Director Carter’s voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it still drew quite a bit of attention.
Zoe Lancaster had been with the company for two years. Although no one showed it openly, there was inevitably some resentment about her being a parachute hire. Gossip was rampant behind closed doors, leaving Zoe essentially fighting her battles alone for the past two years.
Another reason she attracted so much attention was her beauty.
Zoe’s looks were exceptionally rare, rivaling even the most stunning actresses on the silver screen. Standing at five foot seven, she had a gorgeous hourglass figure and flawless, alabaster skin. Her small, oval face had perfect bone structure, complemented by expressive, captivating eyes. Even without a trace of makeup, her striking beauty was enough to make others feel inadequate.
With the grace and appearance of a goddess, she had become the face of the public relations department over the last two years.
However, why had she changed her clothes after a trip to the CEO’s office?
Curious glances swept her way. Zoe’s expression remained perfectly calm. "I spilled coffee on myself when I went to buy one just now, so I grabbed a new outfit at a nearby store to change into."
Since she offered that explanation, her colleagues couldn’t pry further, even if they had their suspicions.
Director Carter didn’t ask any further questions. She merely waved her hand. "Come into my office for a moment."
Zoe had a rough idea of what to expect. Sure enough, the moment she stepped inside, she was met with Director Carter’s stern voice: "Pretend you didn’t hear anything in Mr. Hawthorne’s office today. If even a whisper of gossip gets out, you know the consequences."
Zoe knew she was referring to the fact that Simon Hawthorne was married. After all, if that secret were exposed, it would set off a massive butterfly effect, implicating a slew of other matters. The media uproar would be absolutely earth-shattering.
It was a pity. Who could have ever guessed that she, a lowly PR supervisor, was actually the wife of Mr. Hawthorne, the man sitting at the very top of the financial pyramid?
"I understand. Don’t worry," Zoe agreed. Their relationship truly couldn’t be made public; that had been part of their agreement from the very beginning.
Director Carter continued, "There’s a dinner at The Jade Palace tomorrow night at eight. You’re coming with me."
Zoe pursed her lips and politely declined. "I have something else to do."
She knew exactly what Director Carter meant by this kind of social engagement. Her only purpose there would be to serve as eye candy. Mingling with those sly, seasoned executives would undoubtedly result in her being taken advantage of.
"I wasn’t asking for your opinion. Get back to work." Director Carter was used to being dictatorial and didn’t give Zoe any room to refuse. Even though Zoe was already a department supervisor, she had no choice but to accept it.
Zoe worked through the rest of the day weighed down by her thoughts. On top of that, she had to handle a sudden PR crisis for Stella Joyce, working overtime until nearly nine o’clock before she could finally clock out.
Once in her car, Zoe dug out the phone number left by the male escort from that night and dialed it without hesitation. Now that Simon knew she had gone to Riverbend Tavern, she had to find a way to avoid any potential trouble. This escort, for instance, needed to be dealt with as swiftly as possible.
BEEP BEEP BEEP.
After a few rings, a cold female voice echoed through the speaker: "Hello, the number you have dialed is currently busy..."
Zoe frowned. He wasn’t answering? She simply tossed her phone aside, made a U-turn, and headed straight for Riverbend Tavern.
Upon arrival, the club was at its most bustling hour. Zoe made her way over to the bar. She had been to this place quite a few times and was a familiar face to the bartender, so she cut straight to the chase. "Are all the male models working at your club here today?"
The bartender teased, "Oh? Planning to place a huge order tonight?"
Zoe gave an awkward laugh. "No, I just want to ask about someone. Since you’re all colleagues, do you happen to know whose number this is?" She showed the saved contact on her screen to the bartender.
The bartender set down his glass and searched through his own phone’s contacts. "Nope, I don’t have this number saved. Are you sure he works here?"
This stumped Zoe. Could it be... she had just grabbed a random passerby to sleep with?
After a moment of careful thought, Zoe asked, "Then... can I check the security footage?" She lowered her voice. "I want to delete a segment of the video. Is there a way to do that?"
She was completely out of options. Simon’s earlier words had left her constantly on edge.
The bartender looked shocked. "Wait, gorgeous, what exactly did you do? Deleting footage is something only our manager has the authority to do." He couldn’t help but joke, "Did you get caught cheating by your husband or something?"
