Chapter 107 I Will Not Give Her Another Chance


    After Cassandra left his office, Rufus called Victor through thepany phone.


    "Victor, collect handwriting samples of all our employees and send the files to Manager Qin.


    Remember, Joel''s handwriting is to be ced at an easily noticeable ce,"


    Rufus instructed.


    "Yes, Mr. Luo. I''ll do it now," Victor replied.


    Just as he was on his way to the archives room, he came across Ste who was scuttling her way as


    fast as her high-heels could take her.


    With a worried look, she said hurriedly, "Victor! Is Mr. Luo here?"


    She gasped for air as she spoke. Clearly she had dashed her way here.


    "Yes… In his office…" Victor stuttered.


    He was originally excited that Ste called his name, but as it turned out, she was only looking for


    Rufus. Immediately, she got the answer and quickly walked away. She did not even stay to hear the


    last three words.


    Embarrassed, Victor rubbed the back of his head. He actually nned to smile at Ste but did not


    manage to go through with it.


    ''Oh well. Next time, I have to remember to smile first, '' he told himself.


    Ste instantly knocked on the door the moment she arrived at the CEO''s office. Before anyone


    answered, she took the time to catch her breath after her exhausting travel. By the time Rufus asked


    her toe in, a courteous smile was stered on her face.


    "Mr. Luo, I just received an invitation from a magazine. They requested to have an interview with


    Manager Qin. Now she is out of the office and her role is suspended, so I havee to to ask you


    what we are going to do with this invitation," Ste inquired.


    She worked hard to keep herposure, and her heart trembled with excitement.


    The thought that a world-renowned magazine wanted to interview Cassandra was a very thrilling


    prospect!


    As Cassandra''s closest friend, Ste was overjoyed when she received the invite on Cassandra''s


    behalf. She almost epted it for her, but it was not her ce. So, she had to give them her prescribed


    spiel that she would ry their invite to management and Cassandra, and get back to them shortly.


    After hanging up, she immediately did her best to sprint towards Rufus''s office.


    "A magazine interview? Is it because she won in the architectural designpetition in the US?" Rufus


    inquired.


    As a stark contrast to Ste''s exhration, Rufus seemed calm and still. His face gave away no


    emotion.


    "Yes. They told me that they think Manager Qin is a designer with huge potential. That''s the reason


    they want to interview her. In my opinion, this is a great opportunity for Manager Qin and additional


    publicity for the Tang Group as well," Ste shared.


    She had no idea what Rufus was thinking at that moment, but she could not help expressing her


    thoughts in hopes of convincing Rufus to approve.


    "Tonight, there is going to be a concert at the theater of G City. You will go there with Victor. I have


    ordered the tickets for you two,"


    Rufus said after thinking for a few seconds, seemingly ignoring her initial concern.


    "What? Concert?"


    Ste was confused. What was wrong with her boss? Why would he suddenly make her and Victor go


    to the concert together? Did she hear him right?


    Moreover, why would she want to go to a concert with such an awkward person? She found him


    clumsy and boring. How would she have fun at a concert with a guy like him?


    "Yes, it starts at half past eight. Get yourself prepared," Rufus confirmed.


    He always gave instructions so sternly that there was no room for any negotiation. Ste did not even


    dare to argue.


    "And about the interview…"


    Despite Rufus''s change of topic, Ste was determined to get an answer.


    "I will talk to the representative of the magazine tonight. Don''t worry about that anymore," Rufus


    asserted.


    With that, he closed the discussion and signaled her to leave.


    Unsatisfied with the way the conversation ended, Ste secretly stuck her tongue out at him when he


    looked down at his papers. She realized that Rufus was not about to continue their discussion so she


    asked for his permission to leave.


    "I will go back to work now, Mr. Luo," she said.


    Even after she left the office, she was dumbfounded. ''What happened? Mr. Luo was so weird. He


    completely ignored everything I said and just changed the topic into going to a concert with Victor.


    Where did thate from? I don''t get it, '' she wondered.


    ''Hmm, wait. He also said that he would talk to the people from the magazine tonight. Who is he going


    to talk to? I didn''t even give him the contact. Does he know who the manager of the magazine is?''


    She continued to jump from one train of thought to another. Just as quickly as she was pondering over


    how would Rufus contact the representatives of the magazine, she started wondering again why she


    had to go to a concert with Victor and how boring it would be. ''Shall I drink some coffee beforehand to


    keep me awake? What if I fall asleep?


    Do I need to wear nicer clothes or can I go there in my business suit?


    This is so frustrating! I''m so frustrated!'' She scratched her head as she tried toe up with answers.


