Take My Breath Away

Evelyn had just gotten settled in her office when her phone rang. It was Carlos. "What's going on with the supervisor of the finance department?"

Evelyn knew Carlos was just asking. There was nothing accusatory in his tone. "Nothing serious. She got too big for her britches," she explained.

"That's my girl!" he beamed. "I raised you to be a fighter. If someone challenges you, you fight back. Don't worry about a thing. I'll be there for you if anything happens."

Evelyn smiled, "Yeah, I know. Thank you, Dad."

"I'm your dad. I'm always on your side. And I do trust you. Get back together with Sheffield if you want. But if he makes you unhappy, cut him loose. You're better than that, you know?" He was used to wielding power. He could fire as many employees as he wanted—for example, the supervisor of the finance department. But Sheffield was another matter entirely. His daughter loved the guy, and that made all the difference.

But if Sheffield hurt her again, he would step in and deal with him.

He wasn't going to let that happen, no matter what.

"I know, Dad."

That afternoon, Nadia and Evelyn had a meeting. Carlos had gotten wind of how Gillian had gotten hired. The general manager who interviewed her was bribed.

After her encounter with Evelyn, she had been punished. But Gillian was a hard worker. So instead of being fired, she just got busted down to team leader. And she'd have to take pass the qualification test to stay employed there. The general manager who hired her was also involved, and he was demoted as well.

Although this matter was not earth-shattering, it still caused a stir among the employees at ZL Group.

It was because Evelyn was in the middle of it. And after she was demoted, Gillian was punished again by Carlos. He was looking out for his daughter.

People started to gossip about Gillian, the woman who was foolish enough to offend the princess!

It didn't matter whether she was in the right or not. The point was, she had messed with the wrong person, and she would be the one who was wrong in the end.

That night, Gillian went to the Tang Residence.

In the Tang Residence

Near dinnertime, the old house was brightly lit. Several servants were busying themselves serving meals in the dining room. The living room was occupied by the women.

Four or five women were trying to comfort one of their number who was crying. "Don't cry. You can't go back and change anything. Be more careful in the future!" The woman who spoke was the wife of Peterson's second son.

Lea echoed, "Yeah. Evelyn Huo's father is Carlos Huo. She's untouchable."

With tearful eyes, Gillian said in a low voice, "I know you worked hard to get me that job. Heck, I was the supervisor of the finance department. But Evelyn took that away from me. Your friend was punished too. Why shouldn't I cry?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, she's a Huo." Their enemies were too strong, and there was no way for Lea to fight back, so she had to just grin and bear it.

Peterson Tang's fourth son's wife indifferently glanced at the crying, delicate woman, and felt sick in her heart. "Stop crying already. Tell you what: Dad's not here yet. Why don't you go upstairs and tell him dinner's ready?"

A servant came to them and said, "Dinner is ready. Ladies, enjoy your dinner."

The women began to move in unison towards the dining room. Gillian wiped her tears and stood up after her sister did.

After a while, three men came downstairs. The head of them was Peterson Tang, followed by Sheffield and the fifth son of the Tang family, Sterling Tang.

The moment Gillian saw Sheffield, her eyes were all over him. She had intended to wash up, but when she saw him, she changed her mind and waited there for him.

Lea went up to the men first and greeted them each with a smile. "Peterson, Sterling, Sheffield—dinner's ready!"

Peterson nodded, and then Sterling Tang responded, "Okay." Sheffield remained nonchalant and silent.

When he came downstairs, he walked to the door, ignoring everyone else. Seeing him leaving, Gillian rushed to catch up to him and called, "Sheffield!"

"Your eyes are all red. Who made you cry like this?" he asked in a casual tone, squinting at her.

That was all Gillian wanted. She had been waiting for him to notice. She pretended to be strong and wiped her tears. "Nothing, really. I just felt sad about getting into it with Evelyn Huo today."

On hearing that, Sheffield paused, but only for a second. "Oh? A piece of advice: she's the regional CEO of the company. I'd stay on her good side, or stay away."

Gillian knew Sheffield and Evelyn had been apart for two years without a call or a text between them. When Sheffield paused at the door, she stood in his way and complained sadly, "She wasn't wearing her uniform. and chatted with my subordinate during working hours. Naturally, I did my job. I read her the riot act for those two infractions. How was I supposed to know she was Carlos Huo's daughter? I lost my position and paycheck thanks to her. It took a lot for me to get that far." Gillian sobbed again.

Although Sheffield furrowed his eyebrows, he secretly praised Evelyn for putting Gillian in her place. 'Wow! My woman is awesome!'

"I'm sorry that happened to you!" Sheffield pretended to feel bad for Gillian.

"If I did something wrong, she could punish me according to company protocol. But we just had a battle of words. So she scolds me in public and kicks me downstairs. How could she do this to me? Does she think she can bully me whenever she wants?"

Gillian was hoping Sheffield would take her side. Maybe comfort her.

But she was wrong. Sheffield replied perfunctorily, "Just stand up to her!"

"I did, and look what happened!"

"So what? Your sister could easily get you another job. Don't forget your brother-in-law is the former CEO of Theo Group. You can be the manager of the finance department. Who cares about being a supervisor?" Everyone heard what he said. They all knew he was being sarcastic, and the two sisters were embarrassed.

Peterson sat down at the table with a long face.

Lea didn't dare to say anything back to Sheffield. She could only complain to Peterson in a low voice, "Listen to him!"

Peterson didn't say anything.

Aware that Sheffield didn't want to listen to her complaint, Gillian continued, "I'd like to stay on at ZL Group. Being a team leader is fine by me, and I'll just stay away from Evelyn Huo."

Sheffield nodded. "Yes! That's a good idea! You can't beat her."

Again, Gillian felt humiliated. She had to change the subject. "Aren't you staying for dinner?"

"No, I'm not hungry. There's too much food, and it's too rich. I'd get sick if I ate that. I prefer cold water and steamed buns. Well, goodbye everyone. Bon appetit." Sheffield was always blunt and defiant around the Tangs. And this was one of the reasons why his father, Peterson, had disowned him in the first place.

"Peterson, do something..." There was a hint of grievance in Lea's voice.

This time, Peterson finally opened his mouth. He shouted at his arrogant son, "Stop!"

Sheffield turned, a sour look on his face.

"Stay for dinner!"

"No, thanks! As an outsider, I'm not supposed to eat at the same table with your family."

Peterson thumped the table in anger. "Didn't you choose to come back? Why do you have to be so salty?"