Filed to story: The Return Novel (Natalie & Bryce) PDF Read Online Free >>
Natalie was taken aback by the man’s arrogance. She didn’t know who this person was, and she wanted to kick him out of her office. But before she could reach for her phone, the office door opened and another man walked in. He took no notice of Natalie and walked straight over to Howard.
“Ah, Mr. Clare,” said the man. “So here you are. I have a document that requires your authorization, please.”
Howard nodded and quickly signed the document. Natalie didn’t know what to make of this. Mr. Clare? Obviously, he was in a position of authority of some kind. The assistant took back the document and left the office.
Natalie thought hard and suddenly realized that this person must be Howard Clare, the corrupt boss of the company. When she thought about it a little more, it made her wonder what kind of family the Clares really were. If Bryce knew about this, how could he tolerate the existence of such a badly run company in the family portfolio?
Natalie looked at Howard with narrowed eyes. Howard thought that she would be a bit more polite to him now that she apparently knew his identity. He laughed complacently.
“So, I guess you know who I am now, huh?” he said as he got up and started walking toward her.
Natalie was infuriated. With a disgusted look in her eyes, she said, “Please stay away from me.”
Howard was surprised once more by Natalie’s attitude towards him. He was accustomed to all the young and junior staff at the company deferring to him and being able to use his influence to pressure women into obliging him as much as possible. It was unusual for a woman like Natalie to challenge his authority despite knowing his identity.
“If there is nothing else, I have to start work. Please leave,” Natalie said firmly.
Howard’s arrogance returned, and he said coldly, “As an employee, is this the attitude you normally adopt towards your boss? If you persist in acting like this, you’ll soon be laid off.”
But to his surprise, Natalie wasn’t intimidated at all. She answered, “What’s wrong with my attitude? If employees want to focus on doing their work, shouldn’t the boss be happy? Do you have the attitude that a successful boss should have?”
Howard was almost speechless. He pointed his finger at Natalie angrily, stuttering, “You… you… you dare to—” He was thoroughly infuriated, his face darkening with anger. He was appalled that Natalie did not show him the deference he demanded.
As they stood there facing each other, the door opened again. This time, it was Mark Ellington who entered the office. Natalie rolled her eyes. It seemed as if her office had suddenly become low-life central today. She was about to usher them both out, but Ellington said, “Natalie, I heard you being disrespectful to Mr. Clare as I was passing by. Mr. Clare is respectful towards you, and as a longtime employee here, I have to say that I think you should reciprocate that.”
Then he said to Howard, “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Clare, but I really didn’t like what I heard. I hope you don’t mind the intrusion.”
Howard nodded, saying, “Not at all.” He waited, wanting to see what Natalie would do now.
Natalie knew that Ellington was trying to make things more difficult for her. Forcing herself to remain calm, she said evenly, “Mr. Ellington, I think you’re way off beam. This company is in the early stages of its recovery, and we have to be honest with each other and work hard no matter what. I’m merely trying to be clear and professional with Mr. Clare so that he can always know the truth about how things really are in the company. I think that’s what Mr. Clare would want as an effective boss, isn’t it, Mr. Clare?” She looked at Howard, her eyebrows raised questioningly.
Although Natalie was extremely annoyed with Howard, he was her boss after all. It wouldn’t be good for her to offend Howard too badly, so she was constructing this way of framing what had happened between them.
Howard was always willing to accept flattery. Seeing Natalie’s gentle expression and hearing her conciliatory tone, any anger he had been feeling evaporated. He waved his hand and said, “Well, I guess that’s right. We need honesty and authenticity in the company right now while we rebuild.”
Natalie smiled politely. Ellington’s face clouded with annoyance. He thought, ugh, she really does have some tricks. Just a few honeyed words were enough to dissolve the trouble she was in. Maybe I’ve underestimated her.
To change the subject, Ellington said to Natalie, “Talking of work, actually, I really need to ask you something. How did you know in advance that the second part of ‘The Crossing’ was going to be filmed? I hadn’t heard about it at all until the official announcement.”
Ellington had glanced at Howard as he spoke, but Howard remained expressionless. Ellington’s face sank. Could it be that Howard had told Natalie about the sequel in secret? He was suddenly suspicious.
Natalie laughed and said, “Ha ha, you must be joking. How would I know anything about it? It’s just lucky that everyone can see how hard Tony Bovel is working and what a good match he would be for the Zeb Ballard role.”
Mark Ellington could only let out a hollow laugh. “Ha ha, so that’s it, huh? I guess you just lucked in, Natalie. You’re really lucky.”
While Howard was there, Ellington couldn’t resist an attempt to get Tony back under his control. So he said, “Mr. Clare, you may not know it, but Tony Bovel was under my wing previously. He’s been with me for almost three years. I’d appreciate it if you could arrange for him to be returned to my mentorship. I really care about him, and we work really well together. It would be to the company’s benefit to reunite us, I’m sure.”