CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: LET HIM TAKE THE INITIATIVE

The room was soundproof, but fearing someone might be outside, Sophia sent him a message.

[Can I come out?]

[Mm.]Zane Sterling.

She breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door to the small room.

"!!" Sophia.

"!!" Ethan Sinclair.

"!!" Evan Coleman.

Their glances crossed in a chaotic mix.

Ethan Sinclair wiped sweat off his brow.

His earlier phone call was really poorly timed...

The boss had just messaged him an hour ago asking him to excuse Sophia from work.

Thinking she was sick or something, but it seems...

Sophia, standing at the door, wished she could just disappear.

"Here." Zane Sterling gave her a sidelong glance, face flushed, and pushed the dessert in front of him aside.

Her legs felt as heavy as lead as she sluggishly walked over, took the dessert, and left without looking back.

He chuckled lightly.

Evan Coleman, standing nearby, turned pale with fear.

"Assistant Sinclair, wait for me on the first floor and handle the transition work." Zane Sterling.

"Okay." Ethan Sinclair placed a document on the desk, then followed Sophia toward the elevator.

"You and the boss..." Ethan Sinclair asked quietly.

"What kind of crazy ideas are you giving him?" Sophia said angrily.

"Didn’t you say he never makes a move? I just suggested that he be more proactive." Ethan Sinclair chuckled knowingly.

"Did I?"

"You didn’t?"

"I..." Sophia gritted her teeth in frustration.

Proactive?

He was certainly very proactive...

No wonder he messaged her early this morning.

Ding—

The elevator arrived.

Sophia glanced at the slightly open door of the CEO’s office.

She saw Zane Sterling taking off his white shirt, hanging it on a chair...

She hurriedly averted her gaze and walked into the elevator.

In the small room earlier, she hadn’t dared to open her eyes, committing such a sinful thing in broad daylight.

Now, she couldn’t help but want to steal another glance.

Wait a second—

Why was he taking off his clothes?

"Next time you give him ideas, could you consider me a bit? He’s so stubborn."

"Hehe..." Ethan Sinclair chuckled, "No can do, the boss’s salary outweighs our friendship."

"You’re wasted not being a matchmaker."

"What matchmaker uses wires?"

"Oh, by the way, about Evan Coleman..."

"Don’t ask." Ethan Sinclair pressed the button for the 28th floor, letting her in.

Wisely, Sophia didn’t ask further and returned to her desk with the dessert.

She decided not to care about Evan Coleman’s issue, thinking it best to keep her distance from him in the future.

Moreover, Eli Young and Tim Sawyer had already intervened to mediate, so technically, the matter was resolved.

Hardly had she sat down when Elsie Erickson and another colleague, whom she seldom spoke to, gathered around. "Ms. Lowell, you and Assistant Sinclair..."

"Huh?" Sophia looked at the young girl in front of her, who was full of gossip.

"Are you and Assistant Sinclair together or something?"

"Heh..." She laughed, feeling like she’d heard the biggest joke ever. "How could I possibly be with Ethan Sinclair? You guys are really misreading things."

"No, no, you and Assistant Sinclair are so close, chatting so happily. He even helped you take a sick day, and this morning he was lining up to buy you dessert, and you didn’t refuse..." the colleague chattered on.

"..."

Elsie Erickson quietly added: "The design department’s buzzing with it."

"!!" Sophia looked at the dessert in front of her, feeling like the sky was falling.

"Ms. Lowell, you and Assistant Sinclair..." the colleague pressed.

"He used to be my classmate, now he’s my colleague, and in the future, he’ll be my friend." Sophia felt powerless, unsure how to explain.

She really wished Ethan would find someone and get married soon.

After several minutes of gossip, they slowly left.

Yet no one believed it; the gossip about the two of them kept spreading.

"Are you and your husband playing some kind of role-playing game?" Lily Ellison asked, watching Sophia, who was concentrating on her dessert and ignoring the rumors.

"To be honest with you, I haven’t even figured out how many family members he has."

"Haven’t met the family?"

"Not formally."

"He’s so wealthy; does that pressure you?"

"Not really, I’m not interested in his money." Sophia threw her empty food wrappers in the trash can.

"Then what are you interested in? Hmm?" Lily Ellison teased, looking at her.

Sophia’s face blushed deeply.

She knew exactly what Lily was referring to.

Truth be told, she hadn’t really looked at that area; the night she got drunk was a blur, fragmented memories at best.

Today, she hadn’t even had a chance to see...

Or use it.

She giggled softly, not answering.

"Look at you blushing, hehe..." Lily Ellison picked up the meeting notes, nudging her arm. "Come on, it’s time for the meeting."

"Mm."

This was Tim Sawyer’s first meeting with the design department, scheduled on the 29th floor.

Some people were already there, leaving seven or eight others scattered at the elevator.

Sophia pressed the elevator button, standing in front waiting.

Her mind was still replaying what had happened in the small room earlier.

Thinking about his words: "Tonight, I want to..."

She took a deep breath.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened.

"!!"

Everyone was frozen, and some even screamed in shock.

Sophia was so frightened that her files and meeting notes fell to the ground, staring blankly at the people inside.

In the elevator, Evan Coleman was kneeling, cradling his right hand with his left, face twisted with pain, veins in his neck bulging.

A pen was stabbed through his right hand, blood flowing continuously.

The elevator mat had a small pool of blood soaking into it.

The thick scent of blood wafted from the elevator, making one nauseous.

Beside Evan Coleman, there was another person.

Zane Sterling—

He was wearing just suit pants, his icy belt reflecting a blinding light, sending chills down one’s spine.

He was wiping blood off the lenses of his glasses with a tissue, his light brown abs speckled with blood droplets.

His almond-shaped eyes showed no emotion.

Sophia looked him up and down, and their eyes met.

No one dared speak until the elevator doors slowly closed.

"What mistake did Evan Coleman make..."

"Is our boss really so fierce?"

"Did you see that? Mr. Sterling has an eight-pack!"

"What a shame, should’ve snapped a photo for wallpaper; he’s so handsome!"

"Heard he bullied Ms. Lowell that night and got caught by Manager Sawyer and Manager Young."

"Would the boss really resort to violence over an employee..."

"Ms. Lowell, perhaps the boss has a thing for you?"

"Ms. Lowell, are you okay?"

Everyone’s eyes fell on Sophia, trying to pry out some gossip from her.

"I’m feeling a bit faint at the sight of blood..." her heart raced, "Go ahead without me, help me take a sick day..."

Lily Ellison noticed her pale complexion and quickly supported her.

"Ms. Lowell, we’ll head up first then."

Everyone looked at her with concern.

The adjacent elevator opened, and they all filed in.

"Lily, you take care of your things; I’m going to take a look. Call me if anything happens." Sophia.

"Okay." Lily knew Sophia wasn’t really squeamish at the sight of blood.

With the elevator doors closing, she hurriedly picked up the papers and went to the opposite elevator.

Arriving on the 30th floor, the blood trail stretched from the CEO’s office to the elevator.

She dashed over, grabbing his shirt and coat from a chair.

A bloodstain and a hole marred the desk.

She could picture him pinning Evan Coleman’s hand to the desk and unapologetically stabbing the pen into it.

A shiver ran through her, and her hand trembled slightly as she held his clothes.