Sonia chewed on her lower lip as she pondered on the idea of burning the midnight oil.
Toby, on the other hand, was still in the main seat, and he grew sullen once more when he heard her request.
He had thought that she might ask him to clarify the points of discussion when she called him, but as it turned out, all she wanted was a copy of the security footage. She probably wants to replay the whole meeting in front of Carl or Charles!
Suppressing the frustration that boiled within him, Toby answered coldly, “The camera’s broken.”
“Broken?” Sonia froze, then became skeptical of this as she looked up at the security camera.
However, she was not at Paradigm Co., and she couldn’t just demand that the camera be checked to ascertain if it was working fine or not.
Just as she was seized with helplessness again, Toby added abruptly, “Go into my office.”
“What?” She gazed at him oddly. “Why do I have to go into your office?”
“You don’t have to. Unless you have no plans on handing in the analytical report tomorrow,” Toby said stonily, then grabbed his cane and walked out of the conference room.
It was only then that Sonia realized he had seen through her pretenses, and he was offering to explain to her in detail whatever had been discussed during the meeting. That being said, she was still surprised by his kind generosity.
She glanced at the notebook in her hand and was suddenly torn between going into his office and declining his offer.
She didn’t want to be alone with him, but if she didn’t take him up on his offer, she would only be left with the miserable notes she had tried to make and her barely-solid understanding of alternative energy technology.
After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and decided to march after Toby. He probably didn’t want her to drag down the rest of the team now that they were working together on this project, which explained why he wanted to help her.
Such thoughts comforted her, and as she tried to catch up with Toby, the uneasiness she felt began to wane.
Upon hearing footsteps behind him, Toby turned his head slightly and saw that Sonia was following him.
The corners of his lips tipped up in the barest hint of a smile. His pace slowed, and he didn’t pick it back up until he was sure that she had drawn closer.
Before long, both of them entered the presidential office.
Presently, as soon as the office door fell shut behind them, a woman stepped out from the secretarial office next door.
She gazed at the closed door to Toby’s office and fished out her phone, thereafter making a call.
Tina was getting her hair done when she heard her phone ring in her purse. Taking it out, she glanced briefly at the screen and answered the call, then pressed the phone to her ear as she asked curtly, “What is it?”
“Miss Gray, something’s happened!” the secretary cupped her free hand around her phone and whispered into the line.
The insouciant look on Tina’s face was immediately replaced by a sinister one as she hissed, “Which shameless hussy is it that has dared to lay her hands on what’s mine?”
Ever since Toby prohibited her from dropping by Fuller Group without an appointment, Tina had bribed one of the secretaries who worked for him to keep an eye on all the female employees in the company, and if she were to see anyone trying to get close to Toby, she was to report to Tina immediately.
She had not received any calls from the secretary before this, and for a while, she believed that the women in Fuller Group were rather proper working-class ladies. She certainly hadn’t expected such a presumption to be overturned out of the blue.
“She’s not one of ours,” the secretary said hastily, with a shake of her head.
Tina was obviously riled up as she snapped unhappily, “Even so, she’s still trying to steal Toby from me, isn’t she? Tell me who she is right now!”
I don’t care who she is. As long as she’s trying to take what’s mine, I’ll make her sorry for it!
“I don’t know who she is, but I did hear President Fuller address her as Miss Reed. He’s kind and gentle to her as well, and he even stopped so that she could catch up with him. They went into his office together,” the secretary reported fearfully.
It had been barely two months since the secretary started working at Fuller Group, and seeing as she was not an official employee just yet, she had no idea of Toby and Sonia’s past marriage.
However, Tina knew instantly that the ‘Miss Reed’ in question was none other than Sonia. Growing incensed, she stood up from her seat abruptly, a rough gesture that caused a few strands of hair to be pulled out by the curling tongs in Tony Goldstein’s hand. The sharp, sudden pain made Tina hiss in anger, and she turned to glare at Mr. Tony maliciously as she snapped, “How dare you pull out my hair?”
Mr. Tony was affronted by her accusation, and he resisted the urge to tell her that it was her fault for standing up so abruptly in the first place; surely he couldn’t be faulted for accidentally pulling out a couple strands of her hair.
