Chapter 68 Do You Have A Crush On Me »
The next day, as soon as Janet walked into the company, Tiffany called her into her office. Janet swallowed nervously. She couldn’t tell if Tiffany believed what Jocelyn had said yesterday
“Lind, your design was approved by the Color Company. Go ahead and prepare for the project with them.” Tiffany spoke briskly not even glancing up at Janet when she entered her office.
“What? But they criticized me and my work yesterday. How could they change their mind overnight?” Janet’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground Plus, what with the arrogant way Jocelyn acted yesterday, Janet was under the impression that Tiffany had called her into her office to fire her
“Why are you so surprised? They’re not blind. Anyone could see that your design was way better than the second proposal. It’s obvious that the representative from the Color Company didn’t know what they were talking about and only rejected your design because she holds a grudge against you. Anyway, Mr. Harding contacted their chairman and now, their CEO has been demoted. So, your design plan has been re-adopted and the cooperation between us two parties can proceed smoothly. Any more questions?”
Finally, Tiffany looked up from the document she was reading and smiled at Janet encouragingly. d*um*bfounded, Janet shook her head slowly. “Oh, no, no. I’m just surprised. Thanks for telling me, Ms. Fisher. I’ll go back to my work.” When Janet came to her senses, she smiled sheepishly and excused herself.
Truth be told, she wasn’t happy per se. She just felt confused. In her eyes, the cooperation wasn’t that crucial, so why did Garrett need to interfere? Seeing that she was about to leave, Tiffany raised her eyebrows and seemed to have read her mind.
“I didn’t think that Mr. Harding would get involved in this matter. You two seem to be… on good terms. Did you know him before you joined the company?”
So, it turned out that it wasn’t just Janet who felt that something was off. “Oh, no. Actually, I’ve only met Mr. Harding twice.” Janet shook her head and waved her hands dismissively.
When she got back to her desk, she couldn’t seem to concentrate on her work. It was really unorthodox-unreasonable even-for a deputy CEO like Garrett to keep standing up for her. Things didn’t happen for no reason in this world. Could it be that Garrett was interested in her just like Ike?
“Lind, why the long face? Did Fisher give you an earful?” A colleague sitting next to Janet poked her arm with a pen. “Huh? Oh, no. I just have a stomachache… Gerda, would you know if Mr. Harding has a girlfriend?” Janet whispered in her colleague’s ear.
Gerda knew everything that went on in the company, since she was the gossipiest one and was always kept in the loop. “Well, I guess you could say that. Mr. Harding might be very good to us employees, but I can’t say I respect his private life. You know how rich men are with open relationships. He probably has a girlfriend, but most likely has more than one. At least, that’s what those gossip magazines say,” Gerda whispered back, her eyes twinkling with interest.
“Why? Do you have a crush on him? Oh, my dear, this kind of man doesn’t suit you.”
“No! I mean, I was just curious. You’re overthinking.” Janet adamantly shook her head. She was a married woman after all.
She was just worried that she’d be s*e*xually hara*s*sed again, like what had happened with Ike back then. After mulling it over, Janet decided she needed to get to the bottom of this.
If it turned out that Garrett liked her, she’d have no choice but to leave the Larson Group. After all, she couldn’t afford to offend someone as powerful as Garrett. She plucked up the courage and sent him a private message through the work chat group.
“Mr. Harding, are you free to talk? There was something I wanted to ask you.”
“Of course. What is it, Lind?” Garrett replied in a friendly tone. For some reason, Janet got goose bumps when she read his reply. She quickly gathered her design drawings and went up to the thirty-first floor. From such a height, the scenery down was breathtaking. One could easily see the entirety of the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
There were two meeting rooms and two offices on this floor. The door to the largest room was covered by a white curtain. A sign that said “Brandon Larson” in grand, gold lettering hung outside the door. As she walked past it, Janet heard a faint, low voice from inside. Finally, she made it to Garrett’s door. She raised her hand and knocked politely.
“Come in,” Garrett’s voice sounded promptly. “Good morning, Mr. Harding.”
When Garrett saw her come in, he immediately stood up and smiled. “Lind! Welcome. Come and take a seat. What can I do for you?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Janet sat down stiffly. “Mr. Harding, I heard that my design was re-adopted by the Color Company. Thank you for your help.”
“No need to thank me. It was no big deal.” Garrett waved his hand dismissively then proceeded to pour piping hot tea into a cup. Unbeknownst to Janet, it was her husband who pulled the strings. This matter actually had nothing to do with Garrett.
“Hmm, there is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about…”
“What’s up? You can talk to me about anything.” Seeing how uneasy she looked, Garrett tried to coax it out of her gently. Closing her eyes, Janet plucked up her courage and finally blurted, “Mr. Harding, do you have a crush on me?”