A Graduation Gift

Lionel Tang left the place, his annoyed strides echoing off the floor. Cassandra saw Rufus Luo walk toward her. His shoulders
were squared and he had a regal posture, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. He locked gazes with her and she found herself
staring back into his dark brown eyes.
They had the texture of the chocolate, and it was as if she was being pulled into his gaze.
"Hello Mr. Luo, welcome!" Joel said, standing beside her, and immediately she pulled herself out of her trance. She heard Joel as
he continued to speak to Rufus, and extending his hand, "I am Joel. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Cassandra lowered her head and waited without a word until Rufus approched closer. She tried the best to keep her composure.
Rufus watched her from the corner of his eye with an amused smile. He did not miss the slight dusting of pink on her cheeks
even as she tried her best to be discreet. She looked very docile, with her head down and avoiding the eyes of others. He was
pleased with the sight of her and unable to stop himself from whispering as they passed by.
"You missed a button, sweetie," he said, murmuring in a low voice that carried a teasing lilt. Cassandra's head shot up, her eyes
wide at his comment. Her eyes immediately flew to her clothes, and her face turned bright red at what she saw.
Her shirt was buttoned all the way to the top! That meant she did not miss a button and...
As comprehension dawned upon her, Cassandra's brows furrowed, and she turned, ready to shoot an angry glare at the man
who played tricks on her. However, Rufus was nowhere to be found. He must have already walked to somewhere else.
'Unbelievable! What an egotistic man.' Cassandra thought indignantly. Her eyes swept the floor, trying in vain to see which
direction he had headed.
"Manager Qin, your face is burning. Are you feeling alright?"
Once again, Joel's voice brought Cassandra back to reality. The floor was littered with the sound of hurrying footsteps as more
and more people were walking back and forth with tasks that they had to accomplish. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself.
She would have to just let it go for today.
Offering Joel a friendly smile, she said, "Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Let's go, Joel. We still have some places to check."
The day went by quickly as Cassandra ran to and fro talking to different personnel and checking data. Back in her office, she
closed the door and nearly slumped to the floor. Puffing a breath, she threw herself onto a couch and kicked off her high heels.

Her feet screamed with relief as they were finally free from the constricting footwear, and lying on the couch, she caught a long-
wanted breath.
The company was beyond her imagination. She winced as she remembered how her day went - running up and down the floors
to meet with all the departments. Despite her exhaustion, she lightened up when she thought of the staff. She could tell that the
atmosphere here was definitely wonderful - every person seemed to have a great dream which they aspired for. The energy was
contagious, and she felt herself more inspired than ever.
This was exactly the kind of place she had always wanted to work at. It was only her first day, and she felt almost overwhelmed
by tiredness; but at the same time, she felt at ease, like she belonged here.
"Beep—"
The ringing from her telephone broke the silence in the room. Cassandra sat up and rushed barefoot to her desk to pick up the
phone.
"Hello," she said, barely managing to reach the phone in time, "this is the Architectural Design Department. Cassandra speaking.
May I know who's calling?"
She spoke in a warm and friendly voice. If she was going to stay here, she wanted to try her best and give everyone the best
impression of herself.
"Cassandra, come to my office now. I have an important document for you," a man's voice replied flatly on the other end.
Then the phone gave the tell-tale click that came when the call was finished. Cassandra's smile left her face.
She knew who the caller was. Without a doubt, it was Lionel. Cassandra furrowed her brows slightly while putting down the
phone. 'What document could it be?' she wondered.
Without having any clue about what the call was about, she put her shoes back on and walked to his office, ignoring the slight
pain from her feet.
While walking around, she started to realize just how big the company was. She had tried looking for the sign 'Vice President' on
the doors as she passed by, but to no avail. In the end, she had to ask other company personnel for directions.
By the time Cassandra finally found the office, the slight pain from her feet had already turned to a screaming soreness. She had
walked around for a long time.

Despite this, she was determined to be professional and do her job properly. Her feet could wait. As of the moment, her mind
needed more of her attention to face the person on the other side of the office door. Standing in front of Lionel's office, she took a
deep breath and knocked. To her surprise, the door was unlocked. It slid open silently when her finger touched the wooden
panel.
It seemed strange that it was open, but she still thought it to be proper to knock before entering.
As Cassandra was about to try again, a woman's voice floated from the room.
"Lionel, I miss you so much. I haven't seen?you in such a long time. What have you been so busy with lately?" the female voice
purred in a satiny voice.
Cassandra paled at the sound and she was left feeling uncertain about what to do next. 'There's someone else in Lionel's office.
Should I knock now? Or should I just come back later?' she asked herself, thinking of the best course of action.
If anyone saw her, they would think that she was mulling over a very serious problem as her brows creased on her forehead and
her hand hung near the door. Then, as she was agonizing over what to do, her aching feet gave in and she lost her balance,
staggering forward and pushing the door open.
She fell on her knees to the floor as she inwardly screamed at herself. Now what had she done?
The people inside were obviously not expecting company. The woman to whom the earlier voice belonged was sprawled all over
Lionel like some kind of wanton octopus. Cassandra's eyes also caught the way their clothes had been loosened. Several
buttons on Lionel's chest were open and his shirt was untucked at the waist.
Already having some idea of what had transpired, Cassandra felt herself flush from her toes to her hairline. Gathering herself,
she slowly raised her head and blinked at them.
Then, she forced a smile to her lips and said, "I'm sorry for the disturbance. I should not have come in. I'm leaving now. You two
can continue with whatever you were doing..."
Ignoring her screaming feet, she stood up quickly, ready to run as fast as she could, but Lionel stopped her.
"Stay there, Cassandra," he said in that cold and emotionless voice.