Chapter 8 Rumors

This morning felt as crazy as the mornings before.

Sierra didn’t know how to face Axton after what happened between them last night. To be honest, she could never shake off everything they had done, and it frustrated her.

Throughout her life, she had only dated a few times and never slept with any of them. She only kissed, and that was the boundary she offered to her boyfriends. She had been busy working because she needed money, and she couldn’t remember the last time she dated—maybe two or three years ago.

Then, suddenly, she slept with a man who had no ties to her whatsoever.

If she felt emotional afterward, was that a normal thing?

After walking quite a distance from Callie and Axton’s house, Sierra finally had time to think about everything that had happened. Maybe she would go crazy if she had to stay longer at the dining table and act as if everything was fine when her head was so noisy with all her wild thoughts.

A car horn startled her steps, and she cursed inwardly—damning whoever dared to disrupt her chaotic morning.

Sierra turned her head and found Axton’s car stopping beside her.

Yes, she didn’t mistake his car.

“Get in,” Axton said as he rolled down the car window.

Sierra couldn’t believe what he just said. So, she glanced toward the bus stop, which was not far from where she stood. “I’ll take the bus,” she said calmly.

She continued walking, leaving Axton still in his car.

She thought their conversation would end there, but she was wrong. Axton got out of the car and walked toward her with quick strides.

“Get in the car, Sierra. You’re going with me,” he said while grabbing her arm.

Sierra yanked her arm away forcefully. She frowned, looking at Axton uncomfortably. “What are you talking about? I’ll take the bus like I always do.”

“Not this morning.”

“What the hell, Axton?!” Sierra looked at him in disbelief.

Even though she had known Axton since Callie introduced them on their first date five years ago, she rarely interacted with him except for work matters. Then suddenly, everything changed, and now she constantly had to deal with him outside their professional duties.

“Get in the car. I’ll explain there.”

“Explain what?” Sierra frowned. “I just need to get to work because that’s my responsibility when we’re not at your house.”

“Do you want me to force you into the car?”

Sierra became even more confused. In the end, she turned around and willingly got into Axton’s car without waiting for him to force her as he had threatened. What Axton did could already be categorized as coercion.

“Did Callie ask you to do this?”

There was only one reason why all this was happening—from the agreement to all the crazy things between them.

If Callie could ask her to sleep with Axton, then, of course, that woman could also ask Axton to take her to work.

“Yes, she asked me,” Axton finally admitted.

Oh, Sierra shouldn’t be surprised, should she?

***

“Did you see Sierra come with Mr. Scott this morning?”

“Oh my God, she came with Mr. Scott again?”

“Yes, Lacy. She came with Mr. Scott, and this time, she looked so smug because they’ve been seen arriving together several times.”

“So the rumors about their affair are true?”

“Even if they’re not, everyone should know there’s no smoke without fire, right?”

Sierra felt her heart stop when she overheard what the women in the restroom were talking about. She froze there, gripping the door handle tightly. She only needed to push it and step inside to take care of her needs, but her steps faltered, and she didn’t have the courage to enter after hearing what the women inside were discussing.

After what happened between her and Axton during the drive to the office, she couldn’t believe she now had to deal with people talking about her in the office restroom.

She thought she could wash her face and compose herself here, but she was wrong. This place only made her feel crazier.

“You’re overreacting. They could’ve just bumped into each other on the road, and since they know each other, Mr. Scott didn’t mind giving her a ride.”

“Have you ever gotten a ride from Mr. Scott just because you got off at a bus stop far from the office?”

“I guess not.”

“Then you shouldn’t deny what’s happening, Cilla. All of this is too obvious, and nothing can be hidden anymore.”

“I don’t know what to say because Mrs. Scott is so kind; she’s like an angel to me. She’s so beautiful, isn’t she? I don’t think Mr. Scott would cheat on Sierra if his wife is that gorgeous.”

“I don’t think you understand men. They never cheat with someone prettier than their wife. That’s just nature.”

“Yes, but I think Sierra is quite close to Mrs. Scott, isn’t she? Everyone in this company must have seen Sierra talking to Mrs. Scott, and they looked like close friends. So, would Sierra dare to cheat with Mr. Scott?”

“Cilla, I think you’re very naïve for saying that. There’s no such thing as sincere friendships in this world. Who knows if Sierra has been deliberately getting close to Mrs. Scott so everyone would think they’re friends and not suspect her relationship with Mr. Scott?”

“Yes, I agree with Lacy. You can’t trust anyone in this world if you have a husband like Mr. Scott. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be his mistress? He’s rich, handsome, young, and hot as hell.”

"Damn, you’d probably want to be his mistress too if he weren’t already with Sierra, wouldn’t you?"

