Chapter 4

The atmosphere at the company was strange the next day.

Several employees huddled together, their eyes occasionally drifting toward me.

Back in my office, I logged into the internal network.

The anonymous section was lively, as expected.

Someone had posted vaguely about last night's incident.

The comments section had a very unified tone—Mr. Gray definitely wanted to help, but didn't dare.

Because the company had an ice queen making all the executives live in fear, worried that one wrong step would get them reported by the audit department.

I wore this scapegoat quite steadily.

At noon, I went to the cafeteria.

It was peak lunch hour.

I picked up a tray and deliberately chose a corner seat.

Mia Smith was wearing a V-neck knit sweater with a rather low neckline today.

At her table sat four other new management trainees.

"Mia, are you okay? Why are you coughing so badly?"

"I'm fine." Mia's voice was soft and sweet, with a heavy nasal tone. "I just got rained on last night and have a slight fever."

"Mr. Gray was really too much, leaving you there alone in that downpour."

"Don't say that about Mr. Gray."

Mia's watery eyes were full of protectiveness. "Mr. Gray is actually a very good person. Last night I saw the reluctance in his eyes."

"Then why didn't he let you in the car?"

"Because it wouldn't be compliant." Mia sighed. "If Mr. Gray had given me a ride, people might have said he had improper conduct. Wouldn't that harm him?"

"Plus, Mr. Gray sent me a private message on SnapChat to explain."

"He even said he's been feeling quite oppressed."

I put down my fork.

I opened my phone's recording app.

Spreading rumors about the audit department abusing power, fabricating private messages from executives, implying an executive had personal feelings for her.

After recording for two minutes, I saved the audio and stood up.

"Ahem..." Mia caught sight of me from the corner of her eye and was so startled her spoon clinked against the bowl.

"M-Miss Shaw."

The table of trainees immediately fell silent, heads down eating their rice.

Mia quickly adjusted her expression. "Hello, Miss Shaw. I just felt a bit dizzy and lost my balance."

She looked up at me with reddened eyes, looking like a scared little white rabbit.

"Miss Shaw, you're eating too? There's no space here. Maybe you could sit at the next table?"

I ignored her performance, my gaze coldly sweeping across her phone screen.

"Mia Smith, as a management trainee, what did you score on your onboarding training test?"

She paused, then said timidly, "N-ninety-five."

"Then recite the employee code of conduct."

She bit her lip, looking at me blankly.

"Spreading false statements in the workplace, discussing company management systems inappropriately, slandering superiors."

I looked down at her from my position. "You just said the audit department is overstepping its bounds? That Mr. Gray has no choice in the matter?"

"I... I didn't mean it like that."

Tears immediately filled her eyes. She waved her hands frantically. "I was just feeling bad that Mr. Gray was being misunderstood. I wanted to help explain..."

"Explain?"

Ethan walked over.

Mia said in a high-pitched voice, "Mr. Gray... Miss Shaw misunderstood me. I was just saying that last night you sent a SnapChat message to care—"

Ethan stepped aside.

Mia lunged forward into empty air and barely managed to steady herself by grabbing the chair back. Her posture was awkward.

Ethan pulled out his phone and directly opened his chat with Mia.

The interface was clean, with only one system notification about accepting a friend request.

The date was her first day on the job.

After that, completely blank.

"Mia Smith, I have severe OCD and germaphobia."

Ethan's voice wasn't loud, but loud enough for everyone around to hear clearly. "I don't add random people, I don't respond to nonsense, and I definitely wouldn't send this kind of ambiguous message to an employee who tried to violate protocol by hitching a ride. Do you have delusions?"

The cafeteria fell dead silent.

The few trainees who had been backing her up moments ago now had faces turning green.

Mia's face flushed like a pig's liver. Tears hung on her lashes—falling or not falling, both equally awkward.

"Mr. Gray... I..."

"Also."

Ethan looked at me. "Miss Shaw enforcing compliance is her job."

With that, he didn't even glance at Mia and turned to leave.