Nicole had not met the first two people, so she merely wore a courteous smile while Joanna introduced them. However, there was an obvious change in her expression when it came to Henry’s turn.
She lifted her eyes to look at the man sitting at the corner of the couch. Although he appeared to have aged slightly as compared to five years ago, there was not much change in his appearance.
Perceiving Nicole’s gaze, Henry also shifted his gaze toward Nicole and feigned a shocked look upon recognizing her. He parted his lips and called out softly, “Nicole?”
Nicole wore a rueful smile as she had never thought she would bump into Henry by coincidence. Feeling a lump rising in her throat, she nodded at Henry and greeted him.
“Hey, Henry.”
Meanwhile, Joanna pretended to only have discovered that the two were acquaintances. “Lisa, do you know Henry? What a coincidence!” she exclaimed in surprise.
“We’re ex-classmates,” Nicole explained and slowly walked up to Henry.
Five years ago, they had dated for almost a year. Initially, she thought they would be together for the lifetime, but she ended up breaking up with him resolutely for the sake of her mother. As such, she had always felt guilty toward him.
Henry’s dark eyes flickered upon seeing Nicole sitting next to him.
Truth was, he was a normal staff member in the Logistics Department. Queenie came to him and offered to promote him to team leader as long as he agreed to embarrass Nicole.
Nicole went to sit beside Henry. Everyone was belting out in the room, which caused quite a clamor.
Stretching his neck, Henry cast a glance at Nicole and pressed his hand to suppress his nervousness. At the thought of how she had abandoned him five years ago, he became resentful toward her. Nevertheless, he remembered Queenie’s assignment for him, so he still endured his emotions.
“Nicole,” he called out softly.
Despite the noisy setting, Nicole still heard Henry’s voice. So, she turned around and hummed in response, “Yes.”
“You’re already a Chief Designer and I’m still a normal staff member. You surely have made the right choice by ending our relationship back then,” he mumbled with a rueful smile.
Truth be told, Nicole still felt guilty toward Henry.
She turned her head aside to gaze at Henry, who seemed to have aged quite a bit as compared to five years ago. Pressing her lips, she then croaked, “I’m sorry.”
Nicole did not know what else to say, so she could only apologize.
“Nicole, I just have one question – did you break up with me at that time because you sold your body?” Henry’s voice was not too loud and at a volume loud enough only for them to hear.
Nicole’s body clearly stiffened when she heard his question as she had no idea how to answer him.
Indeed, due to her mother’s health, she had accepted Queenie’s request and slept with another man back then…
However, how could she bring herself to say the truth? With downcast eyes, she felt her heart pounding. Toward the end, she clenched her fists and decided not to answer this question directly.
“Henry, please feel free to come to me if you run into any problems at work. I’ll definitely help you to the best of my ability.” Perhaps it was due to her guilt, Nicole had always wished to do something for Henry.
On the other hand, Henry did not continue forcing her to answer either. Instead, he changed his question. “Nicole, are you married?”
Nicole turned to look at Henry, who wore an anticipating expression. She paused for a moment before shaking her head and hummed, “No.”
When Henry heard the answer, his eyes gleamed with hope. “Nicole, shall we start over then?” he asked in an agitated tone.
Nicole stared at Henry. Five years ago, both of them were still students. Their relationship during their school days was pure and not tainted by any desires, but at this moment, she had a subtle feeling that he had changed.
With the expression on her face stiffened, Nicole did not agree but merely muttered with downcast eyes, “Henry, it has already been five years and everything has changed…”
Understanding Nicole’s implication, a dejected Henry lowered his head and said in a self-deprecating manner, “That’s true. You’re already a superior Chief Designer, so how can I possibly take your fancy?”
Nicole was a little depressed to see Henry’s crestfallen look. Feeling a lump in her throat, she tried to explain, “Not at all. It’s just that as time passed, people and things around us have changed. I’m not who I was five years ago anymore. It’s me who doesn’t deserve you.”
Bearing in mind Queenie’s exhortation to be flexible and not to be overly forceful, Henry nodded and asked, “Can I ask you out for a meal then?”
He paused and continued, “It has been so long since we met. I just hope to catch up with you over a meal.”
Nicole thought it was inappropriate to reject it, so she nodded and agreed. “Sure.”
