Chapter 33
“Issac, what are you looking at?”
Evelyn tugged at his sleeve, noticing his distraction.
Trees along the path blocked his view, and Issac reluctantly turned away. “Nothing.”
He stared ahead, his thoughts darkening.
Meanwhile, Charlotte followed Zarek.
He was standing beside a tree, taking a phone call. He glanced back at his persistent shadow.
Seeing he was on the phone, Charlotte immediately stopped and retreated to a nearby mushroom–shaped gazebo.
She rubbed her forehead, feeling utterly foolish.
When Zarek finished his call, Charlotte approached him, trying to mask her embarrassment with humor. “You have excellent judgment, Mr. Weasley. I can’t even read social cues properly. Clearly not secretary material. Sorry for bothering you.”
“You followed me all this way just to confirm that you’re unsuitable? To tell me that?” Zarek raised an eyebrow, his voice rich with amusement.
“1
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Charlotte found herself completely defenseless against his subtle teasing.
She gave an awkward laugh and, since her job prospects were already shot, dropped the act. “Obviously I followed you to try to change your mind. But I’ve clearly made a terrible first impression, and today has been one embarrassment after another. I figured I’d end things on a somewhat dignified note without burning bridges.”
Zarek’s expression remained cool, though his eyes held unexpected warmth. “You think I rejected you for those reasons?”
Charlotte: “What else?”
“You show up dressed like this for a job interview as my secretary. If I accepted you, wouldn’t people assume I hi you solely for your appearance?” He leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice to a velvet murmur. “Even if I were interested in that, I wouldn’t be so obvious about it.”
“…”
Charlotte’s face exploded with color.
From her cheeks to her ears, she turned bright red.
He was mocking her for thinking she could use her looks to secure the nocition
Chapter 33
him. Yet something in his tone suggested he wasn’t entirely unappreciative of what he saw.
Charlotte didn’t bother defending herself. She just wanted to escape the humiliation. “Lesson learned. I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”
She didn’t even wait for his response before hurrying out of the forest, feeling a mix of embarrassment and regret washing over her. Another failure to add to her growing collection.
When Gloria and Charlie returned, they were surprised to find Zarek alone.
“Where’s Charlotte?”
“She left,” Zarek replied simply.
“What?” Gloria was shocked, immediately realizing the job attempt had failed. But how was that possible? Everything had seemed to be going well. She couldn’t help saying, “Mr. Weasley, Charlotte is an extremely capable person. She single–handedly transformed Harmonex’s project department into their crown jewel. This outfit doesn’t represent her professional identity at all.”
Zarek cut her off, his voice gentle but firm. “She didn’t appear to be.”
Gloria, ever perceptive, understood the issue from those five words alone.
She had assumed that all men responded to the same tactics, never considering that Zarek might not be impressed by such an obvious approach.
“Oh dear, what a misunderstanding,” she quickly tried to salvage the situation, her voice taking on a protective tone. “This is entirely my fault. Charlotte wasn’t dressed like this when she arrived–I thought her proper outfit was too conservative, so I forced her to change into my clothes. She’s actually quite brilliant and professional.”
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Zarek had no response to that, though something flickered in his eyes.
Back home, Charlotte immediately changed out of the borrowed clothes.
She sat dejectedly at her vanity table, her shoulders slumped with disappointment.
Without Harmonex, without Issac, was she really nothing? Just another pretty face trying to use her looks to get ahead? The thought sickened her.
After wallowing for a while, she picked up her phone to apologize to Gloria. She had silenced it earlier to avoid distractions during her job pursuit.
When she checked it, she found numerous missed calls.
Some from Issac. Some from Gloria.
She ignored Issac’s messages with disgust and called Gloria back. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t feeling well–low blood sugar. I had to leave, and I completely forgot to tell you.”
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Gloria was silent for a few seconds. “…I’m the one who should apologize. I set you up to fail with that ridiculous outfit.”
Smart people don’t need long explanations.
“It’s fine, really. I was just taking a shot in the dark anyway. You’ve already helped me so much–I won’t forget your kindness.” Charlotte tried to sound upbeat, but the disappointment still crept into her voice.
“Stop with the gratitude, sweetie. Listen, I explained the clothing situation to Zarek, though he didn’t really react. I got his number from Charlie–want to try reaching out again? A proper do–over?”
Charlotte considered it for a few seconds before giving up with a sigh. “No thanks. Dominex and I just weren’t meant to be. Some days I wonder if I’m meant for anything anymore.”
Hearing the defeat in her voice, Gloria dropped the subject.
After hanging up, Charlotte curled up in bed. Emotional exhaustion always led to physical tiredness.
In her drowsy state, she heard the bedroom door open.
“Mmm…” She rolled over, squinting to see Issac standing by the bed, his face a mask of frost.
Not wanting to talk to him, she turned away and pulled the covers over her head, disgust rising in her throat at his
mere presence.
“Have you been sleeping at home all day? You didn’t go out?” Issac sat on the edge of the bed, his tone probing.
Charlotte remained silent, wondering how someone could go from moaning with another woman on the phone to interrogating her in less than 24 hours.
“Today I saw someone at the golf course who looked a lot like you from behind.”
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Charlotte’s eyes snapped open.
He was at the golf club too?
How fucking rich. After sending her that live sex call with Evelyn, he had the audacity to question her whereabouts. The sheer hypocrisy made her want to vomit all over again.
She wanted to tell him she’d been out, but worried he might harass Gloria, so she kept quiet.
Issac leaned down and pulled back a corner of the blanket, his gaze falling on her pale neck. Finding no suspicious marks, he relaxed slightly.
Still, he needed to hear it from her. “Did you go out today or not?”
“No, I didn’t. I spent the afternoon cleaning the yard. I’m trying to sleep–stop bothering me with your pathetic jealousy.” Charlotte hated his proximity and yanked the covers back over her head, wishing she could suffocate him
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with them instead.
Issac, satisfied she wasn’t lying, let it go.
Zarek was having dinner in his penthouse apartment.
Liam Morgan attended him, pouring perfectly decanted red wine into a crystal glass. As Zarek’s personal manager, Liam served as chauffeur, chef, and caretaker, occasionally helping his assistant Rex with work matters.
“Any word from the headhunting agency?” Zarek asked, sipping his wine.
“Rex just forwarded a list of candidates, sir. He thought you might want to review it when you have time.”
Liam replied, then added as if remembering something interesting, “I just glanced at it, and that Ms. Whitmore–the one from the car accident–is actually on the list.”
“Is that so.”
Zarek set down his glass. “Bring me the tablet.”
Though his tone was casual, Liam, who had served him for over twenty years, recognized this as significant interest.
Liam fetched the tablet from the study and handed it to him.
Zarek opened the candidate list.
He had rejected several rounds of candidates already.
He was looking for a chief secretary who understood management, had strong leadership skills, presented a professional image, possessed excellent social abilities, and could navigate between different departments and partners while handling his affairs large and small.
“Sir, this Ms. Whitmore is quite remarkable, despite her youth,” Liam said with genuine admiration.
“At Harmonex, she rose from project staff to department manager in just four years. Harmonex’s impressive growth over the past few years is half due to her efforts–she has quite the reputation in the industry. Several competitors have tried repeatedly to poach her without success, primarily because Harmonex’s CEO, Issac Wood, is her boyfriend. However, rumor has it he’s planning to marry the fourth daughter of the Grantham family. Ms. Whitmore apparently resigned from Harmonex in anger. Can’t blame her, really–she built that departm the ground up.”
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