Category: The Double Life Of My Billionaire Husband novel (Natalie Quinn and Sebastian Klein novel)

The video clearly proved that Ike had assaulted Natalie and attempted to rape her. He knew nothing would save him now. His legs grew weak, and he slumped on the chair beside him.

Garrett signaled his assistant to take away the laptop. “The evidence says it all. Ike Lyman, you are fired from the Larson Group on account of molesting a fellow employee.”

Ike looked at Natalie with resentment, thinking about how to take revenge on her. A group of police officers then came and dragged Ike away.

Christopher walked to Natalie and said apologetically, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let Ike take you away yesterday. Did he hurt you?”

Natalie shook her head, smiling. Then, she put her design works on the table. “It’s not your fault, Chris. I told you not to get involved in the issue yesterday. I thought it was just a casual dinner with clients. How stupid I was. Fortunately, someone saved me in time yesterday, so nothing happened.”

“Well, that’s good. Thank God you don’t have to leave the Larson Group now. I wonder who filed a report against Ike,” Christopher said, smiling bitterly.

He regretted missing the opportunity. If he had stopped Natalie from going with Ike or followed her vigilantly, he might have been the one who saved her. He would have been a hero in front of her eyes.

After Ike left, his position as the Department Director was vacant. Garrett conducted a meeting with the senior executives and appointed, Tiffany Fisher, the director of another department to take over Ike’s position. She, too, was a renowned fashion designer once.

When Natalie returned from work, a wave of relief washed over her when she saw a man jogging in the community.

“Sebastian!” Natalie waved at him.

The man gradually slowed down. Natalie couldn’t wait to talk to him. Looking at his handsome, sweaty face, she asked, “Is it you who filed a report against Ike?”

“Yes.” Sebastian glanced at her and stopped running. He opened the bottle in his hand, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and asked, “Was he arrested?”

Natalie followed him as he walked. “Yes. He was fired and took away by police this morning. How did you get the surveillance video from the hotel though?”

Such an incident would ruin the reputation of the hotel. Therefore, they wouldn’t share the video with anyone, lest they got into trouble. Moreover, Natalie was a hundred percent sure about it because she had tried calling for help when it happened, but the waiter just ignored her.

Sebastian took the laptop bag from her shoulder and walked toward their apartment. “I got some capable friends, so I asked them to help me get the footage.”

“Wow! You do know a lot of people.” Natalie looked at him in awe, trusting his words.

The longer she stayed with Sebastian, the more she felt he was reliable and observant. She felt he had friends in every field.

“Thank you for helping me. You have no idea how shameless and persuasive he was. He denied the fact even when Mr. Harding was there.”

Sebastian opened the door, walked in, and threw the keys on the table. Seeing the smile on Natalie’s face, he arched an eyebrow and looked at her. “After all I did, you’re just going to thank me verbally? That seems like an insincere gesture.”

“What else do you want me to do? All right. How about I cook a hearty meal for you tonight?” Natalie tilted her head and looked at him, blinking innocently.

“You think it’s that easy to satisfy me?” Sebastian slowly raked his eyes across her body.

Natalie pouted and looked at him. “What do you want then?”

Sebastian’s gaze settled on her plump lips as a wave of passion consumed him. He was really attracted to her.

“Well, why don’t you fulfill your duty as a wife by making love to me?” Sebastian stared into her eyes; his magnetic gaze seemed to suck her into a state of bliss.

“Be serious!” Natalie blushed and turned around to leave. Sebastian grabbed her hand and scratched his hair. “All right. At least kiss me.”

Natalie turned around and pursed her lips without answering his question.

Seeing that she didn’t refuse, Sebastian pulled her closer to him, gently took her hand, and wrapped them around his waist. “Hurry up.” He closed his eyes and said, “I won’t look at you.”

Natalie’s face turned hot. Since Sebastian was standing with his eyes closed, she mustered the courage to look at him. He was a handsome man, mature, and manly. Natalie’s heart took a sprint in her chest as she looked at him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Natalie looked at his lips, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed him.

As soon as Natalie pressed her lips against his, Sebastian felt a surge of frenzied passion. He picked her up in his arms and put her on the sofa. He wrapped his arms around her and pecked on her lips. “You’re too naive.” He smiled. Natalie was startled. The man pressed her against the sofa and deepened the kiss, swallowing her

screams. The room was silent, except for the ticking of the clock and rustling of clothes. “En… enough… Sebastian!” Natalie grasped Sebastian’s shirt and looked away, intending to escape.

She didn’t expect a small peck to turn into something this wild and passionate. His tongue explored her mouth with aggression as if he was going to devour her.

Sebastian pressed his forehead against Natalie’s and stared into her eyes, gleaming with inexplicable emotions. He cupped the back of her neck with his palm and gently nipped her bottom lip.

Then, he grasped her pert bum and pressed it against his hardness. His body had turned hot and stiff.

All of a sudden, Natalie’s eyes sprang up. She quickly pushed him away, gasping for breath. “No, Sebastian!”

However, Sebastian was not ready to let go of her. He rested his head on her shoulder and bit her collarbone, peppering soft kisses on her neck. Noticing that Natalie was trembling under him, he pressed his mouth against her ear. “Don’t you want it?” he whispered, his hot breath blowing against her skin. “Or is there any other reason? Are you afraid I won’t be nice to you if we become a real couple?”

Natalie’s mind was a mess. The man’s kisses drove her crazy. If this continued, they might end up having sex.

Before things went out of control, she quickly pulled back and turned her head. “No… Sebastian. I really can’t! Please…”

“Why not? Tell me the reason.” Sebastian asked, his voice thick with lust. He looked up at her, searching for answers. His long legs were casually slung around Natalie, trapping her in place.

“I’m not ready yet.” She picked up a pillow and covered her flushed face to hide her embarrassment.

Moreover, she had married Sebastian in place of Cassie. She wasn’t supposed to get married to him in the first place. If she and Sebastian had sex and became a real couple, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for deceiving him.

Natalie shrieked and pushed him away. “No! You bastard! Haven’t you heard a word I’ve said?”

Without waiting for a response, Natalie rushed into her room and slammed the door.

Sebastian didn’t dare to stop her. He stood there, stunned, as the bath towel fluttered to the ground in front of the closed door.

He saw something he shouldn’t have seen just now.

He cursed, feeling hot all over. Leaning against the wall heavily, he pulled at his collar as though it was choking him.

The next day, Natalie went to work. Her stomach churned with unease the entire time. She knew that Ike wouldn’t spare her for what happened last night.

As soon as she arrived at her desk and sat down, Ike stormed out of his office and threw a stack of documents on her table. “You are fired! Pack your things and get out of here now!”

Natalie picked up the documents and looked at them — they were all design drafts she had previously submitted. “May I know why you’re firing me, Mr. Lyman?” she asked calmly.

There was still a Band-Aid on the bridge of his nose to cover the injury he had suffered last night. His eyes were blazing with rage. Natalie’s words reminded him of the way he was humiliated last night. “You’re incompetent for your current position!” he spat venomously. “Pack your things and get out of the Larson Group. You’re just a graduate. I’ll make sure you don’t flourish in the fashion field, ever. As long as I’m in the industry, you won’t be able to get a job, let alone succeed in your career.”

“You already approved my designs. Why do you say I’m incompetent now?” Natalie retorted, clutching her design documents. Her sharp gaze met his, and she didn’t seem afraid in the slightest.

Ike’s screams drew the attention of other employees.

Everyone stopped working and looked up at them.

