Chapter 47


    “Oh, no, no. I’m just surprised. Thanks for telling me, Ms. Fisher. I’ll go back to my work.” When Natalie


    came to her senses, she smiled sheepishly and excused herself.


    Truth be told, she wasn’t happy per se. She just felt confused. In her eyes, the cooperation wasn’t that


    crucial, so why did Garrett need to interfere?


    Seeing that she was about to leave, Tiffany raised her eyebrows and seemed to have read her mind. “I


    didn’t think that Mr. Harding would get involved in this matter. You two seem to be… on good terms. Did


    you know him before you joined thepany?”


    So, it turned out that it wasn’t just Natalie who felt that something was off.


    “Oh, no. Actually, I’ve only met Mr. Harding twice.” Natalie shook her head and waved her hands


    dismissively.


    When she got back to her desk, she couldn’t seem to concentrate on her work.


    It was really unorthodox—unreasonable even—for a deputy CEO like Garrett to keep standing up for


    her.


    Things didn’t happen for no reason in this world.


    Could it be that Garrett was interested in her just like Ike?


    “Quinn, why the long face? Did Fisher give you an earful?” A colleague sitting next to Natalie poked her


    arm with a pen.


    “Huh? Oh, no. I just have a stomachache… Gerda, would you know if Mr. Harding has a girlfriend?”


    Natalie whispered in her colleague’s ear.


    Gerda knew everything that went on in thepany, since she was the most gossipy one and was


    always kept in the loop.


    “Well, I guess you could say that. Mr. Harding might be very good to us employees, but I can’t say I


    respect his private life. You know how rich men are with open rtionships. He probably has a


    girlfriend, but most likely has more than one. At least, that’s what those gossip magazines say,” Gerda


    whispered back, her eyes twinkling with interest. “Why? Do you have a crush on him? Oh, my dear, this


    kind of man doesn’t suit you.”


    “No! I mean, I was just curious. You’re overthinking.” Natalie adamantly shook her head. She was a


    married woman after all.


    She was just worried that she’d be sexually harassed again, like what had happened with Ike back


    then.


    After mulling it over, Natalie decided she needed to get to the bottom of this.


    If it turned out that Garrett liked her, she’d have no choice but to leave the Larson Group.


    After all, she couldn’t afford to offend someone as powerful as Garrett.


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    She plucked up the courage and sent him a private message through the work chat group.


    “Mr. Harding, are you free to talk? There was something I wanted to ask you.”


    “Of course. What is it, Quinn?” Garrett replied in a friendly tone.


    For some reason, Natalie got goose bumps when she read his reply. She quickly gathered her design


    drawings and went up to the thirty-first floor.


    From such a height, the scenery down was breathtaking. One could easily see the entirety of the city


    from the floor-to-ceiling windows. There were two meeting rooms and two offices on this floor. The door


    to thergest room was covered by a white curtain. A sign that said “Brandon Larson” in grand, gold


    lettering hung outside the door. As she walked past it, Natalie heard a faint, low voice from inside.


    Finally, she made it to Garrett’s door. She raised her hand and knocked politely.


    “Come in,” Garrett’s voice sounded promptly.


    “Good morning, Mr. Harding.”


    When Garrett saw here in, he immediately stood up and smiled. “Quinn! Wee. Come and take


    a seat. What can I do for you?”


    After a moment’s hesitation, Natalie sat down stiffly. “Mr. Harding, I heard that my design was re-


    adopted by the Color Company. Thank you for your help.”


    “No need to thank me. It was no big deal.” Garrett waved his hand dismissively then proceeded to pour


    piping hot tea into a cup.


    Unbeknownst to Natalie, it was her husband who pulled the strings. This matter actually had nothing to


    do with Garrett.


    “Hmm, there is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about…”


    “What’s up? You can talk to me about anything.” Seeing how uneasy she looked, Garrett tried to coax it


    out of her gently.


    Closing her eyes, Natalie plucked up her courage and finally blurted, “Mr. Harding, do you have a crush


    on me?”


    “What?” Garrett was scared out of his wits.


    His hands trembled, and the teacup fell to the floor. He sprang up from the sofa and peeked out of the


    room to see if Sebastian was outside.


    Then, he looked at Natalie and shook his head vehemently, “No, I absolutely do not have a crush on


    you. Don’t talk nonsense! I did everything for thepany. And for Mr. Larson!”


    “Well… Mr. Harding, it was just a casual question. I…” Startled by his reaction, Natalie quickly stood up


    too. “Are you okay, Mr. Harding?”


    Garrett quickly stepped back to keep a safe distance from her as if she were a dreadful monster. Sweat


    beaded his forehead.


    “I’m fine. Don’te near me. Stay away! Although only the two of us are in this room, there’s a third


    pair of eyes watching us.”


    With that, he opened the door and stormed out of the room. He didn’t dare to stay in the same room


    with Natalie anymore.


    Garrettpletely forgot that this was his own office.


    Natalie frowned, her eyes still fixed on the door, dumbfounded by his reaction.


    She had thought about it a lot beforeing here but didn’t expect Garrett would react this way.


    Even if her guess was wrong, he should have either yelled at her orughed at her for being stupid. But


    he was strangely scared, which seemed to confuse Natalie.


    ‘What did he mean? Is there something scary and horrible about me?’


    she wondered, rubbing her hair. Not knowing what else to do, Natalie let out a weary sigh and walked


    out of the office in confusion.


    She couldn’t understand what was going on.


    After Garrett left his office, he rushed out to see Sebastian.


    “Did shee to your office? I thought I heard her voice now.” Sebastian asked in his usual maic


    voice. The sunlight cast a soft glow on his body, outlining his features. His face looked stern.


    Garrett looked at Sebastian, who was wearing a suit, leaning against the ck leather sofa, reading the


    documents. A shiver ran down his spine.


    “Buddy, I have to tell you something.”


    Sebastian was aware of everything happening in thepany. Therefore, Garrett felt he’d rather tell


    the truth before he found out himself.


    Garrett took off his sses and rubbed his eyebrows, choosing his words.


    Sebastian stopped reading, and his sharp gaze fell on Garrett. “Well?”


    “Your wife just came in and asked me if I had a crush on her,” Garrett hissed through his teeth,


    clenching his fists as if someone was going to kill him.


    Sebastian’s face darkened in an instant. He leaned against the sofa and studied Garrett’s face. “What


    did you do to her?”