The others were still singing in the room. After finishing her chat with him, she zoned out while sitting alone in the corner. She felt like she was radically out of place in this lounge, so she planned to leave in a short while.
“Ms. Lisa, that’s impudent of you to come late and leave early,” Shaun, the deputy manager of Human Resource Department, teased Nicole with a grin.
Nicole wore an apologetic expression and said, “It so happened that I need to attend to some family affairs today. You guys have a good time.”
“Oh well, then at least have a drink before leaving.” After consuming some alcohol, he became bold and directly stepped forward to block her from walking out of the room.
There was no change in Nicole’s expression as she stared coldly at the drunk man. “I’m sorry. I’m allergic to alcohol, so I can’t drink.”
Apparently, Shawn was unhappy with Nicole’s excuse. In a drunken stupor, he directly grabbed a glass of wine in front of him and closely approached Nicole. “Stop saying all this nonsense. Finish this glass and I’ll let you go.”
Detest flashed through her eyes as she stepped aside and was about to open the door and leave directly. However, the unyielding Shaun grabbed her arm all of a sudden and pulled her backward.
Being caught off guard, she lost her balance and nearly fell to the ground.
She subconsciously looked toward Henry’s direction, but Henry merely stood there and had no intention of coming forward to help her.
Shocked at the scene, everyone else in the private room quietened down as they watched Shaun continue pestering Nicole.
After all, Shaun was the deputy manager of Human Resource Department and the ordinary staff would not dare to offend him, so none of them said anything.
Toward the end, it was Joanna who spoke up. “Forget about it, Mr. Geller. Maybe Lisa really can’t drink.”
By this time, Shaun’s face was reddened as he had already consumed a few glasses of liquor. Alcohol often made one bolder, so he shook his head and babbled, “Nope! She’s just a Chief Designer from F&M Apparel and it’s nothing worth being arrogant of. Although Gardner Corporation is not a leading company in the fashion industry, if you take into account the entire Gardner Corporation, her F&M Apparel is nothing compared to us!”
Nicole had no intention of arguing with Shaun. She shook her arm free and frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
However, it was true that men generally tend to be physically stronger than women. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not break away from her grasp.
On the other hand, it was Joanna’s desire to watch Nicole being embarrassed to begin with, so she stopped persuading Shaun after perceiving that Shaun would not listen to her. Instead, she merely curled her lips and stood aside.
“The original agenda tonight is to welcome Director Schmidt back to the company. Since you’re already here, what’s the big deal with having some alcohol?” Prattling on, Shaun even wanted to step forward and force the liquor into Nicole’s mouth.
However, before he could draw close to Nicole, a man suddenly dashed in out of nowhere and gave Shaun a punch.
The punch was so forceful that a clear, loud smack emerged when it landed on Shaun’s face. As a result, Shaun directly fell backward onto the floor with a bang, and the glass of wine he was holding spilled all over the floor. At once, Shaun’s blood boiled as he quickly got up from the floor and glared toward the man fiercely. “Who the hell is it?!”
However, when Shaun realized who was the man who punched him, the arrogant look on his face disappeared instantly. Instead, he became obsequious as he muttered, “P-President Schumacher…”
Nicole turned around to look at the tall and muscular man. Standing beside him, she was only about the height of his shoulder. The man was dressed in a casual outfit, but his bright-red hair and the cigarette in his mouth made him look like a gangster.
“I can even hear you from next door. What’s wrong if the lady doesn’t want to drink? I detest bullies like you the most!” Mason Schumacher blurted in a rascally manner. Nonetheless, his words sounded pretty righteous.
Perceiving the increasingly tense atmosphere, Joanna quickly walked up to mediate.
“My apologies, President Schumacher. We’re originally having a gathering among our colleagues. Mr. Geller drank a little too much and isn’t too sober.”
Mason glanced indifferently at Joanna and smirked. Then, he took down the cigarette from his mouth and sneered. “So, it’s Miss Schmidt. Since all of you are colleagues, how could you all just sit and watch? It seems like
Gardner Corporation has a culture of hostility after all.”
More Kickass Romance Reads
Dive into irresistible romance stories packed with possessive heroes, forbidden passion, billionaire obsession, mafia intrigue, and heart-stopping twists. One chapter is never enough—your next addiction starts here.