Stephan turned and left the room. I was stunned for a moment and looked at the bouquet of white roses on the bedside.

Every day he would cut a few white roses from the garden and put them by his bed, saying they looked beautiful.

I lowered my eyes and threw all the white roses and the vase into the trash can.

After resting for a few days, I returned to the company.

My university major was jewelry design. After graduation, Stephan brought me into the Marshall Group and separated the jewelry product line of the Marshall Group into a branch company with the brand name “Radiant Creations”.

And I, at a young age, became the person in charge of Radiant Creations.

I told my assistant Jessica. “The summer new product launch is about to begin. Gather the planning and design drafts from each department. I want to review them one by one.”

“Okay.”

I flipped through the design draft and the more I flipped through the plan, the more my brows furrowed.

I was away during this period and didn’t monitor their work, so the content became more and more confusing.

I took a bunch of design drafts and went to the design department with Jessica and saw a middle-aged woman cracking melon seeds and chatting with people around her.

Her name was Zera. She was a veteran in the company and the one with the highest salary based on seniority in the design department, but she was also the one with the worst working ability.

I put down the design draft and said, “Zera, tell me about the concept of these designs.”

“Oh, it’s just a design, why do you have to talk about the concept?” Zera came over impatiently. “I worked day and night with everyone to draw these designs, aren’t they all pretty?”

“Pretty?” I took a deep breath and took out a few manuscripts. “This one is a copy of the new autumn product of Timeless Studio last year. And this one, wasn’t it the design I rejected last year? What does it mean to submit it again? ——”

“Wait, Miss Martin.” Zera’s voice rose. “What do you mean by plagiarism? Isn’t it normal for designers to have the same ideas occasionally? You’re going too far by saying it’s plagiarism! And the reason I submitted the design again is because I think this design is very good, but you rejected it because you don’t have the vision to appreciate it.”

Zera’s attitude was so arrogant that I became more and more depressed. Everyone else kept silent and didn’t dare to speak.

Zera sneered, “Miss Martin, you are young and don’t know as much as we do about some things. Didn’t you rely on Stephan to gain a foothold in the Marshall Group? Without him, you wouldn’t even be able to step into the threshold of the Marshall Group. You have no ability and you got everything you have now just by climbing into bed. It’s people like you that I can’t stand the most.”

Before I could respond, Jessica angrily retorted, “Watch your words. What do you mean by incompetent? Last summer, all the best-selling products were designed by Vanessa alone, but the products you designed didn’t even sell well. It’s very ugly.”

Zera choked and snorted, “You lackey!”

I looked at Zera coldly. “Then don’t do it.”

This Zera had been causing troubles since I took over the branch two years ago. Before, I never bothered with her because she was a company veteran, but now her attitude was arrogant. One bad apple spoilt the whole barrel. If we continued to keep her, there would be big problems with the new product launch of “Fiery Summer”.

Zera’s voice became sharp. “Why? I was transferred here from the headquarters. Even if they want to fire me, it should be the headquarters that fires me!”

“Then the headquarters will also fire you.”

A deep, magnetic voice sounded at the door of the office. Stephan stepped in and the air pressure in the office dropped instantly.

“Mr. Marshall…” Everyone stood up quickly, even Zera was stunned for a moment.

He said unhappily, “You can leave now. The group’s dismissal notice will be sent to your email later.”

Zera was carried out by the security guards. Stephan glanced at everyone in the office and said, “I happened to be free today, so I came to inspect the branch. I hope everyone will work actively and complete the tasks assigned by Miss Martin with a serious attitude.”

“Okay, Mr. Marshall.”

Under everyone’s timid gaze, I followed Stephan back to the independent office.

Pulling down the curtain, I turned around and asked him, “Why are you free to come here today?”

“I missed you. I was busy at the company these days and didn’t go home. As soon as I got home, I heard that you came to work, so I followed you.”

The unique, refreshing bamboo scent on his body came closer to me and he held me in his arms, making me feel at ease for a moment and all the previous depression was swept away.

I leaned into his arms. “You don’t have to stand up for me, I can handle it myself.”

“There is a more convenient and faster solution, isn’t there?” He laughed twice in his chest. “You can rely on me, Vanessa.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

After a while of tenderness, Stephan hurried back to the company.

I lowered my head and looked at a photo sent from an unfamiliar number.

The girl was in the foreground, with only her pretty neck and shoulders showing. Behind her was a messy bed and a man was lying on it with his eyes closed, looking tired and satisfied.

There were several ambiguous red marks on the girl’s shoulders.

My hand holding the phone was shaking slightly, but even though the photo wasn’t very clear, I recognized the man instantly.

It was Stephan.

My hands were shaking and I made several mistakes before I replied: [Who are you?]

The message from there was replied within seconds.

[Don’t you know?] I know you know.]

The sun was shining brightly, pouring in through the window and making the office warm, but I felt like I was falling into an icy cave.

