My heart lurched at Millie’s suspicious look, and panic struck me. Oh God, what’s the meaning of this? Why is she asking me such a question? Don’t tell me she has learned about my relationship with Michael?
“W-What do you mean? What kind of relationship could I have with Mr. Shaw?”
I regarded her with a flustered expression, my voice tinged with a hint of guilt.
“Ah, stop lying to me! Mr. Shaw came to the office yesterday and personally applied for leave on your behalf. Everyone was shocked and wondered about your relationship with him.”
Millie eyed me nosily, her gaze radiating curiosity.
“I-I was going to phone Mr. Doyle to apply for leave yesterday, but I somehow rang up Mr. Shaw instead,” I hastily clarified while looking at her sheepishly.
Phew! I thought she has learned about my relationship with Michael, but it seems that all the uproar is just because he helped me to apply for leave.
“Anna, I just feel that your relationship with Mr. Shaw isn’t that simple. Don’t tell me the two of you are actually dating?”
Millie didn’t believe my explanation, her eyes brimming with delight as she said that.
“What nonsense are you spouting, Millie? How could I possibly have anything to do with him? I’m just an ordinary employee. Please stop saying such a thing, for it’ll certainly bring me trouble if others overhear such speculation.”
While she was merely postulating, the panic within me snowballed. D*mn it! Now that she’s starting to suspect my relationship with Michael, it may truly come to light in the future!
“Alright, alright. I was just joking, so why are you so panicked? The more flustered you are, the more people will suspect you!”
Millie’s expression turned solemn as she stared at me. She didn’t continue pursuing the matter about my relationship with Michael, but I was inwardly freaking out. Dear Lord, if even Millie thinks that Michael and I are too close, will the others also feel the same way?
“Don’t simply say such a thing in the future. I don’t want to invite unnecessary trouble.”
After saying that coldly, I proceeded to ignore her and buried my head in my work. Truth be told, I was a little bent out of shape because of her remark earlier.
Millie stuck out her tongue at me. Perhaps realizing that she had gone overboard with her allegations, she merely cast me a hesitant glance without further comment.
My emotions were a chaotic mess the entire morning. Thanks to Millie’s comments, I simply couldn’t concentrate on my work.
After having lunch, I went to the washroom. When I entered the washroom, I accidentally bumped into two colleagues from my department.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you,” I promptly apologized.
“Are you blind? That hurts, you know!”
Initially, I thought that everything would be fine after apologizing. However, the female colleague whom I bumped into seemed disinclined to drop the matter. She shot daggers at me, her words scathing.
I frowned as chagrin flooded me from her biting reprisal. Jeez, I only knocked into her lightly. It’s not like I slammed into her. Does it warrant such pointed barbs?
“I’ve already apologized just now,” I placidly murmured, lifting my head to stare at her.
“What’s the use of an apology? Does it negate the fact that you rammed into me earlier?”
I didn’t want to have any conflicts with my colleagues in the office, but her words truly had me seeing red. Raising my head, I glowered at her. Not wanting to entertain her further, I spun around to leave. Alas, she didn’t seem willing to let me off so easily.
“Did I say you can leave? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
Hearing that, the wrath within me blazed all the hotter. I whirled around and regarded her frostily. “I’ve already apologized earlier, so what else do you want? It was unintentional on my part just now.”
While I didn’t want to make trouble, it didn’t mean that others could simply pick on me. Argh! Is it really necessary for her to be so unforgiving when I just bumped into her lightly?
“Oh my, how arrogant! Anna Garcia, did you think that you can do whatever you want in the office and act as though everyone is beneath you just because of your relationship with Mr. Shaw?”
She stalked up to me, her voice turning shrill.
When I heard that, I finally realized that she was targeting me because of Michael. What the hell? Don’t tell me it’s also because Michael applied for leave on my behalf?
“That’s your assumption!”
I didn’t want to explain things since it would only end in a deeper misunderstanding. After saying that, I turned around to leave.
“Don’t think that someone like you can seduce Mr. Shaw, Anna. There are tons of beauties around him, so you don’t even stand a chance!” she declared loudly behind me, her gaze burning with envy.
“If I don’t stand a chance, then you’re even less likely to have a shot. I’d advise you to first take a good look at yourself in the mirror before picking trouble with someone else!”
Snorting, I spun on my heels and strode away after spatting that contemptuously.
I recognized that female colleague known as Tiffany Barker. Despite being in the same department, we weren’t familiar with each other. In fact, we had never spoken before.
But I did hear from Millie that she was Michael’s biggest fan in the entire department. As such, she was certainly picking trouble with me on purpose earlier.
When I returned to the office, frustration slammed into me. I was pissed off at Michael since the many incidents that had transpired today were all because he had given me the day off yesterday.
D*mn it all to hell! Look what happened now! I’m probably going to be the public enemy of all the female employees in the company! But then, they’re really petty, huh? Is it necessary to pick on me when he merely gave me a day off? Besides, even if there’s something between us, that’s our business. It has nothing to do with them!
As I looked at the closed door of the president’s office, the annoyance within me grew, and I couldn’t help heaping all the blame on Michael. If it weren’t for him, I would never be targeted by my colleagues!
When it was time to get off work, I received a text from Michael, asking me to wait for him at the underground parking. Nonetheless, I turned off my phone irritatedly and ignored it.
When the time got around to get off work, I didn’t wait for him but left right away. After all, I was now being targeted by the female colleagues in the office because of him, so I would truly be the public enemy of the entire company if someone spotted me meeting up with him.
I trudged along the street after work. Before I had even reached the subway station, my cell phone rang again. Thinking that it was a call from Michael, I initially didn’t want to take it. But when I saw an unknown number flashing across the screen, I frowned in puzzlement. In the end, I answered the call.
“Hello,” I greeted coolly when the call was connected.
“Hello, Ms. Garcia. Do you still remember me?”
On the other end of the line, a familiar male voice drifted out. It gave off a cheerful feeling, but I couldn’t place it for a moment.