"Come on, Lacy. Didn’t you see what happened yesterday when the debt collector confronted Sierra? Mr. Scott was the one who paid off her debt. Anyone in their right mind would suspect their relationship after seeing that."

"Ah, that’s true. I was also shocked when Mr. Scott took Sierra away, even though she was the cause of all that chaos."

"Finally, you’re starting to see it and agree with us."

Sierra could feel the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Everything that had been happening lately felt so overwhelming, and she had thought the office would be the safest place to unload all her burdens and problems. She had believed she could find some peace here, but apparently, she was wrong. The problems followed her here, too—she remained a problem to others.

And unfortunately, she realized the rumors labeling her as a cheap woman weren’t entirely baseless lies. Deep down, she knew there was some truth to it—she had done anything for money.

"Should we do something? Or should we just stay silent, knowing something wrong is happening in this office?"

"And what exactly would you do? Spread the rumor further? I guarantee everyone’s already heard about Sierra by now."

"That’s not what I meant."

"Then what? We’re just employees; we can’t get Sierra fired even if she’s broken the rules. She’s having an affair with the CEO. Who could stand up to Mr. Scott if he wants to fool around with a cheap woman?"

"Oh, my God. Even though I’m starting to doubt them, at least don’t call a woman something so harsh. The rumor isn’t necessarily true, and I don’t think it’s right for us to tear another woman down like that."

"So you’re defending their affair and betraying Mrs. Scott? Hell, I wouldn’t trade a woman as gorgeous as her for someone so ordinary. Mr. Scott must’ve lost his mind."

"Whatever the reason, it’s wrong for Sierra to seduce Mr. Scott. She might be doing it for money or a promotion, but has she lost her mind?"

Sierra closed her eyes tightly.

Fine. Maybe she should skip using the restroom here and go to another floor. She was fed up with hearing all the gossip about her, and it disgusted her even more to realize she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Sierra turned around, intending to find a restroom on another floor. But her steps stopped when she bumped into someone standing very close behind her.

She looked up, and her heart cursed as she recognized the person in front of her.

Before she could fully process what was happening, that person stepped forward and reached out to open the restroom door.

Oh, no!

"What are you doing?" Sierra grabbed Axton’s arm. "Why are you here?" she whispered as quietly as she could, praying no one heard or saw Axton there.

"Leave. You can’t handle this, can you? Let me deal with it."

"What do you mean?" Sierra clutched Axton’s arm tightly, trying to pull him away from the door.

Of course, Axton didn’t budge an inch. He remained rooted in place, and Sierra desperately wished she could do something to move him.

"They need to be taught a lesson for what they’re saying. How long have you been standing here, Sierra?"

Sierra felt a surge of panic when she realized she had been there long enough to hear nearly all the awful things they’d said about her. But she didn’t feel the need to take action.

Did she want to barge in and stop them from talking? No. She didn’t want to do that.

Did she want to grab their hair and yell that they were lying about her? Of course not. She knew they weren’t changing anything.

Rumors didn’t come out of nowhere. There wouldn’t be rumors if there wasn’t something that sparked them. And unfortunately, Sierra had let too many things go out of control, giving everyone plenty to talk about.

"Axton, have you lost your mind? This is the women’s restroom. You can’t go in there!" Sierra said, running out of ways to stop him. She was thankful she could still find a sentence to say to hold him back.

"This is my company, and I can enter any room I want."

"Except for the women’s restroom," Sierra quickly retorted.

"So, you’d rather stand here and listen to every nasty thing they’re saying about you?"

"Yes," Sierra replied, though uncertainty filled her voice.

"Then I’ll handle it, and you stay here as you planned."

"Axton, no!" Sierra grabbed Axton’s hand and stopped him as firmly as she could.

The rumors existed because of her mistakes. If Axton went in and did something, the rumors wouldn’t die—they would escalate into an uncontrollable storm. And Sierra had had enough.

"If you go in there, let’s end our agreement," she said.

Sierra might have been crazy to say that, but it was the only thing that came to her mind.

"You want to end it?"

Sierra clutched Axton’s arm tightly as if it was the only thing keeping her standing.

End what? Their agreement?

Of course, Sierra wasn’t that reckless. She wouldn’t end the agreement because she knew her best friend’s life revolved around the deal they had made. And she had no intention of seeing her best friend suffer further.

But before she could respond, the restroom door opened from inside, startling them both.

Sierra looked up and found three women staring at her in shock—not at her, but at Axton as if they’d just seen a ghost.

Sierra quickly pulled her hand away from Axton’s arm, hoping no one noticed her gesture. But, of course, the three women in front of her had already caught her movement.