Chapter 8

On the way to the office, Brielle clenched her jaw in frustration.

One reason was the throbbing pain in her cheek, and the other was the aches all over her body from spending the night sprawled across the desk.

Upon seeing her arrive, Lucinda hurriedly handed over a stack of documents, “Brielle, the director sent back your report last night, and now Integral Elements Inc. has been hounding us for the bid proposal.

If we don’t get it to them by nine tomorrow morning, it’ll be seen as a forfeit.”

Lucinda’s tone was laden with reproach as she spoke. Previously, Spencer never meddled in these affairs, so the approval of the reports was solely on Brielle’s shoulders.

However, because of the slap last night, Spencer let personal grievances creep in and deliberately rejected the report. The report concerned the acquisition of Integral Elements Inc., and Brielle had already met with the head of Integral Elements Inc. Failing to submit the bid proposal at this critical juncture would tarnish not only Dorsey International’s reputation but also her own.

Grinding her teeth, Brielle dialed Spencer’s number, only to be greeted by a familiar female voice.

“He’s in the shower.”

It was Lillian’s voice.

Brielle took a deep breath, “I don’t care what he’s doing right now; if he’s not at the office within half an hour, I’m taking this report straight to the top floor.”

Lillian was clueless about these matters. She had deliberately not told Spencer about her visit to the Haywood family last night, and when Spencer returned to the villa and found her gone, he indeed made trouble for Brielle.

Lillian’s lips curled into a smirk, “Half an hour, huh? Guess you’ll be waiting then.”

The call ended abruptly, and Brielle set a thirty-minute countdown on her watch.

Lucinda had overheard the conversation, especially the suggestive mention of the shower. Her gaze shifted from sympathy to disdain and finally settled into a sneer. “Brielle, we don’t mean to rush you, but procuring Integral Elements Inc. is a short-term goal for our department. If this gets delayed because of your personal issues, all our hard work goes down the drain.”

The blame should have fallen on Spencer, but being a Dorsey, no one dared challenge him. So, to everyone else, Brielle, perceived as a woman of no significant background and scorned by Spencer as his fiancée, naturally became the scapegoat.

Now, with Max himself at the helm of Dorsey International, the slightest disturbance 1604 caught his attention, and indeed, the whole department suffered the consequences.

Ignoring the stares around her, Brielle sat down and waited for Spencer’s call. In less than ten minutes, Spencer did call back.

“Brielle, I’m not satisfied with your report on Integral Elements Inc., so I’ve decided to have Lucinda take over your duties.”

Spencer might have been cavalier about the company, but his status afforded him veto power over anyone in the department.

“Spencer, keep personal grudges personal. What’s the point of dragging the company into this? We’ve dispatched so many people to Integral Elements Inc., invested so much time. and resources.”

“This is your problem, Brielle.” Spencer’s tone was dismissive and even a bit nasty, “You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.”

Taking a deep breath, Brielle grabbed the report from her desk and headed straight to the executive floor. Her colleagues were surprised by her bold move, and their eyes betrayed a hint of mockery.

Patrick didn’t show any surprise when he saw her coming, “Ms. Brielle, the president is in a meeting.”

Brielle decided to wait right there. Integral Elements Inc. was pressing hard, and Spencer couldn’t care less about the success of the bid “The president’s meeting will go on until 3 p.m., followed by an international video conference until 7 p.m. At 7:30, he’ll depart for a charity gala, and won’t return home until 9.”

Patrick flipped through the schedule, his tone diligent and committed. Finally, pushing his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose, he concluded, “The president will be available after 9 p.m.”

Though his words held no hidden meaning, Brielle still felt a subtle hint of intimacy in them, which made her cheeks warm.

“May I have a way to contact him directly?” The Integral Elements Inc. matter had to be discussed with Max personally.

“Sorry, without the president’s permission, I can’t make that decision.”

With that, all of Brielle’s hopes were extinguished. She inwardly mocked herself for a moment. To this assistant named Patrick, she was no different than anyone else. In his eyes, Brielle was just the same as all the others. Coming to the executive floor in was already overstepping her bounds..

person So what if she was an employee of Dorsey International? Unless she was part of the management, meeting Max required an appointment.

A small company like Integral Elements Inc. didn’t even reach the financial threshold to request the upper management’s attention for the acquisition.

Her decision to seek Max out with the report was nothing short of ludicrous. Realizing this, Brielle finally saw her place clearly.

She was nothing more than a bed partner for Max, disposable at his whim. The talk of protection was nothing more than pillow talk.

Recalling the pathetic complaint letter she had sent the night before, she felt a wave of shame wash over her. Brielle slid the report back into her bag, nodded politely, and stepped into the elevator.