“That’s right. Mr. Lyman. We have already started executing Quinn’s design plan after you approved them,” said one of Natalie’s colleagues.

Natalie had a good relationship with everyone in the department, and her colleagues liked and respected her.

“Is there any misunderstanding? Mr. Lyman, we all have witnessed Quinn’s exceptional talent. She is dynamic and diligent.”

Ike’s face darkened when he saw his colleagues standing up for Natalie. He cleared his throat and said, “There is no misunderstanding. The design plan is changed now. She is fired! I’ll pick a new design from what you all submitted earlier. No more questions! I’m the director. If I say she is incompetent, it means she is!”

The people around fell silent and cast a sympathetic look at Natalie.

By now, everyone guessed that Natalie had offended Ike in some way, and that was probably why he was firing her. Ike had made his decision. Moreover, he was a respected senior designer in the design industry, and no one dared to question his decisions or argue with him.

Natalie breathed a long sigh of relief. Considering what happened last night, she knew things would end this way.

She gritted her teeth and sorted her designs, preparing to pack her things. Her heart sank at the knowledge that she wasn’t an employee of the Larson Group anymore.

“Wait!” said an intimidating male voice.

Natalie looked up and found that it was Garrett.

He glanced at Natalie and walked toward Ike. “Lyman, someone has filed a report stating that you have molested a female employee in the company and attempted to rape her.”

Everyone in the design department burst into an uproar. All eyes turned toward Ike as they eyed him with scrutiny.

“What? Mr. Harding, I would never do such a thing. Someone must have filed a complaint against me on purpose, just to ruin my reputation,” Ike said, shaking his head fiercely.

At that moment, Christopher walked into the design department. “You would never do such a thing?” He glowered at Ike. “Yesterday, I saw you forcefully take Miss Quinn to a dinner party and threaten her with her job.”

Ike grew tense. “You’re just making groundless accusations!” he snorted coldly. “I thought Quinn had potential, so I proposed to take her to a party held for designers last night. I wanted to introduce her to some designers and help her. I didn’t mean to molest her at all.”

Natalie clenched her fists and glared at the man. Bile rose in her throat. She couldn’t believe he had the audacity to lie after what happened.

“Let’s see the evidence first. Only then will we know whether it’s true or not.” A knowing smile emerged on Garrett’s face. His assistant immediately opened the laptop and played a video.

The place looked like a hotel corridor. The door of an elevator opened, and Natalie wanted to get in, but Ike dragged Natalie out. Her hair was disheveled, the panic evident in her eyes. She struggled desperately as Ike tried dragging her into a room.

“Is this how you help an employee?” Garrett sneered, his face red with rage.

Natalie was somewhat dependent on him. Sebastian had always given her a sense of security. Even today, he had stood up for her like a knight in shiny armor.

Thus, she rested assured about her safety as long as she stayed with him.

Something else was causing her to worry though. Her mind teemed with several unfavorable things that might happen. “Ike won’t let this slide. I’m sure I would be fired from my job. I had my heart in my mouth earlier. Due to the way you rained blows on him, I was afraid that he would be disabled or worse still, die. Do you know if any of that had happened, you would be sent to jail?”

“Don’t worry your pretty head over such things. None of it will ever happen. I won’t go to jail,” Sebastian responded in a calm voice

The next second, his eyes darkened and he held her more tightly. “Besides, why are you afraid of Ike? He’s just a nobody who has a big mouth!”

“Uh-huh. I hear you. Anyway, why were you also in the hotel?”

Natalie’s mind drifted to the women she had seen in the private dining room a while ago. She couldn’t help but wonder if Sebastian was also there to hook up with other women.

Insecurity set in and caused the gleam in her eyes to change suddenly.

Garrett was a philanderer. He changed women as if he was changing his underwear. Tonight, he had taken Sebastian to such a messy place to have fun. It seemed like he wanted to introduce him to his bad ways.

“Nothing much. My boss just invited me to have dinner with him.”

“Oh,” Natalie muttered. Whenever people affixed the two words, ‘nothing much’ to their response there was a high chance that they had done the exact opposite. She began to worry again. She pursed her lips and buried her face in his chest silently.

As soon as they arrived at the apartment, Natalie rushed into the bathroom.

The disgusting smell of the cigarettes and alcohol was kicking up her gag reflex. It reminded her of Ike’s ugly face. She wanted to take a bath to get rid of all the traces of that disgusting man.

Immediately she turned on the shower, hot water flowed to her head and went down to her body. Her sight soon became blurry. The glass became misty. The mixed scent of her shower gel and the steam soothed her tensed nerves.

Natalie scrubbed her body as if she had fallen into a muddy ditch. When she was done, she began to look for clothes to wear. It suddenly occurred to her that she had rushed to the bathroom absentmindedly. She hadn’t brought anything to change into. Her original clothes were already wet.

Biting her lower lip hard, she gave herself a knock on the head. She felt too stupid at the moment.

She wrapped her body with a bath towel. It was so short that it barely covered her cleavage down to her thighs.

Out of frustration, she held her head and squatted on the floor. She couldn’t go out like this, nor could she ask Sebastian to help her fetch her clothes. It would be so embarrassing. Her underwear was in the same drawer as the pajamas. She didn’t want a man to see her private clothes.

Natalie pressed her ear against the bathroom door and listened carefully. No sound came from outside. After listening carefully for a while, she slowly opened the door and poked her head out.

There was no one in the living room.

It seemed that Sebastian was in his room.

With her heart beating fast, Natalie placed her hand on her bosom to prevent the towel from falling. She then walked out of the bathroom, intending to sneak back into her room.

She had calculated that she would make it to her bedroom without Sebastian seeing her.

Unfortunately, she had only taken two steps on her tiptoes when the knob of Sebastian’s bedroom door was suddenly turned. The door swung open in a trice.

Just as Sebastian was about to walk out of the bedroom, Natalie, wearing nothing but a bath towel, came out of the bathroom and met his gaze.

The two looked at each other wordlessly for a moment. Sebastian then slipped one hand into his trouser pocket, while the other hand was holding a mug.

Nobody spoke for what seemed like an eternity.

Sebastian, truth be told, was stunned speechless. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped excitedly.

He was much taller than Natalie, so he could clearly see her cleavage peeking from above the bath towel.

When Natalie realized what he was looking at, she blushed a bright red and tried to rush into her room, intending to pretend that nothing had happened.

But the corridor wasn’t that big. It only took Sebastian two steps to grab her by the wrist and pull her into his arms from behind.

The woman’s skin was smooth and supple, subconsciously making him want to caress it.

“Honey, you shouldn’t dress like this and walk around,” He teased in a low voice, deliberately poking fun of her.

Natalie opened her mouth to say something, but soon found that she was at a loss for words.

“Wh-what are you talking about? I just forgot to bring my clothes into the bathroom. Let go of me!” Covering her chest with one hand, Natalie looked up at him stubbornly.

Sebastian did the opposite and pulled her even closer to him. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

He took in her scent. She smelled like fresh body wash, similar to how her room smelled.

“Don’t worry. I won’t bite. Let me just walk with you, okay?” Sebastian pinched her gently on the waist and asked, “Why are you shaking? Are you cold?”

Biting her lower lip, Natalie almost cried out when he pinched her. His behavior gave her goose bumps.

Sebastian’s warm breath tickled the back of her ear.

She tightly clenched the bath towel that was wrapped around her.

Stammering, she realized she was still scared of Sebastian. “It… It’s improper for a man to touch a woman like this. Just let me go, Sebastian. Stop teasing me.”

