Chapter10 Mistaking Her for Willing

It only took the gallery clerk one minute to complete the transfer of ownership procedures on the front desk computer.

"Linnea, these ten paintings belong to you now. I'm so happy for you!"

Linnea glanced at her name tag and said quietly, "Thank you, Stella."

Meanwhile, Caius stood to the side, his expression cold and indecipherable. Amy held the palm-sized painting that Caius had bestowed upon her. Her heart was still beating irregularly from Caius's favor just now, but she didn't dare say a word.

Once Caius showed displeasure, someone would suffer.

Linnea left. Caius followed her out. He must be going to announce Linnea's dismissal, right?

Amy lowered her head, the corners of her mouth twitching from a smile she couldn't hide. Linnea, starting today, you'll also be abandoned by Caius.

Linnea was about to drive away when a large palm stopped her car window.

She instinctively shrank back. She was really afraid that once Caius came to his senses, he would beat her severely. But she suppressed her fear and tried to meet his meaningful gaze.

"Your slapping strength is quite impressive." Caius said softly. "Not quite like the little kitten in bed who only knows how to act cute and cry, begging her bed partner to be gentler."

Linnea forced herself to stay calm.

"My explosive power is pretty good. After all, I can't compare to pampered rich heiresses like Amy. I've struggled to survive in society. When I encounter harassment and difficulties, I can only solve them myself."

"Your solution isn't very clever." Caius deliberately ignored the resentment in her words again. "If the person you confronted just now wasn't me, you would have been fired for defying your superior."

Of course Linnea knew this.

But if she didn't have a special relationship with Caius, how would she have encountered this kind of thing?

But she didn't defend herself. She extended her finger and lightly scratched his hand where veins bulged.

"Caius, anyway, with you here, I can rely on you, can't I?"

After the sound of the car engine outside the door gradually faded, Amy emerged from the gallery, her cheeks flushed. "Caius, thank you for helping me..."

"No need." Caius calmly informed her. "Because starting today, you're fired."

Amy's face instantly turned pale.

"Caius, what did I do wrong? Please tell me. I can correct everything, as long as you forgive me."

"This doesn't need a reason."

"But you can't fire me without reason."

"Why can't I? As long as I want to, I can do anything."

After simple begging failed, Amy tried to gain his sympathy. "Caius, I was originally a child born to the legitimate wife of the Jane family, but there are too many illegitimate children in the family. I had to demonstrate my value through independent work..."

"Mm." Caius said. "So?"

"I really need this secretary job. Please don't be too harsh on me..."

Amy thought this might awaken some soft part in Caius's heart. She and Caius were both legitimate children of complicated families. They would be the same type of people.

But after listening, Caius showed extreme disbelief. "You want me to sympathize with you? But I don't think I've ever publicly proclaimed that I'm some generous and kind person."

Thinking of Linnea's exaggerated praise just now, his smile deepened.

See, that little cat had never misunderstood him. In her heart, he had always been an utterly wicked bastard.

"But why does that bitch from the slums with poor upbringing get your sympathy?" Amy stammered. "Is it just because of her looks? But your previous bed partners were never that sexy. To get close to you, I specifically got breast augmentation surgery..."

"She's from the slums? Doesn't seem like it."

Amy showed a desperate look.

She finally understood that she had already lost from the very beginning.

Not because of body, family background, personality, or anything else.

Caius was purely interested in that woman. That was all.

...

Three days later.

Before Linnea entered the inner room of the gallery, Stella asked her quietly, "The person who had a conflict with you that day was the CEO of Thorne Corporation, right? He didn't make things difficult for you, did he? After you left, he got really angry and even fired that secretary Amy."

Amy was a favored person by his side. He was actually willing to fire her? Hadn't he defended Amy in front of her?

Why would he do that? Could it be some kind of flirting tactic?

What a moody man.

Linnea complained inwardly as she walked into the gallery. She didn't notice the man's increasingly gloomy face in the depths of the studio corridor.

"Excuse me, where are those paintings?"

The gallery manager was a corpulent businessman with a shrewd appearance.

"The paintings, ah..." He stared at her obsessively. "Why are you so fixated on finding paintings? You yourself are a work of art."

"Please tell me where the paintings are."

The boss was interrupted, but there wasn't a trace of displeasure on his face. He said repeatedly, "Oh, oh, alright. Those paintings, well, they're already in my warehouse. I'll have my assistant fetch them, but it'll take a while. Please be patient. Perhaps we can chat about those... um, artworks."

"No need."

That corpulent body moved closer. That decaying smell made her nauseous.

For her mother's sake, she barely tolerated it.

But that person suddenly reached out his hand, about to press it on her thigh.

Linnea had anticipated this and was about to spring from her chair. But a voice reacted even faster than her, freezing the manager's hand in mid-air.

"Starting now, you're fired."

That corpulent body first stiffened, then trembled violently. Linnea's heart also pounded. She didn't dare turn her head. How did she keep running into Caius? It couldn't possibly be that Caius had investigated her whereabouts in advance, right? It could only be attributed to bad karma.

The manager tried to make small talk. Just as he opened his mouth, bodyguards rushed up and taped his mouth shut with duct tape, throwing him out.

The bodyguard nodded to him, reporting, "The surveillance has been pulled. All videos of this manager molesting women have been compiled. We'll send them to relevant people throughout the city and completely expel him from the art circle."

Caius nodded. The bodyguards immediately went to execute this order.

Seeing him lift his foot to leave, Linnea mustered her courage. "Caius, what a coincidence..."

"Think I'm brutal?" Caius asked her.

She was stunned for a moment, then realized that Caius was asking about her feelings regarding what just happened.

Just as she was about to answer, Caius immediately asked, "Why didn't you dodge just now?"

This sentence was an interrogation. She met Caius's cold gaze, her heart sinking.

Bad.

Caius looked like he was really angry. Had he misunderstood something? Just now she had been startled by the voice and hadn't dodged in time. Did he think she was willing?

"Caius, it's not what you think..."

She immediately tried to explain, but the man was too lazy to listen to her arguments. He turned and strode outside.