My Darling, My Dearest

Chapter 469 Director's Impenitence

"Well..." Austin scratched his head, at a loss for words.

Rachel waited for a while, and all that she heard was "Well..." Finally, she interrupted him coldly, "All right. He must be too busy with his business that he couldn't even pick up his phone. I won't ask you again. Goodbye."

At the sound of the call being disconnected, Austin clutched the phone to his chest, raised his head, and said in a plaintive tone, "Mr. Fu, you're killing me!"

On her end, Rachel felt a little uncomfortable after ending the call. She was worried, but basing on Austin's tone during the call, she could at least tell that Jack was safe. However, it was impossible for Jack's secretary not to know what was taking up his time. Did Jack order him not to tell her anything?

Why were they hiding things from her?

Rachel tried to tell herself not to overthink, but her wayward thoughts were difficult to control.

She was so lost in thought that she almost jumped in shock when someone suddenly tapped her shoulder from behind. She whirled around and sighed in relief when she saw her colleague. "What's the matter?"

"The executive is here, and he wants to speak with you and the director in his office." The colleague stared at her as though she could get gossip by looking into her eyes.

The corners of Rachel's mouth twitched. She stood up and said, "Okay. I'll be right there."

The colleague stretched out an arm and hooked it through Rachel's. She whispered, "What were you arguing about with the director just now? Did she bully you?"

She mentioned the director in the hopes of fishing for some information from Rachel.

With a faint smile on her lips, Rachel did not comment. She looked down at the ground beneath her feet and reminded her colleague, "Watch out for the pebbles underfoot. Be careful not to fall."

In the director's office, James was sitting in the chair behind the desk. He leaned back slightly, his bent fingers were lightly tapping against the armrest, and his face was impassive. One would be hard-pressed to see the anger simmering below the surface.

When the director first saw him come in, she thought that he wanted to discuss the guest list and felt uneasy. Now, seeing him calmly sitting there, she breathed a sigh of relief. She even felt reassured enough that she stepped out into the pantry to prepare some tea for him. She placed the tea set in front of him and said, "This special tea was given by my uncle. It has a fragrant scent and a mellow taste. Please try it."

"Okay. Put it aside." James glanced at his wristwatch with a frown and asked, "Where did Rachel go during working hours? Why hasn't she come back yet?"

As if on cue, they heard a knock on the door.

Rachel opened the door and came in, words of explanation pouring from her mouth. "I went downstairs to the park and sat for a while. I came back just now."

James snorted coldly. With a hint of anger seeping into his expression, he asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong with the list? Just now, your director said that you were in charge of this list. Why did you deny it at the meeting?"

As it turned out, the director had snitched on Rachel.

Rachel lowered her gaze and was silent for a while. Then, she said carefully, "The director did not tell me about it. I didn't know."

"You didn't know?" James repeated with a frown. "If you're saying that you didn't know about it, do you mean to tell me that it was your director who was wrong?"

Rachel was about to nod her head, but the director interjected, stating her shortcomings. "Rachel, I think that in the future, I have to prepare a recorder whenever I give you work instructions. Maybe that way, you would be able to keep track of your tasks and this wouldn't happen again. What do you think?"

"I agree," Rachel replied with a saccharine smile on her face. "Maybe then I'd be able to keep track of instructions that you didn't give so that I could avoid being blamed for something I did not do."

"How dare you!" The director's face contorted in anger. She pointed a finger at Rachel's face and snorted, "If only you're as efficient as you are eloquent."

She turned her back on the rooms other occupants and took several deep breaths to compose herself. "Mr. Zhou, I clearly told her the names of the companies that should be removed from the list, but she didn't listen. The invitation letters have already been printed out. What should we do?"

"The invitations have yet to be sent out. We can reprint them. It's not a big deal." James' voice suddenly became flat, and a glint of humor flashed in his dark eyes. He firmly locked his gaze on the director's face and said, "I said during the meeting that this list was rejected. I think Rachel has mentioned that to you, correct? Why did you have them printed? You seem to be in hurry."

