CHAPTER 60: THE MEN

As soon as Hilla entered the Anderson Group, someone came forward and asked, "Is it Ms. Holt? Please come with me."

The young man in front of her was polite, wearing a kind smile.

Hilla frowned, "Do you know me?"

"Mr. Anderson asked me to take you to go through the entry formalities."

James smiled. He looked gentle in the suit.

"You mean Bruce?"

James smiled and did not reply. He just stepped aside and pointed to the elevator. "Ms. Holt, this way."

He had just dropped her off on the way to work but now had asked someone to help her with the procedures. What exactly was Bruce doing? He was so capricious.

The elevator went straight to the 14th floor. Coming out of the HR department, Hilla had a name tag of the Anderson Group in her hand.

"Ms. Holt, you will be in the design department as a design assistant temporarily. Mr. Anderson said that you would be promoted when you are familiar with the work."

Looking at the name tag in her hand, Hilla nodded with a smile and asked, "What do you do in the Anderson Group?"

"I was Mr. Anderson’s assistant."

"Bruce?"

"Yes!"

"What about now?"

"Still his assistant."

Hilla said with a wry smile, "Unlike your boss, you got a sense of humor."

James replied with a smile, "Mr. Anderson is busy with work and has to be serious before his subordinates."

It was a tactful reply. Hilla nodded and asked, "Are we going to the design department now?"

"Yes! Don’t worry. No one in the Anderson Group knows your relationship with Mr. Anderson."

His words surprised Hilla.

What did it mean? Did Bruce want to keep it secret from the staff? But why?

She followed James to the design department. As soon as she entered, she felt

everyone was looking at her. The entire design department instantly stopped working. Looking at the slim girl standing at the door, they could not help but gasp.

"This is Hilla. She will be the assistant of the design department. Julie, Mr. Anderson said you would be in charge of her."

James saw Julie Green, the head of the department who had just entered, and left after handing Hilla over to her.

He did not say anything more about Hilla to Julie, but his presence implied that Hilla was different.

James had used to be Bruce’s assistant and had assisted Tyree recently. It was unusual that he guided the newcomer to the design department.

What’s more, no one had pulled strings and had been hired in the company. Even Rudi had gone through those examinations and training back then.

Tyree had treated his grandson like this, so who was she?

"You come with me!"

Julie looked Hilla up and down and was annoyed. Hilla followed her obediently and entered her office.

"Tell me, what’s your relationship with Mr. Anderson?"

As soon as the door was closed, Julie asked in a cold voice which made Hilla stunned.

She blinked innocently and said, "What does Ms. Green think?"

Julie sneered and glared at Hilla. "Don’t think you can seduce men to do everything for you just because you are young and beautiful. There haven’t been any connections or assistants in the design department. What did you do to have Mr. Anderson’s permission and let James take you here? Have you met Master Anderson?"

Julie’s aggressive tone made Hilla a little unhappy. Julie was glaring at Hilla as if she were to kill her at any time.

There was only one reason for a woman to be so angry from the moment they met. They were rivals in love!

Was Julie Bruce’s lover at the company?

Looking at the sexy and attractive Julie in front of her, Hilla found Julie’s red short skirt figure-flattering. She looked mature, wise, and confident. She must be attractive to men.

She may be a match for Bruce with that temperament. But Hilla then thought that Julie might be too vulgar for Bruce.

Hilla nodded, "I have seen Master Anderson. As for my relationship with Mr. Anderson, I think it’s a private matter."

Julie banged the desk, and the pen on it fell to the ground.

It was so sudden that Hilla was startled, but Julie looked at her with fierce eyes.

"You have just entered the company and you are so arrogant. Let me tell you, nobody can steal Rudi from me. Only I can help him in the Anderson Group. You are such a little girl. He can spoil you now, but when he feels tired of you, he will kick you out."

Whom did she say? Rudi?

Hilla shivered. How could she be with that asshole? Only Julie would think him charming. She felt disgusted just by looking at him.

So Julie had thought that she had a relationship with Rudi.

Hilla rubbed her forehead and said, "Don’t worry, Bruce is yours. I won’t like him."

Julie was slightly stunned. She did not expect Hilla, who had been so arrogant just now, to go soft so quickly. Hilla was so young that it was easy to frighten her.

"Tell me, how long have you been with him?"

Julie couldn’t help but want to know more about her. She had to worry about the women in the company every day. She didn’t expect that there would be a newcomer.

Hilla was young and beautiful. She lit up the entire design department the moment she entered.

How could she be at ease when Hilla was in the department?

"Who are you talking about?"

Hilla blinked and asked innocently. She had said that she would not be with Rudi. Why did she still insist on it? Hilla didn’t want to offend the head of the department on her first day of work.

"Rudi!" Julie gritted her teeth as she said this. Hilla quickly waved her hand and said, "I have nothing to do with him. I promise." Julie was the only one who thought he was good.

Hilla looked sincere and Julie was relieved. Julie said, "Then why did James guide you here?"

She hadn’t forgotten this.

Hilla rolled her eyes and lied, "James is my cousin. He has begged ... Master Anderson to let me work here. You just said Mr. Anderson, and I thought you were talking about Master Anderson. I don’t know the Rudi you were talking about."

After hearing her explanation, Julie smiled. "So that’s it. I’ve misunderstood. James indeed has a high status in the Anderson Group and you are his cousin."

"Yeah." She should tell Bruce to stick to the story later.

"Let’s go. I’ll introduce you to the department."

