I was blocked by my boss’s girlfriend. She screamed over the phone: "You’re a female subordinate, have some boundaries! Seducing your own boss after hours?" But the multi-million dollar contract in my hand was expiring tomorrow morning. When I tried to call back, my number had been blocked. The boss was MIA. No one at the company was responding. The next morning, my boss personally showed up at my front door, clutching the corporate seal. I yawned, leaning against the doorframe. "Boss, you’re a grown man. Have some boundaries." "Showing up at a female subordinate's house first thing in the morning? That’s not appropriate, is it?" 1 When I was briefing my boss on the final clauses of the contract, the office door cracked open. My boss’s girlfriend, Tiffany, poked her head in. When she saw me, her expression stiffened. Her eyes were red, her voice trembling as she asked carefully: "Gavin... am I interrupting your work?" My hand, resting on the contract, paused. My boss, Gavin Sterling, froze in awkward silence. He reacted a second later, moving to pull her in. But Tiffany took a step back, looking aggrieved as tears began to fall. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be suspicious... it's just... I heard people say that bosses and their capable assistants often develop feelings over time. I got scared..." I didn't speak. I simply closed the laptop in front of me. Gavin’s face flushed red, then pale. His tone was flustered. "Tiff, stop overthinking. We’re just discussing a contract. Don't let your imagination run wild." "Discussing a contract..." Tiffany sobbed harder. "I know Elena is capable. Unlike me, I can't help you with anything. I just cause trouble." "But... but to discuss work, do you really need to keep the door closed?" The boss frowned, looking from the tearful Tiffany to me. Finally, his gaze settled on me. It was a look of obvious difficulty, pleading for me to smooth things over. "Elena, look at this... how about you step out for a moment? Let me explain things to her." I stood up and gathered the files on the desk. "Fine," I said. "But Mr. Wolf is waiting for the final version. If it’s not locked in by 9:00 AM tomorrow, the penalty is 15% of the total project value." I paused, then added: "Mr. Sterling, my salary does not include overtime pay for handling your relationship drama." With that, I opened the door and walked out. Behind me, Gavin’s face was frozen, accompanied by the sound of Tiffany’s escalating cries. 2 The office was eerily quiet. Tiffany had joined the company two years ago as a receptionist. Last year, she became Gavin’s girlfriend. Since then, she had acted like the Lady of the Manor. She was hostile toward any female creature that got too close to Gavin. Yet, she had her clique of supporters. Right now, she was leaning against the front desk, "sharing" something with a few colleagues. Her voice was sickly sweet, punctuated by giggles behind her hand. Her eyes, however, were like hooks, casting glances in my direction. "Sigh, Elena works so hard, my heart aches for her. Girls should really cherish themselves more. Otherwise, if Gavin finds out, he’ll blame me for not taking good care of her." "My Gavin is just too soft-hearted. He always feels indebted to hardworking employees. I’ve told him so many times not to be too nice to subordinates; it causes misunderstandings." The gazes around me turned sticky, filled with speculation and malicious excitement. I ignored them, pouring all my energy into the contract revisions. An hour later, I finished cross-checking every clause word by word. Clicked send. Recipient: Gavin Sterling. The moment the email went out, a pair of expensive high heels stopped by my desk. Tiffany leaned down, holding Gavin’s phone. "Elena, thanks for your hard work." She smiled innocently, waving the phone. "Gavin left his phone with me. He was afraid I’d overthink things." "Originally, he was worried about some... butterflies and bees trying to seduce my husband..." "Oh, Elena, don't misunderstand! I’m not talking about you! You were definitely just sending a work email." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the entire open-plan office to hear. Stifled laughter erupted from the nearby desks. Someone whispered snidely: "Tsk tsk, the official girlfriend came to mark her territory. Some people really have no boundaries." "Right? Making Director at twenty-eight? Just on ability? Who are you kidding? We all know what kind of 'ability' stands out." I smiled, leaning back in my chair. "Miss Tiffany, you used the word 'husband'." I looked her in the eye. "Did you two get a marriage license?" 3 Tiffany's face turned crimson. She stammered, unable to speak for a long time. Finally, she glared at me viciously, turned on her heels, and clattered away. The colleagues around us immediately lowered their heads, pretending to work. I ignored them, my eyes returning to the computer screen. Time ticked by. The sky outside turned completely dark. The office emptied out until I was the only one left. The door to Gavin’s office remained shut tight. The corporate seal I needed never appeared. At 8:00 PM, I called Gavin. "Hello?" I suppressed my anxiety. "Miss Tiffany, please put Mr. Sterling on the phone. There is an urgent contract that needs his attention." A light laugh came from the other end. "Oh, Director Vance. Looking for a man to talk work this late? My Gavin is already asleep." I gripped my phone tighter, my voice dropping three degrees. "This contract involves tens of millions in business. The deadline is 9:00 AM tomorrow. The company cannot afford the breach of contract penalty." "Oh, what to do then? But work is never-ending, and health is most important. I couldn't possibly wake him up now. Director Vance, you're so capable, surely you can solve this yourself, right?" She hung up immediately. I redialed instantly. The receiver played a cold automated message. The user you are calling is busy. I dialed again. Same message. I had been blocked. 4 I switched to our internal messaging app to text Gavin. [Mr. Sterling, the contract with Mr. Wolf expires at 9 AM tomorrow. The company cannot bear the penalty. Please call back immediately to authorize the seal.] A red exclamation mark popped up. [The user has enabled friend verification. You are not yet friends with this user.] Excellent. I picked up the landline and called the other executives. The Vice President’s phone rang twice before being hung up. Immediately after, a text arrived: [Elena, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but... you know the situation with Gavin and Tiffany. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to call right now, would it?] The CFO actually answered, though his voice was evasive. "Elena, don't panic, don't panic. Uh... Mr. Sterling is... well, Tiffany is in a rage right now. No matter how big the contract is, it’s not bigger than the boss’s family matters, right? Just wait, we’ll talk tomorrow." "Mr. Lee," I interrupted him. "After 9 AM tomorrow, we will be discussing how to pay over a million dollars in penalties." The line went silent, followed by a dry laugh. "I... I'll think of something." Then, silence. Cornered, I opened the company-wide Slack channel. I drafted a message and tagged @channel. [URGENT NOTICE TO ALL STAFF:] [The multi-million dollar contract with Wolf Enterprises requires a corporate seal before 9 AM tomorrow. Failure to do so will result in a massive penalty. Mr. Sterling is currently unreachable. Any colleague with access or contact, please assist. The company's survival is at stake.] The chat was dead silent. A few seconds later, Gavin’s avatar popped up. But the tone was unmistakably Tiffany’s. [@Elena Vance, sister, I know you mean well for the company, but Gavin is really not feeling well today and needs rest. Sending messages like this so late will just worry everyone.] [Besides... I've never heard Gavin mention this huge contract. Sister, please don't be scammed by outsiders. If the contract is fake, Gavin will be so heartbroken for you. If the company suffers a loss, how could you afford to take responsibility alone?] Every word was a dagger. Before I could reply, a gray notification appeared on the screen. [You have been removed from the channel by the administrator.]
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