Chapter 34
Margaret stood at the door for over ten minutes. The clock had ticked from 8:45 a.m. to 8:57 a.m. She wondered whether she should risk being late.
Gideon emphasized punctuality greatly. He had once ended a partnership because a business partner was ten seconds late, no matter how much the other party explained and apologized.
Margaret considered playing a dirty trick. She deliberately waited until after nine to confront Gideon. If he got angry, he might ask the news agency to send someone else.
Margaret was a little excited about her “dejected” departure from Compton Group. She stared at her phone and didn’t enter until nine
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Margaret approached the reception desk with a smile and waited. She wondered if Gideon would dismiss her angrily or calmly ask her to
leave. She hoped for the latter.
“Ms. Wilcox, Mr. Compton asked you to take this elevator to go upstairs. He’s waiting for you on the top floor,” said the beautiful receptionist, gesturing toward the CEO’s private elevator.
The receptionist was very nice to Margaret. Everyone at Compton Group knew about Gideon and Roxanne’s relatioriship. Roxanne had never had the privilege of taking the elevator to the CEO’s office, but Margaret did. The receptionist thought, I must keep my eyes open and remember Ms. Wilcox’s face. If she comes again in the future, I won’t keep her waiting and will send her up immediately.”
“Did he really ask me to go up?” Margaret asked in surprise. For the first time, she wished her hearing was off.
“Yes,” the receptionist replied. Her voice sounded like a nightingale, but Margaret now felt it was no different from the voice of a messenger
from hell.
“Okay, thank you,” Margaret replied with a smile. She walked to the elevator and arrived at the top floor under the envious gazes of countless
passersby.
The elevator had just gone up three floors, and Margaret became a hot topic throughout the company. Everyone wanted to know who she
was and what kind of relationship she had with Gideon that allowed her to enjoy privileges.
When the news reached the administrative department, Bianca typed away on her keyboard. She glanced at her nails several times, sighing Despite her efforts to work here, what she really wanted was Gideon, However, since joining the company, she hadn’t had a chance to see him. Her costly manicure was overshadowed by typing. She was afraid she would not be beautiful or perfect enough in front of Gideon.
While listening to other people’s discussions, Bianca felt an intense urge to rush into the elevator, drag Margaret out, and ruthlessly pull out all her hair. She even considered using a small knife to carve scars on her face.
Bianca’s temper had flared lately, but she still retained some rationality. She didn’t rush out to confront Margaret. She wasn’t that impulsive.
Bianca remembered her mother’s words, “When enemies clash, both suffer,” and immediately formulated her plan. Perhaps she could eliminate both rivals at once.
She used her connections to spread the news that a woman was in Gideon’s office. She hoped Roxanne would take action. However, she didn’t have high hopes. If Roxanne really had some skills, she wouldn’t have remained Gideon’s fiancée for five years without any progress.
On the other hand, Bianca was very grateful for Roxanne’s incompetence. Otherwise, she would have completely missed her chance.
18:11 AMon, 1 Ju
When Margaret entered Gideon’s office, he was listening to his assistant’s report on the day’s schedule. His brow furrowed slightly when he found something unsatisfactory, but he didn’t immediately interrupt. He seemed to want to hear all the arrangements before making any changes.
Margaret stood awkwardly at the door, feeling completely uneasy. She knew it was because of her psychological rejection of the place. She couldn’t wait to confront Gideon, knowing she would be in that situation for the next three days.
After a night of thinking, Margaret was certain that Gideon was behind the task given to her.
Gideon must have pulled some strings with his wealth and power to see the smile on Raymond’s face yesterday. He must have spent a lot on advertisement fees for the news agency. Otherwise, Raymond wouldn’t have given her the task with such a treacherous expression.
The first question Margaret planned to ask later was about the advertisement fee. Specifically, she wanted to know how much she was worth.
Gideon’s assistant took a long time to report. Margaret stood there, bored, and began observing Gideon’s office.
Margaret enjoyed the large floor-to-ceiling window in the office, which allowed ample sunshine to pour in during the afternoon. It was the perfect spot to relax in a recliner and enjoy coffee, juice, or cake.
The office had a cohesive design with cold lines and blue-and-white colors, which reflected Gideon’s style. Margaret would have mistaken it for the work of a famous artist if she hadn’t seen a drawing secretly. However, she knew that Gideon had personally selected every tile.
