Free Web NovelChapter 103: My Office Is Right Beside Yours
After cleaning the apartment, Wendy took a shower and crawled into bed. It had been a long day and she was exhausted.
She grabbed her phone and started to read through the news before going to sleep. The moment she entered the news application, the headline of the top article caught her attention. It read, "Michael Lucas exhibits crazed behavior after mistaking legendary designer Corine for his wife."
When she saw that, she frowned. She thought that Michael would have prevented the media from releasing any articles about what happened at the party last night. She believed that he would have stopped anything negative about him from reaching the media. After all, news articles like that were very detrimental to Michael’s reputation. She opened the article and saw a few photos inside as well.
The first photo was of Michael holding Wendy’s hand while she looked lost and frightened. The second photo was of him chasing after her, while she tried her best to get away from him.
There was also a clear narration of the events that had taken place at the party last night. It was written in a very objective and factual manner.
Wendy’s eyes filled with doubt. She wondered what Michael was trying to do. Did he really not care about his public image? However, she soon realized that she was overthinking it.
When she scrolled through the comments, she discovered most of them to be favorable to Michael.
Commenter 1: Wow! Mr. Lucas is so sentimental. I can’t believe he did that in front of everyone at such a formal event.
Commenter 2: To be honest, I’ve never seen anyone who’s as sentimental as Mr. Lucas. I’ve heard rumors that people have seen him talking to himself ever since he lost his wife five years ago. He must miss her so much. A man like that is really hard to come by. On top of that, he’s a billionaire too!
Commenter 3: Yeah, you’re right! My next-door neighbor remarried barely a few months after his wife died.
Commenter 4: But don’t you think that Mr. Lucas’s behavior was too inappropriate? After all, he’s still the president of MC Enterprise, and he should not have made things awkward for Corrine in front of so many people. No matter what underlying reason there is behind his behavior, he really shouldn’t have done that.
Commenter 5: Am I the only one who’s paying attention to Corrine? Don’t you guys also think that she looks very similar to Michael’s dead wife?
After scrolling through a few comments, Wendy’s chest heaved unevenly. She had assumed that the media’s coverage of Michael!’s crazed behavior at the party would be exceptionally embarrassing for him.
However, instead of getting mocked by the public, everyone seemed to be applauding him for being a sentimental man. She felt amused by that. It was impossible to believe that everyone would think of him that way.
Five years ago, he tried to force her to get an abortion. He never broke things off with Yvonne throughout their marriage, and when they were both kidnapped, he chose to save Yvonne’s life instead of hers.
Wendy thought, how has Michael fulfilled any of his responsibilities as a husband? Instead, he has successfully curated the image of a loving, sentimental husband for himself after my alleged death. How amusing.
Feeling angry, she decided to register for an account and leave a comment in the discussion thread that said, "Michael Lucas? Sentimental? Let me tell you guys the truth: Michael Lucas is just a bastard! Five years ago, he tried to force his wife to undergo an abortion when she was five months pregnant, and he continued seeing his mistress behind her back. Do you guys know why his wife perished in the sea? That was because he chose to save his mistress and sacrificed the lives of his wife and child! Why would you praise a man like that for being sentimental? Wake up and see the truth for what it is! Don’t be stupid, okay? He clearly just feels guilty for all the things that he did to his wife! Instead of showing that, he decided to put on a sentimental front to trick all you gullible idiots, and it worked!"
After posting her comment, she was shocked to receive many replies. Much to her surprise and frustration, those replies were mainly negative.
Commenter 1: You’re just a keyboard warrior! How are we blinded by appearances? How do you even know what really happened five years ago? Don’t spread lies if you don’t know the truth!
Commenter 2: After Mr. Lucas’s wife died five years ago, he set up a foundation in her name to honor her memory. In the past five years, the total sum of donations has exceeded nine figures. Why would such a reputable businessman like him want to put on appearances to fool us? It’s obvious that you’re just trying to ruin his image!
Commenter 3: Exactly! Given Mr. Lucas’s status, it’s perfectly normal for a man like him to have as many mistresses as he wants even if his wife was still alive. So many men are doing that these days! So, it doesn’t matter if he’s just pretending. In any case, we believe him! At least this way, I still have some faith in humanity. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even want to get married.
When Wendy saw the replies, she felt like she was going to implode from anger. She could not believe that she had inadvertently helped to boost Michael’s image as a sentimental man after what happened at the party yesterday.
How could it be? This was not what she had expected at all. She decided to ignore those comments because she knew that nobody would believe anything that she said unless she was willing to publicly admit who she really was. But judging from the current situation, it was clear that nobody would believe her even if she did that. In fact, members of the public were more likely to think that she was merely trying to smear Michael’s reputation.
Still fuming, she placed her phone on the bedside table and went to sleep. She still had to go to work early the following morning.
