Do You Like Me, Mary?

Unexpectedly, near the end of the workday, Brian, who had hardly been seen in the office that afternoon, arrived. He fixed his gaze on Marigold's clean desk—the pile of files had already been transferred to his own desk. But that one document remained quietly tucked away in her drawer. The intense scrutiny in his eyes made her uneasy.

"Mary, please bring me a cup of hand-brewed coffee. The kind made from the blue canister in the first row of the cabinet," Brian said, settling into his boss's chair and quickly sending Marigold a message.

Marigold entered his office and, fifteen minutes later, handed him a cup of coffee.

Brian took a sip and exclaimed, "Mary, your skills are still amazing. The worst part of being away on business is not being able to drink the coffee you make."

Marigold checked her watch; it was 5:55 pm—time for her to leave. Could this person be asking her to work overtime?

"Um... Boss, is there anything else you need? I mean, I'm supposed to finish work in five minutes."

"Oh, is your work done? Have you reviewed all the documents for me?" Brian asked.

"Yes. But there might be new documents later in the evening, which I will give to you tomorrow morning."

Brian snorted and pulled out a piece of paper from a folder, sliding it slowly towards her.

"So, what's this?" Marigold carefully looked at it and was shocked. It was the same document that had been lying in her drawer. When did it end up on Brian's desk? She realized that she had left her workstation for 15 minutes to make coffee... This man was truly cunning!

At this moment, she suddenly wished Brian could go along with her wishes. Please, just pretend you didn't see it. I really want the public to see Jenny's true character. Let the video stay online for two more days.

Brian propped his hands on the table, leaning towards her, and spoke in a seductive tone, "Darling Mary, I thought we wouldn't have any secrets between us. I'm really hurt, truly, I'm hurt."

Marigold dared not look into his blue eyes and stuttered in response, "I accidentally overlooked that one, I'm sorry."

"I mean, you were splashed with coffee by Jenny and you didn't tell me!" Brian's face darkened, and he spoke seriously, "I declare to everyone that you are mine, and no one should dare to touch a hair on you. But you—my person, my personal assistant—actually went to do her makeup! Ha! She even humiliated you at will, and her father even sent me a request to fire you! Do you really take my words to heart?"

Marigold's heart skipped a beat. Jenny did indeed use this method to deal with her. But Brian's father was the Chairman of B.E., would he conflict with the Whitehouse family because of her?

"I remember, boss. I won't help other departments and artists anymore. This time was just too special..."

"No, Mary, I'm not asking for your apology or explanation. Why did you lie to me? Why did you hide this document? Did you want this matter to continue brewing, not to be suppressed? Are you trying to take over as the CEO instead of me?"

"I didn't..." Marigold felt a chill down her spine, refusing to admit was the best choice. "I really forgot."

"You're still lying to me. You want revenge on Jenny, don't you? You want the public opinion to escalate. You want everyone to see her true face. Mary, you don't believe that I can help you. I'm hurt."

"Trust?" Fragments flashed through Marigold's mind, and her tone became sharp. "Indeed, because I trusted you, I walked into Room 2418. And what did I get? That's right, thanks to you, I saw through a scumbag. But why did you lie to me? You knew the truth, you knew! You just stood far away, watching me walk into the trap you set up, and then you came out as a hero... You did it on purpose, you deceived me, so you think I'm constantly deceiving you, right?"

A beam of angry flame flickered in Brian's blue eyes, but instantly dimmed. A sense of grievance and hurt filled his eyes. "I thought that a month of being together would be enough for us to understand each other. Mary, from the moment I first saw you, I was deeply attracted to you. Everything I did was because I like you. I like you, Mary, although it's hard to say, but I have feelings for you that I can't control. I... I don't know how to say it, but when I saw the video of you being bullied by Jenny, my first reaction was to destroy her, blacklist her, make her disappear from our world forever. So, do you like me, Mary?"

The way he spoke was reminiscent of the golden retriever Marigold used to raise, looking at her with a pair of round, pitiful eyes whenever it did something wrong, making it hard not to soften one's heart. But Marigold had already made up her mind.

"You are my boss, of course, I don't dislike you. But I can't respond to your 'liking' either. We are just superior and subordinate. I made a mistake, and you punished me, that's all. The previous incident was our crossing the line. Can we forget it as if it was just a dream?"

