Chapter 16 Valedictorian Speech

Clarissa kept typing something on her laptop at the study table.

“What are you typing?” The bed was behind the study table, so Clarissa had her back toward Damien. He might have talked to her because the atmosphere was too silent.

“My valedictorian speech.”

Clarissa replied to him half-heartedly and kept typing.

“You?”

Upon hearing that word, Clarissa had a weird feeling. How much did Damien look down on her?

She turned her head and met his gaze. “Why? New East Corporation has always hired top graduates. Don’t you know that, President Lawrence? How could I have gotten a permanent position if I'm not outstanding? Was I not good enough so you had to interfere in the process? Is it your way of controlling me?”

That “You?” was just a throwaway remark from Damien. He did not expect it to trigger Clarissa. Moreover, she was spot-on.

He knew that she was not a simple person.

Nonetheless, Damien could not be bothered with Clarissa. He closed his book and went to take a shower.

Clarissa felt that she had gone overboard with her words. After all, Damien was still the president. As an employee at the bottom of the hierarchy, her reply was definitely impolite. She felt a little guilty toward him and could not continue writing her speech. Thus, she went to take a shower too.

When Damien entered the room, Clarissa was already sitting on the bed.

He took his book and continued reading it.

“President Lawrence, what did you say so I could remain in the finance department?” Clarissa decided to come up with a topic so they could talk. Besides, she was genuinely curious.

“Do I have to give an explanation for letting an intern stay?” Damien asked half-heartedly.

Clarissa thought, ‘So I only got the job because of Damien.’

Then, she added, “But people will overthink if you don’t explain.”

Damien gazed at her nonchalantly. “Overthink? Isn’t it a fact that you had sex with me? Is our marriage license fake?”

“...”

Clarissa was speechless. She laid down and gradually slept. The sound of Damien flipping through pages could be heard. After some time, he turned off the lights and also laid down.

Nothing unexpected happened during this visit to Damien’s grandfather’s house. On the way back, Damien transferred ten thousand dollars to Clarissa.

It was twenty thousand dollars less than last time because she did not cook. The housekeeper was present and did it instead.

Both of them did not utter a single word.

Clarissa would feel uncomfortable whenever Damien transferred money to her, although she had no idea why she felt this way.

Damien dropped Clarissa at where he picked her up yesterday and left.

Before Clarissa could reach her dormitory, she received a Whatsapp message from the human resource director, Judy.

[ Clarissa, your dormitory arrangement was only temporary. Unit 1507 is emptied now because a female employee from the operations department got married and she bought a new house with her husband. It’s a two-person unit and you can move in with Lily. Are you fine with that? ]

Clarissa was stunned. She thought, ‘Damien must have changed my room because he couldn’t stand the musty smell on me. It’s even a two-person unit. People in power can really do whatever they want…’

Lily went to have a look at their new unit. It was almost as big as their previous room, but only two people would be occupying the space.

That evening, Lily could not stop talking. She thought it was a stroke of luck. Promptly, she packed her things and moved into their new room.

Once they had settled down, Clarissa immediately washed all her clothes. She wanted to ensure they did not smell musty anymore.

“Clarissa, look at this! It's infuriating…”

Clarissa was washing her clothes in the bathroom when she heard Lily shouting angrily. Then, Lily entered the bathroom with her laptop.

“Didn’t you visit your mom at the hospital yesterday? Look at what all these people are saying.”

Clarissa turned off the tap and looked toward Lily’s laptop.

The company’s gossip forum was displayed on the screen. Thousands of employees posted on the forum frequently. It was very active.

One of the posts was titled, “Whose Mistress Is She?”.

There were more than ten pictures on it and they were taken when Clarissa went to Windmill Cafe yesterday. She had a decent dress and makeup on. Evidently, she was trying to look good. Subsequently, she got into a luxurious Mercedes-Benz but not before looking around.

The Mercedes-Benz’s window films were thick. Hence, the person sitting inside could not be seen.

After seeing those photos, everyone began gossiping. They were really interested. As more and more people commented on the post, it quickly became viral.

Lily posted a comment.

[ She is my roommate. I can guarantee that she went to the hospital yesterday. ]

However, her reply was unconvincing. Someone retaliated almost immediately.

[ Why did she dress up so nicely if she’s going to the hospital? Besides, it’s not difficult to park in front of our dormitory. Why did the car pick her up from somewhere far away? I also heard that she was competing against a graduate from Pioneer University for a spot in New East Corporation. That person worked diligently every day, but the one who took leaves frequently remained. There must be something fishy going on. ]

[ Don’t be so direct. Clarissa has someone backing her. ]

[ I saw her drinking with HR’s assistant director during our team-building activity. Maybe… ]

…

There were various speculations and they were all unpleasant.

Clarissa did drink with the human resource's assistant director during her team-building activity, but that was with Howard. Regardless, people thought that she had ulterior motives. Infighting and scheming within huge companies were not uncommon.