Guan Jing shut the door behind him when he exited the office. The color drained from his face when he saw the number on the note.
He did not need to investigate to guess who was behind it.
“Mr. Guan,” hailed the secretary as she walked out of the pantry.
Guan Jing was jolted out of his senses as he was unaware of anyone’s presence.
“Don’t jump out of nowhere like that!”
“You’re the one who’s jumping out of nowhere. What are you so engrossed with?” asked the secretary as she eyed the piece of paper he had in his hand.
He responded by shielding it from view. “It’s none of your business. Get back to work.”
She shot him a look. “Not like I’m that interested. From the looks of it, I’d figure it’s nothing good.”
Guan Jing held a hand to his face. “Do I look terrible?”
The woman gave him the cold shoulder and took her mug back to her desk.
Neither did he press her for an answer as he turned in the direction of the elevator. After he looked over his shoulder to check his surroundings, he darted into the stairwell, pulled out his phone, and made a call.
His face darkened when no one picked up initially. So he kept at it.
The line got through on the third attempt.
Guan Jing demanded in an aggravated tone, “What exactly do you want from me?”
“Why are you being so scary? My phone wasn’t with me; I’m swimming now.” Wrapped in a white towel, Gu Huiyuan stroked her thigh as she lazed on the lounge chair.
Guan Jing gritted his teeth. “Do you realize what you’ve done?”
She cackled, “I really have no idea, unless you are referring to the messages that were sent to your boss’s wife. So I confess that it was me. What are you going to do about that?”
“Stop this!”
“That could be arranged. Get your boss to meet me at the Grand Hyatt and I’ll consider your request…”
“Not a chance!” Guan Jing cut her off before she could finish.
Gu Huiyuan primped her hair. “If you won’t do that then you’ll have to help me keep tabs on your boss’s daily movements. With his wife so far along, I don’t know how she’ll react if I were to keep texting her…”
“Enough!” Guan Jing bellowed. “What is it that you really want?”
“What do I want?” She sneered before she said coldly, “He killed my father and put my brother behind bars. What do you think I want?”
“They got exactly what they deserved!”
“Guan Jing, Guan Jing. Are you thinking of dumping me right after you’ve zipped up your pants?”
“You set me up…”
“Take it whichever way you like. The thing is, we slept together and I have evidence of it. The footage of you taken in the buff featured only your face. If I were to market it to some porn site or news outlet, not only could I fetch a pretty penny for it, I think I could also make you very famous as well…”
“Gu Huiyuan!” Guan Jing’s face turned pallid as he fought the violent urge to strangle this woman.
When he was out drinking, he had never thought his drink would be spiked and that he would end up sleeping with her. If that was not bad enough, she also took lewd photos and videos with which to threaten him.
She was going to entrap Zong Jinghao himself, but when she could not find the opportunity to do so, she targeted the people closest to him instead.
Gu Huiyuan considered Su Zhan as an alternative but decided against it as she observed that neither were convenient marks and not easy to manipulate.
In the end, she set her sights on Guan Jing.
Guan Jing softened his tone, “Let’s meet up.”
Gu Huiyuan jested in response, “Why? Are you missing me already?”
His fingers tightened around the phone inside his palm. “Quit yapping. At the same bar as last time.”
“Will do,” she replied.
After he hung up, he peeked out from behind the door of the stairwell to make sure he was in the clear before he rode the elevator downstairs. Guan Jing hopped in his car and raced to the agreed meeting place.
Gu Huiyuan was already there by the time he arrived.
Dressed in a black slip dress, she was sitting cross-legged in a prominent seating area. Guan Jing hurried over and grabbed her by the wrist before pulling her into a private room.
Gu Huiyuan placed a hand on his chest and cooed, “Such impatience…”
“Have a little self-respect,” Guan Jing replied dourly.
“I didn’t take Mr. Guan for a gentleman; you were such an animal in bed,” She laughed.
Guan Jing clenched his fists. “Tell me, what will it take to have those materials destroyed?”
Gu Huiyuan withdrew her hand and went to settle herself on the couch. She then bent over to pour herself a glass of wine from the table. The woman elegantly swirled the liquid inside as she held the vessel between her fingers. “Do you figure that I’m short of cash, or lacking a man?”
Guan Jing’s eyes were silently transfixed on her in a deathly stare.
It was said that the most beautiful creatures in nature tend to be the deadliest. That certainly held true for the venomous woman before him——a single encounter would be debilitating, if not fatal.
“My wish is simple: to punish those who have destroyed my family.” Gu Huiyuan raised her head sharply into a piercing glare. “Mr. Guan, what would you do if your father is killed and your brother is imprisoned? Would you act as if nothing had happened?”
“Your father and brother would have been left well alone if they were decent men, and your brother could have had a good life if he went abroad and stayed away. But he chose otherwise. Nobody could have saved them from themselves. Are you avenging them? What could you do as a woman besides putting yourself out?”
Guan Jing attempted to persuade Gu Huiyuan. “Let it go and get on with your life. Why ruin yourself on their account? I’m sure you understand that you are no match for my boss. You know how ruthless he could get should he discover that you are plotting against him.”
