CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50- LIKE A DREAM

To everyone’s surprise, Catherine, Amy, and the other girl, Silvia, were hired—while the three men were all rejected.

If Bert Design only favored experienced designers, Catherine and Silvia were both newcomers. This hiring decision was a major blow to the three men, yet they could only accept it, shaking their heads as they left.

Silvia was overjoyed, grabbing Catherine and exclaiming,

"Oh my gosh, I actually got hired! It feels like a dream."

Catherine, however, felt no real excitement. Knowing that Bert himself was the boss of Bert Design, and that he had asked her such a simple question during the final interview—clearly giving her an easy path—she could not truly feel happy. If her hiring was due to Bert’s help, she could not rejoice. In matters of work, she wanted to rely on her own abilities. Even if she had only gotten a job at a relatively unknown company, she would have been happy to work.

From childhood, she had been used to not being pampered and to having to fight for every privilege on her own. Bert’s intervention, though well-intentioned, slightly hurt her pride.

Indeed, she was sensitive and proud, even somewhat aloof, despite her poverty. Others would have cheered at such a job opportunity, like Silvia did, not caring how it came about—but Catherine could not. She cared.

Amy’s mood also seemed less than excited.

She was puzzled: she had openly admitted her attraction to Bert, and he had every reason to eliminate her from the list of hires. Yet he didn’t. Amy did not believe Bert kept her out of vanity or personal desire; if that were the case, he would not have openly declared he had someone he favored. That declaration was meant to make her back off. Furthermore, Amy believed Bert was principled and would not hire her due to any romantic interest.

So she was genuinely confused.

Luckily, Bert’s assistant informed them that the boss would speak with the three of them individually later, and they should prepare. Amy planned to ask Bert why he kept her. Catherine, sharing the same thought, intended to tell him she did not want his help and that he could hire one of the three rejected men instead. She did not want to owe him anything further—she already owed him enough.

The HR manager and finance manager, though puzzled by Bert’s hiring decisions, remained silent and unconditionally supported him, as he was the boss. All they needed to know was that the incoming Catherine was the boss’s girlfriend.

Indeed, she was his young girlfriend. They had seen Catherine’s resume: she had just turned 26, while the boss was around 36, a ten-year difference. Clearly a "young girlfriend."

After the interviews, the HR and finance managers left first. The large conference room was left with just Bert and his assistant. Bert sipped coffee, his back to the bright glass wall, casually spinning his chair to look at the bustling city outside. His posture was relaxed and comfortable.

His assistant silently tidied documents while pondering: the boss truly had a meticulous mind. Most employees at Bert Design were men, with very few women. The reason was simple: the boss did not like many women in the company giving him admiring glances.

Yet today, three female designers had been hired at once. Surely this was to prevent his young girlfriend from feeling awkward in an office dominated by men.

And Silvia, also a newcomer, was likely hired to avoid criticism that the young girlfriend had been given special treatment. If only one newcomer were hired, people might speculate about an improper relationship. Hiring two newcomers at once would prevent gossip.

It’s not like the boss was some playboy.

As for why Amy was hired, the assistant could not understand. Amy was an admirer of the boss—a potential rival to the young girlfriend. Hiring her seemed like a way to provoke jealousy. The assistant was puzzled until the boss’s teasing voice broke in:

"Done thinking?"

"Yes, now go call Silvia in."

Bert calmly instructed his distracted assistant, who promptly went out to call the next person.

In the waiting room, after Silvia left, only Amy and Catherine remained. Amy finally noticed the girl named Catherine who had also been hired.

Catherine sat quietly, looking down at her phone. Her fair skin made her delicate, clean features stand out even more. Her eyebrows were like fine brushstrokes, her eyes gentle and clear, and her calm, serene demeanor gave off a pleasant, comforting aura.

Amy couldn’t help but glance at her again. Catherine noticed Amy’s gaze and looked up, smiling softly. Amy returned a polite smile.

The second person to be called in for a talk was Amy herself. She decided to go straight to the point.

"Why did you keep me? Shouldn’t I have been passed over to avoid any conflict of interest?"

"Conflict of interest?"

He said it lightly, almost dismissively.

"What conflict would there be? You admire me, not the other way around."

Amy was momentarily stunned by his blunt words, yet she found herself even more captivated by his straightforwardness. Because he had no personal desire involved, he could be so honest.

He wasn’t like other men who said they weren’t interested but secretly had wandering thoughts about attractive women. Amy had experienced countless such situations during her years in the workplace.

But Bert’s attitude made it immediately clear: she was already "condemned."

Resentful, yet powerless.

"I kept you because I value your talent," Bert said calmly. Hearing this, Amy’s chest felt a little lighter.

So he did have some discernment!

He continued,

"Also, because you have extensive work experience, you can help guide the newer employees."

Amy frowned.

"You mean you want me to mentor those two rookies?"

Bert gave her a faint look.

"Everyone starts as a rookie. Don’t tell me you were effortlessly skilled from the very beginning."

Amy had nothing to say. Even though his tone was calm, his gaze carried an undeniable pressure. Just that one look alone was overwhelming.

He continued calmly,

"I personally dislike employees scheming against each other in the company, and I don’t recommend it either. No matter what you try, I see right through it. Playing tricks in front of me is like playing with fire."

Bert wasn’t being arrogant—he was essentially a master of schemes himself, so he had no respect for petty office politics.

In fact, he knew very well that where there’s interest, there will be conflict. He didn’t care about other people’s intrigues, but anything that might involve Catherine, he couldn’t ignore.

Ultimately, Bert’s warning to Amy was simply to prevent her from undermining Catherine behind her back once his relationship with Catherine became public.

A woman like Amy, if led well, could be an excellent ally; if not, she was the type most likely to stir trouble—especially for Catherine.

The reason Bert took the risk of keeping Amy was also practical: as an experienced professional, she could guide Catherine in workplace matters, particularly in client interactions. He would have liked to instruct Catherine himself, but it wasn’t entirely convenient.

He didn’t care about Amy’s admiration for him. In fact, he had a private motive: he wanted to use Amy’s admiration to provoke a certain slow-to-understand young woman.

After helping her repeatedly, how could Catherine not notice that he had feelings for her?

Catherine was the last to be called in for a private talk.

She had a lot she wanted to say, but before she could speak, Bert opened the conversation:

"My intuition tells me... you seem upset?"

Catherine paused. Was her displeasure really that obvious?

Since he had already noticed, she decided not to hide it:

"The reason I received the interview call from Bert Design... was that you helped me behind the scenes, right? Because I remember I never submitted a resume."

He answered her question slowly and deliberately:

"I’ve seen your sketches for the ring. I think you have considerable design talent, and my company happened to be hiring designers, so I recommended you for an interview. As a manager, I don’t want to miss out on any exceptional talent. That’s all there is to it."

His answer was simple, reasonable, and straightforward, which made Catherine pause for a moment. Then she asked,

"And just now... during the final interview, you were clearly going easy on me..."