His presence was barely noticeable, even if he was smoking.
Before she could say anything, Patrick asked her, "What are you doing here?"
"The Evaluation Department is having a dinner party here tonight” Sophia replied succinctly.
Sophia wanted to get back to her group, for she didn't want them to notice that she was gone for so
long.She was about to leave when Patrick called her again.
"Wait, I'll just go there.I need to see the staff and join them, anyway, Patrick suggested.Patrick put his
cigarette out and threw the butt into the trash can.He then walked towards Sophia with his hands inside
his pockets.Sophia trailed behind him consciously.Suddenly, a gust of wind blasted across her face,
messing up her hair.It also messed up her thoughts, and she was out of it for a minute.
"Which room?" Patrick blurted.
Patrick came to a halt so quickly that Sophia didn't have time to react, causing her entire body to collide
with his back.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, a little mockingly, but the truth was he wanted to reach out
and soothe her bruised nose.
Clare felt so familiar with how Patrick showed his tenderness towards her.
And like what he just did, it felt like he had done it to her many times; to touch and feel her soft skin
with his hands.
Sophia somehow guessed what Patrick was about to do and consciously avoided his touch.
Although his hand stopped in midair, his expression remained unchanged.
The air around them suddenly felt hot, like it was sucked out of them.
"Mr.Evans, it's this room..."
Sophia breathlessly said as she nervously pointed at the door on her side.
Patrick put his hands back into his pockets and nodded to Sophia.
She quickly understood what he meant and led him inside the room.
Patrick couldn't help but act professionally as what was expected of him as a leader for so many years.
Sophia flung open the door and turned sideways, allowing Patrick to enter.
The staff inside the room were suddenly shocked as they realized who had just entered.
Seconds passed before they were sucked out of their trance and tidied up, rising to greet him.
"Everyone, good evening.This is an informal gathering, so please just relax.We just happened to bump
to each other outside, so I decided to come and join you, guys" Patrick said calmly.
"Mr.Evans, please have a seat” one of the senior staff offered.
"Everyone, please, take your seats, Patrick replied as he walked over to the couch and sat down.
"Mr.Evans, do you really have a son with your fiancée?" Giselle couldn't stop herself from asking him.
The entire room fell into strange silence as soon as she finished her question.
As they awaited their boss’ response, everyone held their breaths and became anxious.
Some of the department staff reacted and harshly grabbed Giselle, who was becoming agitated.
"Giselle, what the hell were you thinking?" a bespectacled lady asked.
"Mr.Evans, we are so sorry.She didn't mean it, for she drank too much already" the woman in ponytail
begged.
"Mr.Evans, you still haven't answered my question” Giselle insisted as she pushed away from her
colleague, who had been stopping her from falling.
Nobody really knew if she was really drunk or was just drinking alcohol to help boost her courage to
ask their boss.
There were still no visible drastic changes in Patrick's expression as he answered calmly.
"Although I don't usually answer questions about my personal life, I have to say this.I don't want any of
you to be concerned about my personal relationships.Ever since you all know that I don't want to have
kids out of wedlock,"
Patrick concluded.
Clare felt so familiar with how Patrick showed his tenderness towards her.
And like what he just did, it felt like he had done it to her many times; to touch and feel her soft skin
with his hands.
Sophia somehow guessed what Patrick was about to do and consciously avoided his touch.
Although his hand stopped in midair, his expression remained unchanged.
The air around them suddenly felt hot, like it was sucked out of them.
"Mr.Evans, it's this room..." Sophia breathlessly said as she nervously pointed at the door on her side.
Patrick put his hands back into his pockets and nodded to Sophia.She quickly understood what he
meant and led him inside the room.
Patrick couldn't help but act professionally as what was expected of him as a leader for so many years.
Sophia flung open the door and turned sideways, allowing Patrick to enter.
The staff inside the room were suddenly shocked as they realized who had just entered.
Seconds passed before they were sucked out of their trance and tidied up, rising to greet him.
"Everyone, good evening.This is an informal gathering, so please just relax.We just happened to bump
to each other outside, so I decided to come and join you, guys" Patrick said calmly.
"Mr.Evans, please have a seat" one of the senior staff offered.from her chair and walked out of the
room.
On the other hand, one of their office mates, Lilith, drank even harder and fell next to Sophia.
