Clarissa looked at Matthew smugly and felt like a queen when she straddled the proud man beneath her.
However, the complacent feeling was only temporary as she immediately felt awkward about the position.
Her fierce expression was quickly stained with guilt and embarrassment while her fingers were still lying on his chest.
She was startled when her eyes met his intense gaze. Then, she quickly tried to climb down from him to keep her cool, but it was too late.
Matthew had firmly pressed her slender waist against him, and his hug around her tightened on purpose.
She felt that she was sitting in an awkward spot, and her expression turned sour upon realizing that.
“Let me go! I won’t make a fuss about it.”
“So what if you do, Clare?”
“You—just let go of me! Go to sleep. Just—calm down, alright?”
“You’re the one who aroused me.”
Now that’s a false accusation.
When she was about to have a fit, she could only give up as she was defenseless.
“All right, it was my fault. I’m sorry, okay? Let me down…I’m exhausted. I still need to work tomorrow morning…”
Matthew was utterly unfazed by her various excuses, regardless.
He simply wanted to tease her, although knowing that he couldn’t get the release he wanted.
So the man looked at her with his obsidian eyes, pulled her against his chest and hugged her forcefully.
She felt uneasy lying down like this. How can I possibly sleep by lying on a man but not a bed?
She looked up at him. “This is really uncomfortable.”
“Hmm. Kiss me and you’ll feel better.”
“…”
Why does this sound explicit?
However, because of Matthew’s relentless dominance, Clarissa could only give in, so she looked up and kissed him.
“Happy now?”
Matthew didn’t expect her to satisfy him, so he drew near and kissed her deeply to show her how to do it properly.
…
Since Clarissa’s apartment was near the subway station, she refused to go with Matthew to the company as it was faster than going by car.
When she reached the company, she received a text from Ryler: I’m returning to the film studio. Take care.
Clarissa only sent him a smiley face.
Since they had been friends for many years, they knew each other very well, and staying friends was the best for them.
Soon, Clarissa’s work was piling up, and she didn’t have time to think about Ryler anymore.
While taking a break at noon, she was listening to Mrs. Wallace gossip.
“Mrs. Zeller from upstairs said that Mr. Tyson might have a girlfriend now, but they might not be official yet.”
“Oh?” Clarissa’s heart sank as this piece of news was referring to her, and she couldn’t help wondering to herself: Was I seen when I went to his office?
“Yeah, I think he’s getting married.”
“Why are you so sure about this, Mrs. Wallace?”
The woman put on a mysterious look.
“Clarissa, I told you before about suspecting Mr. Tyson being gay, and the woman might just be a cover to hide his identity. Her appearance had undoubtedly stirred things up, and he would marry any woman just to hide it.” Having said that, she even shook her head. “That poor woman, she has been deceived.”
Clarissa tried to suppress her laughter and pretended to be pondering about it.
“Also, Mrs. Zeller also revealed that this woman might be from our building.”
“Erm…” What? Did they find out about me if they knew this too?
“So…does Mrs. Zeller know who she is?”
Mrs. Wallace shook her head. “She only knew that it was a young lady. Hey, I’m only telling you about this—don’t tell anyone else.”
Of course, I will keep this to myself. Aren’t I exposing myself if I tell others?
When she went back to the office, she saw everyone talking about it and even discussing it on the company’s forums and in the group chats. Many were guessing who the woman was, and some felt that it was absurd to call her Matthew’s woman just because she handed him a document.
Anyhow, some believed it, and some didn’t.
Clarissa only prayed that they would not suspect her amidst this chaos.
When she was scrolling through the messages in the group chat, she received a text from Jane, who wanted her to attend Twilight Company’s annual meeting.
It wasn’t a custom for her to attend it, and this year wouldn’t be an exception either. Besides, she didn’t want to go when her contract with the company was about to expire.
Jane knew very well that Clarissa wouldn’t go, so she didn’t urge her to. However, she told her that Mr. Johnson from Twilight Company wanted to meet her and have a meal to discuss their future partnership in detail.
This Clarissa did not refuse. Since she had been working with them for so many years, she had to be honest with him about intending to quit, and they probably would propose some generous terms to keep her in the company.
Although she felt sorry toward her former colleagues, she was determined to leave.
As they had made dinner plans, Clarissa showed up on time right after work.
Robert, the president of Twilight Company, and Jane, the chief editor, along with other editors, were present when she arrived. When they saw her, they couldn’t help being amazed by her beauty even if they had known her for a long time.
He felt that it was a pity for such a pretty writer like her to stay behind the scenes as she would be famous if she went public.
After greeting each other, they began their meal.
Nobody brought up work or unpleasant matters initially, but Jane finally spoke when the meal was almost over.
“Clarissa, since Beanie and Tiger had never apologized to you in person about the previous incident, they wanted to now. They’re sorry that they failed to protect you and had wronged you.”
When Jane said that, Tessa and Bruno quickly apologized with a sincere attitude, especially Tessa, who was new. She was genuinely frightened by the incident and felt powerless and guilty about it.
This happened a long time ago, and Clarissa thought that it was not really anyone’s fault. If there were, she should blame it on Luke’s shamelessness.
“Fortunately, nothing happened. The past is in the past.”
Her attitude moved Tessa, and the poor girl almost cried.
Robert added, “I want to apologize to Clarissa as well. I tried to ask for help that night, but I couldn’t do anything about it as I’m just a nobody in D City.”
“Mr. Johnson, let bygones be bygones. None of us could’ve done anything about it. Shall we let it go, then?”
“All right, we will. By the way, Clarissa, your contract is about to expire. We’ve been working well together all these years, and we’re like a family. Just let us know if you need anything, and the company will try to fulfill it.”
Clarissa smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Johnson. I’ll think about it.”
“You certainly can. However, Clarissa, you do intend to renew your contract with the company, right? You can tell us directly so that we’ll make arrangements accordingly.”
Since he had brought this up, she nodded, “I understand. I’ll give you a response as soon as possible.”
She had her reasons not to give them an answer right away. As she was a soft-hearted person, she had known them for many years and could be easily convinced by them to continue working. Therefore, she would either talk to Jane privately about terminating her contract or ask for the lawyer’s help later.
Clarissa left right after the meal. However, Robert’s expression was dark when he walked with Jane.
“She doesn’t intend to renew the contract.”
“Yes, you’ve guessed correctly, Mr. Johnson. What should we do? Justin Yates Studio just contacted us—how can we let this rare opportunity slip away? Moreover, Clarissa is an essential employee; it would be tough for the rest to promote our company.”
Robert was also deep in thought. Their small company had benefitted tremendously from employees like Jane and Clarissa, and Clarissa had a close relationship with the company. Had it not been for the car accident, they wouldn’t worry about her terminating her contract at all since she was someone who valued long-term relationships.
“Beanie is nothing but a jinx; I’ll fire her tomorrow.”
Jane sighed. “Mr. Johnson, firing Beanie is easy, but what should we do about Clarissa leaving? Snowy, my subordinate, initially learned from Clarissa and has improved over the years. She can still be useful to the company.”
“All right. Besides, Clarissa’s contract isn’t terminated yet; we can still use this time to get the most out of her. After all, it’s not unreasonable for us to do so after helping her for the past few years.”
Although Jane didn’t like what she heard and was worried about the consequences of his plans, she remained quiet.
