Chapter 41

“Mr. Joseph… I… I really didn’t expect that girl to…”

Chuck swallowed hard, his voice shaking.

“She… she’s nothing like she was when she first joined the company!”

“Nothing like before? What do you mean? Spit it out!”

Joseph cut him off impatiently, his tone dripping with disdain.

“Didn’t you tell me before that you had her wrapped around your finger? Now you can’t even handle one woman? What the hell do I need you for?”

Chuck felt his stomach churn. His hands trembled as he tried to explain.

“Joseph, she… she’s different now. I… I’m no match for her at all.”

He then exaggerated the events of that morning, emphasizing how Aurora had effortlessly flipped him over her shoulder and completely humiliated him in front of the entire office.

“Over–the–shoulder throw?”

Joseph’s voice carried a hint of disbelief.

“A grown man like you got thrown by a woman?”

He sounded as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke of his life, his words laced with mockery.

“Chuck, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.”

Chuck’s face burned red with shame and anger, a mix of humiliation and frustration swelling inside him. He wished he could disappear into the floor.

“Mr, Joseph, I… I…” He stammered, unable to string together a coherent sentence.

“Enough! Shut up!”

Joseph snapped, cutting him off harshly.

“Pathetic. You couldn’t even handle something this simple!”

He paced back and forth, the sharp sound of his dress shoes clicking against the floor.

The more he thought about it, the more irritable he became.

The image of Aurora Walton, once obedient and docile in his presence, now completely different, having just made a public spectacle out of Chuck.

A tight, inexplicable frustration built inside him.

Pressing his fingers against his temples, he exhaled sharply, feeling the throb of a forming headache.

“She’s changed this much… was she faking it all along?”

His jaw clenched.

“That woman… she played me!”

The more he dwelled on the thought, the more convinced he became. A flicker of curiosity sparked alongside his irritation.

On the other end of the call, Chuck barely breathed, doing his best to withstand Joseph’s fury.

He knew he had completely lost Joseph’s favor and from now on his life wouldn’t be easy.

Joseph took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

“Chuck Mills, listen to me carefully.”

Joseph Hunt’s voice was ice–cold, devoid of any emotion.

“I don’t care what you have to do–Walton Corporation cannot make any progress on the Vanguard project. If you disappoint me again… you know the consequences.”

A shiver ran down Chuck’s spine. He hurriedly nodded, even though Joseph couldn’t see him.

“Y–yes, Mr. Joseph! I’ll handle it, I swear!”

The moment the call ended, he collapsed in his chair, his back drenched in cold sweat.

Meanwhile, Joseph hurled his phone onto the leather couch, grinding his teeth in frustration.

He paced back and forth, the sharp clicks of his polished dress shoes echoing through the room.

He couldn’t understand it–how had Aurora, once so obedient and submissive around him, suddenly become so unyielding?

Pressing his fingers against his temples, he tried to shake off the irritation buzzing in his mind.

At Walton Corporation, the meeting wrapped up quickly.

Aurora returned to her desk, making adjustments to her proposal. Before long, the workday was over.

The golden hues of the setting sun streamed through the floor–to–ceiling windows, bathing the office in a warm amber glow.

Seated at her workstation, Aurora’s fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard, her attention locked onto the intricate market research report she was compiling.

Rows of dense data reflected in her focused gaze.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated.

The screen lit up with a familiar name–Lucas.

She pressed the answer button, tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder while continuing to type.

“Are you off work yet? I’m outside your building.”