Room for You
Chapter 12

“Be a good girl, okay?” Elliot gently caressed Hayley's head. In thatinstant, Hayley was over the moon, feeling satisfied that she had gainedElliot's favor. Unlike Anastasia, Hayley was flattered by the suddenentitlement that came to her life. However, she quickly decided to stoppressing on due to her fear of the repercussions that might follow hergreed. Furthermore, she was hoping to win Elliot's heart with her meekcharacter. She tried to be as gentle as possible since she didn't havegood looks that could make an impression on any man. Thinking shehad won the battle, she believed Anastasia was going to be laid offsoon and put her mind to ease. As soon as Hayley got out of sight,Elliot reached for the phone and dialed the intercom. “Hello.”Anastasia's voice was heard. “Come to my office at once,” the manresponded with a voice that sounded angry. At the same time,Anastasia took a deep breath in her office, thinking her fate was sealedwhile preparing for the worst. Well, I'll just quit and leave Bourgeois ifworse comes to worst. Then, she took the elevator to the 8th floor andmade her way to the president's office, whereupon she knocked on thedoor and entered the room. In the meantime, Elliot was sitting in hischair, giving off an intimidating aura that filled the atmosphere aroundhis room. “Explain yourself.” The man questioned Anastasia about herviolent outburst earlier as a boss. Anastasia squinted, thinking therewas no point for her to explain anyway since she reckoned Elliot wouldbelieve everything his girlfriend, Hayley, said without question. “Who isHayley to you?” Anastasia knitted her eyebrows and asked. “Have youforgotten your place, Anastasia? You're my employee, and since you'rein the wrong now, you should be the one answering my questions,”Elliot replied. Knowing what the man was trying to say, Anastasia curledher lips upward. “You saw what happened. I gave her a slap in the face,so what kind of explanation do you want to hear from me?” “Why didyou want to hit her? Was it because she wanted to complain aboutyou?” “It was personal, which was the same reason she came to see metoday. I know it was my fault to get physical with her, but she deservedit.” Anastasia stood her ground firmly, refusing to back down. Elliotstared at Anastasia with a complicated look, wondering whether thereason behind her unreasonable nature was really because of hermother's death and her father's questionable parenting method. “Ifyou're willing to admit your mistake, I promise I'll let you off this time,Anastasia.” “Admit my mistake? You mean apologize to Hayley?"Anastasia sniggered sarcastically and clenched her jaw. “There is no wayI will ever do that.” “Anastasia, this is an office, not someplace for youto settle your personal scores.” Elliot angrily lectured Anastasia, replaceinghimself at the end of the rope while trying to reason with his life saver'sdaughter. Moreover, Hayley was the lady he thought he had beenmissing and searching for the last five years. “In that case, I'll resign.”Anastasia hardened her heart and made up her mind, thinking sheshould just walk away and leave all the problems behind her. Fine, I'llquit. "Stay right there, Anastasia,” the man shouted out to her.Anastasia stopped in her tracks without looking back because shedidn’t want to look at Elliot's face anymore. Now that she realized hewas Hayley's boyfriend, she couldn't help but feel annoyed to even lookat Elliot. What a waste, Elliot! You're such a handsome man, but sadly,you're blind. “I'm not going to terminate you. You can stay, but I wantyou to promise me that there is no next time. Do you hear me?” Elliottried his best to keep Anastasia in his company, as he was bound by hisgrandmother's wish to look after him. Needless to say, Anastasiacouldn't bear to leave her current position either because of her keenpassion for designing. Moreover, she also loved her job at Bourgeoisafter having worked there for three years. Soon, she looked back andfixed her eyes on the man who propped himself with his arms on thetable, warning him to be careful about Hayley. “Hayley is not as kind-hearted as you think she is. I'm sure you don't want to fall for one ofher tricks one day, so keep your eyes open when you're around her.”“Well, you were the one who resorted to violence today,” Elliot squintedand replied. Unknown to Elliot, Anastasia wanted to do more than justbeat Hayley up. Deep down, she wished she could just kill Hayley butdecided to keep the thought to herself, considering how much Elliotwas concerned about Hayley. Soon, she returned to the office, whileFelicia didn't receive any notice about terminating her, which surprisedeveryone else in the company. After all, they were all wondering howAnastasia got away with it upon hitting their president's girlfriend.Grace came over with a cup of coffee, comforting her superior. “MissTillman, are you sure you're alright?” “I'm fine.” Anastasia was so madthat she almost lost all of her inspiration. Thus, she put down the penciland rubbed her forehead. “What are the people gossiping about outthere?” “Miss Tillman, you should just ignore their gossip,” Grace said."Tell me what they're talking about.” “They're saying that you're backedby someone so powerful that even President Presgrave can't terminateyou. Some of them even say you're his mistress, which is why that ladyconfronted you after replaceing out about your relationship with him,”Grace answered while observing Anastasia's facial expression. Uponhearing that, Anastasia felt amused as she nearly burst into laughter,disgusted with the idea of being with Hayley's boyfriend, no matterhow dumb she was. Not long after that, Felicia summoned her to heroffice and lectured her about the proper manners of handling clients.Otherwise, she would be sure to kick Anastasia out of the company,regardless of Elliot's decision. As speechless as Anastasia felt, she didn'tfeel like explaining the whole story because there was simply too muchto talk about between her and Hayley. Furthermore, she was tooashamed to mention what happened five years ago to anyone. In spiteof all the upsetting events, her mood took a turn for the better whenher phone rang the moment she returned to her office. “Hello.” “Whydo you sound so tired?” A man's voice was heard. “Well, I'm tiredindeed. When are you coming back?” “A few more days, I guess.Anyway, I have some good news for you. There is a high-end jewelryfair coming up soon, and I'm going to add your name to my invitationlist. By then, you'll have a good chance to explore the fair all you wantbecause I bet your favorite jewelry will probably be there.” “Really?That's awesome! When is it?" Anastasia felt a rush of excitement all overher body. “It'll be held this Saturday at 7 PM. It'll probably take twohours and end around nine. Is there anyone else who can look afterJared for you?” the man asked in concern. “Yes, there is. I could tell myassistant or my dad to look after him.” Anastasia didn't want to miss thegolden opportunity to explore the jewelry fair, where she could witnesssome quality masterpieces from some of the top-notch designers.“Sure. Have fun. When I get back, I'll treat you to a nice meal.” “Noproblem. I'll be waiting!” Anastasia hung up the call just when anattractive figure flashed across her mind. It turned out that the callerwas her good friend, Nigel Manson. While the man was raised in awealthy family, both of them came to know each other before Anastasiareturned to the country. Thinking everyone would encounter someonewho would help them at some point in their life, she believed hers wasNigel. Saturday night? That's two nights from now, isn't it? Anastasiabegan to look forward to the occasion. On the other hand, Hayley wasrubbing her swollen cheek with some ice in the luxurious mansion.Deep down, she couldn't suppress her grudge against Anastasia, whomshe blamed for causing her a swollen cheek. My face is what matters themost to me, yet Anastasia went for it straight. Damn her! “I'll never letthis slide so easily, Anastasia!” Hayley then reached for her iPad andstarted browsing through the news just when she saw a femalecelebrity flashing her invitation card at a high-class jewelry fair. At thatinstant, Hayley became tempted to attend the function, believing itcould help heighten her status since she had been trying hard to fit inamidst the upper class of the society. Although she knew an event likethat was no place for someone like her, she wondered whether shecould use the Presgrave Family as her ticket to attend the function.