Standing before Love

Sean had moved his arm away while he coldly glanced at Elsie. She found his icy stare eerie and intimidating to the point where her hands froze halfway while she reached out.

“Director Chase…”

“Miss Foster—” Sean stared calmly at the elevator further ahead from them. At that moment, the elevator doors had just closed and a complex emotion flashed through his eyes. However, it happened in the blink of an eye; it was so quick that even Elsie did not notice it. He swiftly returned to his cold and distant self. “Remember what I told you.”

When Myra left the Chase Group, she was unsteady on her feet. The faster she walked, the more in a rush she became. It almost felt that a predator was chasing her from behind, causing her to break into a wild run ahead in the end.

She had already crossed two streets when she felt a shooting pain from her heels. Finally, she sat on one of the benches on the roadside as she started to sob.

The weather at the end of summer had brought along a heatwave, but Myra’s heart was as cold as ice.

Passers-by kept throwing her odd looks. They most probably assume that my boyfriend has dumped me. Well, they are close enough.

Something seemed to have struck her because Myra suddenly took out her phone. She then selected the number, which Logan had saved into her contact list a couple of days ago for work-related matters.

The phone rang for a long time. Just when she assumed that nobody would answer her call, the line connected. Tony’s deep and steady voice greeted her over the phone, “Who is this?”

“Didn’t you mention that my design draft is good? What did you mean earlier today when you said that my design is crude?!” Myra’s voice was hoarse. Due to her anger toward Tony, she had dropped her courtesy for him.

Tony was initially perusing some files and his eyes widened slightly when he saw that it was Myra on the line. He did not immediately answer the call, but he stopped looking at his documents. He deliberately toyed with his cell phone and lazily picked up the phone when he felt that it was long enough to exhaust her patience.

His expression changed slightly when he heard that and he laughed mirthlessly. “I assumed the meaning was literal. Miss Stark, I am sure you understand that.”

“The meaning is literal…” Myra felt like laughing and crying at the same time. “Director Hart, you seem to be entertaining yourself because your meaning changes from time to time. I have clearly edited the design draft as per your request, Director Hart. However, you have completely overlooked my hard work today. Are you having fun by making a fool of me?”

“What do you mean by that?” Tony frowned slightly because he noticed that she sounded emotional.

“What do I mean by that? The meaning is literal.” She used his phrase in her retort. “Director Hart, you are an influential person. Why would you be calculative with insignificant people like us? The Chase Group will throw me under the bus if we were to lose the project. Isn’t that what you want, Director Hart?”

Myra recalled the scene where Sean demanded her to apologize to Elsie. The moment she remembered Elsie looking pleased with herself, a wave of anger and sorrow surged in her chest. A bus drove past at that moment, and Myra closed her eyes. She could not even be bothered by what Tony was saying; instead, she hung up on the phone call immediately. She refused to answer her phone, no matter who was calling.

I know that I should not have lost my temper at Tony. I made an impossible promise to Sean and Elsie by claiming that I’d secure the project. However, how do I do that? Based on what Tony said, even if Elsie had exaggerated some points, she must have spoken the truth. What else can I do if Tony is trying to make a fool out of me?

On the other end of the line, Tony scowled deeply after Myra hung up on him. If I heard correctly, Myra is… crying.

That woman is so stubborn that I have never seen her crying in front of me. That’s right; I deliberately asked Leo to convey the message to Elsie. Firstly, I did that because I was angry at Myra for professing her love for Sean. I am exasperated that she gave up on the development project to avoid me; next, I wanted her to beg me in person. Wanting her to beg me is just an excuse because I simply wanted to see her. Nevertheless, the issue must have escalated in an unexpected direction now.

Somebody knocked on his office door—and it was Leo entering the office. He had a grave expression when he spoke, “Director Hart, I just received news from the Chase Group. It turns out that Miss Stark has been demoted a few days ago, so she is just Miss Foster’s assistant now. Today, Miss Stark wanted to attend the meeting at the Hart Group with Miss Foster, but the latter had sent her away at the last minute. That is why she could not attend the meeting. It was not that Miss Stark had other projects on hand as Miss Foster claimed. Besides…”

Leo seemed to hesitate at that point. However, he did not have the courage to hide the truth when he saw Tony’s dark expression. “Furthermore, after you reprimanded Miss Stark, Director Hart fined Miss Stark three months’ worth of salary in front of other employees of the Chase Group. Anyway, those are small issues because I heard that Director Chase from the Chase Group lost his temper at her. Not only did he demand that she apologize to Miss Foster, he even scolded Miss Stark severely…” he reported quietly.

Smack! Tony slammed the fountain pen, which he was holding in his right hand, against the table.

Leo was scared witless and he laughed dryly. “Director Hart, you see…”

“Get the car.” Tony maintained a blank expression, but his cold gaze revealed his true emotions. No wonder Myra was so angry earlier. I guess the kitten must have been bullied earlier, which is why she phoned me. Isn’t Sean Chase Director Chase from the Chase Group… His lips curled into an eerie smile.

“Yes.” Leo left the office hastily. After a few encounters, I have noticed that Director Hart treats Miss Stark differently. However, her status… His expression stiffened when he recalled the incidents from the past.

Tony tried to call Myra’s phone number again, but it was unfortunately to no avail.

He squinted while recalling a voice reporting the bus stop station earlier during her phone call.

He picked up his suit jacket and he marched out of his office.

Bus stops were easy locations to look for Myra.

In less than half an hour, a silver Bentley Mulsanne stopped not too far away from a bus stop.

Myra did not know what else to do earlier, so she bent her head down between her knees. She sat in silence for the longest time. Finally, when she started to feel pins and needles in her limbs, she stood up from the bench. However, she almost fell onto the ground due to the prolonged period of poor circulation. She immediately reached out to support herself against the bench.

A shadow suddenly loomed over her and Myra raised her head to see Tony standing in front of her.

He was standing tall and straight while his black western suit, which was custom made by a famous Italian fashion designer, accentuated his height. He had handsome facial features, but he had an air of coldness to him. He merely stood quietly on the spot while maintaining a calm and steady aura as his forcefulness attracted the attention of countless passersby.

Myra felt a surge of anger and hurt when she saw him. She smirked at him before turning decisively to walk in the opposite direction.

“Are you sure that you do not want to explain yourself clearly to me? I might agree to give the Chase Group another chance after your explanation.” Tony’s voice was deep and husky. His tone was cold, but it sounded almost melodious.

She slowed down for less than a second, but she swiftly continued moving forward. Soon, she covered another 5 to 6 meters from Tony without turning back. It was obvious that she was rather angry with him.

Tony cocked a brow in bewilderment. I would never have expected the kitten to have such a temper.