“What’re you talking about? We’re married. It’s only right for us to be intimate like this.” With a serious look on his face, Sebastian suddenly loosened his grip so that he could look Natalie up and down to see if there were any bruises on her body. “Are you really okay?”

Natalie blushed, thinking that he was ogling her. She held her arms over her chest protectively, blocking Sebastian’s view of her cleavage. “I’m fine,” she said hurriedly. “Just let me go back to my room.”

She struggled, trying to squirm out of Sebastian’s arms.

But if she kept struggling like this, her bath towel would definitely unravel and fall to the ground.

“We’ve kissed each other already. Why are you still so shy?” The corners of Sebastian’s mouth twitched. He was flirting with her on purpose. Pinching her cheek, he suddenly grew serious. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson. You’re young and beautiful. Quite an easy target. I can’t guarantee I’ll be there to save you all the time.”

When Sebastian came back, the image of Natalie crying silently kept replaying in his mind.

He frowned slightly, thinking that he shouldn’t have let that lecherous man off the hook so easily. He should’ve beaten him until he could never stand up again.

Her doe-like eyes widened and she nodded obediently. All of a sudden, she found herself smiling. She couldn’t help but feel flattered by his compliment about her beauty.

“Okay, okay. Can you let me go now?” Natalie’s pouted, albeit red-faced.

The bath towel was in a precarious position. She could feel it loosening around her body.

Sebastian hesitated for a few seconds. His eyes were fixed on her blushed face and he stole a glance at her charming chest. He was, in a word, captivated by her.

His eyes clouded over and he couldn’t think straight. In a hoarse voice, he whispered, “Do you want me to come inside with you?”

Ike’s words and movements became more and more indecent. At the same time, Natalie just wanted to take off her shoes and beat Ike up.

She knew that if she stayed here, she’d be in great danger.

“Excuse me, Mr. Lyman. I seem to have consumed too much water. I need to go to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.” Gritting her teeth, Natalie forced a smile.

“Okay. Don’t take too long. You still have to serve me.” Ike reached out his hand and touched the side of Natalie’s face. Then, he stuck his face to her neck and sniffed. A small, satisfied sound escaped his throat. “You smell so good.”

Natalie pushed him away, grabbed her purse, and ran out of the room. She rushed to the elevators and pushed the down button.

It didn’t matter to her anymore if she lost her job. Her life was more important.

She didn’t have much experience and thought things too simply. She didn’t expect that Ike, who seemed to be a decent person, would be such a lascivious man.

She shouldn’t have gone with him tonight.

Finally, the elevator doors whirred open. When Natalie was about to step in, somebody suddenly grabbed her from behind.

“Let’s go to the bathroom together, and then let’s have sex right inside the bathroom stall. How’d you like that?” Ike reeked of alcohol. He leaned his head on Natalie’s shoulder and rubbed up against her.

“You bastard! Get away from me!”

Even though already nauseated, Natalie desperately struggled to break free from Ike.

But she was too thin and weak to overpower such a strong, albeit intoxicated, man.

Ike locked Natalie in a tight embrace. “Don’t be so stubborn. Many women in the company have slept with me. And the day after, they went right back to work. Some of them even got promoted and got a raise. They had it easy. All they did was go to bed with me.”

As he spoke, he dragged her into an empty room nearby.

“Help! Help! He’s trying to rape me!”

Natalie grasped the door frame and shouted desperately.

Ike held her waist tightly and dragged her into the room. Despite struggling with all her might, helpless tears rolled down her cheeks.

She kept shouting until her voice grew hoarse. However, no one responded to her pleas.

Then, a flicker of hope ignited in her heart when she caught a glimpse of a waiter pushing a dining cart down the corridor in the distance.

Hoping against hope that the waiter could help her, she shouted with all of her might, “Help! This man’s trying to rape me! Please help me! Call the police! Please!”

The waiter paused and glanced at her as she called to him desperately. However, his eyes were cold, and he then proceeded to walk away as though he hadn’t seen or heard anything, disappearing behind the corner of the corridor.

“Shut up already. People here won’t meddle in our business even if they see it. After all, they’ve seen too much of it. So be a good girl and do as I say. Maybe I’ll even be nice to you later.” As Ike spoke, he eyed Natalie’s exposed waist hungrily. He couldn’t wait to kiss her bare skin.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a heavy blow to his face and he fell backwards onto the floor.

Ike was shocked. His face stung and, as the taste of metallic blood filled his mouth, he could tell that one of his teeth was broken.

“What the fuck? How dare you hit me?!”

Ike spat out the loose tooth and a mouthful of blood. Touching his stinging cheek gingerly, he flew into a rage.

When he turned to look at the perpetrator, his eyes met that of a fierce man standing over him. The tall, burly man was wearing a black jacket and a black cap. Beneath his cap, his eyes gleamed coldly.

“Sebastian!” Wiping her teary eyes, Natalie rushed to Sebastian as though she had seen her savior.

Sebastian met her halfway and stepped in front of her protectively. He took the black cap off of his head and put it on hers. Then, he wiped her tear-stained cheeks with his thumbs and said through gritted teeth, “Get out of here. Now.”

“Damn it! Fuck you, you bastard!” Ike angrily got to his feet. With clenched fists, he rushed towards Sebastian in a fit of rage.

But before he could land a blow, Sebastian caught Ike’s fist and twisted it, forcing Ike to the ground. It was like subduing a weak chicken. With dark eyes, Sebastian raised his own fist to punch the despicable Ike’s face.

Sebastian was a force to be reckoned with. After all, he was born ruthless and cruel.

Ike was beaten to a pulp. When Sebastian was done, Ike couldn’t get up. Two or three of his teeth were knocked out, and blood flowed freely from his nose. Finally, he shrieked, “Let go of me! Please! Someone, help! He’s trying to kill me!”

It wasn’t until Ike’s voice went hoarse that Sebastian finally straightened his clothes and stood up. But he wasn’t done yet. He kicked Ike’s dick and spat coldly, “Do something like this again and I’ll cut your balls off.”

Ike immediately crumpled and rolled on the ground, screaming in pain loudly.

It took a while for him to recover. He quickly retreated a safe distance, like a cornered dog.

While he didn’t dare to attack Sebastian again, he still had the audacity to spit at Sebastian. “Who are you? How dare you meddle in other people’s business?”

Sebastian calmly walked up to Natalie and put his arm on her shoulder. To Ike, he held his chin up high and said coldly, “I’m her husband.”

Trembling like a leaf, Ike stood up, gnashed his teeth, and pointed at Sebastian. “This isn’t over! I won’t rest until you’re behind bars!”

Then his pointing finger shifted to Natalie. “And you! Don’t even think about coming back to the Larson Group. I’ll make sure you’re banned from the whole industry, bitch!”

Sebastian sneered, sending shivers down Ike’s spine.

“Is that so? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

At this point, he didn’t want to waste his breath with Ike anymore. So, with his arm around Natalie’s shoulder, he turned around and left along with her.

Sebastian led Natalie into the elevator.

She kept her head down and her hands were clasped tightly together. She was still trembling. Her breathing was also faster than normal.

All of a sudden, Sebastian lifted the black cap he put on her head.

Natalie looked up in a panic. Warm tears had already welled in her eyes. Her long lashes were wet and shiny. This made her look pitiful and beautiful at the same time.

“Are you hurt?” A faint gleam of pity flickered in his eyes as he checked her body.

