Abeam of sunlight fell on Janet’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. Janet 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. “Ethan Lester!" Janet screamed at the top of her lungs, her face burning. "You called for your husband?” Ethan said as he sauntered into the bathroom. Athin 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?" Janet demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Ethan 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!". Janet 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, Ethan 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!" Janet 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 Ethan in the car, Great! She had well and truly ruined her. image. Janet 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?" Ethan said behind her, his voice deep and husky

"Here, drink this. " He handed her a paper cup. Janet took a sniff of t he drink and realized t hat it was honey water. After drinking it , her stomach fin ally settled down. The bitter taste of ha ngover had also disapp eared from her tongue. Unfortunately, her mortifica tion remained. Janet decided to ignore Ethan altogether and proceeded to freshen up for the day . She changed into a turtle-neck dress and . rushed out t o work. Ethan watched her the e ntire time, a small smi le playing on his lips. As soon as she arrived at th e Larson Group, Janet was cal led into the conference room. "We have reviewed all the des igns you submit for the autum n and winter series," He said. "We’ve come to the unanimous decision to use Lind’s designs. " He held up a portfoli o as his gaze swept down the long table to . where Ja net was sitting. "Thank you for this great hono r,” she gushed. “lm new here, and I know that I still have much to learn. Please guide me as I move fo rward. I will value any advice you give me. Janet had never imagined she would land su ch a big project so soon. She had been work ing here for less than a month, after all. Besides, as a newcomer, she didn’t think i t was a good thing to show off her abilitie s 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 yo ur sen iors. I looked through her portfoli o as he spoke, his pride and a dmiration evident in his eyes. Janet only smiled in response. She kn ew that the other designers present in the meeting Illy disagreed with I. "I think those designs are pretty ordinary,” Pamela Dal y muttered under her breath. She had joined the Larson Group a few yea rs prior to Janet, and had been fully exp ecting that her designs would be selected . this time a round. Naturally, she w asn’t happy with this development. “Keep your voice down," one of Pamela’s friends reprimanded her softly. "She's rig ht in fron t of you. "But I didn’t say a nything wrong, did I?" Pamela retorted

Janet pretended not to hear their e xchange and focused on sorting out t he folders she had brought with her. "Okay, everyone . That's all fo r the meeting. I stood and gathered a s tack of documents before smiling kindly at Janet. "I’m going to need you in my office, Lind. Janet obediently followed him to the other room. I tossed the documents on his de sk, unbuttoned his suit jacket, a nd leaned back against his chair. "There's a cozy vibe to your designs, yo u know," he remarked. "Your style is unique and memorable, but not in an overpowering way. I see a lot of potenti al in you, but you do need further training. If you do well with your projects, I will give you more chances to cu ltivate your skills in the future. I's gaze had turn ed sharp as it fel l on Janet’s face. There was nothing particularly special about her features, bu t she was undoubtedly gorgeous. Janet fidg eted under his stare. She understood what he was implying, and imme diately felt disgusted. Even so, she mustered a light smile. "Thank you, Mr. Lyman. I still have some drafts to finish, so if there’s nothi ng else, I'll be taking my leave now. I grinned and said no thing more. On top of her good loo ks, this woman also ha d a strong personality. He did II it when they were feisty; it brought some sp ice to the game of pursuit. She would end up taki ng off her clothes in front of him, anyway. He c ould wait. "Go ahe ad. Janet felt sick and outraged as she made her way back to her desk. She didn’t not ice Pamela, who had been following close . beh ind her. "It’s no w onder I fa vors you," . Pamela thought as she sneered at Janet’s back. "You're just another shameless vixen who seduces her way up the ladder. "Just now, she had stopped by the office on purpose . and eavesdropped at the door. ” The man had made his intention s toward Janet perfectly clear