Chapter 7
Kimberly stood expressionless, making coffee.
Janet’s voice suddenly sounded behind her.
“Ms. Martinez, are you making coffee for Will?”
Kimberly answered politely but distantly. “Mm.”
“Then I’ll take it in. No need to trouble you.”
Kimberly nodded. “Sure. Give me one minute.”
Janet spoke again.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Martinez. Will gave me your office because he felt sorry for me.”
Kimberly slowly placed the coffee cup on the tray and handed it to her with a little smile.
“It’s fine. The boss arranges things, and we employees do as we’re told. Careful, it’s hot.”
“Ms. Martinez, you’re so kind.”
Kimberly nodded politely and said nothing more.
She had just turned to leave when the crash of a coffee cup and tray shattering sounded behind her.
A sharp sting cut across Kimberly’s ankle.
A few drops of blood slid down her fair skin.
Janet was already crouched on the floor, picking up broken porcelain.
Soon, several people gathered at the pantry door.
Kimberly was about to go back and crouch down to help when Janet murmured, her voice small and wounded, “Ms. Martinez, I didn’t mean to take your office. Once I’m done cleaning this up, I’ll go move my things out...”
Kimberly had no words.
She had vaguely felt Janet might be two-faced.
She had not expected the woman’s methods to be this clumsy and low-grade.
If nothing went wrong, William should be arriving any moment now.
As expected, it did not take long before his tall figure appeared at the pantry door, frost gathering between his brows.
“What happened?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Kimberly at once, as if they had instantly understood the cause of the conflict.
By then, Janet had deliberately cut her finger.
She was still picking up shards. Looking up, she gave a faint smile full of hurt.
“It’s nothing. I’ll clean it up right away.”
Kimberly stood straight and still.
She calmly watched William crouch to help Janet up. She calmly watched his brows knit as he looked at Janet’s bleeding finger.
Janet pinched her injured finger, her smile gentle.
“Will, don’t blame Ms. Martinez. I accidentally broke the cup myself.”
From the crowd, Ruth seized the moment.
“Mr. Carter, Ms. Martinez was upset because her office was taken, so...”
Kimberly listened to her timely, hesitant little framing and almost laughed from anger.
Had they watched too many ridiculous melodramas?
This brainless “scheme”?
Janet’s pure-girl act apparently did not come with much depth.
William had never been blind or foolish. Kimberly was afraid this blame would not stick.
While Kimberly’s thoughts drifted, William’s icy voice cut through them.
“Ms. Martinez. Apologize.”
Kimberly stared at him, stunned.
He believed it?
He believed she was upset over the office and had caused trouble for Janet?
He even believed she had deliberately shoved Janet and knocked the coffee set to the floor?
Even though Kimberly had warned herself not to let him control her emotions again, sour pain still spread through her chest.
William never made judgments without asking right from wrong.
Apparently, for someone he wanted to protect, he could change.
Kimberly composed herself and met his cold gaze. Her voice was composed.
“I’m not upset about it, and I didn’t do or say anything out of line. But if Mr. Carter has decided I bullied her, I can stop defending myself.”
The moment Kimberly finished, Janet tugged William’s sleeve and said gently, “It’s fine, Will. There’s no need for an apology. I’m really okay.”
William ignored Janet completely.
His cold eyes stayed fixed on Kimberly without blinking.
Kimberly only looked back at him, calm as still water. Fine. Let her see exactly what he planned to do.
“Will, I’m really fine...”
Janet’s soft voice floated up again.
Only then did William pull his gaze away. He glanced at the blood on Janet’s finger.
“Go get it treated first.”
His voice was gentle.
Very gentle.
That kind of gentleness, Kimberly had heard before.
In bed.
She watched the two of them leave one after the other. The darkness in her eyes settled, then smoothed back into calm.
If Janet’s finger hadn’t been bleeding, he probably would have stood there until Kimberly apologized.
He had no love for her. None.
She wasn’t even a replacement.
She was only a thing he used to fill empty nights.
Kimberly was about to leave when Ruth chased the others away and folded her arms, looking at Kimberly with open provocation.
“Well, well. Where did all that attitude from downstairs go?” Ruth sneered. “Now you see who Mr. Carter actually cares about?”
“Everyone knows Mr. Carter usually investigates every last detail before making a decision.”
“Obviously, the second Janet is wronged, none of that matters. Look at your ankle. Your cut is way worse than Janet’s. Did he even look at you? In his eyes, you’re nothing.”
Kimberly walked toward her slowly, a faint smile touching her lips.
“Did it not hurt enough when I pulled your hair earlier?”
Ruth’s expression froze.
“Since the dawn of time, bootlickers don’t exactly have great endings.” Kimberly’s voice stayed soft. “You’re helping Janet Campbell put on this show. Do you really think Mr. Carter is stupid? If you lose this job because of her, is Janet going to support your entire family?”
With that, Kimberly gave her one cold look and left.
Behind her, Ruth stomped her foot in fury and hissed, “I’d like to see how long you can keep acting so high and mighty!”
Kimberly returned to her desk and looked down at the bleeding cut on her ankle.
It didn’t hurt.
Office politics happened to everyone sooner or later.
But this kind of bargain-bin stunt genuinely disgusted her.
Especially William’s attitude.
She had laughed more than once at those ridiculous novels where supposedly brilliant CEOs suddenly went blind, deaf, and brainless for one woman.
Today, seeing it with her own eyes, she realized fiction might not have been exaggerating that much after all.
Since William was going to be this unreasonable, and since Janet was so eager to declare war, Kimberly would no longer show Janet any mercy for his sake.
She cleaned the wound quickly, then opened her laptop and typed for a while.
Once the document was done, she went to the printer, then to HR.
Kimberly placed the resignation letter on the desk and said politely, “Mr. Allen, could you sign this for me?”
Kevin Allen picked it up and read for a moment. His expression turned probing.
“You need to take care of your mother at home? No time to work anymore?”
