Book7 Chapter4.
I had never been a drinker, but I got drunk and passed out again.
The next morning, I was awakened by a string of urgent phone calls.
I saw it was my boss, Austin Stevens.
"Ariella, shouldn't your vacation be over today? Why aren't you at the office yet?"
"Sorry, Mr. Stevens. I was planning to take one more day off, but I overslept..."
"Do you remember when I mentioned opening a new market in Crawford?"
Half a year ago, Austin saw my potential and wanted me to be the general manager of the Crawford branch.
But the office was in Hawkin, and I carefully mentioned it to Xavier, who immediately rejected it.
He didn't give me any reason, just said he couldn't accept a long- distance relationship, let alone one in another country.
He said if I decided to go, we'd break up.
I refused Austin without hesitation, choosing to stay by Xavier's side.
"I remember. Didn't you send Vincent instead? Why..."
"Sigh, just yesterday, Vincent suddenly passed away from an illness. It really caught me off guard. I thought about it, and only you have the ability to take over the branch."
To be honest, I deeply regretted giving up that opportunity.
In the past six months, I hadn't made much progress at the head office.
I never thought I'd get a second chance. I wasn't going to miss it this time.
"Okay, Mr. Stevens. I'm willing to take it on. I'll come to the office right away to discuss it."
Austin gave me a lot of business documents about the Crawford market from the past six months.
I threw myself into studying them, determined to master the business and get there as soon as possible.
After a long day, I finally went home, only to be startled by a dark figure on the couch.
"We already finished the show."
"Isn't there an evening banquet? She just posted a photo on social media, with her arm linked with yours, looking so sweet. You should go back to her."
I said it calmly, but Xavier was inexplicably angry.
"Ariella! What's wrong with you? Do you have to bring up Chloe every time? I told you, she's just a sister to me!"
Xavier grabbed my arm, his breath hot on my face.
I pushed his hand away, my expression still calm.
"Yeah, I believe you. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. By the way, I'm sleeping on the couch. The room's a mess. If you want to stay, you'll have to clean it up."
With that, I pulled the blanket over me and closed my eyes.
I heard Xavier curse under his breath, then storm into the bedroom and slam the door.
Maybe my calmness, my refusal to argue, left him with no outlet for his anger.
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