It wasn’t until Jessica knocked on the door and came in that I came to my senses and turned off my phone.

“What’s wrong?”

Jessica was worried. “Vanessa, it’s already May and there are only 20 days left before our new product launch. You still need to review these plans and design drafts.”

I rubbed my eyebrows in annoyance.

The press conference was scheduled for May 20th. There were too many things to do during this period and there was no time to design new products.

And now...

I took out my previous drafts from the drawer. Each one was about sweet love, which was very consistent with the theme of this new product launch conference, but no matter how I looked at them, I felt unsatisfied.

I unlocked my phone and the photo I had been looking at for a long time came into my sight again, stimulating my nerves.

I stood up and said, “Okay, you go ahead and do your thing. I need to go out for a while.”

I asked the driver to drive to the downstairs of the Marshall Group building. The front desk staff knew me and didn’t stop me, so I took the private elevator directly to the top floor.

But I was stopped at the office door.

Scott, Stephan’s assistant, hurriedly explained, “Miss Martin, Mr. Marshall is discussing important cooperation. Please go to the VIP room and wait. I will invite you after it is over.”

Some groundbreaking conjectures instantly exploded in my mind.

I pushed Scott away. “I also have something very important to discuss with Stephan!”

“Miss Martin!”

Scott wanted to stop me, but a voice came from inside the office. “Let her in.”

I hurriedly pushed the door open and the spacious office was filled with a faint rose scent.

Stephan stood up from the chair in front of the sandalwood table. “Vanessa, this is my old classmate, Bianca.”

Following his gaze, I looked at the woman on the leather sofa. She was wearing a red dress and she was indeed as beautiful as the rumors said.

Her skin was as white as cream, her eyebrows were delicate, her nose was small, her lips were bright red and her eyes were moist. Just one look at her could make people’s hearts flutter.

Feeling my gaze, Bianca stood up from the leather sofa and smiled at me. “Hello, Miss Martin, I am Bianca, a jewelry designer like you. I just came back from abroad and today I came to see Mr. Marshall I want to talk to him about cooperation.”

Her voice was gentle and soft and she was holding the latest issue of a jewelry magazine on her fingertips. The atmosphere between the two of them was indeed like that of a discussion on cooperation.

If my phone hadn’t received that photo, although the face was not shown in the photo, the exposed neck had a mole exactly the same as the one on Bianca’s neck.

I lowered my eyes, but still didn’t take out my phone to confront him. I just changed my excuse. “I’m undecided about the new product release of ‘Fiery Summer’ and I want to discuss it with you.”

“Take your time, there’s no rush.” ​​Stephan pulled me to sit on the sofa without any hesitation, poured me a cup of tea and handed it to me. “You came here in a hurry and your forehead is sweating…”

He gently wiped the tip of my forehead, seemingly not caring at all about Bianca’s presence.

For a moment of confusion, I began to wonder if I had misunderstood something.

Bianca was actually interested. “Is ‘Fiery Summer’ a separate jewelry product line from the Marshall Group? Is there anything I can do to help you, Miss Martin?”

“No.”

“No.”

Stephan and I spoke at the same time.

I was stunned and looked up at him.

He looked calm and said, “Miss Newton just returned to Lemure and is not very familiar with the domestic market. If she enters rashly, she will not be able to adapt. I will take care of Vanessa’s situation.”

Bianca’s eyes flashed with a hint of jealousy and then she put on a decent smile in an instant. “If it’s all right, I’ll go out first. Mr. Marshall and Miss Martin, you guys continue. Next time I’m free, I’ll find Mr. Marshall to reminisce about the past.”

The words “reminiscing about the past” sounded particularly meaningful. When I wanted to continue exploring, Bianca had already turned around, pushed the glass door and went out.

“What are you thinking about?”

Stephan sat down next to me, his arms naturally wrapped around my waist and he kissed me on the lips. “It seems that Vanessa is absent-minded. Did you misunderstand something?”

“No…”

He scratched the tip of my nose and said sincerely, “I know there were some rumors about me and Bianca a few years ago, but don’t get me wrong, the past is over and now I love you.”

I responded obediently, “I’ve been busy lately, I’m just a little tired. I will take a rest in your cubicle.”

His office was equipped with a rest area decorated in simple black, white and grey, which was convenient for him to stay overnight in the company occasionally.

Stephan paused. “Okay.”

Lying on the soft big bed, the fatigue of many days was finally relieved. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

He tucked the quilt in for me and kissed me on the forehead. “Good afternoon, Vanessa.”

Stephan stepped out of the restroom, looked at Vanessa who had fallen asleep and gently closed the door.

The moment the door closed, soft arms wrapped around his waist and the light scent of roses filled his nostrils.

Stephan’s body stiffened and the warm breath behind him sprayed his earlobe on tiptoe. “Stephan, I miss you so much.”