Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Anastasia’s Rage “Get out of my face! I’m tired of looking at your face!” Anastasia pointed at the door and yelled at Hayley.

“What's wrong? The man didn’t please you well because he wasn’t strong and fit enough? You'd better treat me with some manners before everyone in the company knows about your dark secret. If word about it gets out, | wonder how you're going to move on in your career.”

Soon, Anastasia dialed the intercom and spoke to Grace. “Please come here.” As soon as her assistant arrived, Anastasia pointed at Hayley, who was sitting on the couch, and coldly said, “She is not my guest. Please see her out of this building.”

“Who says I’m not? | came here because | wanted to engage your service in jewelry designing.” Hayley folded her arms, acting haughtily. However, little did she know that the necklace she was wearing was beginning to catch Anastasia’s attention as the latter squinted and looked closer.

How come Hayley is wearing my masterpiece? Is the necklace really custom-made, or is it just a counterfeit that looks like a real one? “You'd better get out of my face before you piss me off.” Anastasia stood up, speaking impolitely to Hayley.

However, Hayley reacted with a darkened look on her face and gritted her teeth while opening the door. “I’m going to speak to your manager about your attitude and make sure you're fired from the office.”

Meanwhile, Grace was stunned when she saw that, initially thinking Hayley was indeed a guest, only to realize she was here to mess with Anastasia. As soon as Grace stepped out of the office, Grace anxiously urged her superior to do something. “She mustn't complain about you, Miss Tillman. Please stop her!”

On the verge of losing her temper, Anastasia opened her office door just before she was greeted by the sight of Hayley growling in the open workspace. “Tell your boss to see me. | want to complain about your designer, Anastasia! | engage her as a client, but she rudely turns me down and tells me to get out of her face.” At that moment, everyone else in the office only watched the lady’s madness in silence, as if they were enjoying a show.

Soon, Anastasia took a deep breath and walked closer to Hayley. “What do you want?”

“What do | want? | want you out of this company!” Hayley clenched her jaw and revealed her sinister nature.

Already consumed by her anger about the incident that happened five years ago, Anastasia eventually succumbed to her emotions. Her impulse prompted her to teach Hayley a lesson, even though that might cost her job. Before Hayley could react, Anastasia raised her hand up high in the air and swung it across the former’s face, giving her a big slap on the cheek.

“Ah...” Hayley shouted in pain, collapsing onto the ground. “I’m your client, Anastasia.”

At that instant, every bystander in the office took a deep breath in a worrying manner when they saw how Anastasia slapped her client. Has she lost her mind or something? Where did she get the guts to slap her client like that? Does her family own this company or something?

On the other hand, Anastasia fixed her gaze on the necklace around Hayley’s neck, finding it somewhat an eyesore. Therefore, she spared no thought about the necklace’s genuineness and went on to ruin Hayley’s fake acting by forcefully tearing it off her neck as soon as she crouched down.

“Ah!” Hayley screamed in fear. When Anastasia tried to pull the necklace away from her, Hayley, who was piqued by her outburst, quickly got a hold of her hand and refused to let her destroy it. This is my favorite necklace! It’s worth a few million, so no one can destroy it!

While the two ladies were fighting each other over the necklace, a man’s deep voice was heard in the elevator. “Stop, Anastasia!”

Anastasia looked up just when Hayley also heard the familiar voice. With her hand on her cheek, Hayley looked up in disbelief before she was stunned by who she saw. How come Elliot is here?

Seeing Anastasia’s firm grip on Hayley’s necklace, Elliot immediately grasped her wrist and pulled her up with a frown on his face that clearly suggested he was angry. “Are you done messing around here?”

As soon as Elliot finished his sentence, he walked closer to Hayley, who froze in fear because she didn’t expect him to show up there and had no idea that he knew Anastasia. Oh dear, I’m so screwed! Just when she thought her secret was going to be exposed, the man suddenly crouched down and asked with a tender voice, “Are you alright, Hayley?”

“Elliot, it hurts...” Hayley immediately put on a show, tears gushing out of her eyes like a waterfall in that instant. Then, she weakly leaned into Elliot's arms and pretended to cough, covering her neck with her palm like she had just been suffocated painfully.

In that instant, Anastasia was left with her eyes wide open, unable to believe that Hayley and Elliot knew each other. Why is Elliot treating her so gently? Who are they to each other? Unknown to Anastasia, every other bystander couldn't help but feel scared for her, thinking it would be the end of her career for slapping the boss’ lover.

On the other hand, Hayley was observing Anastasia and Elliot’s interaction under the guise of her tearful face, but as she continued to watch closely, she began to feel happier because she was sure that Anastasia had no idea she had spent the night with Elliot.

Therefore, she came to the conclusion that neither of them was aware that they had slept with each other that night, feeling grateful that luck was on her side. “Carry me, Elliot...” Hayley placed her arm around Elliot’s shoulders, pitifully begging him.

When the man noticed Hayley’s sorry state and her swollen cheek, he carried her in his arms and walked toward the elevator.

As soon as the elevator door closed, Anastasia was still caught in a trance. So, | can’t believe Hayley is able to become Elliot’s girlfriend after just five years.

“What are you waiting for, Anastasia? Pack your stuff and get out of here! | can’t believe you just got on the wrong side of President Presgrave’s lover, as if offending a client wasn’t bad enough. That's pretty gusty of you!” Alice came closer and mocked Anastasia, thinking the reward was hers to claim.

Meanwhile, Anastasia took a deep breath and decided to take some time to process the news, finding it too strange to believe that Hayley had become Elliot's lover. | don’t see how Hayley is attractive to an outstanding man like Elliot. The only explanation is that this man has gone blind. That must be the only answer to it. After all, he deserves someone else better than a wicked lady like Hayley. Anastasia returned to her office with puzzlement as she closed the door and disconnected herself from the rumors outside her office.

In the meantime, Elliot was sitting on the couch in his office while Hayley was wiping her tears with tissue paper and whining about what happened earlier that day. “Anastasia was my.... classmate. She and | have a bitter history, but | didn’t think she’d turn me down when | engaged her, let alone humiliate me. When | threatened to complain, she came at me and went physical, even strangling me with my necklace. Look at my neck. It’s all red now.”

Noticing the red mark around Hayley’s neck, Elliot could tell how hard Anastasia went physical with her and began to reframe the way he perceived Anastasia’s character.

“| sympathized with the loss of her mother at a young age and also understood that her father neglected her for most of the time during her childhood, but | didn’t know she would go so far as to hit me.” Hayley covered her face, shedding tears in silence.

“I'll take care of this matter.” Elliot comforted the lady. “I'll get someone to take you home.”

“How are you going to take care of this matter, Elliot? Are you going to lay her off?” Hayley looked at Elliot with her tearful face, trying to play on the man’s sympathy by showing her vulnerable side.

Soon, Elliot dialed the intercom and told his assistant to take Hayley back home. When she stood up from her seat, she seized Elliot's sleeve and urged him to take action against Anastasia. “Elliot, you mustn’t go easy on that lady. Someone with no manners like her is unfit to be your employee.”