He pinched her cheeks and stared at them for a while. Next, he reached down to lift her clothes with the intention of checking her waist.

Natalie quickly held her clothes down with both hands. Her face flushed and she shifted uneasily. “Please don’t do that. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” she said in a low voice.

Afterward, she kept silent again. She looked so depressed with her head lowered.

Sebastian sensed her uneasiness and fright. To put her at ease, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly.

Her waist was so slim that his long arms circled it comfortably.

“Don’t be afraid. I promise to protect you from that pervert from now on. No harm would come to you,” he said assuredly after sighing deeply.

His doting voice took Natalie by surprise. She raised her head to look at him. With her eyebrows slightly furrowed, she commented, “I’m not unhappy because I almost got raped today. There’s something else on my mind.”

The next day, as soon as Natalie arrived at the office, the colleague sitting opposite to her suddenly winked at her. “Did you hear? Pamela was demoted and transferred to an insignificant department.”

Natalie cocked her head to the side slightly. After a short pause, she asked, “Was it Mr. Lyman’s doing?”

“Of course! You can’t just spread a rumor about your superior. In fact, I think Mr. Lyman actually showed her mercy. At least he didn’t fire her. But I have a feeling that Pamela won’t be staying with the Larson Group for very long,” the colleague said in a sing-song voice.

Natalie smiled slightly. She figured that the real reason why Ike didn’t notify the authorities was because the matter would also smear his name.

“Quinn, I think you did well. Pamela isn’t that capable a worker, but she can get really jealous. She was always stirring up trouble and trying to put her other colleagues down. Now that she’s gone, I think our department will be more peaceful.”

Another colleague handed a little pastry to Natalie and patted her on the shoulder. “I support what you did. You were so brave yesterday.”

A faint, warm smile pulled at the corners of Natalie’s lips.

Ever since Ike was forced to clarify his relationship with Natalie in public, he had stopped calling her into his office every now and then, or hitting on her like before.

Natalie felt that he had probably given up and was gradually relieved about it.

It was Saturday tomorrow, and she was looking forward to it. She had planned to buy some fruits and visit Hannah after work.

Hannah’s condition had stabilized ever since she was transferred to another hospital.

As soon as Natalie turned off her computer, Ike called her from behind.

“Quinn, don’t rush off work. Pack your things and come with me. We’ll go out for dinner later, and it will be considered overtime. The company will offer you extra payment for it.”

Natalie bit her lip; she had an inkling about the dinner. “Mr. Lyman, what kind of dinner is it? Is anyone else joining us?”

Ike calmly looked around and said, “Everyone has left. Only you’re here. I can’t ask anyone else to join us, can I? I just received the news that there is a chance to win this client over and design customized products for their brand this year. Let’s see if we can make it happen tonight.”

Natalie looked around. Her colleagues had indeed left work. Natalie had sketched an extra design draft. That was why she had stayed in the company longer.

But she was confused as to why Ike was asking her to attend the dinner. After all, she was a new employee in the company. ‘Doesn’t he have an assistant? I’m not experienced enough to discuss business, nor can I drink,’ she thought.

“Mr. Lyman, why don’t you ask someone else to join you? I have important work to do tonight.” Natalie picked up her bag, ready to leave.

Ike quickly grabbed her wrist and looked into her eyes. “Don’t be nervous. I just want to help you. You are just getting started with your career, and you have practically no resources. Now, you have the chance to become friends with big shots in the fashion world. Don’t toss it away for some silly reason.”

Natalie wriggled her hand away from Ike’s grip. “Mr. Lyman, we are in the company now. If you keep behaving like this, people will end up misunderstanding us. Don’t forget that you have already clarified our relationship once. You don’t want to do it again, do you?”

“Quinn, don’t be so stubborn. We are all here to work. It’s just a dinner. Why are you making a big deal out of it? This is a workplace, not a school. You ought to follow the rules and regulations here,” Ike said sternly, his eyes gleaming with sarcasm.

“It is not that I don’t want to go with you. I really have an important work to do.” Natalie didn’t want to argue with him.

“Don’t be so reckless!” Ike snapped.

He raised his hand, trying to pull her away.

Just then, someone grasped her wrist.

“Mr. Lyman, this is the 21st century. Don’t you know that you can’t force your subordinate into doing something she doesn’t want to?” Christopher’s jaw tightened. Although he looked calm, the anger was evident in his eyes.

Noticing that it was Christopher, Ike calmed down and straightened his suit. He didn’t dare to be too arrogant in front of Christopher, but he wasn’t afraid of him either.

“This is none of your business. Stay out of it.”

He turned and glared at Natalie. “Don’t be so reckless! If you let me down, I’ll make sure you don’t work with the Larson Group anymore.”

Natalie’s face darkened at his threat.

Now that Christopher was here, Ike couldn’t do anything to her. However, she couldn’t afford to lose the job and didn’t want Christopher to offend Ike because of her and end up losing his job.

“Chris, don’t worry about me. It will be fine.” Natalie smiled at him. Then, she turned to look at Ike as her icy gaze met his. “Mr. Lyman, I’ll go with you.”

They arrived at a five-star hotel.

Natalie followed Ike into a private room and found that the people he went to meet weren’t clients but just a bunch of his friends.

There was a big round table filled with all kinds of sushi and sashimi, and in the middle, there was a carved flagon.

At the table sat a group of men dressed in strangely styled clothes. Each of them held a glass of wine in one hand and a woman in the other. The women all wore heavy makeup and skimpy dresses.

Their faces were all red from drinking. When they saw Ike, they raised their eyebrows and one of them shouted at him, “Oh, finally! Get over here, Ike! We’ve all been waiting for you!”

Keeping her face neutral, Natalie sat among Ike’s friends and their lady companions. It was obvious that the women were working girls.

The women looked at Natalie with a smile as if welcoming one of their own to the party. They even raised their eyebrows and winked at Natalie.

The men fondled the women, and the women giggled. The low moans and the stifled squeals gave the room an atmosphere of drunken lust.

The entire time, Natalie felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She itched to run far, far away.

“Why are you so nervous?” Ike’s cheeks were red. He stared at her lewdly and put his hand on her thigh.

Frightened, Natalie stood up and dumped wine on Ike’s face, “You are such a lecher! Don’t touch me!”

The people around them didn’t seem to be surprised though. In fact, they even started laughing. “Ike, the girl you brought seems to be hot-tempered. You better teach her a lesson tonight so that she’ll behave herself.”

After that, some of Ike’s friends stood up and led their lady friends to their respective rooms for the latter part of the party.

Obviously, Ike already had too much to drink, but he didn’t get angry at Natalie’s behavior. He just chuckled and said, “What’s wrong with me touching you? You’re not worth much more than those women who have sex with men for money, unless you’re still a virgin though. Are you? Hey, if you let me pop your cherry, I’m willing to pay you much, much more. What do you say? Sounds good?”

The following week, Natalie took precautions to avoid running into Ike, but Ike kept on hinting at her from time to time.

One morning, she went to the convenience store downstairs to buy some coffee.

As she waited in line, two women glanced at her and started whispering to each other. “Isn’t that the woman from the design department who hooks up with Ike?”

“Yeah, I think so!”

Natalie overheard their loud whispering and frowned deeply. “What are you two talking about?”

The two women were shocked by her sudden confrontation. They quickly shook their heads and smiled embarrassedly. “Nothing, nothing. We mistook you for someone else, that’s all.”

But that wasn’t the last Natalie heard of this. She soon realized that someone from the design department must have spread unpleasant rumors about her and Ike.

