Chapter 19

Tears welled up in Miles's beautiful, dark eyes. He pursed his lips as despair filled his innocent-looking face.

Had Catelyn truly abandoned him? She even stopped answering the calls…

At that moment, he looked around the house he was in. It was a cage with guards, everything felt cold, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by fear.

He desperately wanted to see Catelyn again and was far from wanting to remain cooped up in his place. He had to get out.

He sniffled and quickly wiped away his tears.

Crying was for the weak, and he had to be strong enough to protect his mother.

…

Catelyn had prepared breakfast and called Ollie out for the meal.

The boy did so with composure, and no one could tell that he was not Miles at all. Catelyn did not think much of it and simply sent him off to the kindergarten like usual. Before leaving, she even gave him a peck, to which the boy blushed shyly.

…

The moment she arrived at BrightGene, she could distinctly sense that everyone was staring at her oddly.

"So she's the daughter of a murderer?"

"We never heard anything about it before, but I guess the Mason family ran some checks on her background for trying to get closer to the young master, and she ended up being put back to her place."

"Isn't that right? The Masons are now saying that they don't want her designing the young master's birthday mansion…"

"Heh! Don't run your mouths like that, look at how upset she's getting."

People in the office were gossiping, and someone even raised their voice on purpose as though they were afraid that Catelyn might not hear her.

Catelyn finally realized what was happening. She had been removed from the position of head designer, after all, and there had always been other women in the office who were envious of her looks. They had gotten the information that she used to be a lady of the Clark family from certain sources and naturally felt like teasing Catelyn about it now that she had to work for BrightGene.

Catelyn had been quite popular in the office, but where there were people, there would be gossip and conflicts.

She did not bother herself over it and went on with her day, having gotten used to hearing malicious comments since the Clark family declined four years ago. What her colleagues were saying could not even begin to compare with what those loan sharks said to her before. If she could survive that, she could not possibly allow herself to be defeated by this.

Anne came over and knocked on Catelyn's desk. "Catelyn, Manager Norman is asking for you in his office."

Catelyn scowled in disgust but collected herself regardless and went to knock on Manager Norman's door.

"Manager Norman, you need me for something?"

"Close the door, there's something I need to speak to you about." Manager Norman was a man in his forties with a beer belly and his hair thinning out at the top. When he looked at Catelyn, his eyes would always shine with lust.

Rumors had it that he was a relative to the Atherton family, and his status in the company was unmoveable.

Catelyn did as she was told and closed the door while Manager Norman shut the curtains, turning the spacious office into a closed quarter with only the two of them in it.

He sat on the couch and pointed at his side. "Come take a seat."

'Does he mean I should simply sit there, or that I'd sit and get harassed?' seethed Catelyn inwardly with chills running down her spine. She stood still and said, "Please say what you need to say, Sir."

Manager Norman crossed his legs as his gaze wandered from Catelyn's face to her body. He swallowed heavily and drawled, "Everyone is gossiping about you today in the office. I suppose you've heard?"

"I'm not sure where the rumors started, but those are all nothing but gossip. Rest assured, Sir, that this won't affect my work," Catelyn promised. She really needed the job.

"There's no smoke without fire, Cat. You know, you've always been excellent at your job, and you just need an opportunity to climb up the ladder. If only you're willing to make some sacrifices, I'll make sure that I give you back the project for Young Master Mason's birthday mansion."

His words and the meaning behind them could not have been clearer, and all the hair on Catelyn's skin stood in response.

In a previous project, she was forced to go on a business trip with Manager Norman, and he had accidentally seen her right after she had taken a bath. The client at the time wanted a document, and she was in too much of a hurry to put on any makeup, so she simply headed out in her pajamas.

Manager Norman ran into her on the way and was instantly stunned. Ever since then, he had never ceased dropping creepy hints at her.

However, because he was married, he could not act too boldly in the office.

The project for Young Master Mason's birthday mansion was taken from Catelyn at the direct order of Cedrick Mason, so Terry could not possibly overwrite that decision.

Catelyn decided not to expose him of it and said, "Thank you for believing in me, but I'm far too unworthy of such an enormous project."

"If you have to take it the hard way, then you won't end up well."

"I'm sorry, but I don't intend on taking any way at all."

Seeing how Catelyn refused to obey him, rage filled Manager Norman's mind and he slammed his palm against the table before barking, "Those rumors of yours had brought terrible influence to this company, and in accordance with the discussion within management levels, your bonus for this month will be reduced by half!"

He made it a point to pause as his expression grew smug and cast her a wretched sneer. "If you wish to dispute, you'll do well to consider my proposal…"

To his surprise, Catelyn accepted the punishment right away. "The manager is always right. I have no objection."

"…" Rendered speechless, Manger Norman glared at her and asked her to get out. His face was crammed up with all the fat tissues as he tensed and appeared somewhat vicious.

"Tsk! What's the point of playing innocent?!" he grumbled.

He turned around to call the marketing department before sending Catelyn over to gather the things they needed.

It was noon when the sun shone brightest, and even the road seemed to look twisted under the unforgiving sunlight.

When a person was unlucky, even the slightest thing would turn out in the worst way possible.

When Catelyn was crossing the road, her heel got stuck at the drain, and when she finally managed to get it out, she ended up with a twisted ankle.

She squatted down by the road, and as she rubbed her ankle, she cursed at Terry's entire family under her breath.

Had he not been someone important, he would have gotten fired countless times from how much he tried to molest female employees.

'That son of a b*tch! I'm just white-knuckling it for the money!' she muttered inwardly.

…

"Master Cedrick, that woman at the side of the road looks like Catelyn." Eason drove past a crossroad with traffic lights and accidentally spotted a woman squatting by the road as he was waiting for the light to turn green.

The woman cocked her head to the side slightly, and Eason finally saw her face. Because of how Ollie argued with Cedrick over her, Eason had a deep impression on Catelyn.

Cedrick followed Eason's gaze and looked outside the window to find Catelyn squatting with no regard for her image. She had one hand grabbing tightly onto her right ankle, and her face was pale as she appeared to be mumbling something to herself.

A strand of her hair dropped over her face and reflected the golden light of the sun, which only emphasized how beautiful she was.

From where Cedrick was seated, she somehow resembled Ollie…especially with those eyes of hers.