Chapter 26 The Office

"Do you know how much I hate coming to this office?" Callie murmured softly as she walked alongside Sierra.

Sierra swore that nearly everyone they passed turned their heads twice upon realizing that Axton accompanied Callie… and herself today. Who knew what other rumors Sierra would hear later? She couldn’t wait to find out.

"This is your husband's office. You know that, right?" Sierra whispered back while continuing to walk with Callie holding onto her arm. Rather than walking with her husband, Callie preferred to walk with Sierra, as they had been doing for years.

"There are so many of his cousins and family members working here. And I don’t like any of them," Callie said, rolling her eyes.

"You know, I used to think Axton’s mother was mean when I heard your stories. But after meeting her yesterday, I don’t think she’s that bad. She seems to care about you a lot, Callie."

Sierra walked slowly because her leg still hurt, and Callie matched her pace without complaining, leaving them somewhat behind Axton, who was already ahead.

"I never said she was mean. She just makes me uncomfortable because she always brings up my condition. It makes me feel sad sometimes, as I’m reminded that I can’t have eggs to have a child of my own."

Sierra took a deep breath.

"Remember, Sierra, that all of Axton’s family members who work here aren’t genuinely kind to him. They’re just looking for opportunities to bring him down. That’s why I do all of this," Callie whispered softly. "I just don’t want my husband to be undermined by anyone."

Even though Callie didn’t spell it out clearly, Sierra nodded in understanding.

"If they find out I can’t have children, I’m sure they’ll use it to bring Axton down. That’s why I’m doing all this."

Once again, Sierra could only nod.

She knew Callie only wanted to do whatever she could to secure Axton’s position in his family’s business. She also knew that this business wasn’t run with family principles—everyone fought to get the top spot, willing to do whatever it took to reach it. Including Callie…

"Oh, by the way, I bought a fertility test kit. I thought you might need it to know your ovulation period. I forgot to mention it yesterday because my mother-in-law came unexpectedly."

Callie transferred something from her bag to Sierra’s, making her glance around nervously, hoping no one saw what they were doing.

Oh, Lord, who knows what today has in store. If it hadn’t been for the important meeting with Mr. Smith, Sierra might have chosen to stay home all day.

***

"I’d like to revisit the management agreement we’re planning," Mr. Smith commented after their meeting ended.

Sierra nodded while typing notes on her laptop. "I’ll schedule a meeting with your secretary once everything is ready, Mr. Smith."

"You can contact me directly if you encounter any difficulties, Sierra. This project is intriguing, and I’m satisfied with your reported progress."

"Thank you, Sir." Sierra nodded as she gathered her belongings from the table.

"Oh, and is your leg doing better, Sierra?"

Sierra looked up, slightly surprised. "Yes, Sir, my leg is much better. Thank you for your concern."

"Well, I wasn’t asking out of curiosity," the man raised both hands. "Of course, I’m concerned about what happened yesterday and hope you’re alright. However, Damian sent me a message asking me to check on you because he said you hadn’t replied to his messages since this morning."

"Oh." Sierra quickly reached for her phone on the table. She glanced around and saw that everyone was watching her, including Axton. "I must’ve missed his notifications because I’ve been so busy today. But, of course, I’ll respond when I get a chance." She tried to remain professional despite finding the situation a bit uncomfortable.

"You can reply to his message then. This meeting is over, isn’t it?"

Sierra nodded. "Sure, Sir."

After that, Mr. Smith stood and left the conference room with Axton and the other board members, leaving Sierra and his secretary to finish packing up.

"Miss Andrea, could I have a moment of your time? I’d like to discuss our next meeting."

Sierra stood and approached Mr. Smith’s secretary, Andrea Hirata, an Asian woman with distinct black hair and fair skin.

"Or perhaps you’d prefer to schedule the meeting through Mr. Damian. You might get the schedule faster and leave me with the extra task of organizing everything from scratch," Andrea said with a flat expression.

Sierra frowned in disbelief. "I’m asking about Mr. Smith’s schedule so I can clear Mr. Scott’s schedule for the next meeting. That’s all I’m trying to do, not to burden you with extra work. However, I sincerely apologize if I caused you any inconvenience during our last meeting." She bowed her head politely.

"And now I have to work overtime because Mr. Smith canceled two of his appointments just to come to this office. This wasn’t part of our agreement, was it?"

Sierra couldn’t believe she had to deal with such a difficult person. Usually, everyone worked professionally without complaints, but it seemed today was an exception.

