Chapter 766: Daily Headlines (part two)

What? Didn't you say you wanted to talk to me about my job? Why am I here now? What does Duke want?" Rachel was a little worried that Duke had seen the sensational trending post on the company website. She had created it deliberately. She just wanted all her colleagues to assume she was really Duke's girlfriend. She hadn't expected the post would attract so much attention. But not long after it was published on the website, a flood of comments came up under it. Now Rachel was a little nervous. She was afraid that Duke would think she had asked someone to put the gossip on the website. She hadn't expected he would figure out that it was her in such a short time.

But did I say you had to talk to me? Hurry up and get inside! Mr. Leng will get angry if he is kept waiting for long. Doesn't matter who the person is, it's a horrible sight when he gets vexed!" Janice informed her mockingly. She was not too familiar with Belinda, but she liked her forthright personality. And now, all of a sudden this woman was claiming to be Mr. Leng's girlfriend. It was quite unacceptable!

As Rachel gently knocked on the door, she thought about how she could deal with this situation. If Duke asked her about the post, how would she reply to him? If she was lucky, he might not have seen the post yet. She couldn't show him she was afraid.

"Come in." Duke clicked to close the website. The Tech Department was not bad. In a short time, they had managed to remove every trace of the rumor from the website. Apparently he needed to grant them a bonus. He was pretty satisfied with the efficiency.

"Duke, did you call for me?" Rachel raised her hand and patted her curly hair. She smiled charmingly and walked toward Duke, her hips swaying.

"I want to know why such a post was sent out on the company website." Duke did not ask her to sit down. He leaned back against the chair. He zeroed in on her, and was interested in her answer.

"Website? Post? What are you talking about? I don't know about that!" Rachel tilted her head, pretending to have no idea about what he said. As long as she insisted that sending out the post had nothing to do with her, what ever could he do with her? Although she had misled the employees, it wasn't her intention to let the rumor spread like wildfire. And so what if he was the company President, he could not impose these charges on her!

"Rachel, it's not like you to continue to pretend. I don't believe you know nothing about the gossip on the company website." Duke's face had turned cold. His whole body seemed to turn into ice. What was the most irritating was that someone used him to publicize themselves. For this very reason, he never did media interviews. He didn't want his private life to become the headline of the company's grapevine! How could he not get angry about this?

"Duke, the more you say, the more confused I get. I don't know what you are talking about! Janice just said she wanted to talk to me about my job. She didn't say anything to me about the post on the website." Although Rachel's heart was a little uneasy, she kept calm and tried to persuade him that she didn't know what he was talking about.

Well, let me put it another way. Did you tell others I have known you since young?" Duke's eyebrows snapped together. Just last night, he had begun to think she had straightened herself out and would not persecute him anymore. He had begun to not dislike her as much as he used to. But he had not imagined that in this short time, she could put out such a rumor. What was her purpose in doing that?

"Do you want me to lie?" Rachel circled her arms around her chest and blinked her big, watery eyes, looking at him innocently.

"No, so tell me why you call yourself my secret lover." Duke gnashed his teeth together. He ignored her fetching figure that she was deliberately trying to show off. His face showed impatience.

"I never said I am your secret lover. Before you accuse me of anything, don't you think you ought to have evidence? Or am I such a horrible woman in your eyes?" Rachel shook her head, pretending to be utterly disappointed. Her eyes grew misty.

Even if you didn't say that personally, you haven't denied it either, have you?" Duke frowned. He was unmoved by her fake innocence. When he had been younger, he might have felt pity seeing her deplorable expressions. But now, he did not have any feelings toward her. On the contrary, he was getting awfully weary of her.

"How do you know I haven't denied them? Besides, this is the age of free speech, I can't ask them to keep their mouths shut," Rachel sobbed. Although she was only pretended to be innocent, she truly felt sad. She had not thought that Duke would use such words to question her. He never shouted at her or scolded her before. But since they met again, every time he saw her he had been cold to her. She could always see the dismissive expression on his face. It hurt her pride.

"If you hadn't given them the wrong idea, how could they have written those ridiculous comments?" Duke looked at her bitterly. When he loved a woman, he was willing to spoil her all the time. But when he did not love a woman, his attitude became frosty. He never gave her any hope.

"Ha ha! When you are out to condemn somebody, you are always willing to trump up a charge. If you want to insist I said that, I can admit to my fault. But are those comments really of such importance to you?" Rachel inhaled. Her voice trembled. She was on the verge of tears. Anybody would be moved by her appearance. However, Duke's heart was cold. He was unbothered.

"Yes, they are important. I don't want my wife to know about them. It would cause unnecessary misunderstandings between us," Duke said with a straight face. He was so good to Rachel before she left him. But now, he was so tired of her. He did not want to ponder on whose fault it had been between them. It could only be said that both of them had met the wrong person at the right time.

"It's her again. Do you really love her so much?" Rachel shook her head. Since last night, he had been emphasizing how important the woman was to him, not knowing how much it upset her to hear that.

"I do not need to tell you. It is none of your business. If you still want to work in the company, I hope you can supervise your behavior. Otherwise, I will have to fire you even if I had feelings for you once." Belinda had asked him not to fire Rachel. Otherwise, Duke would have let Rachel go a long time ago. He had known she could create trouble for him at any given point of time.

"Hmm! 'Feelings for me'? So you still remember that we liked each other before! I was beginning to think it was my own wishful thinking!" It was not that Rachel was unwilling to accept the reality. But she was used to a rich person's lifestyle all these years. No matter what, she would strive to be Duke's wife even if he was about to be wedded to another woman. She knew it was not an easy thing to do. But she would still fight for it.

"You can think whatever you want. I'm just warning you. If you have nothing more to say, get out of here." Duke suddenly regretted calling her in his office. He not only failed to solve the problem, but also grew even more furious. How did he forget how cunning this woman was?

"Duke Leng, I hate you! The reason I am forced to take this drastic step is you! No matter how much you try to escape me, you cannot erase what has existed between us in the past." Rachel raised her hand and slightly wiped at her eyes. She turned to leave the room, fuming and shutting the door with a loud bang. The thundering sound reverberated in Duke's office.

'She hates me? Well! I have never expected her to love me anyway. It is better for her to hate me. Then things would become much easier,' Duke thought.

Rachel straightaway went to the washroom after making herself scarce from Duke's office. She switched on the lights and washed her face. After seeing Duke's reaction to the post, she knew it was impossible for her to get along with him as a friend. Now she must change the plan. She could not directly do anything to Duke, so she must find Belinda. If Belinda really loved Duke, she would know which of them was more suitable for him.

Grabbing the towel, she wiped the water on her face. Watching the lovely but pale face in the mirror, she secretly encouraged herself, "Rachel Qin, this is nothing serious. You have a setback for a while. So what? You would get more opportunities in the future."

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down. She gently patted her face and pulled her short skirt to arrange it. She glanced at her rosy, beautiful complexion again and walked out of the ladies room with utmost confidence. She was once again in high spirits. Nobody could make out any troubles from her face.