The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1748 Talk

"Mr. Gao, are you feeling alright? I think I should go and get a doctor for you right away!"

Jason could see the nurse panic at seeing his condition. He let out a smirk as he watched the young medical staff turn around and disappear through the door.

Even after disconnecting the line, Holley could not put her mind to rest. She was inexplicably frustrated and unable to focus on anything, for that matter. She tossed her phone aside and rested her head on her palms.

Suddenly, she started feeling claustrophobic inside her own office and decided to take a walk out of her office. But to her dismay, the moment she stepped out of her office, the atmosphere outside made her feel more upset. As she walked through the passage, she could hear subdued whispers and complaints everywhere. She could hear derogatory words about her being exchanged between her staff. Since they wouldn't dare to complain to her face, they chose to talk about her behind her back.

Holley regretted having lost her temper at the junior staff at the tea counter in the morning. She realized that she had acted too fast and without thinking. That must be the reason for so much criticism from the staff.

The junior employee had been filling her cup with water when Holley had entered the tea room lost in her thoughts. She did not have the patience to wait in the queue. On top of that, she was indeed extremely disturbed, which had triggered her anger all the more. Holley had just lost her cool and shouted at the junior staff. In fact, in the heat of the moment, she even threatened the staff member with halving her salary as punishment.

Everyone in the tea room had stared back at Holley with their mouths wide open. The office staff was already aware that Holley's relationship with Black had hit the rocks. Hence, they speculated that they had finally ended their relationship, or perhaps Holley had gone crazy. She had completely lost her sanity.

"Holley's arrogance is just hitting the roof nowadays. Who does she think she is? I guess Mr. Hu must be tired of her conceit this time. He must see through her as much as we do. But how ridiculous? She mus have given her best to amend her ways to get back with Black. But she has failed miserably, it seems. She is completely in self-denial mode. And now she is just venting out her anger on us!"

"Sure, that must be the reason! How ridiculous she is! Even if we are working in this company, and she is our reporting boss, she doesn't have the right to hurt our dignity! Halve the salary? How disgusting is that! She is using our salaries to pull down our dignity!" One of the female employees voiced her opinion while she straightened her already prim and proper uniform as she spoke. Even though her pitch was low, her demeanor was stern and confident.

Everybody shared a sympathetic look with the poor lady who was reprimanded by Holley. She seemed to coil up into her shell. It was clear that she was deeply insulted. She sat in her chair, but her eyes revealed the state of her mind. Then she dropped her head, as she failed to control the tears welling up in her eyes. Her body trembled as the tears started to roll down her cheeks, but she could not speak a single word.

Her colleagues consoled her. "Don't take it to heart. But be careful from now on and learn from what happened today. Holley must have been abandoned by Black, so she is mistreating us in this way. Let's avoid her when we notice that she is not in a good mood."

While they were talking and complaining about their boss, they didn't notice that someone had almost silently walked into the office and was standing quietly behind them.

It was none other than Black. He had been missing Holley lately. But Holley kept avoiding him. At last, he failed to put up with it and showed up at her office. After all, as a board member of the company, Holley's office came partly under Black's jurisdiction. And he did not need a reason to walk into his own office. In his opinion, it was a reasonable excuse for him to pay a visit to Holley.

"Shut up!" Holley felt humiliated to hear that she was referred to as a deserted woman. She was seething in anger. But just as she was about to burst out on the employees once again, Black's voice resounded loudly in the office.

Everyone was shocked to hear Black's voice. All the employees dropped their heads and sealed their mouths.

Black stomped a few steps forward and continued yelling. He charged toward them with his finger pointed at them and shrieked angrily, "How dare you? Do both of you want to get fired? How dare you talk like that about your superior in-charge behind her back? I am telling you, even if your superior loses her temper at you, you ought to put up with it or fuck off!"

Black was furious. As he doted on Holley, anyone who talked badly about his beloved girl would face his vengeance. He did not even spare his father for this, let alone the employees of the company.

He was on the verge of losing his sanity. His eyes were burning with rage, as he cast another glare at the gossipers. He clenched his fists. He would have punched the two female staff right in their faces, had he not been taught never to beat women.