And those rumors spread like wildfire. Some colleagues who used to be nice to Natalie even started to keep their distance from her.

Previously, Natalie was viewed as a well-mannered, kind young woman in the design department.

But now that someone had spoken ill of Natalie behind her back, people began to view her in a different light.

It was Pamela who had first shown hostility towards her.

Ever since Ike announced that he would select Natalie’s design, Pamela had been hostile to Natalie to her face.

So Natalie suspected that Pamela was the one started the rumors.

And sure enough, upon careful but quiet observation, she found that it was indeed Pamela who was gossiping around.

Pamela had even made a group chat with many colleagues from the company. That was where she shared her made-up rumors about Natalie.

One day, during lunch break, Natalie went to the tea room and took a bottle of soda. On her way out, she saw Pamela nearby. Natalie paused for a second and just left.

Pamela glanced at her mischievously then whispered to the colleague next to her, “I heard Quinn went to a hotel with Mr. Lyman last night.”

“What? No way! Didn’t he have a meeting in the office until very late last night? I don’t know why she likes him though. He’s such a jerk.” The colleague shook her head and sighed. She had thought that Natalie was a beautiful girl and that she was way out of Ike’s league.

“Of course she doesn’t like him. She’s just using him because he’s her immediate supervisor. Some women would do anything to get promoted, am I right? I wouldn’t be surprised if she used to be a married man’s mistress when she was in college. I’ve heard a lot about her ‘frivolous’ life in college. She just doesn’t care about her reputation. That’s her style.”

As Pamela spoke, she sipped from her water calmly, as though she knew all about what she was talking about.

“What? What happened to her when she was in college? Tell me everything!” The colleague leaned in closer towards Pamela.

“What’re you two whispering about over here? Let me join you!” Apparently, Natalie had come back and was leaning against the door, smiling sweetly at the two women.

“Wh-what? Nothing. We were just talking about some gossip we heard on the news.” Pamela was taken aback when Natalie suddenly spoke. She was so surprised that she stammered and her face turned red.

With a gentle smile, Natalie straightened her back and strode over to Pamela. She picked up the phone that was lying on the desk and held it up. “Really? I just came back to get my phone, you see.”

She unlocked the phone and glanced at it, then feigned a surprised expression. “Oh, my God! I’m so sorry. The recorder was turned on this whole time. Oh, I know! Let’s listen to what you said just now!”

A look of horror flashed on Pamela’s face.

She had no idea that the phone was recording their conversation just now.

Natalie turned up the volume of her phone so that everyone in the tea room could hear it clearly.

In the recording, Pamela’s voice could be heard loud and clear. It also sounded harsh and mean. All eyes were on her now.

“What? I never did anything you claimed here. But you described it so vividly. How about we confront Mr. Lyman face to face?” After the recording stopped, Natalie sneered.

Pamela had made everything up.

Pamela eyed Natalie warily. She never would’ve thought that Natalie would dare to make a scene in public.

“You lunatic! How dare you record me? I was having a private conversation with a colleague! This is an invasion of my privacy!” She was so anxious that her voice turned shrill. As she berated Natalie, she tried to grab the phone from her.

But Natalie acted quick and dodged her advance. Looking at Pamela sharply, she said, “You defamed me first. I’m going to call Mr. Lyman right now. We can confront each other in his presence.”

Then she strode out of the tea room and went straight to the director’s office. She knocked on the door politely and announced, “Mr. Lyman, it’s Quinn.”

Ike snickered, thinking that Natalie had come around so soon.

“Come in. What’s up?” he asked, feigning a concerned expression.

Natalie opened the door and smiled slightly. “Mr. Lyman, could you come out here please? There’s an emergency you need to deal with.”

Was she actually asking him for help? Awesome!

Ike cleared his throat and smiled greasily. “Of course!”

He then followed Natalie out and found a group of people waiting outside his office.

Pamela was among them, looking nervous with eyes darting around and fists clenched tightly.

“What happened?” Ike looked around him in confusion.

“Mr. Lyman, somebody here has been spreading a rumor that we have an affair. She even went so far as to tell people that we went to a hotel last night.” Natalie’s voice was calm yet powerful. Everyone couldn’t help but look at her. As she spoke, she took out her phone and held it up.

In fact, Ike’s flirtatious hints were borderline harassment, which annoyed Natalie. She wanted to put a stop to this, so she took this as an opportunity to make him give up on her.

After he listened to the recording, Ike’s expression immediately darkened.

Now that Natalie had spoken out about him in public, his plan to win her over suddenly seemed like wishful thinking. He never thought that Natalie, who seemed to be a meek push-over, was actually a tough, capable woman.

He had no choice but to snort as though the rumor was completely ridiculous. He cleared his throat loudly and announced, “Everything that was mentioned in the recording is purely unfounded. I had a meeting last night that ran all the way until midnight. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask my wife to testify? Quinn and I are not involved with each other except in matters regarding work.”

The crowd immediately burst into whispers now that the rumor was dispelled.

Since Ike even dared to mention his wife, it meant that there was really no affair between him and Natalie.

With a serious look in his eyes, Ike pointed at Pamela and frowned deeply. “Since you have so much extra time to gossip, why don’t you focus on work instead? If I hear that a rumor like this spreads again, I’m going to report it to the company leader.”

All the color drained from Pamela’s face.

She knew that she was doomed this time. No boss would ever tolerate a subordinate slandering his name.

Natalie’s toes rubbed against his shins.

Sebastian’s body burned with passion.He was turned on.

The desire he had been holding in while they were in the car hit him with full force now.

He quickly turned on the bed and pressed his boy against hers.

The sweet scent of her body made his mouth dry.

Sebastian’s eyes swept across her breasts that rose and fell with her every breath.

Natalie always wore loose clothes.She had an alluring figure.

Although she looked petite and had a dainty waist, her plump breasts and curvy bum made her look like a model.

Sebastian leaned forward and kissed her neck.

His body froze the next moment, and he suddenly pulled back.

After taking a deep breath, he wriggled away from her.

He fisted his hair and cursed under his breath.

Sebastian just couldn’t act on his desires.

Natalie was drunk, and he couldn’t take advantage of her.

Sebastian leaned back against the headboard and looked at Natalie’s face.He had never properly looked at her.

Natalie had a flawless face with perfect features.She still had baby fat on her cheeks.

If she were a size thinner, she would look glamorous.

But Sebastian liked how she looked like now.She looked like a pristine beauty.

Natalie’s breathing evened as she slept like a baby.

Sebastian shook his head, lifted the quilt, and quietly walked out of the room.

He entered the bathroom and found the water he had prepared for Natalie had turned cold. It wasn’t a waste because he needed to take a cold shower to calm down.

Sebastian let out a weary sigh.

Then, he took off his T-shirt and sank into the bathtub.

A beam of sunlight fell on Natalie’s face. She winced and rubbed her bleary eyes, realizing that it was already morning. Her throat was dry, and there was a dull pounding at her temples. It appeared that she had been drunk the previous night. Natalie scratched at her messy hair and padded to the bathroom in a daze, intending to freshen herself up. When she faced the mirror, however, she was horrified to find her neck and chest dotted with red marks, which were decidedly not insect bites.

“Sebastian Klein!” Natalie screamed at the top of her lungs, her face burning. “You called for your husband?” Sebastian said as he sauntered into the bathroom. A thin sheen of sweat covered his sculpted face, and his gray shirt was damp at the chest. He must have gone running.