Brian clenched his lips tightly, as if suppressing some emotions. After a while, he waved his hand. "You can leave now, Mary. It's already 6 p.m."

Marigold politely exited the room. Before leaving, she couldn't help but ask, "So, what about this document? The PR department said they were expecting approval by 3 p.m. It's an urgent document."

Brian handed the document back to her. "You have my seal. If you agree, you can handle it yourself this time."

Marigold took the document and left the CEO's office, secretly pleased with herself. What she didn't notice was that after she left, Brian's gaze gradually turned fierce.

"No woman can refuse me, Mary, and you're no exception..."

After returning home, Marigold took a hot bath, comfortably snuggled on the couch, and ate potato chips while browsing her phone. As expected, several hours later, gossip about Jenny was spreading more and more on social media and forums, and the video was gaining momentum. Many people began criticizing Jenny, and there were accounts like Robert's spreading gossip about Jenny's diva behavior on set.

"Who does Jenny think she is? Splashing coffee on her assistant! Disgusting!"

"So, were all the negative news about her suppressed by her family's influence?"

"Boycott Jenny the b*tch!"

"The person who filmed the video is so brave, thumbs up for exposing the truth!"

"I can't believe I liked and shared the video as soon as her beautiful mermaid makeup came out. Such a stunning and beautiful appearance hiding such a dirty heart!"

"I've always said she's not a good person."

Within a few hours, the trending hashtags #BeautifulMermaidMakeup and #JennySplashesCoffee reached the top of the trends.

Marigold felt relieved. Soon after, her phone rang, an unfamiliar number. She answered, and on the other end, she heard Jenny's hysterical cursing.

"Are you satisfied?! You ruined me, are you satisfied?! Did you get Brian to stop the company from taking down the trends and gossip?! I've already told my dad to talk to HR, tomorrow you can pack your boxes and get out of B.E.!"

Marigold replied coldly, "Even if you kill me, you won't win back Brian's heart. Instead of battling with me here, you better think about how to salvage your image. If you kick me out, all your gossip and scandals, including the photos of you cheating with David, will appear on social media and forums within half an hour, as well as on news headlines. You'll feel even worse than now. Do you think I have no way to deal with you? Do you think Brian will continue to remove the trends for you? He has already given up on you because you betrayed him first. Jenny Whitehouse, remember this, I will teach you how to be a better person in this world."

The call ended abruptly. Marigold could imagine Jenny sulking like a pufferfish. Another call came in, it was Brian.

"Good job, Mary. I see it's trending." Brian's voice regained its seductive and lazy tone. For some reason, Marigold felt a bit uneasy hearing his voice at this moment.

"What would you like to eat tomorrow? Mexican cuisine or Indian cuisine? Or how about coming to my place? I'll cook for you. During my recent trip abroad, I discovered a new way to prepare beef, and I want you to be my first taste-tester..."

"I'm sorry, tomorrow is my day off, and I prefer not to have any involvement with you outside of the workplace. We are boss and subordinate, please don't cross that boundary."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Mary, you're too straightforward with your words, and it hurts me. Alright, we'll discuss the dinner plans another time. However, next week, I need to attend a banquet, and it's required to have an assistant accompany me. You can't refuse, right? It's business."

Marigold could only agree.

A few days later, Jenny's scandal started to escalate and was met with widespread backlash across the internet. Some extreme haters even issued death threats against her.

Of course, with B.E. (Brian's company) spending money to suppress the videos and trending topics, they managed to contain it, but it was a step behind. Many producers who had previously tolerated Jenny's arrogance and stayed silent now publicly criticized her. Several luxury brands even announced within a few days that they would no longer endorse Jenny.

Brian, on the other hand, showed no reaction to all of this. Jenny's father, Mitchel Whitehouse, angrily approached him multiple times, only to be turned away by Brian with various excuses.

The proposal to fire Marigold was also rejected by Brian. He repeatedly emphasized to the board of directors that the appointment and dismissal of the CEO's assistant must be personally handled by the CEO. He even warned Mitchel through intermediaries not to overstep his boundaries.

As a result, after these back-and-forths for a few days, one evening on her way home from work, Marigold, who had just declined Brian's offer for a ride, noticed that she was being followed.