Gideon treated that place as his home, the only place he truly owned. That was why he put so much emotion and effort into it.
Margaret had imagined what that place would look like when she had seen the drawing years ago, and she wanted to see it with her own eyes. Now, after five years, her wish had finally come true, and she felt great.
“Cancel the evening social and find someone to replace me at the Lascano family party. By the way, add a meeting with the marketing department this afternoon. They’ve been lazy lately,” Gideon said after listening to all of his assistant’s reports. He had to free up his evenings for Margaret’s “interviews”.
Yesterday, Gideon almost cursed himself for being foolish when he realized the simple and quick solution he had overlooked. It was an insult to all the praise he had received in the business world.
“Okay, Mr. Compton. Also, Mr. Lascano asked me to pass along a message to you,” the assistant added. The “Mr. Lascano” he mentioned was Bianca’s older brother, Fabio Lascano, not her father, Marco.
“What?” Gideon asked.
“His sister, Bianca, is now an assistant in the administrative department of our company, said the assistant.
Gideon did not immediately grasp the meaning of the message. He had long forgotten who Bianca was. It was difficult for an insignificant person to occupy a place in his mind. Besides, he had been preoccupied lately with how to deal with Margaret. He had no time to remember someone he barely knew.
“What do you mean?” Gideon asked again.
“I don’t know. You’d better call Mr. Lascano when you’re free,” the assistant replied. He was also a dense man with no imagination when it came to romantic relationships. When Fabio told him about it, he felt strange and thought Bianca was just an employee. He wondered why she needed Gideon’s attention.
Margaret rolled her eves disdainfully, thinking neither of them could naties haur abides the blat use
which was normal. Few women in the world were immune to Gideon’s charms.
Bianca was fortunate. She had a relative who knew Gideon and could help her establish a connection. A person in a favorable position gained special advantages. As long as her relative had a good relationship with Gideon and enough to facilitate more frequent meetings between Blanca and Gideon, her chances of success were quite high.
Margaret had underestimated Gideon. While he was somewhat flirtatious with women, not just any woman would do for him. Someone like Bianca was never even considered.
“Ms. Wilcox, do you have any ideas?” Gideon said suddenly, Margaret was still lost in her thoughts when she was unexpectedly called upon.
Margaret stared at Gideon for a while, wondering, ‘Does he really want to ask my opinion, or does he intend to embarrass me later?”
“Jacob, you go first,” Gideon ordered. He was concerned Margaret might have reservations, so he deliberately asked his assistant, Jacob Luther, to leave.
Jacob looked at Gideon with dissatisfaction. He, too, was curious. Still, he chose to be obedient because of his high annual salary.
“Tell me, what were you thinking just now?” Gideon asked, unhappy with their “distance”.
“Nothing,” Margaret replied shortly.
“Maggie, you’re not good at lying. Every time you lie, your eyes unconsciously wander around, and your hands instinctively reach for anything they can grab,” Gideon said as he got up from his chair. He could only go to her if she wouldn’t come to him.
“I’m not lying,” Margaret denied guiltily. It felt awful to be in a confined space with someone who knew her so well. In fact, she wanted to turn around and run away. Gideon was approaching her, but Margaret’s feet felt as if they were glued to the floor.
Gideon didn’t consciously remember Bianca, but his good memory helped him quickly remember who she was. That evening, Gideon had done something unexpected. He had peeled pistachios for Margaret.
Such a special night had naturally left a significant mark on Gideon’s memory, and Bianca happened to be remembered. That could also be considered a stroke of luck.
“Maggie, can I interpret your expression as jealousy?” Gideon said. He wasn’t too close, about three steps away from Margaret, just enough to see every subtle expression on her face.
Microexpressions were the most revealing indicators of a person’s underlying thoughts. Gideon made significant efforts to achieve Invincibility at the negotiating table by studying under several scholars in that field for six months.
“Are you kidding?” Margaret retorted. She was no longer jealous of Gideon. She was afraid she would end up getting hurt.
The first time she had heard rumors about Gideon being involved with another woman, her heart had been in great pain, as if it had been torn apart.
As rumors had become more frequent, especially after one occasion when Margaret had found out Gideon had indeed been involved with other women besides her, she had noticed that her heart had slowly stopped feeling the pain. She had found her heart had become numb from too much pain..