    As questions filled Ste''s head, her close friend, Cassandra, wore a solemn look. In front of her were


    the work reflections of all the employees sent by Victor. Everyone was tasked to write a 500-word


    essay which was enough to identify and match their handwriting.


    Taking a deep breath, she opened the file and started with the first page.


    First, no; second, no; third, not even close; fourth one…


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Suddenly, her eyes widened with realization.


    The handwriting on the fourth paper was exactly the same as the one on the design draft she got from


    Ste!


    Her gaze moved steadily up and to the section on personal particrs. Clearly written at the top of the


    page was—Joel.


    Instantly, the face of the man that had disappeared from her life surfaced in her brain. His youthful


    features were prominent and he looked friendly and easy-going. He did not look suspicious at first


    nce, but it was he who drugged her coffee and almost ruined her life trying to get her kicked out of


    the Tang family.


    Her hand trembled as she held the piece of paper. Joel had been gone for a long time. She thought


    that she was finally free of him. Still, he kept haunting her! Apart from drugging her, he stole her


    sketches, too!


    ''He watched me, and carefully observed my actions. He even knew where I put my design draft, '' she


    thought. Imagining how he possibly stalked her sent shivers down Cassandra''s spine.


    Now, Joel was gone missing. The first time he crossed them, she and Rufus decided to let it pass,


    thinking that he was never to be seen again. Instead, he came back wreaking havoc. She was almost


    wrongly used of fraud because of him.


    "Cassandra, help me. I don''t even know what to wear for the concert tonight."


    A familiar voice pulled Cassandra out of her musings. Ste came in frustrated and was surprised to


    see Cassandra distracted. It was a rare urrence.


    "Cassandra? What happened to you? You don''t look good. Are you feeling unwell?" Ste asked


    worriedly.


    Then, she reached out her hand to feel Cassandra''s forehead. She knew that her friend had been


    hospitalized several times because of fever, so she suspected that she had fallen sick again because


    of the excessive workload.


    However, what she felt was chilling sweat. This was very unusual.


    "Ste, look at this,"


    Cassandra said tly. Trying to keep her hand from trembling, she handed the sketch that Ste had


    given her, and the work reflection of Joel for her friend to see the resemnce.


    It took her no time to understand what had happened. Grimly, she eximed, "It was Joel! They look


    exactly the same! Look, the ways the digits are written are the same!"


    she said as she pointed at the date at the bottom right corner of the work reflection. The writing style


    completely matched the one on the sketch.


    Cassandra closed her eyes and took a deep breath. By the time she opened them again, she was


    ready to move with resolve and tenacity.


    "Ste, I want to call the police!" she stated.


    This was a tough decision to make but she was determined to do it despite the risk of exposing the


    other thing that Joel had done to her.


    However, her integrity and career as an architect was on the line. She would never let anything put her


    career at risk. Her reputation was very important.


    Cassandra was persistent and hard-working. She was willing to go to all lengths to achieve her


    dreams. But Joel almost single-handedly ruined it. She was not going down without a fight. This time,


    she would not allow him to escape.


    Ste immediately showed her support for her friend.


    "Yes! We must report this to the police! Let''s catch this thief! Let''s report this to Mr. Luo now!" she


    eximed with urgency.


    Her face was full of anger. Being a girl who didn''t always take her time to think things through, she


    pulled Cassandra''s hand and led her to Rufus''s office.


    "Manager… Manager Mu, Mr. Luo asked me to take you to Michelle Ling''s studio to pick up your


    dress," Victor stuttered.


    He was about to knock when Ste suddenly opened the door. He put down his hand and looked at her


    bashfully.


    "What? Dress? Do I really have to wear a dress?"


    Ste asked, hesitating. Now she was in a dilemma with Rufus''s order on one side and her close


    friend''s issue on the other. Which one should she choose?


    "Ste, it''s okay if you''re busy. I can go talk to Mr. Luo myself,"


    Cassandra offered, after she realized her friend''s predicament. It was best for her to handle the issue


    herself. She was well aware of Rufus''s temperament.


    Ste agreed then left with Victor. Unable to expel her worries away, she kept turning back to look at


    Cassandra. The moment that Ste disappeared in her sight, Cassandra calmed herself and started to


    walk to Rufus''s office.


    When she was at the door of his office, she raised a fist ready to knock but was stopped by the sound


    of Rufus talking loudly. Intrigued, she pressed her ear against the door to listen in.


    "I have given the concert tickets to Victor. I asked him to go to the concert with someone else. I won''t


    go!" the man shouted.


    As usual, he allowed no room for negotiations when he expressed his desires.


    "I told you! I won''t go! The magazine interview is also her idea, right? Tell her that I will not give her


    another chance to hurt me!" he eximed.