CEO's Substitute Bride

Chapter 57

Alyssa took a deep breath and walked into the room, making sure to leave the door slightly open behind her. An innocent smile slipped into her lips. "Manager Black is discharged so quickly. I was just about to visit you in the hospital."

Dawson Black was his full name. He had a wife and a daughter. While he was deemed to be lustful and lazy, there was actually one woman that could get him off his feet and that was his wife. She even had come to the company once to deal with him because of the rumors that the man was involved with a female colleague in the company. The words she used and the look she had on was like a lion on a prowl.

Everyone in the company knew that he was especially afraid of his wife.

Yesterday, Alyssa had offended the department manager on her first day at work, so she obviously needed to do her homework. The last thing she wanted to do was back down, like all the times she had done in the past.

As soon as he caught sight of her, the muscles on his face twitched terribly. Although he had recovered from the electric shock, he could still feel his veins rippling under his skin. This woman looked weak, yet he didn't expect her to also look unafraid.

No matter! He had been in the company for more than ten years, and he wasn't going to allow himself to be bullied by this bitch!

A sinister look flashed in Dawson’s eyes as he turned to look at Jason and ignored Alyssa.

Alyssa didn’t care about that. She directly walked up to Jason and said, "Dad, why did you call me?"

Although she knew in her heart that Jason and Skylar wanted to use this incident as an excuse to deal with her and humiliate her, she still had to pretend that she didn't know. After all, she may have dropped the act of being dense and pitiful, but that didn't mean she'd want them to stop underestimating her.

Jason's cold face didn't budge. "If you're unsatisfied with the work that I've arranged for you, then you come to me directly. Do you really have to vent your anger on Manager Black? If this matter were to spread, others would think my daughter's very arrogant, that she isn't fit to handle such a position! Do you know what that will do to the company's image?"

Instead of interrupting him and defending herself, she listened carefully, nodding every now and then. Once he was finished, she tilted her head in mocking curiosity. "The consequences must be very serious."

Skylar snorted coldly. "Since you know of the consequences, then I suggest you apologize to him now!"

Alyssa paid no heed to Skylar at all. Her eyebrows remained furrowed as she snapped her fingers in response. "Since you've been speaking so much of the importance of the company image, then I must ask. Is sister's matter already settled? A few days ago, I heard from the Internet that netizens have seen her go to Sky Light Club again."

As soon as she heard this, Skylar turned pale. She opened her mouth and wanted to defend herself. "Dad, I..."

"Of course, I know that elder sister isn't that kind of person. I mean, why would she go to such a place?

I think it must be our competitors who tried to spread those rumors, to try and frame her," Alyssa interrupted, shaking her head in what seemed to be a disappointment. "But I still think they should be addressed. As the saying goes, if a child doesn't do well, then it is not her failure alone, but her parents'. Many investors will think that you haven't educated her well, and to have her work here...that also wouldn't be a good sign for the company."

Alyssa had said it with so much confidence that she almost believed it herself. 'I deserve a Grammy after this,' she thought.

Jason had suppressed all of his daughter's indecent videos and photos the day that they've been spread out all over the internet.

However, the very next day, her issue was back up on the internet again. Even if he had exhausted all his connections, he still couldn't get those videos to go down. Now, he could only wait for her issue to settle down before bribing the platforms to delete them all.

These past few days, the issue had slowly sunk into the depths of Internet gossip. It was almost safe for them now. But he didn't expect Skylar to go to Sky Light Club again! Not only would that bump up her scandals, but it would show that she had no repentance for her actions!

Alyssa’s words diverted Jason’s attention. Although he had initially wanted to suppress and educate Alyssa, Skylar's matter was far more integral to the company's image.

"Go out first!"

With a smile, Alyssa turned and stepped out of the room. Although Dawson was unwilling at first, he knew that Jason was bound to put his family matters first before his, so he was forced to follow the

woman right out.

As soon as he had gone out, he saw that Alyssa was waiting for him by the door. Her arms were crossed, and her fiery eyes flashed in his response.

