Chapter: 23

Embarrassing?!

Alicia chose to turn a blind eye to Caden's animosity.

She opened the door and left without another word.

No sooner had she stepped out than Hank appeared. "Mr. Ward, should I drive Ms. Bennett home?"

Caden's expression was colder than usual. "That won't be necessary. She might as well use her mouth to find her way home."

Hank blinked, not knowing how to respond to that.

Alicia didn't leave immediately. Instead, she headed downstairs to buy some desserts and a cup of coffee.

Then she went and knocked on the door of Hank's office.

“Ms. Bennett," Hank exclaimed in surprise. "May I help you with anything?"

Alicia placed the sweets and coffee on his desk with a gentle smile.

"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Ford. Please pass these on to Mr. Ward."

Hank was visibly taken aback.

What blatant ruthlessness!

What could she have possibly put in the coffee? Drugs? Bleach?

Battery acid? Rat poison?

Or maybe a few bugs?

Hank didn't dare to take the coffee. "I'm sorry, Ms. Bennett," he said politely, “but Mr. Ward only drinks coffee brewed from the freshly ground beans stocked in the company pantry."

Alicia lowered her eyes. "That's fine. If it's too much trouble, then let's just forget about it. I just wanted to apologize to Caden, is all."

As she withdrew her hand and straightened up, she accidentally knocked over the coffee cup, spilling its contents all over Hank's desk.

Startled, Alicia quickly grabbed the laptop and tried to pat it dry with her handkerchief.

Unlike her, Hank was calm. “It's quite all right, Ms. Bennett. My laptop is waterproof. Here, let me take care of that."

But Alicia continued to wipe it down, going so far as to check every cranny to make sure that it was all dry.

Hank wiped the rest of the coffee off his desk. When he turned to Alicia, he found her handling his laptop. “You don't really have to worry about it, Ms. Bennett. It's all good."

She heaved a long sigh. "Well, that's a relief. I'm really sorry, though. Why don't I go and buy a fresh new cup?"

"I assure you, Ms. Bennett, there is no need for that at all."

Alicia didn't insist any further. She said her goodbyes to Hank, gave him a sheepish smile, and finally left the building.

As he stood behind his desk and watched her go, Hank couldn't help but feel a sliver of unease.

Before he could dwell on the matter any further, he noticed that it was time for the meeting.

Inside the conference room, Caden was seated at the head of the long table, ever the picture of sophisticated authority.

He had always been serious when it came to work, and his presence was significantly more intimidating when he was dealing with business.