Chapter 26 What, Not Scared of Hemorrhoids Now? Chapter 26 What, Not Scared of Hemorrhoids Now? Violet's phone clattered to the floor with a thud. Sean frowned. "Violet, you okay? Still stressed about Victor and Leo's fight?" "Don't worry. Mr. Olsen usually leans toward our boss. Leo's team slashed their bid by 5% to steal the Braxton contract, but once Mr. Olsen knows the full story, he won't side with Leo." Lily slid closer, whispering, "Not so sure. I heard she's connected to someone at Braxton Group." "Who?" Violet and Sean asked in unison. You know!" Lily lowered her voice. "Boss's... ex!" Violet blinked, realizing Lily meant Victor's ex-wife. Then she remembered her phone was still on the floor. Picking it up, her brain short-circuited. The fingers clutching the phone also trembled slightly. Someone explain why she'd been on a WhatsApp call with Wayne for ten minutes! Panicked, Violet slammed the end-call button. Then she froze and thought, "Wait, that looks bad." It was like she'd deliberately called Wayne, let him overhear her griping, then hung up on purpose. Violet groaned inwardly, "I'm acting like some scheming villain from a soap opera." Shaking, she returned to their chat. Mr. Braxton, sorry. If I say that was all a coincidence, would you believe me?] Coincidence? You mean you just happened to stare at my chat for half an hour, accidentally called me, and let me overhear your office gossip?] Violet wanted to cry, typing one word: [Yes!] Quite a coincidence, Lucky me, I'm passing by your office later. Dinner tonight to talk?] What could Violet say? Could she say no? Коре Sure, Mr. Braxton J Wayne squinted at the Mr. Braxton," chuckling Ungrateful hude thing. He told her to drop the formalities, and she was like getting sutter. [See you tonight, Ms. Miller) Violet nearly fainted reading that Before she could recover, Victor stormed out of Donny's office, face dark. "Boss, what happened?" Violet, Sean, and Lily turned to him. 14:52 Left Me Hanging at the City Hall? I Married Your Uncle 20.8% Chapter 26 What, Not Scared of Hemorrhoids Now? Victor, in no mood, muttered, "Nothing. He said whoever gets it is okay. Doesn't matter how." Their faces fell, a cloud settling over the team. Fiona Graves, Victor's ex wife, passed by with a smug smile. "Mr. Gray, what's with the long face? Victor shot her a cold look but said nothing. Violet and the others also returned to their computers to continue with the work at hand. Fiona, her taunt ignored, shrugged and walked off. Violet's heart sank. In their world, connections were everything. Whoever had the best network got the best gigs. One needed top-tier skills and a rock-solid backer. sadly, Victor, like her, had neither. Violet clocked out ten minutes early, dodging colleagues who might spot her with Wayne. He watched her sneak into his car like a thief, his brow ticking up. "What, cops chasing you?" Violet choked. "No, Mr. Braxton, you can drive." Seeing her urgency, Wayne deliberately took his time starting the engine. Ms. Miller, what's for dinner?" Violet thought for a second. "How about Moonlight Café? We didn't get to eat last time." he gave an awkward laugh. Vayne smiled faintly. "Sure, let's do it." he whole drive, Violet wanted to ask how much he'd overheard. ut she chickened out, playing turtle instead. ame private room, same truffle mushroom risotto he ordered. Violet, distracted, couldn't figure out why Wayne had asked her out. he grasped for a topic. "Did they tell Grandpa? About the engagement being off?" Vayne poured her water slowly. "Haven't heard. I haven't been back in a few days." fis eyes, deep as a starless night, met hers. "Want me to tell him?" hoket shook her head. "No need." t was Gavin's job to come dean. Fair enough. Your dad okay with you calling it off?" Violet's lips curled in a mocking smile. "Doesn't matter if he is. I've told him She'd informed both sides. If they ignored her, they'd be the ones humiliated Wayne's lips twitched, a faint smile. "Got it." They ate quietly, neither mentioning the midday call. 19 14:52 Left Me Hanging at the City Hall? I Married Your Uncle 21.19 Chapter 26 What, Not Scared of Hemorrhoids Now? Violet pretended it didn't happen, took a cab home after, and Wayne dialed Tony. "Hey, Mr. Braxton. Tony answered, late night confusion in his voice. He'd just wrapped a boozy business dinner, head still foggy "The acquisition case-picked a firm yet?" Tony snapped to attention. "We settled on Monarch Law, but two partners gave different bids. We're still weighing options." "When did we start picking lawyers based on price?" Tony broke into a cold sweat, despite being in his car. "Mr. Braxton..." Think it over. Get me the name tomorrow." Click. The call ended. rony racked his brain, wondering how Wayne knew. His words clearly favored Victor! Then it hit him-that night at dinner. No doubt about it-Wayne and Violet weren't just acquaintances! Gavin stared at his calendar, lost in thought, then showed up at Violet's place with jewelry worth $7 million. He rang the bell repeatedly. No answer. hed blocked him on WhatsApp. Je tried calling, but it rang and rang, only the automated voice answering. hed blocked his number too? When Violet finally appeared, she'd just finished a late shift and stopped for takeout truffle mushroom risotto. That place's risotto was divine. but no matter how good, seeing Gavin soured the air. Violet Gavin called out What're you doing here? Not scared of hemorrhoids now? Violet smirked "Oh, wait-108 hemorrhoids, right?" 14:52 30 21 106