CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: COLLEAGUE BULLIES CLARA, JULIAN HAWTHORNE STEPS IN

Clara calmly took a sip of tea and looked at Jonah Shaw with a subtle gaze.

"You treated everyone to coffee and let me treat them to a meal? You’ve got this all figured out, huh? Coffee doesn’t cost much, but a meal does, doesn’t it?"

Jonah Shaw replied, "Well, at least I treated everyone to coffee."

Lisa Holloway glared at Jonah Shaw and said to Clara, "Clara, don’t listen to his nonsense. There’s no rule that newcomers must treat everyone to a meal; he’s just picking on you because you’re new."

"I know."

Clara swept her gaze coldly around the group and said icily, "Standing firm in a company depends on your work ability, not these underhanded tactics."

"And if anyone wants to ostracize me because I didn’t treat everyone to a meal and doesn’t want to get along with me..." Clara stared directly at Jonah Shaw, "I’m not keen on getting along with such petty people either."

Jonah Shaw’s face darkened, and he said sarcastically, "Wow, Assistant Sterling is quite something."

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

The few who had been making a fuss saw that Clara wasn’t an easy target and looked a bit embarrassed.

Some continued to whisper quietly.

At this moment, Julian Hawthorne stepped out of his office.

Smiling warmly, he said in a gentle voice, "To celebrate the successful completion of the project, I’m treating everyone to dinner tonight at The Saffron Pavilion."

The Saffron Pavilion is a high-end Chinese restaurant.

Dining there isn’t cheap.

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into cheers, and the atmosphere instantly livened up.

"Wow, President Hawthorne is so generous, treating us to The Saffron Pavilion!"

"Long live President Hawthorne!"

"Thank you, President Hawthorne!"

"Great, another feast tonight."

...

Clara was slightly taken aback and met Julian Hawthorne’s gaze.

The man was tall and elegant, and his white shirt made him look even more refined and graceful.

Julian Hawthorne smiled gently at Clara, as if saying, "Don’t worry, you won’t have to treat."

He was helping her out of a difficult situation.

Clara felt grateful and returned his smile.

"President Hawthorne is really nice to treat everyone to a meal again," Lisa Holloway said, "You don’t know, he just treated us last month, and now he’s doing it again less than a month later."

Jonah Shaw snorted, "Assistant Sterling is so stingy, not even willing to treat for one meal."

Clara replied sarcastically, "If you’re so generous, why don’t you treat? You’re only good at pushing others to do it?"

"Ha, well, I treated everyone to coffee, didn’t I? Why don’t you treat as well if you’re so capable?"

Clara chuckled, "Is a measly coffee really worth boasting about?"

After work, the department members left in groups and headed to The Saffron Pavilion.

The place was packed, and they filled three private rooms.

Clara, Lisa Holloway, and Jonah Shaw were all assistants to Julian Hawthorne, so naturally, they sat in the same room as him.

Jonah Shaw was eagerly flattering Julian Hawthorne.

In some formal settings, table seating arrangements are important.

The traditional seating arrangement holds the left side in higher regard, with the seat facing the main entrance being the most prestigious.

Jonah Shaw smiled as he pulled out the chair facing the entrance and made a "please" gesture, "President Hawthorne, please."

Julian Hawthorne, well-mannered as he was, recognized the flattery but only said, "Thank you," and took his seat.

Once he sat down, the others followed suit and took their seats.

Jonah Shaw immediately sat next to Julian Hawthorne to continue his flattering.

Not wanting to sit too close to Jonah Shaw, Clara deliberately chose the furthest seat and sat with Lisa Holloway.

During the meal, Jonah Shaw constantly engaged Julian Hawthorne in conversation and toasted him.

"President Hawthorne, I’ll drink all my glass while you drink as you wish," Jonah Shaw said before downing his drink in one go.

Clara rolled her eyes.

Across from her, Julian Hawthorne took a small sip of his drink and happened to catch Clara’s eye roll.

Clara was startled.

Oh no, she got caught rolling her eyes by her boss.

Will he think I was rolling my eyes at him?

However, Julian Hawthorne didn’t seem upset; instead, his smile deepened.

Clara quickly averted her gaze and continued eating her food obediently.

The meal went on until its conclusion.

Jonah Shaw, whose face was flushed from drinking, was getting a bit drunk and increasingly unrestrained in speech.

Suddenly, he raised his glass and said loudly, "Come, let’s thank our younger selves who studied hard and landed us this great job!"

Everyone raised their glasses in response.

Lisa Holloway whispered, "I suspect he’s about to cause trouble again."

Sure enough, as soon as Lisa finished speaking, Jonah Shaw suddenly looked at Clara.

With a laugh, he said, "I, a master’s graduate from Luminar University, had to go through rigorous competition to get this assistant position, while Assistant Sterling, with just an undergraduate degree, was lucky enough to get into the Sheffield Group."

As soon as he said this, the lively atmosphere turned cold.

Everyone looked at Clara in unison.

Julian Hawthorne’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He disliked employees who were overly preoccupied with petty schemes.

Although he wasn’t fond of Jonah Shaw’s earlier flattering, he could overlook it.

But now that Jonah Shaw was openly mocking another employee in front of him, he couldn’t stand by idly.

Julian Hawthorne had a strong aversion to workplace scheming and bullying newcomers.

His warm expression turned serious, and his voice carried weight: "The entire interview process was recorded, and I’ve watched Assistant Sterling’s interview. She answered every question thoroughly. If Assistant Shaw has any grievances, he can bring them up with the interviewers directly."

Jonah Shaw was deliberately making things difficult for Clara due to his drunkenness.

He wasn’t so drunk as to confuse power dynamics.

He wouldn’t dare oppose his superior.

Upon hearing Julian Hawthorne’s words, Jonah Shaw immediately stopped smiling and hurriedly explained, "No, no, no, I was just expressing my feelings jokingly. I have no real complaints."

Julian Hawthorne’s expression remained slightly cool, and he said nothing.

Jonah Shaw then turned to Clara, "I’m sorry, Assistant Sterling, I was just joking. Please don’t take it to heart."

Clara scoffed lightly and ignored him.

...

After the meal, Clara caught a ride back home.

Silas Sheffield had already showered and was in a robe, making phone calls in his room.

Clara went upstairs and passed by his room.

"We’ll leave it at that for now," Silas Sheffield said as he ended the call and looked over.

"Why are you back so late today?"

"Department dinner."

Silas Sheffield nodded, his gaze lingering on Clara, "Bad mood?"

"A bit."

"What happened?"

"Ran into a colleague who bullies newcomers." Clara pouted, "Today he led a fuss about me treating everyone to a meal, saying that if a newcomer doesn’t treat, they won’t stand firm in the company."

Silas Sheffield’s expression turned cold, "What’s his name?"

"What do you want to do?"

In a frosty tone, he said, "I’ll fire him."

Clara shook her head, "No need, I can handle it myself. He just mocked me a bit; I can retort back."

"Besides, I want to prove I’m not just a pretty face. Though my degree isn’t as high as his, I’m more capable and have better character. I want him to lose convincingly."

Silas Sheffield nodded, his icy demeanor melting away, "I believe you can do it."