The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 283

As Lavinia approached the large open-plan office of the Industry Research Department, she could hear a chaotic buzz of conversation from within.

It was so loud it sounded like a farmer's market.

She stepped inside, and the office instantly went dead silent.

Lavinia understood immediately. The subject everyone had been gossiping about was her.

"What is it now?" Lavinia asked, standing at the doorway.

The massive office remained silent for a full ten seconds.

Then, from an unseen corner, someone yelled, "Good morning, Mrs. Harper!"

Boom—the atmosphere ignited as if a ton of TNT had just gone off.

Perhaps her decisive takedown of Mr. Coleman and Sigrid Sloan had given everyone too much confidence in her psychological resilience. No one seemed to care about her personal boundaries as they swarmed her, bombarding her with questions:

"Lavinia, you kept your secret identity under wraps so well! We never would have guessed you were a wealthy socialite!"

"Did Sigrid even know who you were? How did she have the nerve to act all high and mighty in front of you?"

...

Amidst the chaotic chatter, Lavinia shut it all down with one sentence: "Garnett Harper is Garnett Harper, and I am me. Don't lump us together."

Everyone froze, the gossip screeching to a halt.

Ethan handed her the pre-market briefing. "Because of your heroic rescue trending online, the Harper Group's stock hit its daily limit yesterday, and it's up another 9% in pre-market trading today."

Lavinia glanced at the report. It was true.

Ethan added, "The buzz is still growing today. Garnett definitely bought the trending spots."

Lavinia's brow furrowed.

"Break it up, break it up! Do none of you have jobs?" Jocelyn Chandler marched in aggressively, brandishing her Hermès bag.

The crowd scattered like startled birds.

Lavinia told Jocelyn she was taking half the day off and marched out, heading straight for the Harper Group headquarters with fire in her eyes.

As soon as she stepped out of her cab, she realized Corinne was waiting for her at the main entrance.

Well, the sun had truly risen in the west. Her tenure as Mrs. Harper was practically over, yet the Chief Secretary had suddenly learned some respect.

Lavinia didn't bother with pleasantries and demanded directly, "Where is Garnett? Take me to him."

"Mr. Harper asked me to receive you here. I'll take you up to see him," Corinne replied with utmost deference.

Lavinia tightened her lips and followed Corinne into the executive elevator up to the 28th floor, trailing behind her down the hallway.

Lavinia rarely visited the Harper Group HQ and was unfamiliar with the layout. When Corinne led her to a set of double doors, she assumed Garnett had changed offices.

But when the doors pushed open, a room full of board members and top executives turned their heads in unison to stare at her.

Lavinia stood in the doorway, freezing for a full two seconds before realizing she had just walked right into a Harper Group board meeting.