An Hour Later, in the General Manager’s Office at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
Areli stepped out of the shower, her fair, flawless skin glowing with a faint blush, her lips as delicate as rose petals. She had changed into a soft, white outfit, her appearance radiant enough to catch anyone’s eye.
Darnell, noticing her, patted his clothes and grinned. “Miss Fanshaw, I’m all dirty too. Mind if I borrow your bathroom for a quick shower?”
After the fight and the two-kilometer run, Darnell was sticky and uncomfortable. He was desperate to clean up.
Areli, lost in thought, absentmindedly responded, “Sure.”
Hearing her agreement, Darnell darted into the five-square-meter bathroom like a flash.
The lingering scents of shampoo, body wash, and Areli’s natural fragrance still hung in the air. As Darnell stepped in, the intoxicating mix of aromas hit him, leaving him momentarily dazed.
What really set his blood boiling, however, was the sight of brightly colored lingerie laid out on the counter, including a black-and-white pair of panties within arm’s reach-Areli’s panda-print underwear.
Darnell felt a sudden rush of heat, his breathing growing heavier. He quickly shook off the distraction, stripped off his clothes, and turned on the shower to cool down.
“Bastard! Get out!”
Areli’s voice snapped him back to reality. She was furious, partly because she wasn’t used to a man using her private bathroom, and partly because she realized she hadn’t tossed her laundry into the washing machine. Her underwear was still sitting on the counter.
Her face flushed crimson as she pounded on the glass door. “Darnell, open up right now!”
She was worried Darnell might do something inappropriate with her lingerie.
Darnell, rushing through his shower, shouted back, “Miss Fanshaw, don’t worry! I’ll be quick-three minutes tops!”
Areli’s expression darkened. “Not even a minute. Get out now.”
Darnell sighed, “Just give me a second.”
Areli wasn’t having it. She continued banging on the door. “Out. Now.”
“Alright, alright, I’m coming!”
Darnell hurriedly rinsed off, then wrapped a towel around himself and stepped out. Thankfully, he’d been quick enough to clean up, or else Areli’s incessant knocking would’ve left him half-washed.
“You-”
Areli’s face turned red as she noticed Darnell using her towel. She wanted to say something, but her mind was preoccupied with other concerns.
She rushed into the steamy bathroom and quickly began washing her lingerie, all while keeping an eye on the door to make sure Darnell didn’t barge in. Fortunately, he was busy blow-drying his hair outside.
As she washed one piece, she reached for another, only to freeze in horror. She was holding a pair of panda-print panties, but they were a size larger than hers. The design was almost identical to her own.
In her distraction, she’d accidentally started washing Darnell’s underwear!
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She’d just hand-washed her best friend’s fake boyfriend’s underwear. The sheer embarrassment made her want to bang her head against the wall.
“Ah-”
Darnell appeared at the doorway, looking surprised. “Miss Fanshaw, what are you doing with my underwear?”
Areli nearly choked.
Furious, she hurled the wet underwear at him. Darnell caught it effortlessly. She then grabbed her own pair and threw it at him too.
Darnell caught that as well…
Half an hour later, back in the office, Areli sat at her desk, her expression icy. Darnell sat across from her, the atmosphere between them frosty.
“Darnell, considering we’ve worked together for a month, I won’t tell Judith about your… beastly behavior of forcing a kiss on me.”
Darnell’s face lit up. “Thank you, Miss Fanshaw!”
But then he added, somewhat dejectedly, “What does it matter if you tell her? We’re just pretending to be a couple. I only agreed to this charade because her gun and Emily’s check. You know that.”
“Once her family gathering is over, she’ll kick me to the curb.”
“You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
Areli’s lips curled into a cold smirk. “Of course I know you’re pretending.”
“But let me tell you something. Judith is a proud and confident woman. If she didn’t have even a little bit of feelings for you, she would never have asked you to play the role of her boyfriend, even if it’s fake.”
Darnell blinked. “She likes me?”
Areli didn’t answer directly. “You’ll have to ask her that yourself.”
“I won’t tell Judith about the kiss. I don’t want to hurt her, and I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
Then, her tone shifted. “However, you must resign within three days. Leave Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and get out of my sight.”
“Otherwise, I’ll settle both old and new scores with you.”
Areli cleared her throat. “Besides, you’re already suspended. Staying here is pointless.”
Darnell was stunned. He almost lunged forward to cling to her leg, but the sight of the paper cutter in her hand stopped him. Instead, he slumped on the desk and weakly protested, “Miss Fanshaw, I only kissed you to break the tension between us. I wasn’t trying to disrespect you.”
“I didn’t even bring up the fact that you touched my panda underwear. Why are you so hung up on that one kiss? Besides, you bit my lip so hard it’s still sore.”
Areli’s face flushed again. She weakly defended herself, “I’ve already told you, I didn’t do anything inappropriate with your underwear.”
Then, with a mix of anger and embarrassment, she added, “And I wanted to chop off my own hands after I touched your underwear.”
“Who knows? Everyone has their own quirks,” Darnell teased, earning a glare from Areli. But before she could explode, he quickly added, “Miss Fanshaw, we’ve been through so much together. Are you really going to kick me out like this? Besides, didn’t you need me to help you hit that 1. 8 billion sales target? If you fire me, who’s going to pull in the numbers? Who’s going to help you secure your position in the company?”
“About the 1. 8 billion target… thank you.”
Areli’s expression softened slightly. “Thank you for agreeing to try, even when it seemed impossible.”
“But things have changed now. I no longer need that 1. 8 billion, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“You can go.”
Darnell’s mind raced. Did this mean Utopia’s research had made a breakthrough?
“Fine, I’ll leave. But before I go, I need to explain something. Otherwise, I won’t be able to leave with a clear conscience.”
He decided to shift the conversation.
“That day in the meeting, when I stormed out after our argument-while I was genuinely upset that you didn’t trust me, I also had my own reasons for acting that way. I was deliberately provoking you, but it wasn’t my true intention.”
Areli’s voice turned cold. “You deliberately caused a scene? I gave you a chance to explain, and you chose to storm out instead. Do you think I’m stupid?”
She felt the anger in his actions that day.
“I did it on purpose. But given your attitude, I had to make it convincing.”
“Roberto’s photos were just his first move. If we had countered them, he would’ve escalated with something worse.”
Darnell took a deep breath and continued, “Next, he might’ve produced a check from Paige or a fabricated audio recording of me discussing company secrets with her.”
“Those would’ve been impossible to disprove. Even if we tried, Paige would’ve backed Roberto’s claims, making it look like I sold out Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.”
“Once that happened, Roberto’s inside-outside collaboration would’ve sealed my fate. Everyone would’ve believed I was a corporate spy, and the higher-ups would’ve thrown me under the bus without a second thought.”
As Areli pondered this, Darnell added, “By storming out, I cut off Roberto’s opportunity to escalate.”
“If his first attack already took me down, why would he bother with a second or third move?”
“As long as he doesn’t pull out those bigger guns, I still have a chance to turn things around.”
“Right now, a few photos of me with Paige don’t prove anything. Once I’m ready, I’ll strike back and take him down.”
Areli raised an eyebrow. “So you’re retreating to buy time for a counterattack?”
“Exactly, Miss Fanshaw. You’re as sharp as ever.”
Darnell seized the opportunity to flatter her. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Roberto soon.”
Areli held up three fingers. “You’ve got three days. Either he leaves, or you do.”