A LIFETIME WITH YOU

CHAPTER 5 Feel Free To Take Advantage Of Me Anytime

The next day, Rose followed Brandon to work at the company, officially taking on the position of his secretary.

However, on the way there earlier, she had already made three requests to Brandon, asking him not to reveal their relationship at the company.

She didn't want her colleagues to point fingers at her and say that she had climbed up the ladder by hooking up with the CEO.

But things didn't go as planned.

"Are you Miss Rose ?" One of Brandon's other secretaries looked at her strangely when they arrived at the office.

"Yes," Rose nodded, oblivious to the strange look in the other person's eyes.

"Since you're new here and not familiar with the CEO's daily affairs, start with simple tasks like serving tea and water. Learn from everyone else," the secretary said.

The secretary continued, "There are a few documents on your desk that the CEO has signed. Later, you'll need to send them to the respective departments. The one for Manager Christina is especially important. Make sure you personally hand it to her."

"Okay."

She nodded in agreement.

However, deep down, she was quite resistant to this matter because of what happened at Gary and Christina's wedding. She didn't want to see that woman at all.

But this was, after all, a professional matter. Rose tried to tell herself that she shouldn't mix personal and professional matters.

She composed herself, organized the documents, and delivered them to Christina's department.

Christina coldly smirked as she took the documents and glanced at them. Then she stood up and walked to the employee office area, clapping her hands.

"Everyone, come and see. This is the former Rose from our department. Since she failed to seduce my boyfriend, she went to seduce my cousin. Now she's the CEO's secretary. Who knows, she might become the wife of our group's CEO one day. Miss Rose, isn't that right?"

Rose's face turned bright red, and she clenched her fists in a mix of shame and anger. "I didn't... this is not..."

"What? You didn't try to seduce my husband at my wedding, or you didn't climb into my cousin's bed?" Christina interrupted her, mocking mercilessly. "Everyone should flatter our Miss Rose in daily life. Maybe one day she'll help you curry favor with my cousin and give you promotions and titles."

The onlookers burst into laughter.

Rose felt her mind explode with a bang. She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would lose control and hit someone. So she decisively turned around, wanting to leave.

But at that moment, someone intentionally extended their foot and tripped her.

Rose didn't notice the obstruction and stumbled, falling to the ground. The person took the opportunity to grab the coffee from the table and poured it all over her head and body.

"I'm sorry, Secretary Rose. I accidentally slipped, but you're a generous person. I don't think you'll bother with such a small matter, right?"

The other person pretended to hand her a few tissues to wipe herself. Before Rose could say anything, Christina's sarcastic voice rang out again, "That's hard to say. I'm currently the favored one in front of my cousin. Maybe I'll mention it to him later and get you fired directly."

Upon hearing this, Rose, with coffee on her head, turned her head and glared at her angrily.

"Oh, Secretary Rose is angry. You better back off quickly, or she might trip and cause trouble for all of you," Christina chuckled and inserted another remark.

Rose gritted her teeth, snatched a tissue from someone next to her, and ran out directly.

Laughter from those people came from behind.

She went to the restroom to clean the coffee stains off herself and looked at the person in the mirror, suddenly feeling like crying.

She didn't know what she had done wrong. Clearly, Gary had been her boyfriend all along, but he cheated on her with Christina for his own benefit, wanting to marry a wealthy young lady and rise to the top in one step.

But when it came to the critical moment, everyone came over to help Christina scold her.

The same thing happened with Brandon.

After work in the afternoon, she packed up her things and went downstairs, only to find Brandon's Porsche parked by the roadside, seemingly waiting for her to go back together.

Rose hesitated for a moment, then opened the car door and got in.

"First day at work, everything went smoothly?" Brandon glanced at her and started the car.

"It's fine, everything's good," she replied.

Rose slightly pulled the corner of her lips, forcing a smile.

In her heart, she actually wanted to tell Brandon about what Christina did to her today, but then she thought that if she really did that, wouldn't she become the kind of woman who gossips, as Christina described?

