A short while later, Summer Lancaster returned with Kenneth Yates's favorite mocha. She was well aware of his preferences, having paid special attention to them for years.
"President, here is your coffee." Summer Lancaster set it on the desk, but to her surprise, Kenneth Yates suddenly grabbed her hand. The coffee instantly spilled over her hand and soaked the documents on the desk. Crying out in pain, Summer Lancaster yanked her hand back.
"Hiss..." Summer Lancaster's face twisted in pain. 'I think I'm burned…' Kenneth Yates shot up from behind his desk and took her hand.
"Come here." He led Summer Lancaster into the restroom and ran her hand under cool water. This was a side of Kenneth Yates she had never seen before; his gaze was focused and tense. She found herself staring at him, mesmerized.
"Summer Lancaster, what are you spacing out for? Come here, I'll apply some ointment." Not giving her a chance to argue, Kenneth Yates pulled her into the bedroom.
The decor inside was a stark black and white—minimalist and cold. She had never been in the bedroom attached to his office before. 'So he likes black and white…'
"You sit here. I'll go get the medicine." Summer Lancaster sat obediently on the bed, taking in her surroundings. A moment later, Kenneth Yates returned and began to carefully apply ointment to her burn.
"How could you be so careless? A grown woman, getting burned by coffee." His tone held a hint of reprimand and… concern. 'Hm? Concern? Could it really be?'
"It's your fault for grabbing my hand so suddenly," Summer Lancaster retorted. Kenneth Yates said nothing more. After he finished bandaging her hand, she left the room. Just as she opened the door, she saw Audrey and bowed slightly.
"Hello, Miss Roya." Audrey completely ignored her.
"Kenneth, let's have dinner tonight, okay? I've missed you," Audrey said, swaying her hips flirtatiously.
"Not tonight," Kenneth Yates replied without even looking up.
"But I've really missed you," Audrey persisted.
"When I say no, I mean no. Didn't you hear me? Get out." Kenneth Yates was furious. He was Kenneth Yates, a man whose word was final, and Audrey knew it. So, she had no choice but to leave dejectedly.
The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, though Kenneth Yates found his thoughts drifting to her hand, wondering how it was. He picked up the phone.
"Put me through to Director Summer Lancaster of the Planning Department."
"Hello, this is Summer Lancaster." She was reviewing the sample footage from Audrey's commercial shoot.
"It's me." His voice was cold, but today it seemed a little different, holding a hint of warmth.
"President, do you have any instructions?"
"I'll be home for dinner tonight. Pick up some groceries on your way home." Before Summer Lancaster could ask any questions, Kenneth Yates hung up. 'He's so domineering,' she thought with a smile, 'always giving orders like a king.' This was the first time in two years that Kenneth Yates would be eating at home. She would have to show off her cooking skills for him.
Summer Lancaster left work early that day, planning to go to the supermarket for groceries.
While getting into the elevator, she ran into Reina West, the Director of the Finance Department. Reina West came from a prestigious family and could have run her own company. Instead, she had joined the Yates Group as a relatively unknown director. Rumor had it she did it all for Kenneth Yates.
"Director Lancaster, you're nothing but a fallen heiress. Don't think you can latch onto the President. Don't assume that riding in his car makes you his special someone. Know your place, or you'll have a nasty fall." Before Summer Lancaster could even process the words, Reina West strode out of the elevator on her sky-high heels.
'Sigh,' Summer Lancaster thought. 'Riding to work in Kenneth Yates's car today really caused a stir. Is every woman in the company going to be hostile toward me now? Just thinking about it gives me a headache.' She wasn't bothered by Reina West's so-called warnings. She was already married to Kenneth Yates; it wasn't anyone else's place to lecture her. No matter how other women coveted him, her name was the one on his marriage certificate. 'Am I being blindly confident?'