The next day, Wendy went to the office after instructing Jake to stay at home and not go anywhere else. She did not expect to see Michael waiting for her personally at the entrance of the company. When he saw her, he said with a smile, "I warmly welcome you to my company, Miss Corrine."
After all the comments she had seen last night, she felt even more hatred for Michael. Forget it if he had chosen to sacrifice her five years ago, how could he also make use of her to create such a glowing false image of himself?
When Michael saw the look in Wendy’s eyes, his smile faded. He looked at her curiously. Believing that she was still angry about what happened at the party, he explained himself in an apologetic tone and said, "I’m really sorry for what happened at the party. I acted on impulse, and I shouldn’t have done that."
He was still fully convinced that she was Wendy Stewart. But since she still refused to admit it, he decided not to continue trying to force the truth like he had that night. Now that she was working with him at MC Enterprise, he believed that there would be plenty of chances for that in the future.
"I don’t believe it was an impulse. I believe that you must have planned everything," said Wendy in a deliberate manner. However, it was true that Michael had not known that she was Corrine before the party. Her statements were not valid at all. She was only saying that because she was too mad at him. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Michael felt even more confused when he heard that. He felt wrongly accused. Mr. York had asked him whether he wanted him to stop the incident at the party from reaching the news.
However, Michael had asked him not to interfere. Five years ago, the news about Michael abandoning Wendy at a party made it to the headlines and she was heavily mocked for that. Allowing news of his behavior at the party to circulate within the media was his way of making it up to her. He never expected that most people would praise him for being sentimental instead of making fun of him.
Wendy decided not to waste her time talking to him. Changing the topic, she said calmly, "Since you’ve personally come to escort me into the company, I will have to trouble you to show me around."
Michael nodded and made a welcoming gesture.
He blurted, "Wendy..." Right after that, he saw her glaring at him and immediately corrected himself, "I mean Miss Corrine, please come with me."
Michael had prepared an office for Wendy long in advance. It was situated right beside his own.
In fact, it was the same office that she had used when she worked as his assistant five years ago.
Looking around at the familiar surroundings, Wendy said unhappily, "Mr. Lucas, if I’m not mistaken, the 88th floor is also where your office is. Why is my office at the same level as yours? Where are the other designers on my team? I should be with them." She looked around her and saw that the layout was the exact same as five years ago. Nothing had changed since she left. It was obvious that this office had remained unused all this time.
"I’ve arranged for them to be on the 8th floor," said Michael, "Since the design department is on the 7th floor, it will be much easier for them to communicate with each other. If there’s anything that you’re unsatisfied with, I can find an alternative office for them."
"I’m okay with where they are," said Wendy as she continued looking around the room. "I’m unhappy about your behavior, though, Mr. Lucas. I don’t understand why you’re separating me from the rest of my team. As their leader, I should be with them on the 8th floor." With that, she walked out of the room and continued, "Since you’re unwilling to lead me there, I’ll just have to find my own way."
Michael chased after Wendy. Initially, he had arranged for Corrine’s office to also be located on the 8th floor. But since Corrine turned out to be Wendy, he decided to shift her office to the 88th floor. Her rejection of this offer was also something that he had already expected.
Wendy was still familiar with the layout of the company. Even though it had been five years, nothing had changed. However, since Michael was following her and she was pretending to be someone else, she had to act as though she was lost.
Turning around, she said, "Mr. Lucas, since you’re following me anyway, it’s better if you lead the way."
Michael studied Wendy’s expression. As he watched her blink, he grew convinced that she was deliberately pretending to not know the way. freёwebnovel.com
However, he did not expose her lies. Instead, he led her to the office that had been meant for her on the 8th floor.
It was clear that the office had been renovated recently. It was bright and minimalist, and it looked very nice. Wendy sat down before the desk. Looking up at Michael, she said coldly and distantly, "Thank you for showing me to my office, Mr. Lucas. If there’s nothing else, you can go." The tone that she had adopted made it sound like she was the owner of MC Enterprise and Michael was merely one of her subordinates.
However, Michael did not mind it at all. Instead, he laughed. Then, he turned around and started walking out of the office. When he reached the door, he tilted his head and said, "My office is right beside yours. You can come to me anytime you need to." With that, he left.
Wendy’s eyes grew wide when she heard those words. She thought, what did he just say? Did he say that his office is right beside mine? Unable to sit still, she rose and quickly followed Michael to the adjacent office. Sure enough, she saw him sitting down before the desk.
Again, Michael was not surprised to see Wendy standing at the door. He pointed at the couch, saying, "Come and sit..."
Wendy was not in the mood to do that. "Mr. Lucas, what are you trying to do?" she asked with a frown, feeling bewildered. He had first tried to bring her to an office on the 88th floor, but after she rejected his offer, he decided to take the office right beside hers. It became clear that he was determined for them to be as near to each other as possible.
"I’m not trying to do anything," said Michael with a shrug. Looking innocent, he continued, "I’m just bored of being on the 88th floor. I wanted a change in environment."
