Madeline strode into the lobby while clenching her handbag. She was so nervous, especially with people walking around.
She recognized a few faces, as some people worked on TV, either as actors or actresses, hosts, or just people backstage.
They only saw Madeline Rose with heavy makeup. So, they probably don't recognize her right now.
But that still didn't help her feel better.
She told the receptionist her name, and the receptionist personally escorted her to the top floor of the building, where the CEO's office was.
As they stood side by side in the elevator, the receptionist glanced at Madeline a few times and asked out of curiosity, "Miss Rose, have you been a friend of Mr. Lance Grant before?"
"Oh… uh… no," Madeline replied.
"Really? Because, strangely, Mr. Grant would allow someone very controversial into his office?" The receptionist commented. "Oh, I mean, no offense, Miss Rose. I'm just worried we will have bad publicity because of you. After all, you know… you're just a cheap mistress."
Madeline's eyes cooled off, and as the elevator door was opened, she said, "No offense taken." Madeline stepped out of the elevator and faced the receptionist, who was still inside. "But I want you to shut up the next time you meet me. Stay on your line, Miss Receptionist."
Madeline pressed the elevator button and watched the door close with the receptionist still inside.
Madeline turned around and strutted confidently towards the office room all by herself.
Listening to that receptionist talk shit about her right in her face was like a wake-up slap, enough to kill all the nervousness she had before.
'Why should I be scared of this one man when I've been facing a lot of bastards and bitches in my life? ' Madeline told herself. 'A CEO or not, he still looks down on me, just like everybody else. So it's better to shed all your fear and face him, Madeline.'
Madeline saw the empty secretary's desk and wondered if she was going somewhere.
'Should I just wait for the secretary to escort me or barge in?' Madeline pondered.
Naturally, she had to be polite and wait for the secretary to come and escort her to the CEO's office.
So she stood near the secretary's desk for a while until the door was suddenly slammed open from the inside, and a half-naked woman stormed out of the CEO's office.
The woman was sobbing uncontrollably, and her body stiffened when her eyes met Madeline, who was just as stunned as she was.
The woman quickly covered her exposed boobs and lowered her head as she rushed to the bathroom.
"What… was that?" Madeline muttered, trying to process what just happened.
Lance walked out of his office, scratching the back of his head frustratedly. He saw Madeline, who stood like an idiot near the secretary's desk, and raised his brow. "Oh? You're here already. Why didn't you knock?"
Madeline turned her head towards Lance, who was still neatly dressed. She pointed at the bathroom where the woman hid herself and asked, "That woman…"
"My secretary," Lance said. He scoffed as he added, "Not anymore, though. I just fired her."
"She's half-naked," Madeline muttered. "Did I interrupt something?"
"No," Lance replied quickly. He leaned against the wall beside the door and crossed his arms. "Come in. We have a lot to talk about today."
Madeline didn't bother to hide her suspicion. No sane woman would want to enter a place where a woman just came out crying while half-naked. Her mind ran wild as she imagined Lance Grant might've sexually harassed that poor woman just now.
Lance seemed to have read her mind. He sighed and explained, "No, I didn't do anything to her."
"Then, if you did nothing, why did she run out of your office, half naked and in tears like that?" Madeline asked carefully.
"It's exactly because I didn't do anything to her. I rejected her advance. It's not uncommon in my office," Lance replied. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Can we move on from this bullshit, or do you still want to suspect me as a potential sex offender?"
Madeline was still very guarded, but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and walked into his office.
Lance closed the door behind him and walked past Madeline.
He sat on the executive chair and fiddled with his phone for a moment before returning to Madeline, who stood awkwardly in front of him.
"Are you still suspicious of me? Do I need to show you the CCTV footage?" Lance said while pointing at the CCTV in the corner of the room. "I installed it for this sole problem."
Madeline looked up at the CCTV camera and asked, "Is this a common occurrence?"
"She's the fourth secretary for the past six months." Lance pinched the bridge of his nose as he got a headache thinking about this. "They all deployed the same tactic. Try to act professional at first, then seduce me by deliberately making suggestive moves, and after none of them worked out, they just took off their dress like what that new secretary did just now. It's a fucking headache."
Madeline felt that reason made sense, knowing that Lance Grant was a very handsome, rich, and powerful young man. He had all the things that many women wanted.
She just didn't expect it to be a problem, to the point where he had to install a CCTV camera to avoid false accusations.
Thus, she eased up after knowing that nothing would happen between them when they were together in this office.
"Are you satisfied with my explanation now? Or are you still jealous of that girl?" Lance asked.
"J—Jealous?!" Madeline snapped. "Jealousy is the last thing on my mind!"
"Hahahah!" Lance laughed heartily as he saw Madeline's expression. "Sorry, you just look so cute. I can't help but tease you a bit."
"It's not funny," Madeline huffed. "I'm here to make a deal with you, not to get teased."