Chapter 63

Alex stood so close behind me that I could feel his warm breath on my scalp. An unexpected shiver ran down my spine, leaving me momentarily flustered. "This report combines data from the first and second quarters. You need to separate them. I'll be faster that way," he said, leaning slightly over my shoulder.

"Oh, but don't both quarters need to be voted on anyway?" I muttered, nodding as heat crept up my cheeks.

"Dummy. The first and second quarters focus on entirely different business priorities. Merging them only makes the data harder to interpret," Alex replied bluntly, his critique as sharp as ever.

Realizing he was right, I immediately adjusted my approach.

Thirty minutes later, I stretched with a satisfied sigh. "Finally done! You're amazing, Mr. Hastings. You spotted the issue right away."

I shut down my computer and stood to turn off the lights, only to see Alex exiting his office with his jacket in hand.

"Mr. Hastings, are you leaving too?" I asked politely.

He paused, raising an eyebrow. "There's no one else here but the two of us. Are you sure you still need to be this formal?"

There was a flicker of disappointment in his gaze, and surprisingly, I felt a pang of guilt. I hesitated, searching for words. "Uh, Alex? Want to walk out together?"

His expression didn't betray much emotion, but the tension in his brows eased slightly. He took a step forward. "Let's go. I'll drive you home."

"Oh, okay," I nodded reluctantly, then quickly corrected myself. "What? That's not necessary! You don't need to do that!"

"I'm the boss here. You stayed late working. It's my responsibility to ensure your safety. What if something happened to you and you blamed it on me?" Alex said, stopping to look at me. He then slung his expensive jacket over his arm.

I nodded. I took his jacket from him and walked behind him, feeling like his minion.

As we walked, he glanced at me. "You're graduating soon. Have you found a place to stay yet?"

I shook my head. "Not yet."

For a moment, I thought he might offer his home or suggest I return to the Hastings residence. I had already prepared polite rejections in my head. But instead, Alex said nothing.

The next morning at work, I was in a good mood. Jolene, however, was the opposite. The report she had forced me to do had turned out flawless, leaving her with no grounds to criticize me.

"You just got lucky," she muttered after scrutinizing it for half an hour without finding a single mistake. Finally, she snapped, "But don't think you'll always be this lucky!"

I nodded, unwilling to argue.

"Serena, Mr. Hastings wants to see you," one of my colleagues called.

"I'll be right there," I replied, making to leave.

"Sup right there?" Jolene's sharp voice rang out.

I turned back to her with a frown. "Mr. Hastings asked for me."

"I'm not dead. What kind of tricks are you using to seduce Mr. Hastings? Otherwise, why would he treat you so well?" Jolene shot a glare at Alex's office as she crossed her arms and rose from her chair. She stood proud, her tone dripping with venom.

Jolene's cruel and cutting words were expected from someone hardened by the corporate world.