Hawthorne walked into the office building and made his way straight to his own office. Hans spotted him and hurried to catch up, assuming something important must have come up—Mr. Everhart had messaged him first thing in the morning, asking for a meeting in his office.
The moment Hans saw the stormy look on Hawthorne’s face, he tensed up like a soldier called to attention. After several years working as Mr. Everhart’s assistant, Hans could always tell when his boss was in a foul mood. He braced himself, barely daring to breathe, ready for any order.
“Mr. Everhart,” he greeted respectfully, waiting for instructions.
“What’s everyone been gossiping about lately?” Hawthorne asked, his voice cool.
Hans hesitated for a split second. Nothing ever escaped Hawthorne’s notice anyway, so there was no point trying to hide it. He gave a sheepish smile. “It’s nothing serious. Miss Yvette’s just feeling a bit under pressure, that’s all.”
Hans knew which things he should get involved in, and which he shouldn’t. Calling it gossip was generous—if Yvette weren’t so prone to suspicion, the rumor probably wouldn’t exist in the first place.
Yesterday afternoon, when Gwyneth didn’t show up for work, Yvette made a big deal about it, ranting in the office about how some people thought that just because they were friends with Mr. Everhart’s niece, they didn’t have to follow company rules. It was an outburst that came out of nowhere—Yvette usually stayed out of HR matters altogether.
Besides, Gwyneth was just a junior character animator in the game department. Her position was so minor that Yvette normally wouldn’t even bother to learn her name.
Anyone with half a brain could see what was really going on—Miss Yvette was just jealous. The rumor mill was spinning with talk that maybe Yvette felt threatened, or maybe Mr. Everhart’s affections were shifting elsewhere.
“What business is it of hers?” Hawthorne’s brow furrowed at the mention of Yvette.
Now, Hans was honestly confused. Was Mr. Everhart really pretending not to know? Everyone in the company knew about him and Miss Yvette.
“Mr. Everhart, maybe it’s just that Miss Yvette isn’t thrilled to see you bending the rules for a friend for the first time,” Hans said carefully. As Hawthorne’s assistant, there was nothing he couldn’t say.
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