Chapter 124

Thorin looked surprised. “A mute? Rosalie, you're not joking, are you?"

A mute working as an executive assistant? It sounded like a bad joke.

"Believe what you want," Rosalie said, setting down her cup and walking out.

Thorin's eyes lingered on her legs, clad in silk stockings, as he mulled it over. A mute? He still found it hard to believe.

Back at her desk, Rosalie couldn't help but glance at Latisha again. She knew what Thorin was thinking, and she was more than happy to help. After all, Renata had told her to "take good care" of Latisha.

With that in mind, Rosalie walked over to Latisha's desk and tapped on it. "Take these invoices down to the finance department for Thorin Hancock."

Latisha paused, looking at the small stack of papers before writing on her notepad: I haven't finished sorting the documents.

"It won't take long; it's just downstairs. Be a dear and run this errand for me. They're the receipts for Mr. Lambert's business trip and hotel last week."

Latisha pressed her lips together, but she took the invoices and left. She found the finance department but didn't know who Thorin Hancock was, so she headed straight for the manager's office at the back.

The door was ajar, and she immediately recognized the man from the conference room. She knocked gently.

Thorin looked up, his face breaking into a wide smile. “Ms. Judd! What brings you here? Please, come in."

Latisha entered and handed him the invoices.

Noticing her silence, Thorin decided to test her. He took the papers, scanned them,

and frowned. "I'm afraid these can't be reimbursed."

Latisha blinked, looking at him with confusion.

Her reaction confirmed his

suspicions. He stood up and moved closer, pointing at the invoice. "You see, the formatting on this is incorrect. You have to get the vendor to replace it."

He was standing uncomfortably close, his breath carrying a strange, unpleasant odor. Latisha held her breath and nodded, trying to take the invoice back from him.

But Thorin held it tight. "You're new, so you probably don't know the company's required format. Let me show you what a correct one looks like."

He took her hand and led her to his computer, pulling up a document. "See this? The lines are off, and the text overlaps. None of that is acceptable."

His body was nearly pressed against her back, and as he spoke, his breath tickled her ear, the smell making her stomach turn.

Latisha kept her neck stiff, nodding to show she understood. Her passive response only emboldened him. New hires were always like this, he thought, daring to be angry but not to speak when faced with a senior manager's advances. He was careful to keep his actions just on the edge of harassment-nothing physical, just enough to make someone uncomfortable. Most employees would simply endure it.

"Mr. Hancock..."

He had forgotten the door was open. An employee appeared in the doorway, freezing at the sight of their intimate posture, unsure whether to enter or leave.

Thorin quickly stepped back, creating distance between himself and Latisha. “There. Take these invoices back and bring them to me when they're corrected."

Latisha, overcome with relief, snatched the papers and fled.

But in an office, gossip spread like wildfire. The story of the new assistant getting cozy with Thorinan his office just two days into the job circulated quickly, along with the... fact that she was a mute. Soon, everyone was speculating that she was Thorin's secret mistress, brought into the company under his protection.

And inevitably, the rumors reached Clifford's ears.

"Where is she?" Clifford asked, his voice low as he loosened his tie.

Ziven stammered, "She... she left. Right at five."