Chapter 123

She arrived at the conference room, where the meeting was about to begin. Nearly all the senior executives were already present.

Latisha knocked and entered. Every head turned in her direction, their expressions surprised.

Why the change today? Yesenia had always been the one to do this.

Keeping her head down, Latisha ignored their stares and began distributing the files to each person around the table.

When she reached Clifford, he looked up, his gaze deep and dark, like a bottomless pool threatening to pull her in.

Latisha kept her eyes lowered, pretending not to see him. She placed the file in front of him and moved on to the next person.

"I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"

A middle-aged man stared at her, his eyes raking over her assessingly. When she was silent, she was undeniably beautiful, possessing a charm that could easily captivate a man. He was close enough to see that her face was free of makeup. Her skin was flawless, so dewy and fresh that the light from the window gave it a rosy, translucent glow.

Latisha didn't answer him, simply continuing her task.

The man's face darkened with irritation, but he kept it hidden. He made a mental note to ask around about her later. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt a sharp gaze lock onto him.

He instinctively followed the line of sight and met Clifford's black, unblinking eyes. Though Clifford's expression was neutral, the man felt as if he had been completely seen through. He quickly lowered his head, feigning interest in the document before him.

Once the files were distributed, Latisha left. She had barely settled back at her desk when Rosalie appeared, dropping another towering stack of papers in front of her.

"Sort these documents, categorize them, and put everything into a spreadsheet for me."

Their department wasn't particularly busy. Officially, they were executive assistants, but in reality, they were glorified gofers. The only ones who touched core business matters were the office manager and Zived Rosalie had essentially dumped the entire department's gruntwork on Latisha.

Since Latisha couldn't speak, Rosalie didn't bother trying to communicate. She just

assigned the work and then disappeared to the breakroom to slack off.

Life had become much easier since

Yesenia left. Yesenia had always acted like she was the boss's wife likesh scolding anyone she caught

slacking, noting down their names; and docking them pay or bonuses. The department staff had loathed her, but they were powerless because Clifford had given her the authority.

What authority did Latisha have?

Clifford acted like he didn't even know her and had never acknowledged her status

to anyone. Latisha was destined to receive none of the power or respect Yesenia had enjoyed.

With the office now empty except for her, Latisha quietly began sorting through the documents, keeping a close eye on the time. She had to leave for her IV treatment at the hospital after work.

...

Meanwhile, in the breakroom, the same middle-aged man from the meeting entered with a mug, greeting Rosalie with a wide smile.

"Rosalie, taking it easy today?" the man said cheerfully.

Rosalie smiled back. "And you caught me in the act, Thorin. If our dear Ms. Winslet

were still here, my bonus for the month would be gone."

Though she was smiling, her eyes held a trace of disdain. Thorin Hancock, the head of the finance department, was a notorious lecher. He was always wandering overto HR and administration, shamelessly staring at the female employees. His reputation was toxic.

An idea seemed to strike Thorin. "Speaking of Ms. Winslet, I haven't seen her around lately. I saw a new face in the meeting earlier?"

Rosalie arched an eyebrow. She knew exactly what he was after; his intentions were painfully obvious.

"You're behind on the news, Thorin. Ms. Winslet resigned. The new girl is Latisha Judd, a mute. Don't ask me how she got hired; we're all wondering the same thing."