Chapter 2

That night, Chloe didn't come home for the first time.

The next day, I walked straight into the Miller Group headquarters and took the private elevator to the executive floor.

To my surprise, the reception area was completely empty.

There should have been assistants on duty here. I hadn't brought my own secretary today, but where was hers?

Loud, unrestrained laughter drifted from her office through the half-open blinds.

I saw her assistant, Julian, holding a hair dryer, diligently drying Chloe's hair.

Chloe leaned back in her office chair, smiling and chatting with him.

Chloe used to be someone with extremely strict boundaries.

Aside from me, she never let anyone stay in her office for too long.

But the tenderness she was showing Julian right now felt like a dagger to my heart.

Even more jarring was the luxury watch glistening on Julian's wrist.

That was the exact custom watch she had meticulously selected during her last trip abroad, meant to be my upcoming birthday present!

An intern assistant like Julian couldn't afford a single gear of that watch even if he sold his soul!

I pushed the door open and walked in.

Julian dropped the hair dryer like he'd been electrocuted and forced a sycophantic smile. "Mr. Vance, what brings you to the Miller Group's executive floor?"

I cast a cold glance at him. "I am a board director and the General Manager of Miller Group. Where I go is none of an intern's business!"

"Go call HR. I want to ask them why our hiring standards have fallen so low."

Julian looked to Chloe for help. She gestured for him to leave the room to avoid the storm.

Just as Julian was about to step out, I spoke coldly.

"Take off the watch!"

He froze, covering the watch with his hand, looking pleadingly at Chloe.

I stared into Chloe's eyes.

"Explain to me. Why is my birthday present on his wrist?"

"The deposit receipt for this watch is still in my desk drawer!"

Chloe looked annoyed. "He's my assistant. He represents my face out there."

"Just because you insisted on washing the car he sat in, people have been looking down on him. What's wrong with me giving him a watch to save some face?"

"Don't you also spend a fortune custom-tailoring clothes for your own assistants?"

I sneered. "My assistant is a professional who earns his salary through actual hard work. What has this useless leech done to deserve this?"

I pointed a finger at Julian. "Is it because he services you so well in other ways?!"

Chloe's face turned pale instantly, fury burning in her eyes.

"It's just a watch! Think of it as compensation for the humiliation he suffered!"

"I'll buy you an even better one for your birthday, okay?"