I frowned in dissatisfaction when I felt Ronan’s coldness.
I initially wanted to say a few words in protest. However, because I felt dizzy, I held my tongue and closed my eyes to sleep.
The next day, I reluctantly opened my eyes because the sunlight caused discomfort to my eyes. I spent quite some time adapting myself to the brightness.
When I got up to change my clothes, I was surprised to find myself in my own room.
What happened? Didn’t I drink with Ronan and fall asleep by the river? Why am I at home now? What transpired?
Did Ronan bring me home?
But I thought I saw Michael last night. Could it have been him?
I tried to recall how I had made my way home. However, I rejected the thought of Michael being the one who brought me home the moment it surfaced in my mind.
Since Michael was busy preparing for the engagement ceremony, I figured he didn’t have time to bring me home. Besides, he couldn’t possibly do it, for he didn’t know I had been drinking with Ronan by the river.
In that case, there was only a probable explanation — Ronan brought me home after he sobered up.
Since the man had drunk a lot yesterday, I was surprised that he could still bring me home. As such, I couldn’t help but think that I had underestimated Ronan, for he could drink like a fish.
I initially wanted to call him to thank him for his help. Nonetheless, I dismissed the thought once I realized that my phone had shut down due to a low battery percentage.
It was already past 8 a.m. when I checked the time. Since I would probably be late to work, I immediately changed my clothes and freshened up.
As I was brushing my teeth, a wave of nausea engulfed me all of a sudden. I tried to vomit but didn’t end up throwing up anything.
I frowned and looked at my pale face in the mirror. Then, I heaved a sigh at the thought of me not yet sobering myself up because I had too much alcohol last night.
I couldn’t help but feel curious about why I hadn’t been able to hold my liquor. After all, I only had two to three bottles of beer. It was a wonder why I still felt like throwing up the next morning.
Due to time constraints, I took a cab instead of the subway. Despite that transportation change, I was still late to work.
When I arrived, Michael was standing in the office of the design department and saying something.
My heart skipped a beat uncontrollably once I saw him. Nonetheless, I concealed my emotions and lowered my head as I walked toward my desk.
However, my presence still grabbed everyone’s attention because Michael was having a meeting with every staff. As if he could tell that I felt extremely uneasy, he shifted his gaze toward my face.
“I realize that many of our staff come late to work recently, particularly those from the design department!”
I was startled upon hearing it, for he was criticizing me in front of everyone.
I felt a little angry, but the feeling of sadness overruled that emotion. After maintaining my composure, I stood up and said to Michael calmly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Shaw. I’ll never be late to work next time.”
As Michael stared at me, I lowered my head and dared not to meet his gaze.
In the past, the man wouldn’t say anything if I was late. Now that he had scolded me before everyone in the design department, I wondered if it was a sign that he didn’t care about our past relationship anymore.
It wasn’t my intention to disregard the company’s rules, merely because I used to sleep with Michael. Nonetheless, I felt hurt when he criticized me before everyone.
“From now on, whoever is late to work will have a month’s bonus deducted!” he announced coldly after glancing at me.
Once the man gave the order, everyone turned their hot gazes toward me.
In this company, a month’s bonus could sometimes be higher than our salaries. Hence, deducting bonuses due to lateness was a disproportionately heavy punishment.
I lowered my head and fell silent. However, tears welled in my eyes uncontrollably, for I couldn’t understand his motive for doing so. Is he trying to embarrass me and force me out of the company?
“Anna, come to my office now!” Michael glanced at me again and growled out crossly.
With that, Michael walked into his office. Every staff in the design department was frightened and dared not utter a word.
Although I didn’t know what he wanted to tell me, it would be something unpleasant to hear. After all, his recent attitude toward me was the clearest sign.
Meanwhile, many of them flashed me a gleeful glance, for they probably thought something terrible would ensue soon.
As I came into the CEO’s office, Michael glanced at me from his desk as though he was waiting for me specifically.
“Mr. Shaw, may I know why you want to see me?”
When only a two-meter distance stood between us, I halted in my tracks and lowered my head. Besides, I tried my best to make myself calm.
“What do you think the reason is?”
Michael gazed at me aloofly and asked me back. As I looked at him, I could see his eyes beaming with anger.
“Mr. Shaw, I’ve already apologized for being late to work. I promise not to repeat it. Please give me a chance.”
Since he had embarrassed me in front of all my colleagues over my tardiness, my first thought was that he wanted to continue scolding me.
“Why do you always get drunk recently? Do you think you can be late to work just because you’ve drunk too much?” Michael questioned furiously.
My heart lurched upon hearing it. I looked at Michael shockingly and wondered how he knew I had been late because I was hungover.
“How… how did you know?”
I frowned, feeling at a loss. Given that I had drunk with Ronan last night, he was supposedly the only one who knew it.
“You reek with alcohol! Do you think no one will notice it? Anna, you’re the staff of my company. I don’t want my staff to have a messy private life!” Michael said coldly and gave me a look of reproach.
As I was already in a bad mood, his accusation about my private life hurt me even more.
“Messy private life? Am I a promiscuous woman in your eyes? Don’t you know why I drank last night? It was because you and Emma are about to get engaged! Michael, have you ever truly cared about my feelings?”
With that, I laughed bitterly and glanced at the man. A moment later, tears welled up in my eyes, for I didn’t wish to hold in my emotions anymore. I felt incredibly drained after faking my feelings every day.
