CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: TRYING TO SEDUCE THE BOSS

On Friday, the two managers from the branch finally arrived.

Eli Young from the PR department, and Tim Sawyer from Design.

Tim Sawyer——

Zane Sterling personally went downstairs to greet him.

This was the first time in two weeks anyone had seen Zane Sterling.

He was still in that all-black suit, making people feel he was impossible to figure out.

"Manager Sawyer, your office is over here." Ethan Sinclair walked ahead, Tim followed closely behind, while Zane looked exhausted as he trailed them.

Ethan arrived at her office and Tim went in, checking out her new workspace.

Zane, meanwhile, stopped at Sophia Lowell’s desk, fiddling with the ’Big White’ on her desk.

Lily Ellison, who had just come back, was startled and didn’t know whether she should sit down or not; flustered, she ended up running to the bathroom again.

Sophia Lowell, who had just delivered some documents back to Wyatt Nash, stared at the man sitting at her desk, debating whether to block him or just leave it on read.

He was actually sitting at her spot, legs crossed, silent as a precious statue with a chill radiating off him.

Tim Sawyer peeked out of her office for a look when she couldn’t see anyone around, spotted Zane Sterling snoozing at an ordinary workstation, and felt kinda bummed.

At this moment, everyone’s attention was locked on the man in black.

The Design Department was uncharacteristically quiet for once.

Sophia paused, gripping the freshly made coffee in her hand.

She tiptoed over, setting the coffee and some files on the desk.

"Mr. Sterling..." she bent over slightly and glanced at him.

This huge man sat on her pink chair without a shred of awkwardness.

"Yeah." Lazy.

"Looking for me?"

"Tired. Lemme lie here for a bit."

"Okay."

Everyone was quietly rooting for Sophia.

She didn’t say anything else. Since there was a meeting that afternoon, she dragged another chair over and worked beside him.

This chair was shorter than the regular ones—she had to crane her neck just to see the computer.

She turned the laptop around, stretched the keyboard cord to the side, and started working.

But the keyboard cord was only so long. With this giant planted here, she didn’t dare ask him to move, so she could only twist herself and hustle.

{Eight Million a Day} group chat started blowing up.

{Ms. Lowell, did you piss off Mr. Sterling in The S Republic or something?}

{How dare he make our Ms. Lowell work on a tiny stool. Just sit on his lap...}

{Ms. Lowell, seduce him.}

{Anyone else think Ms. Lowell and Mr. Sterling are totally a match? [pic]}

...

Sophia looked at all the raunchy stuff popping up in her WhatsApp. Honestly, it was jaw-dropping.

Someone even snapped a photo... To be fair, he looked pretty hot.

"Everyone, pause your work for a sec!" Ethan Sinclair stood in the middle of the Design Department, Tim Sawyer beside him.

Everyone put down what they were doing and stood up, eyes turning to the new manager.

"This is the new Design Department manager, Tim Sawyer..."

(Three minutes omitted here.)

After Ethan’s intro, Tim started her own self-introduction.

Sophia was listening intently, but noticed Zane Sterling was already awake.

Uh oh, if he saw the group chat, that would be bad!

Sophia crouched down a bit, cautiously reaching behind for the mouse, wanting to close WhatsApp.

And then she touched a pair of big, heated, smooth hands. She could even feel the veins on the back of his hand.

She snatched her hand back, glanced discreetly over her shoulder at Zane Sterling.

He was there, moving the mouse, reading the WhatsApp messages.

Sophia stuck out her little hand, gritted her teeth, and twisted his wrist a bit.

She could feel Zane quietly chuckling behind her.

Luckily, her desk was next to the wall in the corridor, and there was nobody behind her—naturally no one could see their little interactions.

"Tomorrow night at T-Bar, I’ll be taking everyone out for karaoke with Eli Young from PR. You all better show up, got that?" Tim’s gentle voice and smooth hosting had everyone cheering.

Sophia joined in with applause.

As soon as the talking wrapped up, the ’Buddha’ finally stretched his neck and stood up.

——

The three bosses entered the elevator together and went upstairs.

And the former intern, Elsie Erickson, was assigned to Tim Sawyer as her assistant and followed them.

A manager actually gets an assistant? The Design Department was in an uproar.

Soon after, gossip started flying that Tim Sawyer and Zane Sterling were exes.

Some said they’d rekindled their old flame.

Some said Zane had gone crazy for love and transferred her from the branch to HQ.

Others claimed Tim was just vain—back when Zane’s leg was injured, she dumped him and went abroad on a study program; the two split up.

Now that Zane was doing well, she’s returned.

"So, do you think Mr. Sterling’s getting all lovey-dovey again?" Lily Ellison rolled her chair over, sneaking a peek at the manager’s office.

Sophia didn’t respond.

He hadn’t come back for half a month—was it all just to bring Tim Sawyer to headquarters?

Rejecting Sophia—was it for her?

"Hey, say something!" Lily peeked at the unusually quiet Sophia, sensing something was off.

"I was just thinking, the boss sat at my desk. Maybe I should retire this pink seat cushion to my home shrine." Sophia forced a laugh.

Lily cracked up.

She sighed, glanced at her phone with a contact nickname ’husband’, but there still wasn’t any message.

Everyone on the chat was joking about him—was he mad again?

Damn man, can’t figure out what he’s thinking. Hot one moment, cold the next.

{What’s your boss been up to lately?} she messaged Ethan Sinclair.

{Working late.}

{Say it like a human.} — Sophia.

{Seriously, just been working, even comes in on weekends. [crying jpg]}

"Does the CEO live on the steppe or something? Doesn’t look like it." she murmured.

"We’re grinding to keep the company afloat; the boss is working so we don’t lose our jobs. We’re all cattle—living on the grasslands is normal, right?" Lily came back from the break room. "Why do you ask?"

"Want to make a move~ on boss."

The words ’make a move’ slipped out sultrily, sparking a whole fantasy scene in her mind.

Their laughter floated across the workspace as the two clinked coffee mugs and took a dainty sip.

"Ahem..." Ethan’s voice sounded behind them.

Sophia and Lily spun their chairs around in fright.

They saw Zane Sterling and Tim Sawyer approaching from across the room, looking unhurried.

Ethan winked at her, hinting that he’d heard everything...

Tim looked pissed, biting the inside of her cheek.

Zane’s face was one of bewilderment, his expression shifting from gloomy to relaxed.

What was up with him today? This guy was in the Design Department more that morning than a whole month last year.

Normally, everyone joked about the boss, but actually getting called out was a first.

No one said a word, pretending nothing had happened.

Ethan quickly herded everyone into the manager’s office and closed the door.

"The boss heard you say you wanted to make a move on him." Lily couldn’t help but stir the pot.

"I know."

"I can sense Manager Sawyer’s murder vibes. Trust me, after Mr. Sterling leaves, the first one to set foot in her office will be you."

"It can’t be that bad..." Sophia smiled bitterly. She’d thought after running into Tim at Fashion Week, they’d have nothing to do with each other, but now she was actually Zane Sterling’s pick from the branch.

Sure enough, after Ethan and Zane left, Tim called Sophia in.

"Lily, you’re a damn fortune-teller!" Sophia praised weakly.

"Good luck, Ms. Lowell." Lily patted her shoulder.