Echoes of Unrequited Love (Xaviera and Hogan) novel Chapter 11

As soon as I got close, I could spot the displeasure in Hogan's eyes in a heartbeat.

"Ms. March, care to explain?"

He sure was acting all by-the-book.

Cecilia beat me to the punch and said, "Hogan, it's not Xaviera's fault, I'm just a bit of a klutz."

The girl finished talking and then put on a guilty face.

"Go wait for me in the car," Hogan said with a soothing tone, clearly trying to calm her down.

Cecilia glanced at me right away, as if she was asking for my opinion.

I couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

With her sugar daddy here, why the heck would she care about my reaction?

Seeing her still standing there, Hogan spoke again, "Be a good girl."

Only then did Cecilia obediently pack up her things and leave.

After a little while, I was summoned into Cecilia's office by Hogan.

He was standing with his back to me, but his gaze was roaming all over the office, finally landing on my face. He asked, "Still haven't gotten the air purifier?"

He was really sweating the small stuff.

I said in a deep voice, "The store said they'll deliver it tomorrow."

Hogan didn't jump right into a response. His long fingers were lightly tapping on the desk, and after a moment, he said, "Cecilia isn't you. She barely made it into N University. Don't be too harsh on her."

Harsh.

Just because I had her write a simple piece of front-end code, it was considered harsh in Hogan's book.

Alright, he was the cash cow after all.

I paused for a couple of seconds, then asked sensibly, "So, Mr. Zade, what do you suggest I should do when assigning tasks to Ms. Irwin in the future?"

At that, Hogan raised his eyes, his gaze clashing with mine, and he said seriously, "I don't want to see a repeat of today's incident."

His tone was knocking on my conscience, underpinned by his firm stare, and that was when I realized that this was what it looked like when Hogan went all out to protect someone.

A sharp pang of pain rushed through my chest as I heard myself say, "I'll follow your lead, Mr. Zade."

By the time Hogan left, it was already 8 PM. Jack was still around, and seeing me motionless at my desk, he asked with concern, "Xaviera, you feeling okay?"