Chapter 31
Bailey''s lips twitched at Jessica''s outburst. She sighed andmented, “Ms. Tanner is Eve Lussohn''s
student, so she is perfectly qualified for the task. Why did you all have to drag me into this?”
Bailey''s lips twitched at Jessica''s outburst. She sighed andmented, “Ms. Tanner is Eve Lussohn''s
student, so she is perfectly qualified for the task. Why did you all have to drag me into this?”
Stephen smiled lightly and replied, “This is a great opportunity for you, Ms. Jefferson. As you know, Ms.
Caridee is one of the Ten Acimed Socialites. If you produce a design to her satisfaction, you''ll
cement a career in this industry.”
Bailey scoffed in response.
She had her reasons for not caring for the opportunity.
Nheless, she replied half-heartedly to Stephen, “Fine. I''ll try my best. If there''s nothing else, I''m
heading out.”
Stephen waved the phone in his hand at her and smiled. “Victoria texted me earlier, instructing me to
personally escort you to the HR department after our conversation.”
Dread filled Bailey''s soul. She could guess why Victoria was looking for her.
Bailey exined, “That, erm, nothing happened between Mr. Luther and me when I went to the CEO''s
office the other day. I swear. It''s just a misunderstanding.”
“Your good friend Victoria is the one who has the misunderstanding.”
After leaving the director''s office in the design department, Bailey turned down Stephen''s offer to
apany her and headed to the HR department alone.
She walked past a few female employees gossiping in the pantry.
“Did you all hear? The designer sent from the Archulean branch to challenge Ms. Tanner is the heiress
of the Jefferson family, Ms. Bailey. Sound familiar? She''s the future Mrs. Luther''s older sister.”
“Heiress? Please! How can she be considered an heiress? Mr. Jefferson kicked her out of the family
ages ago for her sordid character. I have no idea how she caught Mr. Rhoudin''s eye, and I can''t believe
she''s shameless enough to challenge Ms. Tanner. What a joke!”
“Maybe she climbed into Mr. Rhoudin''s bed to snag herself such a precious opportunity. I mean, didn''t
she do something simr to gain five million seven years ago?”
“Oh, you have a point. She must be skilled at seducing and pleasuring men. Her ybook must be
pretty extensive.”
“Haha!”
The female employees'' sneers echoed in the cramped pantry.
“You all seem pretty free.”
A cold and stern reprimand suddenly cut through theirughter, startling the female employees into
silence.
Meanwhile, Bailey frowned at the interruption. She was enjoying her eavesdropping until Victoria
showed up and abruptly cut the session short.
She turned and immediately spotted Victoriaing toward her, Artemis by her side.
Bailey found herself pitying the gossiping employees in the pantry.
Talking about me behind my back will hardly scathe me. The only goal they''ll achieve is to attract
trouble for themselves. Why subject themselves to such a disadvantageous activity?
When Victoria arrived at Bailey''s side, she grabbed her friend''s elbow and chided, “What''s wrong with
you, woman? Why are you still leisurely eavesdropping on them when they''re b*tching about you? Are
you truly so unbothered by theirments, or is there a screw loose in your brain?”
Bailey smiled at Victoria and pinched thetter''s cheek, cajoling, “Aww, don''t get upset. Women get
wrinkles easily if they get angry. Plus, they''re merely discussing the truth. How can I refute their
ims?”
Scoffing, Victoria stared daggers at the pantry and shouted, “Is Luther Group paying you all tens of
thousands a month so you can gossip in the office? Pack up your things and get yourst paycheck
from the finance department. You''re all fired.”
The three female employees in the pantry nched.
Luther Group was the onlypany in Hallsbay that paid its employees a handsome five-figure
monthly sry. They had exhausted all their means to secure a position in thepany and were the
envy of their friends and families. If they were sacked, what otherpany in Hallsbay would pay them
an annual sry in the millions?
“M-Ms. Saunders, we were wrong. We shouldn''t have gossiped about malicious rumors. I hope you can
forgive us on ount of this being our first offense.”
“Yeah. We didn''t cause any real harm. There''s also the aspect of freedom of speech. You can''t fire us
for expressing our opinions.”
“We signed properbor contracts when we joined thepany. If thepany uwfully terminates
its employee''sbor contract over minor offenses, it is obligated to pay its employee three times the
penalty stipted in the contract.”
“Are you doubting Luther Group''s abilities to fork out the penalty?” Artemis finally spoke, his deep and
slow timber concealing his emotions.
Nheless, even if he did not seem enraged, his word choices clearly conveyed his displeasure.
“M-Mr. Luther...”
The female employees stuttered fearfully, their faces ashen.
Artemis nced coldly at the group before pointing at Bailey and instructing, “Apologize to her.”
The employees immediately stared at Bailey. Their profuse apologies resounded in the small pantry.
Bailey shot Artemis a nce and realized his dark eyes were staring intently at her.
Metaphorical sparks flew when their gazes met.
Holding her gaze, Artemis dered, “Victoria, call the Ministry of Labor. Have these people''s names
ced on the employment cklist.”
The apologies cut off abruptly as the female employees copsed on the ground, shellshocked.
Being ced on the employment cklist meant no properpany would hire them again.
Artemis was effectively cutting off their means of finding employment in Hallsbay.
Victoria was stunned by his order, though her gaze quickly turned thoughtful.
Artemis was harsh, but he hardly drove people into a corner.
Upper management employees hadmitted far more severe offenses in the past, yet Artemis had
not put their names on the employment cklist. In the most extreme cases, he fired the employees
and forbadepanies under Luther Group''s umbre from hiring the offender again.
Is he acting out of character for Bay? Has he really fallen for her?
Victoria shook herself out of her thoughts and turned to one of her subordinates. “Zoe, I''ll leave the rest
to you. After that, I want you to gather all the managers and supervisors in the HR department for a two
o''clock meeting. No one is allowed to skip the meeting.”
“Yes, Ms. Saunders.”
N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.
Then, Victoria cleared her throat and addressed Artemis, “I''ll send you to the lift lobby, Mr. Luther.”
Artemis ignored her offer and dragged Bailey by the elbow to a nearby office.
“Hey, Mr. Luther!” Victoria instinctively reached out to stop him, only to make contact with air.
All the employees in the nearby office were promptly ordered out of the room by Artemis.
One of the more gutsy employees asked, “What''s Mr. Luther doing, Vic?”
Victoria stared daggers at the employee and warned, “If someone leaks news of this incident to the rest
of thepany, all of you can pack your bags and scram. Understood?”
Meanwhile, Bailey shrugged free of Artemis'' grasp in the office.
“What''s the meaning of this, Mr. Luther?”
Gone was Artemis'' cool and collected demeanor earlier. Instead, his handsome features were tinged
with fury.
He retorted furiously, “What happened to your feisty attitude? Why didn''t you defend yourself against
their malicious usations?”
Bailey stared at him speechlessly.
Is he feeling upset on my behalf? Why is he doing that? Our rtionship is purely professional; he has
no right to dictate orment on my personal life.
With that thought in mind, Bailey fired back, “Why should I? They were only telling the truth.”
Artemis'' gaze chilled instantly as he questioned, “So it''s also true that you crawled into Xavier''s bed?”