“So what if someone sees us? Even if that were to happen, they would only think you are the one who seduced me, wouldn’t they?”
Michael’s lips curled upwards into a triumphant smirk, his eyes gleaming.
No wonder he was not worried. He had already taken that into account. Michael truly was getting more and more despicable.
“What on earth do you want, Michael? Will you only be satisfied after you’ve forced me to resign? What exactly have I done to offend you to make me your punching bag at work?”
I was furious. It was no secret that Michael was trying to make things difficult for me. Even though I was the one who suggested to break things off between us, which probably hurt his ego, I had become nothing but an employee with no power against him. There was absolutely no reason for him to be targeting me in everything I did.
“Did I say I want you to resign? Can’t you handle this bit of stress, Anna Garcia? Are you admitting defeat already?”
Michael frowned slightly, scrutinizing me. Displeasure flickered in his gaze.
“Is there anyone who wouldn’t admit defeat in front of you?”
I let out a dry laugh as I stared at him with contempt. He had already played me like a toy to this extent. What else could I do besides surrendering? The man in front of me was the famous Michael Shaw while I was just an ordinary woman. There was no other choice for me except to concede.
“Get out!”
Just as I thought he was going to lecture me further, Michael bolted upwards and hollered at me to leave.
Startled by the roar, I was dumbfounded by his sudden change in demeanor, unable to register what just happened. Only a second ago, he was still talking to me nicely. I truly could not make sense of the person in front of me. That man was dilemma personified.
Once I regained my senses, my heart was pounding so hard I feared it would jump out of my throat. Even so, I swallowed the panic I was feeling and feigned a calm demeanor. I refused to show my weakness in front of Michael.
Standing up straight, I grabbed the documents on the desk and strode out of his office.
Michael’s recent horrible attitude towards me played in my mind. Not only was he singling me out and taunting me at work, but he was also disrupting my private life. I felt nothing but exhaustion. I’ve had enough.
What did I owe him in my past life for him to treat me so terribly? Why can’t he give me just a little bit of freedom? What else must I do for him to let me go?
With reddened eyes, I returned to my seat. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I got. It was not long before my tears started rolling down.
Millie looked up from her seat opposite mine. Upon noticing my disheveled look, she furrowed her eyebrows. Sympathy was written all over her face.
“Anna, are you okay? Why are you crying? Did the CEO scold you again?”
Millie knew that I had been targeted by Michael for the past weeks as well. Seeing me exiting Michael’s office with an upset look, it was normal for Millie to immediately assume that I had been scolded.
Knowing that Millie had noticed me crying, I hastily wiped off the tears with the back of my hand and blew my nose while forcing out a smile.
“I’m okay. Just that my proposal has been rejected again. I’ll just continue amending it.”
I did not want anyone else to know about the incident in Michael’s office earlier.
“Don’t be too upset, Anna. I looked through your designs yesterday and I thought it was good enough. Huh… who knows how high the CEO’s expectations are now… If it were before, your proposal would have been accepted ages ago.”
Millie pursed her lips in slight annoyance upon hearing my answer. Even so, traces of sympathy could still be found on her face.
It’s not that Michael’s expectations are high. He just wanted to make things difficult for me, taking his personal anger out on me during work. That’s very unprofessional of him.
Obviously, I did not dare to voice out those thoughts. Besides, if I had said anything, my relationship with Michael would no longer be able to be kept under wraps.
“Thank you, Millie.”
I flashed Millie a small smile before turning my attention to work. My brain cells started working as I tried to come up with a new design. I refuse to believe that I could not think of ideas that Michael would approve of.
For the rest of the day, I stared blankly at the computer screen. Before long, it was past office hours. After my colleagues had gone home one by one, I started gathering my things to leave.
The second I stood up from my seat, my phone started ringing. Peering at the phone screen, I recognized the landline number on the caller ID. My eyebrows inched closer to each other. What now?
“Mom? Why the sudden call today? What happened?”
After picking up, I went straight into topic.
“Anna, have you gotten home from work?”
Mom’s gentle voice traveled from the other end of the line.
“I was just about to head home. Why did you call?”
As far as I could remember, Mom would never ring me up unless something happened. A phone call from her was a sign of impending troubles.
“Anna, there’s something that I don’t know how I should tell you…”
Noticing that I was being straightforward, Mom paused. After a moment of silence, her voice sounded once more.
“Just tell me. I still need to go home from work.”
From the way Mom was beating around the bush, I was already expecting bad news. The first thought that crossed my mind was that she was calling for money. I held back a sigh. As much as I did not want to hear her request for cash, I could not hang up on my own mother.
“It’s about Steven. Two days ago, Steven went gambling again. This time, he lost up to a hundred over thousand. The creditors had already come knocking on the door.”
As she was speaking, Mom’s voice was starting to crack. I could sense her panic even through the phone.
However, hearing the news that Steven went gambling again, a familiar wave of rage pulsed through my veins. “Mom, if you’re calling me so that I’ll pay off his debt, my answer is a firm ‘NO’. I have no more money. All of my savings had been spent on Dad’s operation. There’s not even a penny left in my account!”
Gambling, gambling, gambling again!
And every time he gambles, I’m the one who has to clean up after his mess. Enough is enough!
I had lost count of how much money I had spent on clearing his debt, money that I had earned after years of working and toiling. I was just a normal working adult. It would be impossible for me to spend all my money on that younger brother who was a deadbeat.
“Don’t say that, Anna. At the end of the day, Steven is your biological brother. You can’t be so cruel to turn a blind eye to his troubles. The creditors had already found him in our house. Just help Steven out, he really is penniless right now. He can’t pay this off.”
Mom started to panic upon hearing that I refused to help. She sounded as though she was on the verge of tears.
Even though Mom had always been biased towards Steven ever since we were young, she was still my mother, who raised me for over twenty years. The thought of her crying was heart-wrenching.
Nevertheless, a few hundred thousand was not a number that I could just pull out of my pocket. I did not have the money nor the ability to help them. I felt drained to the core. There was no way I could help this time.
“Mom, I’m just an ordinary white-collar worker. Can you not put me in such a tight spot? I really don’t have that amount of money. I barely have enough to pay for my meals. How am I supposed to help Steven with his debt? Can you please put yourself in my shoes and be considerate about my situation for a change?”