Sophia wasn't sure if Lilith was talking to her or to herself when she said, "Do you know what kind of a
person Mr.Evans is?"
Sophia simply shook her head and said nothing.
"Well, he is the type of person who cares about his employees.He sends anyone home anytime if
there's heavy rain.If an employee drank too much, Mr.Evans would send him home.He remembers
everyone's birth dates.And if he somehow forgot to greet someone, no matter how late it was, he would
still call that person to greet them on their birthdays.Do you think this lucky person held a special place
in his heart?" Lilith explained.
Sophia was still silent and just listened to Lilith's monologue.
"Tell me, why is he not fond of me? I worked hard all year for I wanted to help him with his burden.I
would be satisfied even if I had to stare at him from a distance.But why can't we be together?" Lilith
cried helplessly.
Sophia felt pity towards Lilith, for she knew that she was just voicing out what she was feeling and that
it was all real.
"Lilith, you drank too much."
"Ms.Hill, everything's fine.I am feeling so fine right now"
Clare felt so familiar with how Patrick showed his tenderness towards her.
And like what he just did, it felt like he had done it to her many times; to touch and feel her soft skin
with his hands.
Sophia somehow guessed what Patrick was about to do and consciously avoided his touch.
Although his hand stopped in midair, his expression remained unchanged.
The air around them suddenly felt hot, like it was sucked out of them.
"Mr.Evans, it's this room..."
Sophia breathlessly said as she nervously pointed at the door on her side.
Patrick put his hands back into his pockets and nodded to Sophia.She quickly understood what he
meant and led him inside the room.
Patrick couldn't help but act professionally as what was expected of him as a leader for so many years.
Sophia flung open the door and turned sideways, allowing Patrick to enter.
The staff inside the room were suddenly shocked as they realized who had just entered.
Seconds passed before they were sucked out of their trance and tidied up, rising to greet him.
"Everyone, good evening.This is an informal gathering, so please just relax.We just happened to bump
to each other outside, so I decided to come and join you, guys" Patrick said calmly.
"Mr.Evans, please have a seat; one of the senior staff offered.it's not real.
Lilith smiled, "You have a point too, but let's be honest.Do women still care if it's not real?"
Sophia simply nodded.She didn't want to admit to herself that what Lilith just said was true, but it was
the sad truth.She was just an ordinary woman.She would be tempted, too, when an opportunity came
knocking.
However, once was enough.She couldn't afford to be stupid again, not this time.
"It goes to say that Mr.Evans is not for any of us.Even if he shows interest to anyone, it wouldn't mean
anything.He was just looking for someone to waste his time with; maybe he was feeling bored’’ Sophia
said.
Sophia had just finished her litany when she heard someone calling her name.Patrick was suddenly
there, inside his car.He lowered the window just to be able to talk to her.His eyes were filled with
confidence.
Sophia wasn't quite sure how long he was there or, even worse, whether he heard everything that she
and Lilith just said.
Sophia felt guilty for she just mentioned how inconsiderate he was, and now, he was in front of her,
"Mr.Evans..."
"Get in the car; I will drive you both home" Patrick commanded.
Sophia wanted to refuse but was concerned with Lilith's Clare felt so familiar with how Patrick showed
his tenderness towards her.
And like what he just did, it felt like he had done it to her many times; to touch and feel her soft skin
with his hands.
Sophia somehow guessed what Patrick was about to do and consciously avoided his touch.
Although his hand stopped in midair, his expression remained unchanged.
The air around them suddenly felt hot, like it was sucked out of them.
"Mr.Evans, it's this room..."
Sophia breathlessly said as she nervously pointed at the door on her side.
Patrick put his hands back into his pockets and nodded to Sophia.
She quickly understood what he meant and led him inside the room.
Patrick couldn't help but act professionally as what was expected of him as a leader for so many years.
Sophia flung open the door and turned sideways, allowing Patrick to enter.
The staff inside the room were suddenly shocked as they realized who had just entered.
Seconds passed before they were sucked out of their trance and tidied up, rising to greet him.
"Everyone, good evening.This is an informal gathering, so please just relax.We just happened to bump
to each other outside, so I decided to come and join you, guys" Patrick said calmly.
"Mr.Evans, please have a seat” one of the senior staff offered.
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