Chapter 905: Bossy Susan
Susan saw Manuel's message and instantly switched off her phone, frightened—not by his threat, but by his eroticism. She quickly applied makeup, dressed, and went out.
Manuel stared at his phone, receiving no reply. A smile played on his lips. Theodore, sitting beside him, whispered, "Who are you texting?"
Manuel's smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
"Susan's hitting on you?" Theodore smirked.
Manuel remained silent, pocketing his phone.
"Don't be shy," Theodore said, putting an arm around Manuel's shoulder. "I'll set you free soon."
"Mhm," Manuel mumbled in agreement.
Theodore laughed, deeming the relationship between Manuel and Susan perfectly acceptable, despite his own dislike for Susan.
Arriving at the office, Susan felt exhausted. Makeup couldn't conceal her weariness. Her secretary, surprised by her subdued demeanor—Susan was usually energetic, especially around Manuel—assumed her low spirits stemmed from Chairman Johnson's absence.
"Miss Phillips, what's wrong?" the secretary asked.
"Nothing," Susan replied faintly. "Make me coffee."
"Yes."
"Wait," Susan added.
"Yes?"
"Do you think coffee will affect the baby?"
The secretary, momentarily speechless, finally exclaimed, "Miss Phillips, are you pregnant?!"
"No," Susan said.
"You scared me!" the secretary breathed.
"But it shouldn't be too far off," Susan said cheerfully, envisioning a baby with Manuel.
"You and Mr. Johnson...?" the secretary asked hesitantly.
"Yeah," Susan nodded. She rarely kept good news secret.
"No wonder you're not yourself—you overindulged," the secretary teased.
Susan murmured, "Manuel looks so weak. How does he have such stamina in bed?"
The secretary, blushing, recalled seeing Manuel running up the office stairs during her lunch break, finding the sweaty man surprisingly sexy and strong.
"Make me a cup of milk," Susan sighed, attempting to improve her mood.
"Okay."
The secretary left for the pantry.
"Why milk?" a colleague teased. "That's for pregnant women. Are you pregnant? I thought you didn't even have a boyfriend?"
"It's for Miss Phillips," the secretary explained.
"Miss Phillips?" the colleague gasped.
"Don't spread it," the secretary cautioned, but her meaningful smile betrayed her.
The colleague, upon returning to her desk, immediately posted in the company's online chat group: "Miss Phillips is pregnant. Don't spread the word, please." The news spread like wildfire.
Clara, upon hearing of Susan's "pregnancy" with Manuel's child, flew into a rage, convinced Susan had only Manuel's body, not his heart.
After receiving her milk, Susan reviewed the day's business event schedule with her secretary.
"Who's the General Department sending with me?" Susan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Clara."
"Why her?" Susan frowned.
"Should I tell them to send someone else?"
"Mhm," Susan agreed. Tammy, also disliking Clara, still resented her past actions against Susan.
Moments later, Clara arrived, suppressing her anger.
"What did I do wrong, Miss Phillips? You're refusing to let me attend the event with you," Clara demanded.
"I don't like you," Susan stated nonchalantly.
Clara bristled; Tammy chuckled.
"Miss Phillips, you're the general manager. Keep professional and personal matters separate. If this isn't work-related, retract your words. This impacts my performance review, and I can appeal to the company and the chairman."
Susan, remembering Manuel's near-absence the previous night because of her, devised a plan.
"Since you insist, you can go with me," Susan said slyly.
Clara grew wary.
"What?" Susan raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. I'll attend the event and perform my duties," Clara quickly replied.
"Get out," Susan dismissed her.
Clara bowed and left, a sinister smile replacing her professional facade.
"Why did you agree?" Tammy asked, bewildered.
"I hate her, and you hate her. We don't need to avoid her; we can torture her!" Susan grinned wickedly.
"What do you mean?" Tammy was confused.
"You'll see tonight," Susan replied with a mischievous smile.
At 3 PM, Susan took Clara and Tammy to the event. Throughout the event, Susan constantly tasked Clara with menial duties: finding cushions, scarves, even fetching bubble tea from a distant store. After Clara endured a two-hour wait in the heat, Susan refused the tea, giving it to Tammy instead, leaving Clara exasperated.