“What did you do to me last night?” Natalie demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Sebastian raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the hickeys around her neck. “You’re seriously asking me what I did to you? Shouldn’t you be asking what you did to me? You started it all. You clung to me and kept touching my body, rubbing my—”

“Stop it!” Natalie closed her eyes and put her hands up. “Did you think I would believe all these nonsense you’re spouting?”

There was no way she would do those things to him! With a helpless look on his face, Sebastian walked away and came back with a crumpled shirt in his hand. “This is the evidence. My chest was also pinched red by you last night. Do you want to have a look?”

Then he intended to take off his clothes.

“No!” Natalie turned away in a panic.

She tried to recall everything that had transpired, but only vague, hazy flashes surfaced in her mind. If she wasn’t mistaken… She had, indeed, taken the initiative to kiss Sebastian in the car, Great! She had well and truly ruined her image.

Natalie had never expected that she would lose all common sense after a few glasses of wine. She bit her lower lip and covered her face with her hands, wishing that a hole would open up below her and swallow her into an abyss.

“All right, I didn’t do anything, okay?” Sebastian said behind her, his voice deep and husky. “Here, drink this.” He handed her a paper cup.

Natalie took a sniff of the drink and realized that it was honey water. After drinking it, her stomach finally settled down. The bitter taste of hangover had also disappeared from her tongue. Unfortunately, her mortification remained.

Natalie decided to ignore Sebastian altogether and proceeded to freshen up for the day. She changed into a turtle-neck dress and rushed out to work. Sebastian watched her the entire time, a small smile playing on his lips. As soon as she arrived at the Larson Group, Natalie was called into the conference room.

“We have reviewed all the designs you submit for the autumn and winter series,” Ike said. “We’ve come to the unanimous decision to use Quinn’s designs.” He held up a portfolio as his gaze swept down the long table to where Natalie was sitting.

“Thank you for this great honor,” she gushed. “I’m new here, and I know that I still have much to learn. Please guide me as I move forward. I will value any advice you give me.” Natalie had never imagined she would land such a big project so soon.

She had been working here for less than a month, after all. Besides, as a newcomer, she didn’t think it was a good thing to show off her abilities before establishing good rapport with her colleagues,

“There’s no need for that. Your designs are excellent as they are.

Oh, but if you have any questions, then feel free to ask your seniors.” Ike looked through her portfolio as he spoke, his pride and admiration evident in his eyes.

Natalie only smiled in response. She knew that the other designers present in the meeting likely disagreed with Ike. “I think those designs are pretty ordinary,” Pamela Daly muttered under her breath.

She had joined the Larson Group a few years prior to Natalie, and had been fully expecting that her designs would be selected this time around.

Naturally, she wasn’t happy with this development.  “Keep your voice down,” one of Pamela’s friends reprimanded her softly. “She’s right in front of you.”

“But I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?” Pamela retorted.

Natalie pretended not to hear their exchange and focused on sorting out the folders she had brought with her. “Okay, everyone. That’s all for the meeting.” Ike stood and gathered a stack of documents before smiling kindly at Natalie.

“I’m going to need you in my office, Quinn.” Natalie obediently followed him to the other room. Ike tossed the documents on his desk, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and leaned back against his chair. “There’s a cozy vibe to your designs, you know,” he remarked.

“Your style is unique and memorable, but not in an overpowering way. I see a lot of potential in you, but you do need further training. If you do well with your projects, I will give you more chances to cultivate your skills in the future.”

Ike’s gaze had turned sharp as it fell on Natalie’s face. There was nothing particularly special about her features, but she was undoubtedly gorgeous.

Natalie fidgeted under his stare. She understood what he was implying, and immediately felt disgusted. Even so, she mustered a light smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Lyman. I still have some drafts to finish, so if there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Ike grinned and said nothing more. On top of her good looks, this woman also had a strong personality. He did like it when they were feisty; it brought some spice to the game of pursuit. She would end up taking off her clothes in front of him, anyway. He could wait.

“Go ahead.” Natalie felt sick and outraged as she made her way back to her desk. She didn’t notice Pamela, who had been following close behind her.

“It’s no wonder Ike favors you,” Pamela thought as she sneered at Natalie’s back. “You’re just another shameless vixen who seduces her way up the ladder.”

Just now, she had stopped by Ike’s office on purpose and eavesdropped at the door. The man had made his intentions toward Natalie perfectly clear.

The manager and the waitresses exchanged glances.

They had thought their boss would drive the couple away.

But to their utter dismay, he was asking them to apologize.

The boss wiped the sweat on his forehead and looked at his staff.

“What have I told you? Guests are like God.People come to our restaurant for its exceptional taste and service.What are you doing here?”

The manager and the waitresses were frightened.

They immediately pressed their palms together and bowed before Sebastian and Natalie.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to insult you. Please accept our apologies. We’re really sorry.”

Sebastian turned a deaf ear to them.He calmly poured a glass of water without batting an eyelid at them.

Natalie seemed just confused.

“Is this how a restaurant owned by the Larson Group treats its guests?” Sebastian asked, his jaw tightening with menace.

The boss understood the meaning behind his words and looked at the three people standing aside.

“That’s enough! All three of you are fired!”

Then he turned to Sebastian again.

“I apologize on behalf of our staff. You can stay here as long as you want — no one will disturb you. Your dinner is on us. You can order whatever you want.”

Natalie finally snapped out of her astonishment when the owner of the restaurant left with his staff. She quietly stared at Sebastian.

‘How could he be so calm?’ she wondered.

“Sebastian, what just happened? Why was the owner of this restaurant nice to you? Besides, he didn’t probe the issue to find out what really happened.How was he so sure that the waitresses were rude to us?”

Natalie fired one question after the other.

“He didn’t have to question them.High-end restaurants always handle problems like these with care because they can’t afford to lose their reputation.The manager and waitresses were thoughtless, but the owner knew what to do.After all, losing even one customer would impact their business because reputation is their biggest asset,” Sebastian explained.

Biting her lip, Natalie nodded in understanding.

Sebastian’s words made sense.

“Speaking of which…”

She grinned and playfully nudged his arm.

“You were domineering like you were his boss.”

“Gangsters like us have to put on an act at all times.It’s a dangerous world.Otherwise, I’d be dead by now.”

Sebastian filled Natalie’s bowl with soup and looked at her.

Natalie felt he was right, so she didn’t probe further.

Since Natalie didn’t have to pay for their dinner, she enjoyed the meal and ordered all her favorite food.

The owner gave them a bottle of Lafite as a token of his apology.

Natalie had never tried expensive wine before, so she downed a few glasses and soon got drunk.

Therefore, Sebastian picked her up in his arms and walked out of the restaurant.

Sean had been waiting at the door of the restaurant for a long time.

He opened the car door for Sebastian and grinned at him.

“Boss, you and your wife are in a good mood today.”

“She is drunk.”

Sebastian gently put her inside the car.

“Ask Garrett to inspect all the restaurants that belong to the Larson Group once again.”

Although Natalie didn’t drink much, she was a wimpy drinker.

She complained about feeling hot and wanting to take off her coat when she was only wearing a thin coat and a camisole today.

Sebastian held her safely in his arms and glanced at the rearview mirror.

“Behave yourself.We are not alone in the car,” he whispered in her ear.

Sean immediately looked away.

He had been working for Sebastian for many years but had never seen him this happy and intimate with anyone else.He felt emotional.

‘Has he become gentle?’ Sean wondered.

However, he quickly shook his head.

