Part 30

The office was bustling when Claire and Bella returned from lunch. The female employees were huddled together, watching a square object that everyone clearly knew about.

"What are you all doing? Are you gossiping?" Bella asked nonchalantly as she sat back down at her desk. Like Claire, who had already taken her seat, Bella was reluctant to join the crowd and chose to focus on her work instead.

"There's some breaking news," one of her colleagues replied, quickly showing her phone screen in front of Bella's face. "It says here that Anastasia Moore just broke up with her boyfriend, who's a prominent businessman," the informant continued enthusiastically. Bella leaned in, took her colleague's phone, and read the article. "It's obvious they're still together, so why is this gossip account saying they broke up? From what I can see, their relationship looks very cozy."

After handing the phone back, Bella shrugged, leaving it unclear whether she didn't know how to respond or simply didn't care about the circulating news. "Come on, why do you all have to make a fuss over the personal lives of celebrities?" she scoffed. "Remember, the person you're talking about is our big boss. Are you all not worried he might fire you for chatting behind his back? I'd rather keep my mouth shut since I still need this job." With that, she refocused on her computer screen. "In case you forgot, let me remind you that Sir Antony Quirino works in the office on the same floor as us," she added, causing her colleagues to scramble back to their desks, fearing their boss might walk by at any moment.

"But what do you think? Are Sir Quirino and Miss Moore really broken up? If they've split, then why is Miss Moore here?" Nareta, sitting next to Bella, whispered.

"Whether they've broken up or not, what does their relationship have to do with you? Are you planning to apply to be Mr. Quirino's girlfriend and take her place?" Bella replied flatly. Nareta, feeling mocked by Bella's question, rolled her eyes in annoyance.

As Sir Quirino passed by their area, almost as if hypnotized, all their heads lifted to gaze at their boss. It seemed that the big boss noticed he was the center of attention, as he suddenly stopped and turned to their room.

In a panic, everyone quickly looked down and pretended to be busy with their work, which only made them seem more suspicious. At the same time, Claire raised her head, and her eyes locked with Antony's.

"Is there something I can help you with, Sir?" she asked, puzzled by Antony's still presence.

Antony looked at her for a moment. "Could you come to my office?" Although it sounded like a question, Claire knew it was an order. She nodded, grabbed her notepad, and followed him to his office.

Antony held the door open, allowing Claire to enter first. This simple gesture made his secretary glance at him with a questioning look. After all, Antony hadn't been this accommodating even to Ms. Spencer, who was Claire's superior.

Claire stood right in front of Antony's desk, waiting for his command while Antony casually walked past his work table, slowly unbuttoning his jacket and hanging it up, as if deliberately making Claire wait.

He turned around, sat in his executive chair, and didn't take his eyes off Claire, who was staring at him with a blank expression. He was now unsure of what to say to the woman he was interested in and who also happened to be his subordinate, especially since he had called Claire to his office for no apparent reason.

Antony cleared his throat. "What exactly happened in your room?" That was the only question that came to his mind. It sounded foolish, but there was no other topic he could discuss. It would be more embarrassing for him to order Claire back to her office without saying anything.

"What do you mean, Sir?" Claire furrowed her brow.

"I sensed something odd about your colleagues. Their behavior seems suspicious," Antony replied.

Claire nodded in understanding. "I don't think it's suspicious. They're just satisfying their curiosity."

"Curiosity about what?" Antony asked, increasingly confused.

"A little while ago, they read an article about a model named Anastasia Moore, who is rumored to have just broken up with a prominent businessman. They were trying to guess whether that businessman was you since they've seen Miss Moore here several times meeting with you," Claire explained candidly.

"Regarding that, Anastasia and I don't have any relationship," Antony replied coldly. Claire responded to his answer with a blank expression, which somehow irritated Antony. Didn't the girl want to know anything about his relationship with Anastasia?

"Our relationship was merely a facade. It was all contractual, and that contract has now ended. So, it's back to a boss-subordinate relationship between Anastasia and me." Antony felt the need to clarify his relationship with Anastasia to Claire, wanting to ensure the girl didn't misunderstand. Once again, Claire's response was simply a nod of her head with a flat expression.

"Then I'll relay that to my friends," Claire said, causing Antony's eyebrows to knit together.

"What do you mean?"

"You called me in to provide answers to their questions, right?" Claire asked flatly. "Or should I inform the PR team, since confirming this is technically their job? Honestly, I don't want to say anything to my colleagues because, first, it's not part of my job description, and second, I don't want to create further questions from my colleagues about why I'm the one giving this clarification." She continued in her monotonous tone.

"Claire."

"Miss Hampton, Sir," Claire corrected him. "Outside of work hours, I'm willing to assist you for Flavia's sake. But here in the office, we are just a boss and a subordinate. And since we're discussing this, I suggest it would be better for you to explain your relationship with Miss Moore in more detail to Flavia. She's the one most affected by your relationship with Ms. Moore."

Hearing his daughter's name mentioned, Antony furrowed his brow even more. To be honest, he really didn't remember Flavia. Regarding Claire's reprimand, although some might consider it impolite, she was completely right.