Chapter 7 "Please Kindly Take Off Your Clothes"

• Third Person POV.
• "Please kindly take off your clothes, Miss Moore."
• "What?" baffled, Selena gaped at the group of employees now standing in front of her with smiles.
• "Please take off your clothes, Miss Moore," one of them repeated.
• Selena swiveled her head at Sharon and gave her a look of, 'What's the meaning of this?'
• Right after they finished their tour in the snack room, Sharon told her that the next training would take place in her office. Thus, after getting back, Selena was utterly taken aback when the five female employees who suddenly appeared in the office ordered her to take off her clothes in front of them.
• "They're just asking you to take your blazer off and your shoes. Don't let your imagination run off, Miss Moore," Sharon said in between taking a sip of her tea while comfortably sitting on the couch.
• "Sir Lawson personally asked us to take your measurement, so please coordinate and let us measure your body now," said the employee with a measuring tape.
• But the moment Selena heard the employee, her feet automatically moved a step backward.
• 'Measure what? My body?'
• Selena frowned.
• 'Wait. If Maxwell personally asked them to measure my body, then what if he's a real creep? Is that really the reason why he took me?'
• Having reached that conclusion, Selena unknowingly raised her arms and crossed them around her chest.
• Sharon slightly shook her head with a faint smirk.
• "You can start now," she commanded.
• And like ants swarming around a sweet candy, the employees swarmed Selena and started to take her measurements whether she liked it or not.
• Later at night, with heavy steps, Selena went to her room and pounced flat on her bed. She was tired and sleepy, but the thoughts of having her body measured by Maxwell kept her mind awake.
• "What is his deal?"
• Selena lifted her head and mumbled to herself, "If he's a real pervert, then out of all the seductive girls out there, why me?"
• "But does he even like me?"
• That question made her shake her head immediately.
• "For a man like him to like me… No, it doesn't make sense. But at the same time, it does make sense."
• "Ugh..."
• Thoughts running, Selena massages her aching temples. And while she was preoccupied, she heard her phone ring. Body freezing for a moment, Selena slowly looked at her phone.
• Nowadays, whenever her phone rings, her heart frantically beats, thinking it was Maxwell who was calling.
• 'I think I gained a trauma named Maxwell.'
• Gathering her courage, she looked at the caller's name.
• [Incoming call… Lily Austin.]
• It was the HR manager of Mercian and her best friend.
• 'She must already be aware of it.'
• Selena already sees this situation coming. However, knowing exactly what would happen the moment she answered the phone made her hesitate to answer the call. Biting the bottom of her lips, she slowly slid her finger on the screen.
• And amid the brief quietness, Lily's voice prevailed on the other line.
• ["I heard you resigned, is this true?"]
• The usual cheerful tone of Lily's voice was gone.
• "Mmm."
• After her short response, there was a minute of silence between them.
• ["Why?"]
• "..."
• ["Selena,"]
• "If I told you I just wanted to resign, would you believe it?"
• ["I won't."]
• Selena smiled resignedly. "Of course, you won't.
• 'You might not even believe what Dwaine did to me.'
• ["Where are you? Are you home? Let's talk, I will go-"]
• "Lily," Selena interrupted.
• [“…”]
• "I'm sorry. I-I know you are confused and worried about me. And as much as I want to say it to you, I can't. Not right now. Not when-" Selena felt her throat choking up. She took a sharp breath.
• 'My head is in a mess.'
• She continued, "That's why, can you give me some time?"
• "Please?"
• ["…"] After a momentary silence, she heard a long, deep sigh from her. ["I will try. I'll give you some time. But I hope to get an answer from you soon."]
• "Mmm."
• ["Just remember that I'm here for you. Just call me anytime."]
• ["I'll wait, so call me soon."]
• Closing her misty eyes, Selena nodded her head.
• "I will. Thank you."
• "I'll call you soon, I promised."
• With Lily's call, the pain she desperately wanted to hide had resurfaced.
• …..
• Beijing, China.
• Outside the entrance of Chang's hotel, Maxwell turned to look at the man in front of him. Next, he offered his hands to the man with a smile displayed on his face.
• “Ràng wǒmenzài jiàn miàn, Chang xiānsheng,” (Let’s meet again, sir Chang.)
• Chang Haoyu delightfully accepted his hands.
• “Wǒhěn róng xìng zàicì jiàn dàonín, Lawson xiānsheng.” ( It would be my honor to meet you again, sir Lawson.)
• After bidding goodbye, Maxwell went straight to his car, and the smile on his face quickly dissipated.
• Loosening his tie, Maxwell glanced at Trey and ordered, "To the airport."
• …..
• At ten a.m., Friday morning, the sun's hot rays peeked through the windows of the Lawson's building, including the lounge room that brightened the space.