‘Gentle’ didn’t seem like the right adjective to describe Sebastian.He had witnessed the fierce and dangerous side of his boss more times than he could remember.

“But I’m really hot.Very hot, Sebastian,”

Natalie whined, leaning against his chest.She looked up, and her blurry gaze met his.

Sebastian’s eyes darkened.He took out a piece of tissue to wipe the sweat off Natalie’s forehead.

“Hold on.We’ll be home soon,”he said, stroking her cheek.

Sebastian’s hormones were on overdrive.

In a daze, Natalie rested her head on his shoulder, her nose rubbing against his skin.

Her hot breath blew against his neck as her fingers pressed his Adam’s apple.

She somehow found it amusing and giggled.

“Didn’t I ask you to behave yourself?” Sebastian warned.

Before Natalie knew it, he pinned her against the car window.

His burning body pressed against hers as he stared at her with lustful eyes.

Natalie had broken his self-control.

He inched forward and kissed her gently.

Sebastian thought Natalie had taken the initiative to tempt him, so he didn’t bother restraining himself.

He cupped her neck and nipped her bottom lip, asking for entrance.

Natalie trembled under his weight and grasped his chest.She tilted her head up and opened her mouth to breathe.

But Sebastian slid his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss.

Sebastian pressed every inch of his body against Natalie’s.The woman was soon out of breath.She tried pushing him away with all her might.

“E… Sebastian… Don’t bite me… God, you’re too heavy.You’re crushing me.”

She turned around, trying to dodge his move, but he cupped her cheeks, trapping her in place.

Natalie couldn’t move as he continued to kiss her deeper.

Sebastian hoisted Natalie on his lap and cupped her bum.

Just as their kissing deepened, the car skidded to a halt as Sean slammed the brakes.

The force propelled Natalie and Sebastian forward, and the back of her head almost hit the front seat.

Sean was still in a state of shock.

“That was close.I almost ran into that dog…”

He turned around and said, “Boss, here we are… Eh?”

Sean was startled.

He didn’t realize what Sebastian and Natalie were doing until now.

His face flushed with embarrassment, and he quickly turned away.

Sebastian took a deep breath and looked at Sean as he tried controlling his raging hormones.

“You’re an excellent driver, Sean.”

Then, he got out of the car and picked Natalie up in his arms.

Before leaving, he turned around and glared at his assistant.

“I’m going to deduct fifty percent of your salary this month to help stray dogs, in case you by any chance run your car on one of them in the future.”

Sean angrily stomped his foot.

‘How could Boss deduct my salary over such a trivial thing?’ Sebastian put Natalie on the bed and tucked her messy hair behind her ears.

“Be good.I’ll run a hot bath for you.”

With that, Sebastian went to the bathroom.

Natalie felt stuffy, so she took off her coat and fell asleep.

When Sebastian entered the room again, Natalie was fast asleep.He looked at her and shook his head.

“You never listen to me, do you?”

His face softened when he saw her serene face.He pinched her cheek and finally gave up the idea of giving her a bath.

Sebastian reached out to tuck her in.

However, Natalie rolled on the bed and dragged him down.

Caught off guard, Sebastian lost his balance and fell on the bed.

Natalie immediately wrapped her legs around his, hugged his waist, and rested her head on his chest.

She clung to him like a baby koala and drifted off to a peaceful sleep, oblivious to the consequences of her actions.

“Sebastian, this is the best restaurant in the city.”

The restaurant belonged to the Larson Group and was one of the most famous restaurants in the city.It would cost all her savings to eat here.

“Didn’t you want to treat me to a big dinner?”

Sebastian arched his brows, pretending to be confused Natalie gritted her teeth and forced a smile.

“Yeah.Nothing.Let’s go inside.”

When Natalie checked the menu, she felt she couldn’t afford any of the dishes here.

Her heart sank as she skimmed through the menu card. Not even one dish was affordable here.

Biting her lower lip, Natalie continued to look at the menu.

“Miss, could you please hurry up? We still have to serve other guests,” one of the waiters said impatiently, casting a disdainful look at her.

Two waitresses nearby cast a scornful look at Natalie.

“They shouldn’t have come here if they can’t afford it,” one of them whispered to the other.

“I haven’t seen them before.They don’t look like regular customers.They’ve been looking at the menu for ten minutes.Don’t they feel ashamed?”

Natalie put down the menu card as the blood drained from her face. She stood up and looked at the two noisy waitresses

“What are you talking about? There is no time limit for ordering in your restaurant. Can’t we check the menu for a while before ordering?”

The two waitresses examined Natalie’s and Sebastian’s clothes and assumed the two were poor people.They didn’t think offending the two would cause them any trouble

“We didn’t say anything I guess you are mistaken,” one of the waitresses said confidently

“That’s right.We were just discussing what to eat tonight,” the other waitress chimed in Sebastian poured a glass of water for Natalie and stood up I, too, heard what you were talking,” he said, glaring at them The waitresses looked startled “Are you two here to make trouble on purpose?”

one of them asked in a sobbing tone Just then, the restaurant manager heard the commotion and approached their table. The manager looked at Natalie and Sebastian and back at the waitresses “Enough! Stop fighting’”

He waved his hand

“Don’t disturb the other diners.What’s going on here?”

The waitress pointed at Sebastian.

“These two have been looking at the menu without ordering anything. We didn’t say anything ! only reminded them to order, but they got offended and started fighting with us”

The manager’s face darkened as he believed her.

This was one of the most popular restaurants in the city.

Many diners came to hang out without ordering food and sometimes ordered only the least expensive dish These people came to the restaurant just to click fancy pictures.

The restaurant manager hated such people and assumed Natalie and Sebastian were here for the same reason “All night I understand what’s going on.”

The restaurant manager straightened his suit and walked to Natalie “Sir, miss, please leave Other diners are waiting for a table you don’t intend to order, please allow the other diners to occupy the table.”

Sebastian’s face darkened.He didn’t expect the restaurant that belonged to Larson Group would have such poor service.

The workers disrespected the diners.

He wondered how Garrett managed his subordinates. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the manager.

“What makes you think we aren’t going to order food? You blindly believe their words without listening to us.”

The argument caught everyone’s attention.

They stopped eating and gawked at them. Several passersby outside were also peeking into the restaurant through the glass door. The manager broke out in a cold sweat. After all, the quarrel would affect the restaurant’s reputation.

If the media covered the news, people would stop coming to the restaurant.

“I’ve already inquired the waiter and waitresses. You two were making trouble out of nothing. How dare you question me. The restaurant manager grew anxious and was desperate to solve the problem as soon as possible.

He picked up the walkie-talkie on his chest and said, “Security, come to the second floor. A couple is making trouble here. Hurry up and drive these two people out.”

Natalie became furious when the manager called the security guards. She walked to the manager and glared at him.

“Yours is a high end restaurant. How could you insult your diners like this? Your service is poor, and your workers are impolite. And you drive us out of the restaurant if we point it out? My husband didn’t say anything wrong. How could you disrespect him? You’ve gone too far!”

The manager frowned and glanced around the guests who were already whispering about the issue.

“What are you talking about”, he shouted,

“Don’t spread nonsense to ruin the reputation of our restaurant. Our restaurant is known for our exceptional service.”

Sebastian pursed his lips, trying to suppress his smile. He was happy to see his wife defend him.

“Come here.”

Sebastian grabbed Natalie’s wrist and pulled her closer to him, “Stay away from him.Look at the man.Aren’t you afraid that he might slap you?” he whispered into her ear.

