Chapter 7: Slap me back?

Third person

Lucas turned to glare at him, shrugged, and continued walking.

Valerie stood with her head poking out of the restroom, watching Lucas and the dirty looks he got as he strolled by. Her colleague’s obvious infatuation with him made her cringe.

How could anyone be so captivated by someone they barely knew?

Just then, Lucas ran his thick fingers through his jet-black hair. His side profile was striking, with a chiseled jaw and pointed nose.

She swallowed hard. It seemed like he was deliberately drawing attention to himself.

If only they knew how condescending and arrogant he truly was.

“You sure look at him like you want to fuck him.”

Valerie flinched and spun around, startled by the voice.

She clutched her chest and released her breath when she saw the face. “Why did you do that? You scared me.”

“I’m Tessa. I work in that office,” she said, pointing to the project design department.

“Hi, Tessa. I’m Valerie.” She shook Tessa’s outstretched hand and moved toward the water dispenser, hoping Tessa would return to her office. But she didn’t.

“So, do you?” Tessa pressed.

“Do I what?” Val asked without sparing her a glance.

“Want to fuck him?”

Standing in front of the dispenser, Valerie wrinkled her nose and replied, “Uh, no.”

“Goodness… What a weird way to start a conversation with a stranger,” Valerie thought.

Tessa tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “You two looked like you were having a real conversation back there.”

Val turned to look at her. “You were watching me?”

Tessa snorted. “Everyone was. I mean, you were talking to…” She raised her hands and air-quoted ‘the Lucas Stone.’ “Of course, everyone would watch.”

“Oh, forgive me,” Val mocked. “I forgot he’s basically a mini-god around here.”

Val picked up a cup, and keeping her eyes glued to the exit door Lucas had just gone through, she filled it up with water.

Tessa’s eyes narrowed. “So you don’t like him?”

Val suppressed a smile.

Yes, he was attractive, but his personality was far from appealing.

“I don’t,” she replied flatly before bringing the cup to her lips.

“Are you gay?”

Valerie choked on her water, completely taken aback by Tessa’s assumption. Then she wiped her mouth and turned to look at Tessa with widened eyes.

“Because I don’t fancy him?”

Tessa seemed to ponder this for a moment. “Well, yes?”

Val snapped out of her shock and immediately dropped the cup.

“I should probably get back before the boss starts looking for me,” she said, and then hurried away before Tessa had the chance to say something else.

As soon as Valerie entered her office, the blood drained from her face when she saw the woman standing beside Adam.

The woman she had called sister, the one who'd slapped her and watched her die that night.

Valerie blinked her eyes a couple of times to suppress the tears that threatened to spill.

What was she doing here?

Of course she was now working at Harrison's Enterprises, and of course she knew that she’d definitely run into Karen, but still, she was stunned by a tag that was attached to Karen's breast pocket.

It had “financial manager” written on it.

Despite being the Chief Operating Officer, Adam felt insecure about her taking on a higher position. To inflate his fragile ego, she worked as a regular employee in the project design department.

But Adam seemed very comfortable with Karen being the financial manager.

Or maybe Adam's disapproval was just a part of their big plot?

Maybe they'd planned to take over her company from the start?

She clenched her fists.

Her anger towards Karen had always been different, she'd literally watched her grow… She was a sweet girl, or at least...

Valerie was abruptly pulled out of her reverie when Karen's palm landed on her cheek.

Over a year had passed, yet it felt exactly the same… The way Karen had walked over to slap her on the ship, and Adam stood by, enjoying the scene.

Except that this time, he didn't seem pleased.

“You reply when you're spoken to,” Karen barked.

Valerie clutched her burning cheek, gritted her teeth, and then glared at Karen, her eyes red with fury.

Her eyes drifted to the side of the office, and outside there stood Amelia with a smirk on her face.

Then her eyes returned to Karen, and before she could recover from the sting on her face, Karen struck her again, much harder this time.

A sharp, metallic taste filled Valerie’s mouth. She straightened her spine and wiped the blood from the side of her mouth. “You... you hit me?” she managed.

Rage and confusion contorted Valerie’s face as she clenched her teeth until it felt like they were going to break.

All the while, Adam just stood there, shocked by the unfolding scene, while a satisfied smile spread across Amelia's face.

“What will you do now? Slap me back?”

Karen snarled, hating the glare in Valerie's eyes.

Valerie boiled with rage, but just then, Adam stepped forward and gripped Karen's wrist tightly.

Karen flinched, but Adam's grip was unyielding.

"Follow me!" he commanded, pulling Karen towards his office.

"Let me go!" she yelled. "Why is that bitch looking at me like that?"

As soon as Adam pushed Karen into his office and shut the door, Valerie began to hyperventilate.

She resisted the urge to scream.

Maybe she should just end it all.

Maybe she should just step in there and kill both Adam and Karen. She'd be able to rest in peace then, even if she lost her life.

At least she'd have gotten revenge for her dead baby.

Picking up her bag from the desk, she walked towards the office door. Her free hand dipped into the bag and brushed the kitchen knife she always carried for protection.

She'd stab Adam off guard first since he was stronger, and she'd definitely win in a fight with Karen.