• Clang.
• Bending over, Selena took the cold can of coffee from the vending machine and took her time drinking it over the table in the center of the lounge room.
• Today was her second day as Lawson's employee. While taking her quick break, Selena gazed at her iPad and browsed through the employee's profile that the chief secretary had ordered her to memorize.
• And while she was occupied, two female secretaries approached her from behind.
• "Excuse me, you're Selena Moore, right?"
• Turning her head at the one who spoke, Selena looked at the woman with long blonde hair. She recognized her.
• 'She's Freesia Lewis, one of the secretaries of the director of the marketing department.'
• "Yes, I am Selena Moore," she replied.
• Her gaze turned to the lady with short brown hair.
• 'And the lady next to her is Karen Campbell. The assistant secretary of the chief editor.'
• "I see; you're memorizing all the employees' profiles," Karen said after glancing at Selena's tablet.
• "But there's no use of it. Since you're going to get fired soon," followed by Freesia with her apathetic face.
• "Hey." Karen nudged Freesia's arms. She laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha, don't mind her, Miss Moore, she is just like that."
• But when Karen's gaze landed on Selena, she saw no hint of annoyance. It was as if Freesia's rude remark didn't even bother her. Instead, there's even a hint of a slight smirk on her face.
• 'She's smiling? Really? That's scary.' Karen thought as goosebumps prickled her skin.
• Selena's response to Freesia followed the short silence.
• "It's okay, I understand it." She continued her mind, 'Since that's what I want the most.'
• However, for Karen, who's oblivious to what Selena really means, she can't help but misunderstand the situation. 'Is that her way of saying that she won't get fired? She's not an easy person.'
• "Your confidence is admirable," back up by Freesia. After glancing at her phone screen, she shot Selena a mocking grin. "Let's see where that confidence would lead you now that Sir Lawson is here."
• Selena's brows went up. 'He's here?'
• ……
• At Ten fifteen a.m., different directors hastily lined up at the entrance of Zuiqe's building after getting notified of Maxwell's arrival.
• Shortly after, a black car stopped in front of them, and there they saw his figure as he came out.
• And like leeches, they all started to suck at him.
• "I heard the deal was a success. Though it is not like I didn't expect that already."
• "Congratulations, Sir Lawson."
• "You're really amazing, Mr. Lawson."
• "As expected for the chairman's son."
• Not even giving them an ounce of glance or smile, Maxwell walked past them with his assistant following him.
• Chang Haoyu. The chairman of the five-star Chang Hotel in Beijing and a famous, wealthy investor in the business world. Chang Haoyu was also infamous for being a handful and a piece of work. But with just one meeting, Maxwell miraculously acquired Chang Haoyu's trust and made him sign the contract.
• The directors, who were again amazed by his abilities, looked at him with admiration. But at the same time, they can't help but be vexed by his indifferent attitude towards them.
• One of the directors huffed.
• "Did you see that? He didn't even smile."
• "I won't even be surprised if he became friends with that investor. As they said, birds of a feather flock together," followed by another.
• Meanwhile, several employees greeted Maxwell as soon as they saw him. Some even steal a glance at him and to his assistant.
• Maxwell's delicate, masculine beauty, his enigmatic aura, and Trey's face resembling a handsome, charismatic book nerd, were enough to stop anyone in their tracks as they stared at them with blushed faces.
• Meanwhile, at the secretarial department, a heavy, tense atmosphere completely hangs in the air.
• Thanks to the business trip, they could breathe in peace for a while, but now Maxwell is back, and the peace is once again broken. And with dark clouds over them, the secretaries hurriedly formed a line while they waited for the president's arrival.
• And as for Selena, who Freesia notified, she joined the queue and watched the anxious expressions on everyone's face.
• 'They look like their head is about to be chopped. Is it always like this whenever he comes?'
• 'But…'
• Selena looked down at her cold hands.
• 'I'm no different.'
• Not long after, the door slid with a swish.
• "Congratulations, Sir Lawson," followed by the greeting voices of the secretaries who bowed their heads at him.
• 'He's here.'
• Still not lifting her head, Selena stared at the floor.
• Tak.
• 'Maxwell Lawson,'
• Tak.
• 'Is here.'
• Tak.
• A pair of black leather shoes appeared in her line of sight and stopped right in front of her.
• "You're the new secretary," his cold, deep voice penetrated above her head.
• Deeply inhaling, Selena lifted her chin and met with his eyes as dark as an endless abyss.
• 'The man who's behind all this mess, and the man who forcefully took me is now right in front of me.'
• 'And with a faint smile that had slipped on his lips, he called my name.'
• "Welcome to Zuiqe, Selena Moore."