Chapter 2

"I'm telling you, I've seen Mr. Alex lurking around the women's restroom several times, not sure what he was doing!"

"Shouldn't we call the police? We can't just let him get away with this!"

I wasn't flustered. I slowly walked out of my office.

"You're saying I sexually harassed you?"

"Well, I'm saying you sexually harassed me."

Chloe heard my voice and, feigning fear, shrank further into my colleague's arms.

"Why would a girl like me ruin my own reputation to frame you? Mr. Alex, isn't it just because you liked me, and I rejected you, that you're now bitter and falsely accusing me?"

At her words, my colleagues' eyes widened, looking at me.

"Mr. Alex? Did you really confess to Chloe?"

Chloe nodded, crying even harder.

"Yes, just a few days after I started, he secretly approached me and told me he liked me. But I rejected him! I never imagined he would try to force himself on me because of that!"

She grew more and more outlandish, twisting black into white.

Too annoyed to argue further, I pulled out the camera and held it up for everyone to see.

"Everything that just happened in my office is clearly recorded right here. You can all come and see for yourselves."

Suddenly, the air grew silent.

Colleagues exchanged glances, their eyes full of curiosity.

A few closer to me were already eager to step forward and view the footage.

Chloe's face instantly turned ashen, her eyes wide as she stared at the camera in my hand.

In just three seconds, she lunged at the camera in my hand, smacking it, completely wrecking it.

Then she clutched her head, letting out a piercing scream.

"I have depression! Mr. Alex, stop pushing me! If you push me any further, I'll die right here!"

After shouting that, she turned and ran without looking back.

My colleagues were smart; how could they not understand what was really going on?

They exchanged glances and slowly dispersed.

As if nothing had happened.

I watched in a daze for a while as Chloe disappeared, before finally snapping back to reality.

Honestly, her smooth string of moves had truly opened my eyes; I was momentarily speechless.

But after this scene, she had thoroughly embarrassed herself.

She definitely wouldn't be coming to work tomorrow.

That was probably for the best, a lesson learned, letting her know that not everything can be said carelessly.

For now, the incident was over.

I didn't see Chloe again until it was time to leave work.

Near closing time, Chloe's team lead reported to me that Chloe had packed her things and left the company.

I was getting ready to leave too.

As soon as I got into my car, my phone rang.

It was Mr. Sterling, the big boss.

He asked me to go with him to entertain a client.

I immediately called my wife, Sarah, telling her to go to bed early and not wait up for me.

At dinner, I toasted glass after glass. The client was very pleased with me, and we got along great. The collaboration details were smoothly finalized.

But I was pretty tipsy, my head heavy, and people started to blur before my eyes.

By the time the dinner ended, it was very late.

If I went home now, I'd definitely wake Sarah.

She was pregnant, and I truly didn't want to disturb her.

So I went to the hotel next door to crash for the night.

After entering the room, I collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

I don't know how much time passed, but I was woken by my phone.

I groggily opened my eyes, my head throbbing.

I pulled my phone from under the pillow and answered the call.

"Hello?"

My neighbor, Mrs. Henderson, sounded anxious on the other end, her voice mixed with a chaotic din of arguments.