CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 86: THE LITTLE CAT AT HOME FLARED UP

He actually made so many calls.

Thinking of what he just said, Poppy’s mind was a bit scattered.

What does it mean that what Mason Rivers said isn’t true?

What did Mason Rivers say?

Trying to sort out logic with a drunk person is the most illogical thing to do.

Poppy was just about to put down her phone and try to take a nap.

The phone rang again.

It was still Declan Hawthorne.

She tapped to answer.

On the other end, his voice sounded even more unstable than before.

"Five minutes, don’t hang up."

She had agreed during the day.

Just five minutes, not too long.

The breathing on the other end grew heavier, inexplicably making Poppy’s ears warm.

She originally thought that in five minutes, he wouldn’t have much to say.

Unexpectedly, he didn’t need to speak; just the silence made Poppy feel her phone heating up, wanting to throw it away.

The images from earlier were still vivid in her mind, impossible to erase.

Whatever he was doing now, it seemed there was no need to guess.

When choosing voice actors for a game, Amber Yates said if Declan Hawthorne followed the male lead’s script and just panted a bit, it would be incredibly sexy.

In the plot, the game male protagonist talks to a photo of the player.

The voice actors usually go for a run or exercise to create the atmosphere.

But it’s different from the real thing.

Poppy’s ears tingled.

She wanted to hang up.

When the five minutes were up, Declan Hawthorne said he was done.

Poppy quickly hung up the call and threw her phone aside.

She turned her head and buried her face in the pillow.

Suffocate her, might as well.

That way, her head wouldn’t be filled with Declan’s voice from earlier, making her heart feel so chaotic.

She was a bit angry too.

He drinks too much and then comes to bother her.

He probably guessed he’d use it in this situation when he made her promise not to hang up the phone.

Poppy gritted her teeth in anger.

She got up, found her phone at the foot of the bed, and sent a message to the man’s WeChat.

Then she immediately blocked him.

Putting the phone aside, she closed her eyes to sleep.

In the room next door.

Declan Hawthorne came out of the shower, mostly sober now.

Although he drank a bit too much, he wasn’t actually drunk and his mind was becoming clearer.

Wiping the water droplets from his hair with a towel, Declan looked at the message on his phone.

Poppy: "You scoundrel, dirty pervert."

With a gentle tap, Declan sent the message out.

A red exclamation mark appeared.

Outside the window, the morning light was faint, the thin sunlight piercing through the clouds.

Standing by the desk, Declan looked at his phone and let out a small laugh.

He had said it.

Men are all scoundrels.

-

It’s morning, and the building is crowded with people waiting for the elevator.

To go up, you have to wait ages for the elevator.

Poppy and Amber Yates ran into each other downstairs, both waiting for the elevator.

There’s an express elevator for higher floors that you don’t have to wait for.

Usually, when they meet Morgan Sloan or some other friendly company executives, they’d join in.

But at this moment, the man’s face inside the elevator looked unfriendly, scaring the employees off from approaching to ask for a squeeze.

No one dared to take the elevator with Declan Hawthorne.

Declan’s gaze fell on Poppy’s face across the crowd.

It’s still summer, just the beginning of autumn, and she wore a sleeveless shirt dress, with buttons fastened up to the second top one.

Her hair was let down, smoothly hanging by her sides.

As if she were hiding some marks.

Declan subtly glanced at Morgan Sloan beside him.

The Chief Eunuch immediately got the hint, smiling and waving, "Young Hale, Amber, come over here, let’s go up together."

He also called out to a few familiar colleagues.

Amber immediately pulled Poppy into the elevator.

This elevator wasn’t crowded, no waiting needed; anyone not getting in would be a fool.

Poppy braced herself and entered the elevator.

Standing behind Declan, she greeted him along with Amber.

The man nodded graciously, "Hmm."

He showed no intention to engage in more conversation with them.

Poppy breathed a sigh of relief.

Amber was lively by nature, came from a good family, and had a great relationship with her husband. The hardest ordeal in her life was the improper operation on the day of her C-section, the pain from the catheter insertion gnashing her teeth.

She wasn’t particularly scheming.

Seeing Declan, she expressed concern, "President Hawthorne, what happened to your neck?"

Looking at it, why was there a scratch?

Declan glanced at the mirror in the elevator.

By slightly tilting his head, he could see a shallow scratch on his neck, left from when she pushed him and struggled last night.

Poppy saw it too.

Last night, she couldn’t see anything, not knowing she scratched his neck.

Now that she saw it, Poppy felt a bit guilty.

Declan lowered his eyes, casually saying, "The cat at home got worked up and scratched me accidentally."

His tone was ambiguous, intimate, yet seemingly unconcerned.

Amber thought he really kept a cat.

"What breed? I never figured you liked cats, President Hawthorne!"

Declan slightly curved his lips, "An Arvum local cat."

Amber also had cats at home and knew a lot from being a cat owner.

"When did you start keeping it? Local cats are the best, clingy yet lively."

Declan actually started chatting with her about it.

"It’s been a few years. Used to, not anymore."

Amber nodded in agreement.

"Cats are like that, clingy when they’re little but aloof when they grow up. My cat’s the same, but it’s fine, I just insist on loving it!"

Saying this, Amber looked at Declan with an understanding expression.

"President Hawthorne must have been trying to cuddle the cat and got scratched, right?"

Declan’s tone was full of unstoppable teasing.

"Yes, that’s right."

Poppy wished she could vanish right now and disappear from this elevator.

The elevator quickly reached the marketing department’s floor.

Poppy tugged Amber to get off immediately.

Morgan called out to Poppy.

"There’s a new colleague joining the marketing department today, Young Hale, you take care of them first."

In a big company, it’s normal for employees to come and go.

Poppy agreed, and Amber got off the elevator first.

Other colleagues had already exited as well.

Now only Poppy and Declan were left in the elevator, along with the blind and oblivious Morgan.

The man reached out and pinched the back of Poppy’s neck briefly before letting go.

Nothing happened.

The action was like grabbing the scruff of a cat’s neck.

Poppy tried to glare back, but the elevator doors were already closing slowly.

Morgan stood by pretending to be dead.

Oh heavens.

Good thing he doubted President Hawthorne’s story about the cat, otherwise, he’d recommend a neuter package for it.

Unexpectedly, Young Hale turned out to have quite a temper.

Morgan cleared his throat, internally giving Poppy a thumbs-up.

-

The new colleague in the marketing department sat diagonally across from Poppy.

Beside Janine.

Someone in Poppy’s group left the company, and the newcomer filled the vacancy, becoming part of Poppy’s team.

Introducing the job to her, Poppy found the new colleague somewhat familiar.

She looked several times, which Janine noticed.

The new colleague was named Mia Quinn.

Mia Quinn also happened to look at Poppy, meeting her gaze with a gentle smile.

"Poppy, do you remember me?"