The customer is always right, and she’s an important client to boot. Mr. Tony did not want to offend the woman, and he took the accusation in stride as he bowed apologetically. “I’m terribly sorry, Miss Gray. I didn’t mean to, and I’m really sorry. I—”
However, he was cut off when Tina landed a harsh slap across his face, the crisp sound of which reverberated around the room. Even the secretary on the other line shuddered when she heard this, and one could only imagine how mortified Mr. Tony was.
As of now, he held his palm to his face as he stared at Tina incredulously, though fear shone in his eyes as he gasped, “How could you assault someone like that, Miss Gray?”
“Do you see how many strands of hair you pulled out of my scalp? You should be so lucky that you’re still alive after that!” Tina barked coldly.
It was bad enough that Sonia was constantly getting on her nerves. And now, some nobody dares to offend me? He must be sick of living!
“You—” Mr. Tony’s eyes grew red with anger when he heard Tina’s harsh remark. “You have crossed the line here, Miss Gray! You were the one who—”
“Okay, okay, break it up.” Just then, the shop owner came walking over and shot Mr. Tony a sharp look, signaling him to stop talking. Having done so, he turned and smiled at Tina, saying, “Miss Gray, he’s new here and has no idea how to conduct himself just yet. I hope you won’t hold it against him and brush this incident off. How about if I take over to style your hair instead?”
“No!” Tina refused to back down. She jabbed a finger in Mr. Tony’s direction as a vicious look came into her eyes. “I want you to fire him and make sure he doesn’t find work in any other salon ever again! You’re the shop owner, so this is the least you could do.”
The shop owner and Mr. Tony stiffened at such a bold and unreasonable demand. The latter, in particular, was quivering with anger as he thought, What a cruel and despicable woman!
The shop owner frowned. “That’s a little harsh, isn’t it, Miss Gray?”
Tina crossed her arms imperiously and scoffed. “I don’t think it’s harsh at all. He deserves what’s coming for him after he’s offended me. If you don’t do as I ask, then don’t blame me if I—”
“I understand, Miss Gray. I shall do as you ask,” the shop owner cut her off and promised immediately.
Mr. Tony looked at him in dismay. “Sir?”
However, when he saw the shop owner tug on his sleeve imperceptibly, he understood and fell silent, then turned to look the other way.
Upon seeing that the owner had agreed to her demands, Tina broke into a satisfied grin and said, “That should be the way.”
The owner forced out a smile. “Now, if you’ll just take your seat, Miss Gray, I’m going to bring him over to the accounts room and sort out his paycheck.”
“Go ahead,” Tina quipped, tipping her chin up arrogantly.
The owner said nothing more and dragged Mr. Tony along with him to the back of the shop. When they were inside the lounge, the latter looked resentful as he asked, “Are you really going to fire me and have me kicked out of the industry, sir?”
“Of course not. I saw how everything happened, and you are clearly not at fault, so I’m not going to punish you. But you should lay low for a while, and once that woman out there has forgotten about this, I’ll have you work in our branch. After all, we can’t afford to have her blacklist us; she’s the young lady of the Gray Family, not to mention the future wife to the president of Fuller Group.” The shop owner concluded his explanation with a long sigh.
Mr. Tony managed a bitter smile. “I understand.”
Outside, Tina sat down once more and pressed the phone against her ear as she picked up where she had left off in the conversation. “So what was Sonia doing at Fuller Group?”
The secretary knew that Sonia was the Miss Reed in question and quickly answered, “It looks like she was here for the meeting, but as far as I know, that meeting has already ended.”
Tina’s fingers clenched her phone tightly. She’s still there even though the meeting is already over, and she even went into Toby’s office with him! What in the world could they be doing in there?
Jealousy rose within her as her thoughts piled onto one another. She hung up the call with the secretary and dialed Tim’s number. “Tim, it’s been days. Have you or have you not come up with a way to get rid of Sonia?”
She could no longer wait. She wanted Sonia dead right this minute!
In the hospital, Tim was seated in the confines of his consultant suite, and he adjusted his glasses as he replied, “I’ve come up with a plan, and I’m going to carry it out tomorrow.”
Tina’s face lit up with excitement. “What are you going to do?”