"No, it's not like that..."

The blood drained from the director's face. When she saw that the matter had almost been concluded, she made the decision to send the order for the advertising department to print the invitations according to the list.

She thought that these things would go unnoticed by James, but... The director immediately resorted to one of her oldest tricks: pleading ignorance. With a frown on her face, she pretended to have become aware of the issue just now. She looked at Rachel and said, "I've been meaning to ask you—why were the invitations printed out? Did give them the go signal?" Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"No, I didn't." This time, Rachel kept her answer direct to the point and said nothing else.

Thinking that Rachel had given in, the director felt elated by her triumph against her and continued her nagging. "Mr. Zhou has made it clear during the meeting that this list needed to be changed. Why didn't you listen to him? You always make decisions by yourself. Is this anniversary celebration hosted by the hospital or by you?"

After all, she had held this position of leadership for many years and had gotten good at scolding her subordinates.

Rachel didn't doubt her ability on this!

A sudden crash resounded as James picked up the teacup and smashed it to the floor. The hot tea in the cup splashed on the director, but Rachel remained unscathed. Eyes wide with disbelief, the director took two steps back and stared at her superior. With the crash resounding in her head, she felt the fierce murderous intent coming from the man, and she couldn't help the shiver of dread that chased down her spine. She said with her lips trembling, "Mr. Zhou, I really am not the one responsible for the list."

"Not you?" The man slammed his palms heavily on the table, pointing a finger at the director's face. "Do you think that I am unaware of exactly how much money you have received from the CEO of CX Group? Do I need to tell you every single detail before you admit it?"

'The money...'

The director didn't expect James to know about that matter. Her proud bearing suddenly became smaller, as if she shrank into herself, and she kept stepping back. Her face became even paler, and her lips wouldn't stop trembling. "Well, I didn't..."

"Huh? So you really won't admit to your wrongdoing unless evidence is available?" All expression was suddenly wiped out from James' face as he stared at the director. He placed a bank statement on the table and tapped heavily on it with his fingers. "Then explain to me, where did you get this money?"

"It's... from a relative of mine..." the director falteringly replied. Even so, she intended to lie until she was blue in the face before she would admit to her wrongdoing. However, she looked up and saw the cold, fierce light burning in James' eyes and felt that gaze press down on her. Trembling, she said truthfully, "Mr. Zhou, I was wrong. Please give me another chance. I will never do that again."

The blue veins on James' forehead throbbed visibly. He said coldly, "I have given you a chance before, but you didn't cherish it."

"A chance? What chance?" The director looked at James in confusion. She shook her head hard and denied. "This is the first time I have made such a mistake, Mr. Zhou. Before this, you have never given me the chance to redeem myself."

James glanced at her in disgust and quickly looked away.

Rachel knew that the discussion had nothing to do with her anymore. She wanted to stand aside quietly and watch the scenario play out to its conclusion, but of course, the director didn't give her that chance. She clutched at Rachel's arm heavily, and Rachel could still feel the director's nails pressing into her skin even with the multiple layers of clothing she had on.

She frowned and pulled her arm back, saying in a cold voice, "You were asked by Mr. Zhou after that meeting to go to his office. As long as you explained your side clearly, everything should be

okay."

James echoed, "That's true, but I didn't expect you to be so thick-faced that you would blame Rachel for your actions! What? You think you could make her a scapegoat since you are the director and she is your subordinate?"

They weren't speaking in hushed voices, and with James' angry outburst, the executive department was in a great uproar. People started pressing their ears against the door to eavesdrop on the conversation going on inside.

Although they didn't hear it clearly, gathering information in such a manner was preferable to being an outsider who had to guess without any context.

When Rachel stepped out of the office, everyone else in the entire administration department workforce turned her way, their eyes appraising her.

Author's note

Goose BBSS

Translator: Scarlett5555