Chapter 3

Dead silence.

Vivian's expression turned ugly.

She hadn't expected that not a single person would stand up to support her.

She bit her lip and stubbornly said:

"My position is Executive Assistant to the CEO, responsible for supervising all employees. Of course I'm your superior! If you don't accept it, you can go find Mr. Hayes!"

"Good idea." I nodded and picked up my phone. "I'll call him over right now."

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath rippled through the room.

Everyone thought I'd lost my mind. An old employee "coasting by" actually daring to challenge the CEO's authority.

Vivian's face lit up with a victorious smile.

Ignoring her expression, I found Sebastian in my contacts and dialed.

The phone rang twice before connecting.

"Hello?" Sebastian's voice was steady as always.

"Sebastian, come to the design department."

My tone was calm, without honorifics or unnecessary explanation, as if giving instructions to a subordinate.

There was a second of silence on the other end, then: "Alright, I'll be right there."

I hung up and gently placed my phone on the desk.

Vivian crossed her arms and sneered. "Playing games. Let's see how you handle this when Mr. Hayes gets here."

I said nothing, just pulled out my chair, sat back down, and looked at her leisurely.

In less than three minutes, Sebastian's tall figure appeared at the design department entrance.

As the manager I'd personally promoted, he now carried a sufficiently powerful presence.

The air in the entire office became even thinner.

Vivian immediately rushed up to him, her tone filled with grievance and complaint.

"Mr. Hayes, you're finally here! Laura openly violated company regulations, eating and playing on her phone at her desk. I fined her three thousand dollars according to the new system, but not only did she refuse, she talked back to me, and even dared to call you directly! She has absolutely no respect for you or company rules!"

As she spoke, she shot me challenging glances from the corner of her eye.

Sebastian's gaze fell on me, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

His expression was complex—impatience, scrutiny, and an emotion I couldn't quite read.

Over these three years, he'd become more and more like a competent businessman—calm and decisive.

"Laura, what's going on?" he asked, his voice cold and emotionless.

I raised my eyes and met his gaze calmly.

"Just like Vivian said. I drank half a glass of water, ate one soda cracker, and looked at my phone for three minutes."

I paused, picked up the plate of crackers from my desk, and pushed it toward him.

"Mr. Hayes probably doesn't know that I have hypoglycemia. I had administration specially stock these at the office for me."

"As for the phone," I waved the screen, "Mr. Williams from Willow Creek Properties just posted a thank-you letter in the group chat and said he wants to refer us a new client. I wonder if that counts as playing on my phone?"

Sebastian's expression darkened.

Seeing this, Vivian immediately added fuel to the fire.

"Mr. Hayes, don't listen to her excuses! Company rules are company rules. We can't make exceptions for one person! She's relying on seniority to challenge your authority! If you don't punish her severely today, how can we enforce company policies in the future?"