“Most people would have gone out of their way to avoid so much as brushing against Mr. Scott’s car, but she actually dared to crash into it. That took some guts.”
“She’s just unlucky. Of all the people she could have offended, she picked Secretary Ross. That woman was Mr. Scott’s right hand.”
As the murmurs grew louder around us, Secretary Ross looked even more pleased with herself.
“You little bitch, you actually dared to curse at me? You must be tired of living!”
I couldn’t have cared less about her threats. Honestly, I almost wanted to laugh.
“Secretary Ross, was it? I suggest you watch your mouth.”
“If you really push me, not even your boss will be able to handle the consequences.”
“Watch your damn mouth, my ass!”
She spat out a few more curses, then, still not satisfied, rolled up her sleeves and charged at me again.
“What? You Montreal people resort to violence the moment you run out of words, is that it?”
Secretary Ross swung several slaps my way but couldn’t even graze the hem of my clothes.
“You little bitch, try dodging one more time and see what happens!”
“You think I won’t call Mr. Scott right now?”
Even as she kept provoking me again and again, I didn’t fight back. I only kept restraining myself.
Not because I feared her, but because before I left the unit, my superior had warned me over and over. “Your every word and action represents the image of the unit. Once you’re outside, don’t get into conflicts with local personnel.”
Besides, I didn’t know how to fight.
If I ever did strike, it would be fatal.
Seeing me stay silent, Cherry Ross assumed I was frightened. She raised her fist and charged at me again.
At that critical moment, a sharp voice sounded behind us.
“Stop!”
“Cherry, you’re my personal secretary. How can you start attacking people on the street like this?”
Winston Scott trode over briskly, surrounded by bodyguards.
“You must be Cynthia Labelle?”
I studied the man before me and had to admit, my father truly had good taste.
He stood nearly one meter eighty-five, dressed in a tailored suit, handsome but with a calm elegance.
If there was any flaw, it was the way he looked at me, far too cold.
“Mr. Scott, nice to meet you. Please allow me to briefly introduce myself.”
“My surname was Labelle, given name Cynthia. I came from…”
“No need!”
Before I could finish, Winston impatiently raised his hand to cut me off.
“You and I aren’t suitable. Just go back to wherever you came from.”
For a moment, I thought my ears were deceiving me.
I had driven from the unit all the way to Montreal, over ten hours without so much as a sip of water.
And now, the moment we met, without even a proper conversation, he simply told me to leave.
Did he think I was some kind of fool?
That thought instantly sparked my temper.
“You must be Winston, the future son-in-law my father handpicked, right?”
“You won’t even let me finish a sentence before telling me to leave. Isn’t that a little rude?”
The moment I said that Winston’s expression shifted.
“Rude?”
“Miss Labelle, why don’t you turn around and take a good look at the building behind you? Do you really think someone like you is worthy of me?”
As he spoke, he gave me a slow, dismissive once-over.
“I have no idea what my father was thinking, trying to marry me off to some vase like you.”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the scene erupted in a chorus of whispers.
“What? This woman is actually Mr. Scott’s fiancée? That’s unbelievable!”
“Someone like her, a bumpkin who’s never seen the world, actually dreaming of marrying up? She should look in the mirror and see if she’s even worthy.”
