A Graduation Gift

Chapter 23 I Feel So Hot

With time, Cassandra had gotten used to Lionel's rude attitude and his constant ridicule.

So, as the little woman took the documents, she swiftly walked out of the room without bothering to take another glance at Lionel. She completely ignored his presence.

Glaring at Cassandra's back as she left, he could do nothing but to curse in fury. From the moment he took over at the helm of the company, he had gravitated towards a reign of terror. No one could challenge his word, and he made employees scamper at his command. He was only a few steps from a completely irrational despot, who would ruin the company if he was not axed sooner than later. Here, he was like an emperor. However, this little, gutsy woman stubbornly refused to toe the line. It was driving him mad.

"Damn! You will regret it!"

Lionel ground his teeth as he watched her walking away.

The spacious office was fitted with crystal-clear floor to ceiling windows that allowed a panoramic view of the outside. After she returned to her own office, she concentrated on her work. She was getting so deeply immersed that she forgot about the time, until it was already dark outside.

"Manager Qin, it's time to go home," a man's voice gently reminded.

It was Joel, paying a courtesy call on his boss before getting off work.

In the mean time, Cassandra was still working on the design. It was half-way through, and innovative ideas were freely flowing. Afraid that her insipiration might be gone, she wanted to go on. After all, ideas didn't come easy, and as an artiste, she knew how to seize the moment.

"You go ahead. I will be done after I finish my drawing," she replied, without taking her eyes off the drawing.

It struck Joel as odd that his new boss - a woman, was such a workaholic. By experience, working overtime was a quality he had come to associate only with men. But this woman was proving him wrong. When she ignored his reminder, Joel stood there, awed by her diligence. After a moment, he nodded in admiration and quietly left.

Then, darkness fell.

Anticipating that she might work late into the night, Cassandra called her father-in-law so they wouldn't expect her to come home early. Horace, though surprised to hear that Cassandra was so keen to work, was impressed with her attitude.

The elegant golden clock, beautifully matching the milk-white wall, ticked quietly. Architectural wonders across the city's skyline put on spectacular displays of various shades of light that lent an enchanting feel to the otherwise dark night. Under the bright light of the office, Cassandra put all her energy into her sketch. She was too absorbed in her work to take note of anything else; she forgot about time, and forgot about her fatigue.

"Hi, Manager Qin, you are still here!" Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

A familiar voice abruptly interrupted, pulling her out of her reverie. Squinting, she raised her head and was startled to see Joel again.

"I thought you had left..." Cassandra said as she stretched her back and arms, trying to shake off the the strain of sitting in one position for long. "What brings you back again?" she added, feeling doubtful about his intentions.

The drawing was almost done. All she needed was just some fine-tuning, and that would be it. Then she took a glimpse at the wall clock. 'Oh my! It's almost ten!' she thought.

"I was having dinner with my friends nearby. Then I thought you might still be working, so I brought you some food. I guess you haven't had your dinner,"

Joel answered. Then he handed the package of food to Cassandra with one hand, and closed the door behind him.

He carried himself so naturally that Cassandra didn't notice anything odd about him. She eyed her assistant with appreciation and happily took the food he had bought for her. His kindness was so unexpected and timely. 'It's so nice of him to bring me dinner, though this is only the first day we met, ' she thought.

"Thank you, Joel," Cassandra thanked the man.

With a grateful smile, she reached for the cup of coffee he brought together with the food. Just then, she suddenly realized how thirsty she was.

Without a second thought, she downed the cup in just a few gulps. Joel closely watched her gobble the coffee, his eyes darted around the room, furtively checking if there was anything that could ruin his sinister motives.

Before Cassandra could put her cup down, while her head was still up, Joel secretly dropped something into the pen container on the table, and walked slowly towards her.

As soon as she drained the coffee, the woman started to feel a burning sensation in the gut. The air- conditioner was functioning and she could feel it spew a steady stream of cool air. Why did she suddenly feel so hot?

"Manager Qin, what's happening? Are you okay?"

Joel asked as he was drawing even closer to Cassandra.

Now she could barely keep her eyes open. Touching her head with the back of her palm, she felt feverish.

"I feel like I'm burning up! I'm also dizzy!"

she murmured, in a panicked, weak voice. Everything around her was quickly turning foggy. Unable to continue to support herself, she leaned back to the high back seat behind, beads of sweat forming over her face.

"You must be working too hard. Are you feeling tired? Can I give you a massage to calm your nerves down a little?"

A crafty smile crept up his cheek, and without waiting for her consent, he moved behind Cassandra, ready for his nefarious scheme.

Now, not only Cassandra, but the air in the room seemed to turn warm. It was the atmosphere he wanted. As he was about to start his next move, the phone on the table suddenly rang, stopping Joel dead in his tracks.

Vaguely, Cassandra heard the phone ringing, but she couldn't correctly identify where she had placed it, and even if she did, she could not control her own body well enough to pick the call. Luckily, her unconscious movement happened to press on the answer button with speaker mode on. Joel wanted to stop her, but it was a little too late.

"Um...so hot, so dizzy! Help me. Help me, please..."

the little woman murmured, which struck the man on the other end of the call. It was none other than Rufus.

He had heard from Horace that Cassandra was working into the small hours of the night. Out of concern for her, Rufus had come to the company to check on her. He was standing right at the main entrance, and his call was just to confirm whether she was still in the office or not. Nevertheless, whatever she mumbled on phone was hysterical, and very alarming.

"Are you in your office? Heck! I'll be right there,"

a man's deep, raspy voice replied, sounding firm but urgent. Caught off guard, Joel was mortified. That was a close shave! He was near to accomplishing his plot, but the man who called had screwed it all up.

Now Cassandra was lying on the seat like mud, as if she was going to melt. After pondering for several seconds, he had another plan.

The next moment, looking back at the beautiful woman, Joel cursed the accidental caller for busting his scheme. But he managed to leave one thing behind - the mini camera that he had placed in the pen container, it would be good enough for his next move.

Taking swift action, Rufus rushed to the lift to the floor that housed Cassandra's office. While waiting in the lift, he felt uneasy and couldn't stop worrying about the woman.

When he finally managed to open the door to her office, he rushed to the chair and scooped her into his arms. He cuddled her tightly and quickly cast a glance here and there, alerted that some danger could be lurking in her office.

"I feel so hot...I feel like I'm burning up. Oh Rufus...help me, please!" Cassandra pleaded.

Like an octopus, she wrapped herself around his wide frame, with both hands and feet. Feeling the familiar hug, she held him even tighter. It was a passionate hug of a woman craving for lust. She was hysterical, distressed, and far from her usual self.

Rufus frowned. He could tell that Cassandra had been drugged.

How could someone have the guts to drug her in her own office! The mere thought of it brought a sudden rush of terrible, blood-thirsty anger through his system.