Holley was surprised to hear his voice. In the beginning, such an impromptu visit by Black had made her want to run away and replace a hiding place for herself. But hearing how Black supported her and reprimanded the employees who were backbiting her, made her heart mellow towards him.

He was standing up for her. Black seemed to be willing to fight against the whole world for her, no matter whether she was right or wrong. Holley was touched by this gesture.

"Holley!" Black looked at her with an intense look. There was a determined smile on his face that explained his complete faith in Holley.

Even though Holley's heart was brimming with love and delight for Black's intercession, she concealed her emotions from her face and put up a rather arrogant look. She questioned coldly, "What brought you here?"

"I am here to see you. I miss you so much. You have been hiding from me for so many days, and I can't bear it anymore!"

Black never tired of expressing his true feelings to Holley, even if Holley showed indifference to him. He didn't care about how others would think of him. He was willing to lay his pride aside as long as he had Holley by his side.

"I've told you not to show up like this, again and again. I had made myself clear, right? But here you are! Please, leave. My hands are tied up in business right now!" Holley frowned and spoke indifferently. "What's wrong with you? Why do you talk to me like that? Haven't we agreed to get back together and start everything afresh? Then why do you pull your face up at me again?" Black was tormented by this constantly distancing attitude of Holley. He felt Holley had been capricious lately, totally opposite of the girl he used to know.

But, at the moment, Black could still capture the trace of love Holley had for him. Even though Holley's moods always fluctuated and Black could never be sure about her true feelings before, yet, now, his faith in Holley returned, and he wanted to receive a positive response from her.

"Please, go. There is nothing that I want to talk to you about!"

Holley cast an indicative glance at her secretary before she turned and walked back to her office. There were so many workers around, and Holley didn't want to continue her conversation with Black. However, the secretary was put in a dilemma. On the one hand, it was her duty to follow Holley's order. On the other hand, Black, as one of the shareholders of the company, could not be offended either. Wher the poor secretary was at a loss for what to do, Black sighed and offered to leave.

Watching Black's receding figure, the secretary took a deep breath of relief. She felt lucky that she didn't act promptly in following Holley's orders. If she had done that and asked Black to leave blatantly at the time, she was not sure if she could keep her job in the company.

Black didn't give up easily. When he walked out of the company, he went across the road into a soda fountain store. He took a seat in the store and waited for Holley to come out of the office. He still wanted to get a clear answer from Holley.

For Black, it felt as if time stood still; while, for Holley, time was flying faster than ever. Black kept checking on his wristwatch and waited anxiously. When Holley appeared at the entrance, Black immediately rushed over to her and blocked her way.

Holley was completely taken aback and knitted her brows out of irritation as soon as she found Black standing in front of her. She sternly looked at Black, with her lips tightly pressed into a straight line. Black could easily read what was on her mind from her expression.

Black kept flashing a big smile and ignored Holley's displeased look. He said gently as he took a step closer to her, "Holley, can we have dinner tonight? I want to talk to you."

Helpless, Holley knew she could not avoid it anymore. Holley felt that a clear statement was necessary so that Black could give up on her completely. She was cornered by Jason and had no choice left. She felt she had to end her relationship with Black. If she kept turning a blind eye to the situation and let it develop without consideration, it could end up in worse chaos.

"Okay!" Holley replied, firmly. Her voice was cold and her face exuded no emotion.

Black was still lost in the sweetness of his romantic fantasy. He didn't take much into account. To him, Holley's words conveyed what was in her heart. Receiving her swift reply, Black felt as happy as a five- year-old child who was given candy.

Black led Holley to his car. He opened the car door for her and helped her get in. He attended to every detail carefully, just to let Holley feel comfortable. She couldn't really believe that she had decided to leave such a meticulous man. If it weren't for Ferry's intimidation, she wouldn't have made such a stupid decision.

"Holley, what do you want to eat?" Black asked sincerely with a smile.

"Anything."

Holley's calm and composed demeanor was a striking contrast to Black's excitement.

Black couldn't wait to talk. As they drove along the road, he kept recalling the happy moments from the past that he and Holley had shared. But Holley remained indifferent. She was being offhand with Black, and she knew it. There were constant pauses because of Holley's unresponsiveness.

In no time, they arrived in front of a Japanese restaurant. Black swiftly parked his car. He carefully helped Holley get out, and then they walked into the restaurant.