Chapter 6 A Withering Welcoming

• Antonia Traver's POV
• I could feel the surrounding air freezing up as the elevator door shut.
• His tall, intimidating figure towered behind me, making me feel intangibly suppressed.
• I bit my lower lip at that, not daring to make a sound. I could see Elijah staring at me through the elevator mirror with a piercing gaze laced with unfathomable frosts, like a vicious wolf staring at its prey…
• I prayed and begged that the elevator would reach the lobby quickly so that I could escape this suppressive space, gluing my gaze to the moving numbers. 13, 12, 11, 10…
• My nervousness grew as the elevator descended, and to my dismay, I sensed the man behind me inching closer.
• Ding! Finally, the elevator stopped.
• I ran out as soon as the door opened, but because I moved like lightning, I tripped at the door with a thump and sprawled on the floor like a frog.
• It just so happened that a group of employees were coming out of the general elevator and caught my mortifying moment. They gasped in response; some even sniggered, making me feel humiliated. Goodness me, this is absolutely mortifying! I wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and bury myself in it.
• I clambered up hurriedly and ran away while covering up my face. Amidst that, I could feel a predatory gaze on me from behind, staring at me until I left the space.
• Elijah Stone's POV
• Antonia barged into my elevator when I got off work.
• I would've had my bodyguard chase her out if she were any other employee, but she wasn't. She’s so gorgeous that I never took my eyes off her the second she entered. As she stood just a few feet away from me, I could feel my groin bulging. And what happened the night four years ago began flooding back to my head. Dadgummit! It wasn't something I had control over, for it was human nature.
• My bodyguard chased Antonia out, which seemingly startled her. I was certain she saw me when she turned around, but it didn't seem that she made out who I was. I wasn't sure about this.
• I told my bodyguard to leave her be. Yes, for the very first time, I allowed an entry-level employee to ride in my private elevator.
• Her scent spread across the space, causing me to recall that wonderful yet maniacal night four years ago. I admit that her scent was tempting me to move toward her, so much so that I'd forgotten her st*pidity and was actually shifting toward her.
• I could feel that she was apprehensive as her back was stiff. In fact, she was shuddering a little.
• When the elevator arrived at the lobby, Antonia dashed out as soon as the door opened. Then, she tripped, seemingly from having moved too quickly for herself. Am I really that scary to her?
• Then again, I thought things were getting interesting. I pulled a rare smile, knowing that I'd have plenty of chances to tease her in the future as I watched her flee the scene.
• I knew the Administrative Department had a tradition of welcoming a newcomer, so I turned to Larry. "Find out where the Administrative Department is holding their welcoming party."
• "They've booked a room at Twilight Bar, Mr. Lane."
• Twilight Bar? That was where I met this woman four years ago.
• Antonia Traver's POV
• I had assumed the Administrative Department was going to welcome me with dinner, but who'd have thought it would be drinks at Twilight Bar instead? However, what made me absolutely speechless was that Michael was there too!
• What does someone from the HR Department have to do with the Administrative Department's dinner?!
• I wasn't comfortable about this, but I couldn't shoo him away just like that when my other colleagues were around.
• Michael, on the other hand, had long warmed up to my colleagues and even ordered a table of expensive liquor.
• At that, a male colleague couldn't help whispering, "Mr. Lane, this liquor costs over one thousand per bottle. We shouldn't be doing this to our new colleague, no?"
• "You guys don't know this, do you?" Michael smirked. "Miss Traver is from a rich family. She has nothing but money. She could pay for the entire bar—let alone a few bottles of liquor—whenever she came in the past."
• "What? Really?" A few female colleagues were instantly attracted by this juicy gossip and started surrounding me as they pressed on. "Are you really from a rich family, Miss Traver? You're so low-key that we can't even tell."
• "I'm not—"
• "How are you not?" Michael, the b*stard, sneered and interjected, "Don't tell me you guys have never heard of the only daughter of Mark Traver, the richest man of Seafaire."
• "You mean the Mark Traver who jumped from a building four years ago?" exclaimed a male colleague in revelation. "No wonder her last name seems rather unusual…"
• "I think I probably saw the news back then. Rumor has it that the Leafs broke off the engagement with the Travers' daughter, so she ordered a hustler here at Twilight Bar… Ahem… Is it true?"
• Everyone looked at me with curious and excited gazes, waiting for my answer.
• I felt upset and humiliated. Their gazes were like piercing daggers that made my cheeks burn. I stood up and wanted to leave, having had enough of this all, but the manager of the Administrative Department stopped me, then chided the few taunting colleagues, "What's the matter with you guys? How can you treat your new colleague like this? You guys will be working closely together. Don't touch other people's raw nerves."
• "Yes, sorry about that…" My colleagues apologized to me at once.
• I took a gander at the man's revolting face and found him wearing a half-smile.
• I really couldn't stand being in this space any longer, so I left the private booth like my life depended on it. Honestly, I wanted to leave the past and start a new life, but the trauma was stuck to me like glue. I couldn't get rid of it no matter what I did. I took a deep breath, trying as best as I could to calm down.
• "What's wrong? You can't even take just that?" Michael came after me and sneered. "How are you going to continue surviving?"
• "You're doing this on purpose, you b*stard!" I glared daggers at him. "You deliberately let me on board, deliberately incited my colleagues to treat them, and deliberately humiliated me… just to get back at me!"
• "That's right." He nodded with a smile. "I even deliberately ordered liquor worth a few hundred thousand bucks. I've given you more than your respect is due, don't you think, Miss Traver?"
• "You…" I was livid beyond words.
• All that I had now was six hundred-plus bucks in my name. How was I to fish out a few hundred thousand to pay for those expensive liquor?!