Julie was nice to her immediately. Hilla realized how unpredictable people might be.

...

"I heard that there is a girl new in the design department and she’s gorgeous."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I saw her too. She looks exactly like my ideal wife."

The cafeteria, which was usually lively and full of gossips, became particularly noisy today because of Hilla.

Hilla was arranged to the design department by James. She had sent a message to Bruce but got no reply.

By lunchtime, she could only hide in the bathroom, trying to figure out why Bruce had arranged her to work in the company.

"Have you heard that the company’s male staff all went to the cafeteria during lunchtime?"

"I think it’s quite normal. They can’t go out to eat every day, can they?"

"But they came for the girl from the design department. They say she’s a beauty."

"I heard about her too. It was James who took her to go through all of the employment procedures. Has she gotten someone backing her? She must be good at seducing men."

"I think the same with you! Dirty girl!"

The next door opened with a bang. The women gossiping there were startled and looked in the direction of the sound.

With just a glance, they gasped in astonishment.

The girl in front of them was smiling, leaning against the door frame. Her small face was exquisite, with her long hair casually scattering in front of her chest.

She was tall and slender. She was wearing a long dress. Her lips curved, and the mole under her eyes made her even more attractive.

"Are you talking about me?"

Hilla’s voice was clear and crisp, like a lark singing, which can clear one’s mind.

Hilla blinked and approached them. She looked so gentle and fragile, while the two women were stunned. She said sweetly, "Thank you for your compliment, auntie. I will do better!"

"Did she take that as a compliment? Seriously?" They thought.

While they were still in a daze, Hilla had left, leaving them to stare at each other with their makeup nearly ruined, "This woman ... is so annoying."

"She is the new assistant from the design department. How dare she call us auntie?" One of the women said.

"We are only twenty-four or twenty-five years old, we are not aunties!" They thought.

Hilla came out of the bathroom in a good mood. Instead of the cafeteria, she was heading to the design department. When the elevator door opened, James looked at her and smiled, "Miss Holt, Mr. Anderson is waiting for you upstairs."

"Who? Bruce?"

Hilla raised her eyebrows, saw that James was smiling, and entered the elevator.

The elevator went straight to the thirty-ninth floor, where the President’s office sat. She followed James to the door and watched him knock twice before turning around and saying seriously to her, "Mrs. Anderson, please!"

"What the hell!"

"Did he take himself as an overbearing president? It makes me feel like the powerless heroines in those embarrassing novels," she thought.

Although reluctant, Hilla pushed the door and walked in.

Inside the spacious office, there were the floor-to-ceiling windows of a wall. Outside the window, the sky was clear and the clouds were white. She felt that she can nearly touch the sky.

Bruce was sitting on the sofa and waved at her with a smile. Two exquisite lunch boxes were on the table in front of him. Was he waiting for her for lunch?

Slightly raising her eyebrows, Hilla felt sweet by that thought.

But she pretended to be reluctant and quickly walked to him.

James closed the door the moment she stepped in.

Now, they were alone, so Hilla didn’t have to care about others. She ran over and asked, "I thought you want to keep your distance from me, but what are you doing now, Mr. Anderson?"

She was still angry at him for tricking her out of the car this morning. She thought, "Women are narrow-minded, which is their nature."

Bruce ignored her complaints and pushed a lunch box towards her, saying, "I want to have lunch with you."

"How do you know that I haven’t eaten yet? I am very popular now. The male staffs in the cafeteria all want to invite me for lunch. Oops, in just one day, your company has become like this. They say I’m gorgeous."

Hilla rolled her eyes, glancing at the lunch box. Only she could say such mean words in an adorable tone.

Bruce found her angry look even more attractive. He opened the lunch box and said gently, "Look, my dear Mrs. Anderson, these are your favorites."

"Mrs. Anderson? They call me Miss Holt now."

Although she was mean to him, she couldn’t help eating.

Bruce poured her a glass of warm water and said, "Drink some before you eat.

"If you want them to call you Mrs. Anderson, I will ask James to tell them."

Hilla got choked.

She took the cup and drank it to calm herself down. The rice got stuck in her throat, and tears came out.

Bruce frowned and wiped her mouth with a tissue, "You are like a baby."

"It’s your fault. Mrs. Anderson? I’ve told them that I am James’s cousin."

"Cousin" was more appropriate for her age.

Bruce raised his eyebrows, saying simply, "So I have to call James cousin now."

James, who had just come to deliver documents, was frightened. He grasped the folder in his hand in case he caused embarrassment.

"You two can flirt with each other, but don’t drag me in!" He thought.

"Mr. Anderson, these documents need your signing. Take your time, I will come back later!"

James finished his words without looking up and walked out in a rush after putting down the folder.

Hilla blinked at Bruce and said, "You are not a good boss. Your assistant is too afraid of you."

Bruce put his chicken wings into her lunch box and smiled. "Then why aren’t you afraid of me?"

"Why should I be afraid of you? You are not my boss. If you go bankrupt, I can turn to Halle. Maybe you have to rely on me then."

"She is so optimistic, naive but considerate. She would still care about him if he goes bankrupt. How should he thank her for being so sweet?" Bruce thought.

"The Anderson Group cannot go bankrupt, but you should worry about yourself now." Bruce chuckled, approaching her.

Hilla blinked, looked at him getting closer, and asked, "Why should I?"

He grinned playfully, and said, "Just you and I are here. Don’t you worry that I might want to make out with you now?"