Chapter 3
Over the next few days, I consciously distanced myself from Sarah.
In the mornings, I left earlier than her. At night, I waited until she was asleep before coming home, minimizing our time alone.
But what I didn’t expect was for Caleb to actively seek me out.
When he knocked on the door of my temporary office, he wore that seemingly sincere smile.
“Mr. Hayes, I know you misunderstand me, but I truly just want to learn.”
I kept my eyes on the computer screen, not looking up.
“Learning doesn’t require taking over someone else’s studio.”
He sat in the chair opposite me, his tone carrying an uncomfortable intimacy.
“Actually, I’ve always admired your work. It’s truly an honor to work in the same company as you.”
“If you truly admired it, you wouldn’t have used my proposal and passed it off as your own.”
Caleb’s face shifted, but he quickly regained that innocent expression.
“Mr. Hayes, you’ve misunderstood.”
“Ms. Sterling said that proposal was a collective company effort, and she just asked me to present it to train my presentation skills.”
I finally looked up at him, studying his expression carefully.
The young man was indeed good-looking, with fair skin and delicate features.
When he spoke, his eyes would curve into crescent moons, making it easy for people to like him.
But in the depths of his eyes, I caught a subtle, almost imperceptible glint of triumph and calculation.
“Caleb, how old are you this year?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Then you should know what honesty means.”
His smile stiffened.
“Mr. Hayes, I don’t understand what you mean.”
“My meaning is very clear. That proposal, from beginning to end, was completed entirely by me.”
“You knew that, yet you still had the audacity to present it. That’s called shamelessness.”
Caleb’s face instantly flushed red, but he quickly composed himself.
“Mr. Hayes, what you’re saying is very hurtful. I truly was just doing what Ms. Sterling asked.”
With that, he hurriedly left my office.
But I knew, this wouldn’t be the end of it.
Sure enough, that same afternoon, Sarah stormed into my office.
“Alex, what do you mean by that?! Why did you talk to Caleb like that?!”
I put down my pen and calmly looked at her.
“What did I say?”
“You called him shameless, said he stole your proposal. He’s just a kid who just graduated, what you said will hurt him!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, but there was no warmth in that laugh.
“He’s hurt? What about me? Who cares about my feelings?”
Sarah froze for a moment, apparently not expecting me to retort like that.
“You’re an adult. You should be more understanding. Besides, Caleb didn’t mean any harm.”
“No harm? Then why did he claim it was his own creative concept during the report?”
“He just has poor communication skills, maybe his phrasing was problematic.”
I realized that no matter what I said, she would find an excuse for Caleb.
This blatant favoritism sent an unprecedented chill through me.
“Sarah, do you… do you like him?”
The words blurted out before I could stop myself.
Her face instantly turned ashen, a flash of panic in her eyes.
“What are you talking about? He’s just my subordinate!”
“A subordinate needs this much protection from you?”
“Can a subordinate casually use my studio? Can a subordinate take credit for my creative ideas?”
Sarah bit her lip, silent for a long time.
Finally, she just said coldly, “Alex, you’re being too extreme!”
Then she left my office.