CHAPTER 174: DESERVE THE REJECTION.

Immediately after Aubrey shut the office door, her gaze landed on Charles, who stood just beside it, his brows slightly arched in curiosity.

"Pfft!" she scoffed, her lips curled in disdain. "You disgust me," she seethed.

Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heels and stormed off down the hallway.

A few employees still lingered in the hallway, their curiosity refusing to let them return to work. They had stayed back, hoping to catch even the slightest hint of what had transpired between Aubrey and the CEO.

As soon as they spotted Aubrey storming toward them, her booth clicking furiously against the tiled floor, they quickly parted, forming a narrow path for her to walk through.

Aubrey didn’t spare them a glance. Her jaw was clenched, her grip on her handbag tight enough to bruise, and her entire body radiated simmering rage.

"What does that spoilt brat always want from CEO Augustine?" one employee whispered.

"The fuck you asking me for?" another scoffed. "Go ask her yourself."

"Come on, it’s obvious," someone else said, rolling their eyes. "She wants the CEO to fall for her."

"I don’t care how cold CEO Augustine can be," another chimed in, "the only cruelty I support is how he treats Aubrey."

"Same here," one of them agreed with a smirk.

"Think she got rejected again?"

"It’s damn obvious," a voice muttered. "Aubrey deserves every bit of rejection that comes her way."

The voices of the employees lingered in the hallway as they gossiped about what had just happened between CEO Augustine and Aubrey.

Charles let out a quiet sigh.

’If I go back into the office and stay too long, Augustine’s staff might start getting curious... and assume something else entirely,’ he thought to himself, eyes narrowing slightly as he glanced at the door.

He was well aware that the workers of Gyapm Corporation were quick to jump to conclusions, and the last thing Charles wanted was for them to start spinning stories about him and Augustine.

’Besides, since Augustine is still in the closet, I won’t pressure him to come out when he’s not ready,’ Charles thought, swallowing a mouthful of saliva as he cast one more glance toward the office door.

With a sigh, Charles turned around and made his way back to the company lobby.

Once there, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and quickly typed a message to Augustine.

’Babe, I’m going to give you some time to cool off. It seems like you and Aubrey had a huge argument.’

Without rereading the text, he hit send.

"Check my backpack. You’ll find a food flask inside—make sure you eat, okay? I have this strong feeling you didn’t touch a thing last night."

Charles hit send without a second thought.

Now standing idle in the company lobby, he brought his thumb to his lips, teeth sinking into the nail as his eyes darted toward the elevator doors, waiting for a reply from Augustine.

He hated not knowing how Augustine was feeling after the discussion he had with Aubrey.

Sigh

All Charles could do was wait... and hope for a reply.

After a few silent seconds of waiting, Charles couldn’t take it anymore—he opened his messaging app again and began typing:

"I love you, okay? So whatever it is you’re going through... just know I’m right here, willing to help however I can."

Charles thumb hovered over the send button.

His heart thudded in hesitation.

’What if Augustine wasn’t in the right headspace? What if the message only made things worse?’

His finger lingered... trembling ever so slightly... as he debated whether to hit send or swipe it all away.

The more Charles contemplated, the harder he bit onto his thumb, his nerves eating at him from the inside out.

"Holla!"

A sharp voice cut through the tension, jolting Charles back to reality.

Before he could turn around, someone leapt onto his back with surprising energy, arms wrapping tightly around his neck from behind.

"Guess who, sugar lips?" the voice teased, breath warm against his ear.

Charles’s shoulders dropped in relief as he recognized the unmistakable tone.

"Gush! Are you always this happy to see me?" Charles purred with a playful tone, trying to wriggle free from Freda’s grip.

Freda giggled, nodding eagerly before finally letting go of his neck.

Freed at last, Charles spun around to face Freda, arching a brow. "You do know you nearly cracked my spine, right?"

Freda flashed a mischievous grin. "Please, if I wanted to break something, I’d aim for your pride, not your back."

"Geez!" Charles purred playfully.

Freda’s eyes were lit up in excitement as she beamed from ear to ear.

"Why are you so happy? Did something good happen?" Charles questioned, tilting his brows upwards.

He could recall that Secretary Reginald had mentioned he was going on a date with Freda the previous day.

"Charles!" Freda purred in a low, excited voice, rising on her toes as she leaned in, her lips brushing close to his ear. "My man is healed—and he’s in his office right now," she whispered, then squealed, biting her upper lip with giddy delight as she lowered herself back down.

Unable to contain her excitement, Freda shuffled her feet against the floor.

"Oh my gosh, Freda!" Charles mumbled, lifting his hands to massage his temples. "You’re unbelievable. Gosh!" he added, shaking his head from side to side.

"Hahaha!" Freda laughed, throwing her head back with glee. "I need to get myself ready so I can go visit my crush," she purred, winking playfully at Charles.

Freda averted her to her handbag which she swiftly unzipped.

Without hesitation, she pulled out a red lip gloss and a small pocket mirror, flipping it open with practiced ease.

Staring into her reflection, she began to glide the gloss over her lips with slow, deliberate strokes.

Meanwhile, Charles turned on his phone screen and finally sent the text message he had been contemplating about... whether he should send it to Augustine or not.

With practiced ease, Charles began typing another message to Augustine—this time, about Freda intention but all of a suddenly... Freda hand shot out and snatched the phone from Charles grip.

"Give me that," she teased, her voice laced with mischief.

"What the hell, Freda?!" Charles barked, louder than he intended.

His outburst echoed through the company lobby, drawing every curious gaze in the vicinity as silence swept over the space like a wave.