As soon as I finished, the staff behind me began to gossip again.
"Deputy Director? Did Miss Reid make a mistake? Wouldn't that raise her salary? Would Miss Reid really be so kind?"
"Gee, you may think it's a good thing, but think of what the Administration Department is. It's a terrible place! If Miss Zanes goes there, I guess she will never have the chance to come to this floor again! And she'll be working with a bunch of old men. What hope does she have!"
"I think it's fine. As long as I'm paid good money, I'll be happy even if I have to deal with a bunch of fools every day!"
"You are so short-sighted. You have no ambition! If she leaves Mr. Roberts' office, how could she get her chance again?"
I ignored these words, kept smiling, and was calm.
A long time later, Freya and I discussed what had happened. Freya said, "At that time, when I saw how you were smiling, I realized that you were like Hendrix at your core. You're a cruel person when you have to be, indeed."
Yes, I did want to torture Estella.
The department was situated at the very bottom of the Roberts Group building. If nothing went wrong, she would never be able to see Hendrix again in her entire life. What other option was there other than to throw her out of the building to make her give up? She would never see Hendrix again, even if they were locked up in the same building. She would even see other women try to appeal to Hendrix like she did, causing her to fall into despair every day.
I regarded myself as dead, so I only wanted to punish the wicked.
"Let's do as you've suggested," Hendrix replied. He didn't hesitate and turned around to leave. "If you're done, leave as soon as possible. We don't mess around here."
After saying that, the tall figure had already returned to his office, as if he had been annoyed by women.
Freya and I looked at each other and smiled, understanding what he meant. Then, we looked away and focused our gaze on Estella, who had yet to react.
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