Chapter 5 Disturbing You Again

In the CEO's office, Brielle was crying her eyes out, looking utterly pitiful. "Mr. Whitmore, I know Ms. Rothwell doesn't like me, and that's okay. I'm willing to accommodate her as long as she's happy. But if Ms. Rothwell acts like this, how can I get any work done?"

She sniffled through a long sob story, using Serena's supposed unreasonableness to highlight her own kindness and generosity.

But Chase only picked up on one piece of information: Serena was back. He knew it—she couldn't bear to leave the company or him. No matter how harsh her words, it was just typical female dramatics. Deep down, she couldn't bear to leave him.

As long as she came to apologize, he'd forgive her.

Having made up his mind, he told Brielle, "She has a point. Every project needs to move forward, and we can't have everyone drop their work. When you need to reallocate people, just manage the timing reasonably."

Brielle's crying quieted down. She said softly, "Yes, Mr. Whitmore, I understand."

Those last four words dripped with wounded resignation. She bit her lower lip hard, her eyes red and watery—the kind of look that made men melt.

Chase felt his heart soften. He beckoned to her. "Come here."

Brielle walked around his desk and approached him obediently. Chase reached out and pulled her onto his lap, then retrieved an elegantly wrapped rectangular gift box from his drawer.

"This is for you. Don't be upset anymore."

Brielle opened it curiously to find a sparkling diamond necklace that caught the sunlight brilliantly. Her eyes lit up as she threw her arms around Chase's neck and kissed him passionately.

"Thank you, Mr. Whitmore!"

Five minutes later, almost every employee at the Chasey Group had seen Brielle's social media post.

Serena was printing documents in her office when she naturally saw the post too. The caption read: [The big CEO says girls should be strong and not cry when they're hurt. So I'm following orders, my CEO!]

Below was a photo of Brielle wearing the diamond necklace around her neck.

Serena recognized it immediately—that necklace was custom-made by a designer according to her specifications two months ago. Her design.

Chase was certainly generous with his gifts. He really did dote on his little mistress.

Serena's laugh was cold, her beautiful eyes like ice. After a moment, she suppressed the dense pain in her chest and headed to Chase's office with her contracts.

Along the way, she collected plenty of sympathetic looks. When she got off the elevator, Tom, who had been standing by the CEO's office door, immediately approached her.

"Ms. Rothwell, are you here to see Mr. Whitmore?"

"Yes." Serena's response was cool as she moved past him toward the office.

Tom hurried to block her path. "Ms. Rothwell, Mr. Whitmore is busy right now. Let me announce you first."

Before he could finish speaking, sultry moans drifted from the office.

Serena's lips curved coldly. "He really is... quite busy."

Going at it right in the office? Tom looked conflicted and felt some sympathy for Serena. "Ms. Rothwell, maybe you could come back later?"

Walking in on this would be awkward for everyone.

Serena nodded, her eyes downcast. "Tom, there's a tear in the back of your pants."

"Really?" Tom panicked, believing her completely. He covered his backside with his hands and rushed to his own office.

Serena walked toward Chase's office. Instead of barging in, she politely knocked and heard frantic scrambling inside.

Serena smirked coldly, then pushed open the door.

Chase sat at his desk while Brielle stood beside him. Both were fully dressed, as if nothing had happened. But Brielle's flushed face gave them away, as did the lingering atmosphere in the room.

Serena's icy gaze swept over them both before settling on Brielle's neck. "Nice necklace."

Brielle smiled shyly. "Mr. Whitmore gave me—"

Chase quickly cut her off, worried she'd say something irreparable. "Why are you here?"

Serena looked at him coolly. "Bad timing again? Did I interrupt you two?"

Chase's expression darkened. "Don't talk nonsense. This is my office—what could I possibly be doing here besides work?"

Serena suddenly laughed. "You could be giving jewelry to young ladies."

Chase was momentarily speechless. "You haven't been to the company in ages, then you come in and humiliate people. Don't I have to clean up your mess?"

Once again, he'd shifted the blame to Serena.

Serena raised an eyebrow, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "Chase, I'm the marketing director and company vice president. Don't I have the authority to discipline an employee? And you need a million-dollar necklace to smooth things over? Should the Chasey Group have gone bankrupt by now?"

Chase had no answer for that.

Brielle wisely removed the necklace and approached Serena with it cupped in her hands. "Ms. Rothwell, please don't be angry. Mr. Whitmore never said he was giving it to me—this was meant for you. He just had me try it on to see how it looked because he wanted to make you happy. Please don't be mad at Mr. Whitmore. I'm returning the necklace to you."

After this little speech, Brielle looked utterly wronged while Chase felt somewhat annoyed. He'd never had to take back something he'd given away before. Brielle's gesture helped him save face but also made him feel protective of her.

He looked at Serena with displeasure. "Are you satisfied now?"

Serena smiled. "Why are you angry, Mr. Whitmore? Give it if you want to give it, but don't use 'disciplining employees' as an excuse, or I'll really worry about us going bankrupt."

She didn't take the necklace from Brielle. Instead, she placed two documents on his desk. "These two contracts are urgent. I brought them for Mr. Whitmore to sign—I wasn't trying to interrupt you two."

She held out a pen to him. "Mr. Whitmore, please sign."