Chapter 345 Tempest in the Lobby
"Emily!"
Caught off guard by the shove and unsteady in her high heels, Diana staggered back until someone reached out to steady her.
As Emily's slander grew more unrestrained, Diana could no longer contain her anger, letting out a sharp rebuke.
"Trying to intimidate me? Do you really think I'm scared of you?" Emily scoffed at Diana. "If you had the guts to do it, at least own up. I bet the only way you got your Chief Secretary position at Evans Group CEO was by sleeping your way..."
"Slap!"
Unable to hold back as Emily kept spewing venom, Diana rushed forward and slapped her across the face before she could finish her sentence.
"You can slander me all you want, Emily, but leave my boss out of it," Diana said, her eyes blazing with fury after dealing with the slap.
Diana's slap was far from gentle; it rocked Emily for a few seconds. When she snapped out of her daze, her eyes blazed with a fury bordering on hatred. Clenching her teeth, she hissed, "You seduce my brother, and then you have the nerve to hit me? Fine, Diana, you want a fight, you got one."
Right after Emily spoke, she quickly moved toward Diana, getting ready to hit her. But before Emily could hit Diana, someone grabbed her hand tightly and stopped her from moving it.No sooner had the words left her lips than Emily lunged at Diana, raising her hand to strike. But before her hand could follow through, it was seized by a strong grip and immobilized.
Startled, Emily turned her head only to meet an unexpected sight.
"CEO."
"Mornin', CEO!" "Good morning, CEO!" The room echoed.
When the crowd realized it was Liam who had stepped in, they quietly greeted him and then scattered away like startled birds.Realizing who had intervened, the crowd quickly murmured their greetings to Liam and then scattered like startled birds.
The sight of Liam inexplicably brought a stinging sensation to Diana's eyes, and she hung her head low.
"So you're Liam, the CEO of Evans Group, huh?" Emily said, trying to boost her courage with a defiant lift of her eyebrows. "Perfect timing. Your secretary here is a disgrace—no morals, a messy personal life, leading my brother astray and conning him out of his money. You better fire her on the spot."
"And who might you be to me, Miss, that I should take orders from you?" Liam inquired. Releasing Emily's hand, he then calmly pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hand, which had just touched her wrist.
Seeing Liam's reluctant gesture, Emily's face turned green with envy.Watching Liam's disinclined gesture, Emily's face turned an envious shade of green.
Having cleaned his hand, Liam pierced Emily with a chill gaze as fierce as winter ice. A dangerous smirk tugged at his lips, and his voice was a low, chilling murmur,: "This is my territory; Diana is my employee, and if I see you causing trouble here again, don't expect any courtesy."
"You're clearly having an affair with this tramp." Emily spat, glaring at Liam, fuming.
"Security," Liam commanded, sparing Emily no further words.
"CEO," acknowledged the security manager, stepping forward promptly.
"Escort her out and make sure she doesn't come within a step of the Evans Group building again," Liam ordered. Without wasting another moment, he strode towards the elevator.
"Yes, CEO," the security officer responded, moving to escort Emily away.
"What are you waiting for? Let's get back to work." As he walked past Diana, who hadn't moved, Liam paused to remind her gently.
"Yes," Diana replied, her head still lowered. Unable to meet his gaze, she hurried to follow him.
"Look at you, Diana, you lowlife, cozying up to your boss," sneered a voice. "Ah! Let me go, get off me!"
Emily screamed, but the security guard was merciless. He picked her up with ease and threw her out.
Diana followed closely behind Liam into the elevator. As the doors closed and it started going up, the cramped space felt even more suffocating.Following closely, Diana trailed behind Liam into the elevator. As the doors closed and the ascent began, the suffocating atmosphere within the narrow space intensified.
"Liam, I'm sorry if..." she began hesitantly.
"Why are you apologizing to me?" he asked.
After a moment's thought, Diana took the initiative.
However, before she could finish, Liam looked at her, cutting off her words.
Diana looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes held a gentle warmth, completely free of any blame or irritation.Diana lifted her gaze to meet his. There was a gentle warmth in his eyes without a hint of blame or irritation.
"That was Douglas's sister—the girl I went to high school with for three years," Diana explained, trying to settle the unease she felt.
Liam responded calmly, "Your high school classmate's performance today was likely staged. Someone must be pulling the strings. I'll have it looked into."
Diana hadn't thought about being manipulated before.Manipulated. That was something Diana hadn't considered.
"Who could it be?"
Watching her, Liam's lips curled into a slight smile. He tenderly brushed a stray hair behind her ear.
Feeling his hand on her face, Diana's heart fluttered uncontrollably, her cheeks flushing red.
"Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this and give you closure," he reassured her with a soft, soothing voice as he withdrew his hand and tucked it into his pocket.
When Diana looked into his eyes, her heart raced, feeling like it might burst. She quickly composed herself, glanced down shyly, and smiled nervously.As his gaze met hers, Diana's heart pounded wildly, threatening to leap out of her chest. Regaining her composure, she looked down awkwardly, her lips twitching into a shy smile. "Thank you, Liam."
He smiled back, clearly pleased.
...