Her lips were curled upwards, but the warmth didn't reach her features. In fact, if looks could kill, the man would've already been buried ten feet under. She greeted. "Manager Black."

Her voice was cool and frosty, a trait that she had probably developed after spending some time with “Justin”. "I never took you for a liar. The president said that I vented my anger on you. Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Dawson throat felt like it was closing up, and his fingers twitched in response. Although she had appeared weak before, she certainly didn't now.

The man didn't have any height advantage whatsoever, so the best he could do was to tilt his chin upwards. "When the Chairman is done with his family matters, then it will be your turn. Just you wait. If you beg me now, I might be able to ask him to let you go instead."

Ha! Did he really think that she was afraid of him?

Alyssa smiled more deeply. Dawson felt cock-a-hoop because he thought she was afraid and trying to please him.

But he had a premonition when he saw Alyssa raised her foot. In the next moment, he covered his crotch and screamed, “Ah!”

"Hmph!" She coldly snorted, taking out a piece of tissue to wipe the heel of her shoes. "You said it yourself, that I'm venting my anger out on you. Now, you've got what you wanted."

"I...You..." He could only wave his finger at her, unable to speak.

Alyssa had lived in the slums for more than half the year. Sometimes, when she'd go home at night, she'd come across a few hooligans along the way. Although she had pretended to be ugly, she was still a woman, and for them that was enough. She had remembered her first few nights there, scared out of her mind with worry, but after living there for a few more weeks, she'd gotten used to it.

Therefore, she was never afraid of being harassed.

Most women and even men had chosen to endure this kind of workplace harassment, and that had allowed perpetrators like Dawson to gain more confidence. Now, he certainly wasn't going to start yapping about the way a woman had wronged him, given his reputation. So he could only suffer it on his own.

She was sure that he wouldn't let it go that easily. But her years in the slums had taught her to never be afraid, and she wasn't going to start now.

…

In the Chairman's office, things weren't looking up for Skylar.

"What have I told you?" Jason slammed his fists against the table. The pencil holder trembled from the secondary impact. "I told you to be more honest, to live a better life, but you still went to the Sky Light Club! Do you even take my orders seriously?"

"But Dad!" Even Skylar didn't expect Alyssa to attack her like this. She shuffled anxiously, unable to look at him in the eye. "They…they're my friends. You know how they are! They all have very influential families, and I thought they might be able to help us! If I don't go to the banquet, they wouldn't...they wouldn't want to help us. I will miss out on many opportunities…”

"Friends? Those are your friends? Just a group of rich kids who sit around and wait for their death? Do you still think that your reputation isn't bad enough? That my reputation hasn't been destroyed enough?” Jason shouted angrily, "The most important thing for you right now is to build a better relationship with Henry, not destroy it further!"

Jason had been in the business for so many years, so even he knew what went on inside Sky Light Club. He shook his head in disgust. If his wife were alive, would she have allowed such a thing from happening? A trace of guilt settled in his heart.

Skylar lowered her head, feeling bad after being scolded. It had only fueled her anger towards Alyssa even more. 'That bitch had no right to meddle with my problems in the first place!' She clenched her fists.

Although she still felt she didn’t make any mistake, she bowed her head in response and apologized to calm Jason down. "I know I'm wrong, and I'm sorry. I...I'll try to get along with him now. I swear that this wouldn't happen again!" This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Jason sighed. "Fine. You may go to your work."

…

Alyssa had already returned to her office, taking her time as she stared blankly at the documents. Normally, she wouldn't have been this distracted, but she couldn't help but think of the phone sitting at the back of her pockets.

Even thought she had Emmett’s number, she hesitated last night, and didn’t dare to call him, afraid of what he might think.

It was nine o'clock now, so that meant it was eight o'clock in the evening in America. So he must be awake at this time, right?

How about sending a message?

"Hi! This is Alyssa. How are you?"

Was that appropriate? Or too much?

Deleting the words, she typed in another message, "Hi, this is Alyssa. Thank you for giving me the phone. I like it very much!"

She nodded in satisfaction and clicked the send button.