lilith.

Originally, Sophia wanted to finish the work in her hands and then go to the hospital to visit her mother.

But a gathering was a group project.

If she used her work as an excuse, other colleagues would think it was far-fetched, and she would be
perceived like she was not a team player.

To take care of her mother, she took a few more days off from the part-time work she had at night.

Otherwise, she would be embarrassed to ask for time off again.

The venue was a private room in a restaurant not far from the Evans corporate building.

Usually, everyone wore the same attire that they had in the office.

By the time everyone arrived at the restaurant, they were all wearing casual clothes.

They looked young, and most of them were women.

They were like a different set of people from what they were at the office.

Sophia was not good with words.

Most of the time, she just listened.

Sometimes, when she was asked, she would say a few words in agreement.



During the dinner, Lilith drank quite a bit of wine.

On the other hand, as the supervisor, Lianna did not drink too much.

It was unknown whether it was because they were usually too depressed or because they rarely had
this kind of opportunity to have dinner, but most of the colleagues were very satisfied and drank
heartily.

Everyone finished dinner at nine in the evening.

It was unknown who suggested that they have some fun at a bar, but Sophia did not have a chance to
see Emma earlier and was thinking of going straight to the hospital after dinner.

However, apart from her, everyone else was in high spirits and wanted to come.

Since none of them said that they wanted to leave first, she was too embarrassed to open her mouth.

Meanwhile, they went to The Hideout.

In the booth, Sophia's colleagues sat next to each other.

Some were singing, some were chatting, and some were playing with their phones.Under the effect of
alcohol, some were rowdier than usual.

Those who were not familiar with each other sat together and discussed the latest lipstick, the hottest
tourist attraction, and the most popular online clothing link.

Sophia sat at one side.She did not sing along, nor did she play with her phone.

Instead, she just sat and watched everyone quietly.



Sometimes, a colleague would come over and ask her to drink, and she would drink a few mouthfuls as
a response.

Lilith's alcohol tolerance was low.

She was tipsy after she drank two more shots of alcohol.

For the first time in her life, Lianna had forgotten her position as a manager.

Everyone insisted and cheered as she picked up the microphone to sing an old song.

Frank Sinatra's [The Way You Look Tonight] Someday, when I'm awfully low when the world is cold, I
will feel a glow, just thinking of you...

And the way you look tonight...

The song was sweet and melodic, as if it were foretelling the love story that she had experienced.

Everyone listened as if they were drunk, and everyone sang at the chorus.

You're lovely, with a smile so warm...

And your cheeks so soft...

There is nothing for me but to love you...

Giselle also drank a lot and had already run to the bathroom several times, but it took her a little longer
this time.

Sophia just remembered to get up and tried to find Giselle, but Sophia saw her run back like a gust of
wind and was shouting excitedly.



"Hey! Everyone, guess who I just saw? You definitely won't believe me.I saw President Evans and a
few men enter the private room next door.It did not seem to be a regular meeting!"

Everyone was worried about Lianna and never dared to act like a love-struck fool in front of her.

But sure enough, when people had some alcohol in their system, they would become bolder.

"Mr.Evans, do you want to invite me over? I've never seen Mr.Evans attend any staff gathering!" One
employee blurted out.

"Yeah, I really want to know what President Evans is like in private.I can't stand it just thinking about it"
another one piped in.

Lianna had been a leader for many years and was well-versed in the way of doing things, so she didn't
mess up.

"Mr.Evans is entertaining people, so don't disturb him” Lianna said.

Lianna’s words quickly extinguished the excitement of the employees.

All of them were disappointed and continued their previous activities but were not as enthusiastic as
before.

They continued singing, drinking, and playing with their mobile phones.

Sophia felt that the private room was a little stuffy after staying there for a long time, so she got up and
went to the bathroom.She tried to relax a little.She didn't know if it was because it would rain, but the
air was very thick and muggy tonight.She turned on the tap and splashed the water on her face.

It was cold and made Sophia feel a lot more comfortable.



She stayed for a few more minutes and went back in the direction of the private room.She had just
turned a corner when she bumped into Patrick, who was leaning on the wall and smoking.

He had one hand in his pocket and the other hand holding a cigarette.

The sleeves on both sides of his shirt were slightly rolled up and revealed his wheat-colored skin.

His eyes were half-closed due to the smoke from the cigarette.

He seemed to like this corner and often went there to hide and smoke.Could it be considered a type of
peculiarity?

"Mr.Evans..."

Sophia hesitated for a moment but felt that she should be the one to greet him first.

Patrick murmured a hello, and the overhead light hit his body.

Sophia could not see his chiseled face but witnessed the highlighted robust muscles under his white
shirt.


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