"Yes. She joined recently as a project lead," Lorie answered with a bitter edge in her voice. "Her na is Anne Clair. Unfortunately, she was adopted into my family. So, I know all her tricks. She pretends to be decent, but she is manipulative. She already has a sugar daddy, but that didn’t stop her from trying to flirt with the boss. You should keep an eye on her—won like that can be dangerous."
’Anne Clair,’ gan repeated the na under her breath, her jaw tightening. ’So this was the woman trying to worm her way into Augustine’s life.’ Her features darkened.
"Soone uploaded a picture of her with what people are calling her sugar daddy on the company portal," Lorie said in a hushed, gossipy tone. "The rumor going around is that she seduced soone in upper managent to land the job. Everyone is talking about it. She is so shaless. And that’s not the only thing—she was blatantly flirting with a male colleague too. I saw it myself. It’s so embarrassing to admit she is my stepsister."
gan grimaced in disdain, already starting to hate Anne. "Thanks for the tip, Lorie," she said coldly. "Keep feeding updates about her. Do that well, and I’ll make sure you’re rewarded."
With that, gan strode toward Augustine’s office.
"Wait a mont," Lorie said, stopping her gently. "Sir isn’t in yet. He has been at the Sphere Group’s branch office since this morning. I’ll let you know once he returns."
"Oh, I see," gan replied, her expression shifting into sothing more contemplative.
She wouldn’t have entertained the idea of marrying Augustine if it weren’t for his ties to the Sphere Group. While she was overseas, she had developed a quiet infatuation with the elusive president, Mr. Benett — a man she had glimpsed once at a party but never had the chance to speak to and get to know him. That brief mont had been enough to spark a fascination that lingered.
When her father ntioned Augustine’s na in the context of marriage, gan saw it as a possible bridge to Mr. Benett.
"Alright then," she said with a sly smile. "Call when he is back." She turned and walked away.
Lorie stood with a satisfied smirk. "Anne, your days here are numbered. It won’t be long before I disgrace you so thoroughly, you’ll have no choice but to quit and walk away from this company yourself."
~~~~~~~~
As Augustine stepped out of the conference hall, Gustave approached him swiftly with a serious look on his face, leaning in to whisper sothing discreetly. In an instant, Augustine’s deanor shifted — his brows drew together, and his jaw tightened.
"What the hell is this nonsense?" he growled, eyes narrowing at Gustave. "Who had the audacity to pull sothing like that?"
"The posts have already been removed," Gustave said quickly. "I’ve instructed the IT departnt to trace the source. We should have an answer soon. But the damage is done — the rumors are everywhere. It’s hurting Madam’s image, and if it escalates any further, it could jeopardize her position as project lead."
Augustine ground his teeth, his tone cutting. "I don’t care what it takes — track down who is behind this. Now."
He strode down the hallway, pulling out his phone and quickly dialing Anne’s number. The line rang twice before her voice ca through, light and teasing despite the storm brewing at the office.
"Calling before lunch? Soone seems to be really free," she joked, a smile evident in her tone.
"I heard about the rumors," Augustine said gravely. "Don’t worry—I’m handling it."
Anne let out a low chuckle. "I’m not worried. I know you’ve got my back. Let them talk—I don’t care. I’ve done nothing wrong."
Her strength made his heart ease just a little, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. But still, the idea of anyone dragging her na through the mud made his blood boil.
"I’ve got a bit more to take care of here. I’ll call you later."
"Wait," Anne said quickly, stopping him from ending the call. "Let’s skip lunch together today. With all that is going around, it might not be wise to be seen out together."
His smile vanished. "Don’t give a damn about the gossip. No one can tell us what to do. Let them try. I’ll see who has the guts to cross ."
"I know," she said gently, "but until we make our relationship official, I’d prefer to keep a low profile."
"Anne..." he started, ready to argue.
"I know who is behind this," she cut in. "She has co out in the open now. Just give a few days—I’ll handle her myself. Please..."
The playful softness in her voice lted his resistance. With a frustrated sigh, he gave in. "Fine. We’ll lay low for now. But don’t expect to let this slide. Whoever did this will regret it."
"I won’t stop you," Anne said with a hint of mischief. Then her tone shifted. "By the way, have you checked the report?"
"Report?" Augustine echoed, brows pulling together. He had no recollection of assigning anything to Anne.
"Your brilliant secretary ca to yesterday," Anne said dryly, "and asked for help preparing a report on current project expenses. I took care of it. Didn’t she hand it over to you?"
That jogged his mory. He had delegated that task to Lorie, intending to review it later, but he didn’t get the ti to check it. Hearing that Lorie had taken Anne’s help to prepare the report, he seethed.
"That useless woman went to you for help? Unbelievable." The very thought was irritating. "I swear, I’m throwing her out of the office. But why would you help her? That wasn’t your responsibility."
"I didn’t do it for her," Anne replied coolly. "I did it for you. I thought it might be important."
The furrow in Augustine’s brow faded as her words sank in. A soft, stunned expression overtook his features, his heart swelling with sothing tender. "You did that... for ?"
"Or else?" Anne said with a small scoff. "Lorie couldn’t dream of getting my help otherwise."
A grin spread across his face. "Since you’ve helped ," he said with playful satisfaction, "you deserve a reward. Tonight..."
Anne’s cheeks turned crimson as her thoughts drifted to the night before. The warmth of mory crept up her neck, and she instinctively bit her lip.
"What exactly are you planning to do tonight?" she asked, her voice dropping to a sultry whisper.
Augustine’s heart skipped, a spark of desire flickering within him. "Don’t whisper like that," he warned, his tone rough and smoldering. "You have no idea what that does to ."
Flustered, Anne quickly glanced around to make sure no one had overheard. "I’ll wait for you at ho," she whispered again, then ended the call with a nervous flutter in her chest.
Augustine groaned as he felt the tightness in his crotch. "Damn it, Anne." He shifted uncomfortably, cursing her ability to rile him up with just a few words, his mind now completely hijacked by her.
"Sir," Gustave’s voice cut through the air, snapping Augustine out of his heated thoughts like a douse of icy water.
Augustine turned to face him slowly, his expression darkening into a cold, withering glare.
Gustave held up his phone, his tone serious. "We’ve identified the person who uploaded the photo. It was Miss Lorie—your secretary."
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