Besides, she didn't want Brandon's help with her work matters.

Brandon leisurely glanced at her, his eyes showing a hint of strange emotion that quickly disappeared. "Let's celebrate your promotion to executive secretary today. The boss is treating us, what do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine," she replied half-heartedly.

Brandon chose a high-end western restaurant. As they walked to the entrance, the waitstaff immediately recognized him and led them to a VIP private room.

The waiter brought two menus, and Rose took a look, instantly shocked and feeling uncomfortable.

Damn, the cheapest steak on the menu would cost half a month's salary for her!

Her hand holding the menu was trembling, and she couldn't even utter a word.

"I'll have two portions of the top-grade foie gras with the newly arrived white truffles in your restaurant, and also open a bottle of Dom Pérignon," Brandon said, seemingly aware of her embarrassment, and he didn't wait for her to speak before resolving the issue for her.

After the waiter left, he looked at her and added, "Don't worry about the price, you just focus on eating."

Rose smiled faintly, but deep down, she despised him, the evil capitalist.

"Mr Brandon, I've been thinking, it doesn't seem right for me to keep taking advantage of you like this at your home, so I think...," she hesitated for a moment, "in a few days, when I find a suitable place, I should move out of your house."

"I don't mind you taking advantage of me," Brandon smirked, "Whether it's physically or financially, feel free to take advantage of me anytime."

Rose: "???"

"Mr. Brandon smiled

She wanted to say something, but the waiter pushed open the door and brought the dishes they ordered.

Brandon picked up a napkin, laid it out, and looked up at her. "Since just now, I've been feeling that something is off with you. Tell me, did someone say something to you at the company today?"

Rose lowered her gaze and remained silent.

After a while, she finally spoke, "It's not their business, but I just feel that it's inappropriate for me to stay at your home since we have no relation. Brandon, I've actually been curious, why are you so good to me?"

"Because I want to be," Brandon smiled, lifting the glass by his side. "I want to treat you well, and there's no need for a reason."

Rose fell silent.

She couldn't understand why Brandon, a man who could easily be overwhelmed in a crowd, would be interested in her.

"Mr Brandon, may I ask, what kind of relationship do we have now?" She couldn't help but ask, "Superior and subordinate? Friends, lovers, or something else?"

"What do you hope for?" Brandon stared at her with a smile that wasn't really a smile and threw the question back at her.

"Can it be..." she paused, "just a simple superior-subordinate relationship?"

"We've already been in bed together, and now you're telling me you want a simple relationship?" Brandon sneered.

Rose's face quickly turned red, feeling extremely embarrassed. She couldn't bear it any longer, so she quickly found an excuse, saying she needed to use the restroom and hurriedly left the private room.

Brandon watched her figure and contemplated.

When Rose came out of the restroom and passed by another private room, she happened to run into Gary and Christina who were also there for a meal.

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere became inexplicably awkward.

"Oh, you're here too?" Christina crossed her arms and looked at Rose with a mocking expression. "Miss Rose, did you follow us here? What do you want?"

"You're overthinking, I..." Rose wanted to say that she didn't, but before she could finish her sentence, Christina rudely interrupted her, "You shameless woman! Wasn't the lesson at the wedding enough for you? Do I have to find someone to expose you and kick you out to make a fool of yourself? Stay away from my husband!"

"I..."

"Rose, I know you've always had feelings for me, but I'm already married to Christina. I kindly ask you to stay away from me. Your behavior has been causing me trouble," Gary chimed in as well.

At this moment, Rose really wanted to curse.

She seriously wondered if these two had a mental problem. Where did they see her following them?

Crazy!

She couldn't be bothered to explain to these two anymore. She didn't want to make a scene in this place and become a laughingstock, so she turned around to leave.

"Stop!"

Behind her, Gary called out to her.

Hearing this, Rose subconsciously halted, and Christina beside him frowned, "What do you want?"