"During our last meeting, I had an accident, so we couldn’t continue our discussion. I wasn’t aware that Mr. Smith planned today’s meeting until last night. I truly apologize for the inconvenience." Sierra still tried to maintain professionalism. "And here I am now, apologizing to you. I hope we can plan the next meeting so I won’t trouble you and complicate your work. I understand that, as a secretary, you have numerous tasks, and it can be challenging when things don’t go as scheduled. But I also hope we can collaborate well, Miss Andrea."

Andrea looked up at her briefly before replying, "You talk as if your workload is the heaviest. But maybe you don’t understand how hard my job is because you always have someone to rely on whenever you need something. Isn’t that how you operate?"

"Pardon?"

"Don’t pretend not to know. I work as a secretary and understand how tough this world is. You probably won't survive in this industry if you don’t make good deals with your body. You know that well, don’t you?"

Sierra blinked in disbelief. Her mouth opened, and she let out a short scoff. "I thought you were professional enough not to—"

"Sierra?"

Sierra turned her head when she saw Axton standing at the doorway of the conference room. Andrea also turned her head and immediately bowed respectfully. "Mr. Scott," she greeted Axton, though the man ignored her completely.

"What are you doing here?" Axton's gaze landed on her, so Sierra assumed he was addressing her.

"Forgive me, Mr. Scott. I was arranging the schedule for the upcoming meeting with Mr. Smith's secretary. Is there anything you need me to assist with?" Sierra replied with a professional smile she always wore at the office.

"There's no need for that. I'll handle contacting Mr. Smith myself. You don’t need to trouble yourself by coordinating with his secretary," Axton said, glancing briefly at Mr. Smith’s secretary before adding, "Besides, didn’t Mr. Smith explicitly tell you that you could contact him directly if we needed to meet him?"

Sierra blinked in disbelief at what she had just heard from Axton.

That... was incredibly rude.

"Forgive me for everything that happened, Miss Andrea. I’ll get in touch with you again to discuss the next meeting. I hope we can address it professionally soon," Sierra said, forcing a smile despite knowing how stiff it looked.

"Next time, don’t bother if she’s causing you trouble," Axton muttered as she— Mr Smith’s secretary walked beside him.

Despite how frustrated she felt, Sierra clutched her laptop and journal tightly, struggling to keep herself from saying anything to Axton. The hallway they were walking through was relatively quiet, connecting the conference room to Axton’s private elevator, which meant only people working on the same floor as him usually passed through.

"She acted out because she doesn’t like you. So, don’t deal with her," Axton remarked again.

Sierra stopped in her tracks and turned to face Axton, who also halted. Her breathing was heavy due to the emotions she had been suppressing—first due to Mr. Smith’s secretary and now because of Axton.

"I’m just doing my job here, Mr. Scott. So let me do it properly," she said calmly.

Axton frowned. "You’re going to let yourself be demeaned by that secretary?"

"I’m also a secretary, and your tone suggests that our profession is something beneath you."

"I didn’t mean it that way," Axton said, stepping closer, forcing Sierra to step back to maintain the distance between them.

She raised her head, meeting his gaze with a firm warning—reminding him to keep his distance and be mindful of where they were.

"I don’t care what you meant," Sierra retorted quickly. "I’m asking you to stop displaying unprofessional closeness between us. You know I dislike it."

"You do realize I’m doing this because she was disrespectful, right?" Axton replied, grabbing her arm and gently pushing her against the wall.

Sierra looked around in panic, hoping no one witnessed what was happening.

"Let go of me," she hissed.

"Only if you promise not to let yourself be demeaned again."

"That’s none of your business!"

"This is my office, so of course it’s my business," Axton replied calmly.

"Axton!"

"You’re starting to act unprofessionally."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Sierra struggled to free her hand, but Axton didn’t release her easily. "You’re making things difficult for me, you know that!"

"Relax, Sierra. Why are you like this?" he said, frowning.

Sierra clenched her teeth, trying to hold herself back, remembering that they were still at work. "Don’t defend me in front of anyone because it’ll make you look unprofessional. You’re my boss, so act like the boss you used to be."

"What was wrong with the old me?"

"You didn’t defend me."

"You wanted me to defend you?"

"What are you even talking about?!" Sierra hadn’t expected him to twist her words, leaving her at a loss for how to respond.

"You’re my employee, and it’s my responsibility to do that."

"I don’t want—"

"Excuse me," a voice followed by a throat clearing startled them both.

Sierra turned her head and cursed in her heart when she saw someone standing a short distance away—watching them from close enough that she was sure he couldn’t possibly mistake who they were.

That man...

Why did it have to be him who caught them in such a position?