Zoe was speechless. She thought, "Can I just assassinate this psychic right now?!"
"Where is your manager then?"
"Over there. He’s serving our boss."
Zoe turned her head. Seeing a group of people sitting at a booth not too far away, she hesitated for a moment before pretending to casually stroll over. However, as she drew closer, she realized the person sitting in the center of the booth, idly playing with some dice, was actually Sean Sheffield. He spoke in a frivolous tone: "The day Simon came back to the country, he stopped by here and popped open a bottle of my finest vintage. And now look at him—I can’t even get him to come out anymore."
Zoe’s heart skipped a beat, and a sudden chill ran through her entire body. The day he came back to the country? Simon was at Riverbend Tavern, too? That was the exact same day!
Zoe completely panicked. She hurriedly turned on her heel and bolted for the restroom.
She splashed freezing water onto her face a couple of times, forcing herself to calm down and carefully piece the entire situation together.
Simon had said a friend saw her. If that friend had seen her being intimate with another man and reported it back to him, there was no way he would have remained so indifferent, right? Moreover, he had been at Riverbend Tavern that day as well, so why didn’t he mention a single word about it?
If that was the case, was it possible... there was another explanation?
Simon had never been intimate with her, but over the last couple of days, he had been intentionally or unintentionally "compensating" her. He was purposely dancing around her guilty conscience, dragging her into the mud and leaving her trapped in a dilemma.
Could it be because... even when she was dead drunk, her damn aesthetic preferences still pointed straight to Simon? Was it possible that the "escort"... was actually him? Was that why he wasn’t picking up when she called that number?
The more Zoe thought about it, the more unbelievably insane the world seemed.
"Zoe Lancaster?" A woman walked out of one of the stalls. Just as she was about to wash her hands, she spotted Zoe and furrowed her brows. "What are you doing here? Does my brother know?"
By the time Zoe looked at Mercy Hawthorne, she had already smoothed out her expression. Simon’s sister was the only other person in the Hawthorne family, aside from Mrs. Hawthorne, who harbored a deep, inexplicable hostility toward her.
"Do I have to report all my whereabouts to your brother?" Zoe pulled a paper towel to dry her hands, flashing a slow smile.
Mercy’s lips twitched into a sneer as she looked Zoe up and down. Zoe was still wearing her fitted business suit from work, looking excessively formal for a place like this.
"You really have zero self-awareness, do you? The only reason you managed to marry into the Hawthorne family is because that bitch Cecilia Sloan orchestrated the whole thing. Otherwise, your entire family would have had to burn incense for generations to earn such an honor! So you’d better start behaving yourself!"
Cecilia Sloan was Simon’s father’s mistress. She was kept at the Hawthorne Residence, living under the exact same roof as Simon’s mother. It was a convoluted relationship, and one that was entirely morally bankrupt.
Back then, Cecilia had consulted an astrologer and discovered that Zoe and Simon’s charts showed a rare and perfect celestial harmony. Their marriage was arranged to bring good fortune and shield the critically ill patriarch of the Hawthorne family from harm. This arrangement caused Mrs. Hawthorne, Ken Lowell, and Mercy to severely dislike Zoe. After all, Mrs. Hawthorne, Ken Lowell, and Cecilia were bitter enemies. By marrying into the family, Zoe had simply become a convenient punching bag.
Zoe never wanted to invite trouble and had acted cautiously over the past two years. However, Mercy was always excessively cruel to her, leading Zoe to suspect that there might be another reason behind Mercy’s targeted hostility.
"How am I not behaving myself just by coming to a bar? Are we living in The Silver Empire? Did I time-travel? Or was your brain bound like a pair of lotus feet?" Zoe didn’t like Mercy either, so she couldn’t help but fire back.
"You—"
"Give me your brother’s phone number," Zoe interrupted.
Mercy had been about to retort but suddenly realized what Zoe was asking. She scoffed, "So my brother hasn’t even given you his phone number. Honestly, you’re quite a failure."
Why miss out on a good joke? Mercy pulled out her phone and showed the screen to Zoe.
But Zoe had a plan of her own. She was going to see if Simon’s phone number matched the one left by the "escort" that night. She needed to confirm once and for all if Simon was the relentless beast who had tormented her for half the night!