6：He Has a Girlfriend Now

Natalie hadn’t expected Ethan to ask again so directly. She steadied herself and said, “Mr. Sterling, can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

His gaze lingered on her face, but she couldn’t quite read what was behind his eyes.

One thing she did know—since the day she met Ethan, he had never shown any particular interest in her. Everything only started after she sent him that room number.

That was the beginning of everything, including this.

Even now, Ethan’s hand rested lazily on her waist, not making any move. It was like he was waiting for her to take the lead, like always.

Every tug-of-war between them seemed to start with her taking the first step.

“Do you like me?” Natalie asked.

Ethan lifted his eyelids. “You’re overthinking.”

Her heart sank.

She’d expected that answer, but hearing it spelled out so bluntly still stung.

Still, at least he was being honest. Better that than someone like Ryan, who lied under the guise of love.

Ethan had already withdrawn his hand, as if the flirtatious words from just minutes ago had never come out of his mouth.

“I was only guessing,” she said calmly. “In that case, Mr. Sterling, I’ll have to decline your offer.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Can I ask why?”

She almost laughed.

This man—sometimes you’d think he was the rudest person alive, and then suddenly he’d switch into perfect gentleman mode, always asking for her opinion. Even in bed.

“You saw it yourself. I just got betrayed. My trust in men is basically zero right now, and in that state, I’m not looking to start anything.”

“But I wasn’t offering a relationship. I was offering something long-term. Just sex. No strings.”

The red ember at his fingertip glowed faintly with the smoke.

The mix of tobacco and his signature woody cologne wasn’t unpleasant, but it still caught in her throat.

She felt like dragging this out would be pointless.

“If being rejected feels humiliating to you, Mr. Sterling, I’d be happy to thank you with a meal for today’s help?”

Her tone was polite, but clearly firm.

“That won’t be necessary. If we can’t agree, then before I become more interested in you, let’s end it here. You can leave.”

With that, Ethan’s gaze dropped away from her completely.

Whatever flicker of desire he had for her had now faded.

Natalie didn’t have his ability to turn it off so easily, but she appreciated that he could draw the line when needed.

Yes, their chemistry in bed was undeniable, but with someone like him, it would never be an equal relationship. Sooner or later, she’d just be another woman chasing his status.

She stood. “Then goodbye, Mr. Sterling.”

Ethan didn’t reply.

Natalie turned and walked out, and it wasn’t until the heavy door clicked shut behind her that she realized her back was soaked with sweat.

---

Turns out, if you’re not actively seeking someone out, then in a city this big, the chances of running into them again are next to none.

Over the next half month, Ethan completely disappeared from her world.

Her breakup with Ryan quickly became public gossip. The once passionate love story of Mr. Brooks came to an abrupt end after just three months.

And while Natalie felt relieved, she also started to notice the shift in her surroundings.

Unfortunately, her instincts were spot on.

“This is basic data and you messed it up? Are you an intern or what? How long have you even been with this company? Honestly, I’m starting to doubt your competence.”

She’d gotten a late-night notice the night before and stayed up producing that data report. But now, it had *somehow* ended up full of errors.

Naturally, she was getting ripped apart for it.

Yet she *had* double-checked every figure before uploading it.

If there were still errors, the issue wasn’t her.

Someone *wanted* her to fail.

Michelle, who had submitted documents alongside her, suddenly chimed in.

“I’ve noticed Natalie’s been getting a lot of complaints lately. Even Mrs. Cook mentioned issues with the dessert setup at last night’s banquet. As your coworker, I just hope your personal drama doesn’t end up hurting our entire admin team. Every client counts.”

Natalie didn’t even bother responding to Michelle.

Instead, she laid a printed version of the report on Curtis’s desk.

“I don’t know why the cloud version glitched, but just in case, I printed a copy. Please check if this one has any errors.”

Curtis clearly hadn’t expected that.

He flipped through it perfunctorily.

Natalie could already tell from his fake review that all this harassment was orchestrated.

Ryan had clearly been whispering into people’s ears.

“I already visited Mrs. Cook personally yesterday with a gift. She accepted my apology.”

Curtis paused.

Michelle didn’t see that coming either.

Outside the office, Michelle followed her out.

“No matter how hard you work, it won’t help. Ryan’s already told everyone—your life’s about to get a whole lot tougher.”

“Whether I survive or not is *my* business. Don’t trouble yourself.”

This wasn’t her first rodeo.

She wasn’t dumb enough to fall into the same trap twice.

Lauren quickly approached, handing her a cup of coffee.

She waited until Michelle strutted off toward the team lead’s office before muttering, “Unbelievable. She snuck in here through backdoor connections and now she’s acting like you got your job through Ryan?”

“Let it go,” Natalie said. “People like that are everywhere.”

Lauren dragged her chair closer.

“But seriously, why is Ryan acting like a rabid dog? You broke up—so what? The planning department’s full of themselves now, constantly saying admin isn’t cooperating. With Ryan backing them, they’re strutting around like peacocks.”

Natalie didn’t really want to go into all her messy history with Ryan.

Instead, she nodded toward Lauren’s phone.

“What are you looking at?”

“Oh, today’s headline. Rumor has it Ethan has a girlfriend. A model, no less.”

Natalie’s hand froze.

Then she calmly opened her desktop files and focused on her meeting schedule.

Lauren nudged her.

“You used to attend events with Ryan. You ever meet Ethan in person? Is he really as hot as the photos?”

“Didn’t really notice,” Natalie replied after a pause.

Lauren didn’t press.

“Don’t forget, we’ve got that department dinner tomorrow night. Michelle’s definitely coming in hot, and Curtis—the old creep—has had his eyes on you forever. Now that your breakup’s public, who knows what he’ll try. Stay sharp, and if all else fails—fake a bathroom emergency.”

Natalie sighed, already dreading the situation.

“Got it.”