NovelEnglishChapter 40
Hogan cut into our chat, “We're gonna be late for the concert.”
Cecilia waved atwith a grin, “So, Xaviera, we're heading off first, alright?”
Once they were gone, | immediately fired up the N University forum.
Boom, there it was, the top post - Hot rumor: N University’s hunkiest prof, Darren, is off the market!
And slapped right there was a pic of Darren andchowing down in the student cafeteria.
Gotta hand it to the OP, they'd got smad candid skills. Smiles, forehead flicks- even I, the subject, felt like
there was something fishy in those snaps.
The comments were all over the place.
[Holy moly, is this the legendary match of brains and beauty? That prof’s date’s got skiller looks!]
[I mean, how can someone rock both sweet and icy vibes? She got a celestial face!]
[We totally approve of Professor Yearwood's love life!]
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The more | read, the wilder it got, until my eyes landed on this gem: Ain't that Xaviera, the one who used to
drool over the finance department’s golden boy?
The reply was fresh, with just a handful of likes.
After sthought, | decided to play hacker and wiped that gossip post off the map.
A little misunderstanding aboutwas fine, but | couldn't let Darren’s rep take a hit.
By the t| wrapped up, it was the dead of night.
Stepping off the elevator, | spotted a lean figure in the distance, standing by the window, fingers holding a half-
smoked cigarette.
Outside, bare branches swayed, the man’s face obscured in the backlight, murky and indistinct. But | recognized
Hogan from that familiar silhouette.
| was surprised.
Wasn't he at the concert? What's he doing here at the office building?
Pretending not to notice, | walked past with a poker face, but when | was just two meters from Hogan, | heard
him ask, “All this for a project, really?”
| paused, puzzled, and looked up at Hogan.
Our eyes met, and | heard him scoff, “Or is it, you programmers are best at making backups for
1/2
12-20 -
yourselves?”
Backups?
Now | was totally lost, so | just cout with it, “Mr. Zade, care to explain?”
Hogan slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, eyes sharpening as he replied, “Frank’s just being polite for the Yearwood
family’s sake. You don’t actually think, with his status, he’d be into your project, do you?”
My heart skipped a beat as | caught Hogan's insinuation.
Guess he figured out why Wallis and | approached Frank.
And in Hogan's eyes, my closeness to Darren was just to use him to snag more investment bucks.
“Mr. Zade, | don’t think that’s against any deal we have with your company,” | said calmly, “but still thanks for
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmthe high regard.”
Climbing the ladder by any means, even flirting - it was kinda like a backhanded compliment.
But my thanks didn’t sit well with Hogan. He watchedquietly, frowning. “You'd do better focusing on things
that matter. Rainbow Capital won't shortchange you.”
| almost burst out laughing..
So Hogan's late-night mission was just to givea heads-up?
| met Hogan's frosty gaze and shot back, “If Frank's so uninterested in our project, then pray tell, what caught
your eye in the first place, Mr. Zade?”
Hogan was taken aback, speechless for a moment.
| smirked, drawing my own conclusion, “Was it because you're head over heels for Director Irwin, Mr. Zade?
Blinded by love?”
He stiffened at my words, his pupils contracting slightly. “So, you plan to follow in her footsteps?”
Suddenly, | was the one caught off guard, defiance bubbling up as I retorted, “What's that to you, Mr. Zade?”
Hogan was silent for a long while.
His imposing aura almost suffocating me.
Just when | felt at a loss, he finally spoke, his tone laced with mockery, “Xaviera, you're quite something.”
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