Chapter 16

Chapter 16:.

When everyone in the project department finished their toast, Elena turned to RK with a forced smile. “Mr. RK, we are all making fools of ourselves.

Please don’t take it seriously.” But who was RK? He didn’t need to say; he never cared about people who weren’t important to him.

As Elena spoke, he didn’t even look in her direction, as if she wasn’t talking to him at all. Knowing his nature, Elena quickly added, “So, Mr. RK, we’ll say goodbye now...”.

With that, he led the group of more than twenty people toward the exit. Stella, not wanting to be left behind, hurried after them.

But as she took a step forward, concentrating on the road ahead, she didn’t notice the foot that suddenly appeared in her path.

He tripped over it and stumbled forward. While trying to regain her balance, she accidentally stepped on someone’s long skirt.

Because of the skirt, she was unable to stabilize herself. First she was caught by a foot and then stepped on someone else’s foot.

Stella had the feeling that all the bad luck in the world was bearing down on her.... She closed her eyes and braced for impact, ready to fall and make a fool of herself. But the pain never came.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, she opened her eyes, only to find that a strong arm was holding her around the waist, preventing her from falling.

His grip was so strong that he had lifted her up with one hand and returned her to her original place. Stella stood there, feeling a wave of shame wash over her.

He looked at the man’s hand at his waist.

His fingers were long and his hand clear, clearly showing his defined joints. The strength of his hand was just right, not too strong, but not too light either. She could feel the warmth radiating from his palm.

Being held by him so did Stella numb feeling, and she did not dare to move. Her eyes fell on his hand on her waist.

For he had just pulled her back, her back pressed against his chest. They were closer than before...

필ØЯE 핌PĐΛTΞŞ IИ GΛŁИØVΞŁŞ.ᑕØᗰ Stella looked up, but because of the height difference between them, she could only see his Adam’s apple. The movement of his throat, the familiar scent of his cologne and the warmth of his touch made everything so familiar....

Her heart began to race. For a moment, he just wanted to stay like this and didn’t want to leave him....

“Stella, are you okay?”

Sophia’s voice broke into his thoughts.

At that moment, he turned Stella on her side and pulled her waist away from him, making the warmth of his hand disappear.

Sophia looked at her and asked, “Are you hurt? How did you almost fall? Are you not feeling well? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

Right now, he was behaving the opposite of how he had acted when he met Stella at the entrance to the banquet.

Stella had long since gotten used to her two-faced behavior anyway. Six years ago, Sophia was always like that, acting like the more affectionate sister in front of RK.

Stella was in no mood to watch Sophia’s performance. She pulled her hand away from her, her face turned cold. She turned around and said, “Thank you very much, Mr. RK.” His tone was cold and distant.

Once this was done, he turned to leave.

But as he took a step, he stopped and looked at Sophia’s foot. Then he thought of something...

If she wasn’t mistaken, the person blocking her way was also wearing the same red heels, wasn’t she?

A smirk curved his lips. What a perfect unmarried couple.... One of them cheating on her and wanting her to fall, while the other was helping her.

She really couldn’t understand them... And frankly, she didn’t want to. What they did or didn’t do had nothing to do with her anymore.

Stella quickly returned to her seat.

When she returned, everyone was looking at her.

Lilly was the first to speak. “Stella, do you know Mr. RK?”

Lilly had already been Emily’s friend. She was always like that: simple-minded and said what she wanted without overthinking or considering the occasion.

“Mr. RK stood up when you toasted him earlier. He also helped you when you almost fell down. Not only that, when Miss Elena asked you to finish your drink, he was concerned about your health and told you not to drink too much.

Tell me, do you know Mr. RK?”.

Before Stella could respond, someone intervened from the side.

“Why, Lilly, you’re too young to understand. It’s nothing more than a hard-to-get trick to get the boss’s attention,” sneered a woman in a bright red dress and lots of makeup. “Look at the banquet room.

The floor is flat and she’s wearing flat shoes – how could anyone fall off? But she did... That just means she did it on purpose....”.

“Yes, you’re right. RK only cares about his employees. Didn’t you hear him say he didn’t have to drink because he still has to work tomorrow? It’s just that some people are shameless and think too much of themselves.”

For a moment, the table was filled with murmurs and everyone cast unfriendly glances at Stella. Sometimes women were like that. When they saw their boss being nice to an employee, they all said it was the employee’s fault.

Stella had no interest in explaining herself. She knew that no matter what she said, no one would believe that Sophia had tripped her.

She put down the spoon, ready to leave, but before she could do so, Elena, who had been sitting quietly beside her, took the floor.

“Shut up! Aren’t you all embarrassed enough in front of the boss, and you still want to cause trouble?”

When he spoke, all the diners were startled into silence, not daring to open their mouths.

Pushing his glasses up his nose, he continued, “What did I tell you before you joined this company – have you forgotten already?”

His voice was cold as he added, “Let me remind you that this is about unity. I don’t care what relationship Stella does or doesn’t have with the boss.

Or whether she knows him or not. What I care about is the image of our team in the company. I will not tolerate any behavior that damages the reputation of our department.Do you understand?”

Although Elena was strict and curt when dealing with things, at least she was fair. She didn’t have thoughts like others slandering Stella. Maybe that was the reason she was able to become an executive in the company.

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