“They are wrong.They didn’t offer good service and were extremely rude.They humiliated us.Why should I spend my money here?”

Natalie looked at him, anger blazing in her eyes.Sebastian smiled and gently stroked her hair.

“Leave it to me.”He then turned to the manager, with a stone-cold face.

“I want to see your boss.Call him!”

The manager had been working in the restaurant for several years.He could tell Sebastian wasn’t an ordinary man but exuded a strong aura.

If not for his shabby clothes and menacing looks, the man would have mistaken him for a movie star or a rich young master from some noble family.

However, judging from his clothes, the manager felt he was a lowly man trying to cause trouble.

He snorted with disdain.

“Who do you think you are? My boss won’t come and see you as and when you wish.”

“Believe it or not, if he doesn’t show up, I’ll make sure this restaurant is sealed tomorrow,” Sebastian said calmly.

The threat in Sebastian’s voice and the intensity of his gaze frightened the manager.

He swallowed as sweat beaded his forehead.

“Just wait and see!”

He pointed his trembling finger at Sebastian.

“Just wait and see.Our boss will teach you a lesson.”

A few minutes later, the manager returned with the owner of the restaurant.

“Boss, they’re the ones making trouble.We must call the police.”

The owner’s face turned pallid when he saw Sebastian sitting at the table, his cold eyes piercing through him.

His legs grew weak. He felt flustered.

Their staff had made a grave mistake offending Sebastian.

“Boss, listen to me.These two people are trying to cause trouble… “Shut up!” the owner shouted, stopping him.

He gritted his teeth and glared at the manager and the waitresses.

“All three of you apologize to our guests right now!”

“Boss, we…”

Natalie leaned forward and propped her chin on one hand, bracing herself for a long list of demands.

It didn’t take long for the client to write back.

“I have seen the designs you posted on the website.They are very good.You may have free rein in designing my suit.I will provide you with the necessary feedback once you have given me your first draft.”

Natalie wasted no time and began drawing a prototype according to the client’s measurements.

Meanwhile, the company had recently asked them for tentative designs meant for a regular, pre-selection process.

That meant that none of her work would go to waste in the end.

Apart for a few hours’ sleep, Natalie spent all of her time poring over her digital panels.

Three days later, she was finally able to send a final design to the client.

The bespoke ensemble comprised of a double-breasted, gray jacket with matching trousers, an immaculate white dress shirt, and a skinny black tie.

A silver tie clip completed the outfit.

Over the course of her work, Natalie had presumed that this client must be young, probably around her age or so.

After all, her designs did not appeal to the more mature demographics, but young professionals who liked to look smart and fashionable at the same time.

She was also expecting a complete overhaul.

In this field, the first drafts almost always needed revisions.

If the client was willing to pay such an exorbitant amount of money, and for a rookie’s design, no less, then the preliminary rejection was inevitable.

And so, Natalie was utterly surprised when the client instantly approved of her design.

“This is brilliant!”

“Do you need me to polish anything?”

Natalie typed with some trepidation.

Despite her good fortune, she was feeling a little guilty about how smooth the transaction was going.It shouldn’t be this easy to earn twenty thousand dollars, should it?

“Not for the time being.I will contact you if there’s anything I want to change in the future.Don’t worry, this price is reasonable enough.I’m paying for the uniqueness and originality of your design.”

It seemed that the client had seen through Natalie’s nervousness, hence his words of reassurance.She was about to type her thanks when a payment notification popped up on her dashboard.

The client had confirmed their business deal on the website and wired the money to her account.

Natalie clutched her laptop in both hands and stared at the figure displayed on her screen.

She felt immensely proud and gratified, and it showed in the twinkle of her eyes.

Another message popped up from the client.

“If you’re interested, we can talk about a long-term collaboration.”

Really? Natalie pictured fireworks going off in the background.

“Of course!”she typed hurriedly.

“I am.I have plenty of time!”

The man then gave her several more orders, all with some minor instructions.

He seemed to be very fond of suits, though he wasn’t in any hurry to have them made.

He advised Natalie to take her time with her designs, and even reminded her to take a break every now and then “Oh, my God, Natalie! You just made a fortune!”

Overjoyed, Natalie got to her feet and bounced on her bed like a little kid.

All at once, there was an urgent knocking at her bedroom door.

Sebastian had probably heard her squeal just now.

He entered the room without waiting for her to ask what he wanted.

“Did something happen?”he asked, frowning.

“Sebastian! We finally have money!”Natalie exclaimed as she resumed her festive bouncing.

Her long hair danced around her flushed cheeks, and her eyes were clear and bright.

The next thing they knew, she had jumped off the bed and was throwing herself in Sebastian’s arms.

He instinctively reached out to catch her.

After making sure that she was all right, he promptly froze on the spot.

Natalie was still so engrossed in her recent milestone to notice anything amiss.She pulled back and grinned at him.

“Do you know what it means?”

“What?”

Sebastian’s smile was tender, not that he was aware of it.His smile caught her attention, and this time, she was the one who froze.

Only then did she realize what she had done.

Natalie abruptly pushed against Sebastian’s chest and took a couple of steps back.

Her face turned red with embarrassment even as she averted her eyes and tidied her messy hair.

“I didn’t mean anything by… Well, I was just so happy that I lost sense of what I was doing.I’m sorry.”

After saying that, Natalie cleared her throat and changed the subject as if nothing significant had happened.

“Why did you come, by the way?”

“Ah, I heard you yelling and thought something bad happened.”

Sebastian bit his lower lip and put his hands into his trouser pockets.

Traces of their brief embrace still lingered in his person-the warmth of her chest, the scent of her hair… If he could, he would have held Natalie in his arms and laid in bed all day.

“Did I disturb you? I’ll try to keep my voice down.”

Startled, Natalie clamped her mouth with her hand and looked at him apologetically.

Sebastian shook his head and walked to her bed.Then, he slumped onto it and inhaled her sweet fragrance.

Propping his head on his arm, Sebastian closed his eyes.

“What happened? Why are you so happy?” he asked casually “Don’t lie on my bed, Sebastian.”

Natalie’s cheeks puffed as she tried to pull his arm. He was tall and heavy.

Finally, she gave up and sat on the chair beside the desk.

“I met a wealthy and generous client who asked me to design for him.I just submitted my draft and got paid.”

Sebastian opened his eyes and saw Natalie grinning with joy.

“Then, you don’t have to go for the drug trial.That’s good.” Natalie smiled.

She rested her chin on the palm of her hand and poked the lamp on the desk with one finger.Why don’t you ask me how much I’ve earned?

“It’s all your money and is none of my business.I only wish for you not to go for the drug trial.”

Sebastian smiled at her.

Natalie didn’t expect him to care so much about her.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she leaned on the desk.

The next day, after work, Natalie went to the hospital to pay Hannah’s medical fee.

She still had three thousand dollars left in her bank account even after that.

When she got home, Natalie wondered if she could take Sebastian out for dinner.She would still earn in the future.

Moreover, she would get her salary in two weeks.

“Sebastian, let’s go out for dinner tonight.It’s my treat! I’m going to buy you a big sumptuous meal,”Natalie said, raising her wallet.

She looked like she had just won the lottery.

Sebastian was lying on the sofa.He looked at her tattered wallet and stood up.

“Okay, I know a nice place.”

When they arrived at the door of a magnificent restaurant, Natalie stiffened.

She pursed her lips and pulled Sebastian’s arm, who was just about to enter the restaurant.

Her eyes widened in horror.