"Today, I received a notification from the company saying that I've been fired, and it was said to be Mr. Brandon's decision."

Gary narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of severity passing through his gaze. "It was you who made Brandon do this, right? Just because I chose her, you want to retaliate against me with such malicious means? You, as a woman, why are you so vindictive?"

Rose was stunned.

She only found out from him just now that Gary had been fired, and it was Brandon's doing?

He... did he do it to help her seek revenge?

This thought flashed through her mind, and for a moment, she was filled with mixed emotions—sour and bittersweet. She felt like crying and was also moved. She couldn't quite describe the exact taste in her heart.

She immersed herself in her thoughts and remained silent, but Gary was already walking towards her.

"I heard that you're now Brandon's mistress? Rose, I realize now that I was blind. I actually thought you were a fairly innocent girl. I never expected you to be a cheap woman who can sell her body for personal gain," he sneered, and continued, "I'm glad I didn't choose you. You, this woman, I wonder how many times you've slept with others in the past. Compared to my Christina, you're not even worthy of a single strand of her hair."

His words successfully pleased Christina, who was spectating.

Miss Christina intentionally raised her chin, clearly demonstrating a show of superiority. "Enough, my love, there's no need to argue with this shameless and despicable woman. I'll explain everything to my cousin later tonight. I won't let her deceive him."

Listening to their coordinated mockery, Rose felt a burning anger inside her.

She clenched her fists tightly and turned to look at Gary. "What right do you have to talk about me? So what if I have no shame? I learned it from you."

"You shameless woman, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Gary was about to curse, but Rose merely sneered and pointed at Christina. "Oh really? Gary, do you dare to say that you married her not because of her surname Jones or because her family is wealthy? Haha, speaking of which, I should thank you. If it weren't for you reminding me, I wouldn't have known this easy way to climb up in the world."

"You b***h!"

Rose's words seemed to have struck a nerve with Christina. She became even more agitated than Gary and rushed forward, slapping Rose without distinction.

"I'll make you regret your nonsense. Today, I will tear apart your filthy mouth."

The commotion attracted the attention of some people around them, and the waitstaff had already approached, attempting to mediate their conflict.

However, Christina was relentless and even grabbed Rose's hair, as if she was about to fight her right there.

The pain in Rose's scalp caused her to take a sharp breath. She tried several times to free her hair from Christina grip but failed.

Consumed by anger and unable to endure any longer, Rose pushed her with force.

Christina was wearing high-heeled shoes today, and without steady footing, she fell backward onto the ground, seemingly in a painful manner.

"My love..." Gary rushed over to help her.

But Christina, as if deliberately trying to provoke him, refused to get up. Instead, she pushed him away in a fit of anger.

Provoked by being pushed away, Gary became furious. However, he didn't dare to confront Miss Christina, so he abruptly stood up and slapped Rose.

Smack!

The crisp sound made people wince just by listening to it.

That slap was indeed heavy, and Rose's face immediately swelled up. Her ears were buzzing, and she could barely distinguish anything.

Christina watched her being slapped and finally felt satisfied. She allowed the waitstaff to help her stand up and pointed at Rose.

"Everyone, take a look. This is the slut who tried to seduce my husband at my wedding, and now she followed us here to have a meal. She even wants to make a move on my husband when I'm not looking. I caught her in the act. I really don't know how her parents raised her, without an ounce of shame."

Her words were extremely defamatory, instantly arousing the hatred of the onlookers towards Rose.

Some people had even taken out their phones, preparing to record this scene and post it online, rallying the vast number of netizens to criticize Rose as a shameless "other woman."

"I'm not, they're talking nonsense..." Rose tried to explain, but Gary didn't give her a chance. He immediately grabbed her by the neck and tried to push her away.

"Stop it!"

A cold and angry voice came from behind, and everyone turned their heads to see a man who was even more handsome than a movie star walking over with a stern expression.

It's Brandon!