Trapped By Tainted Love
Chapter 37: It‘s My Call

Chapter 37: It‘s My Call 

Rachel pursed her lips and stared at Victor through red–rimmed eyes.She hated Victor so much, butshe was trying her best not to let it show.She was straining so much to hide her feelings that her eyeswere close to popping right out of their sockets.

Victor had never seen Rachel look at him this way In the past, she always looked at him like a love–struck fool.

Her eyes always shone, full of admiration.

But now, her gaze held nothing of that sort.

Although she came so close to dying just now, she was still very calm.

It was bizarre.

It was like she had been possessed, like someone else was talking and acting through her.

Her hard gaze made Victor uneasy for a moment there, but soon enough he came to his senses andthe coldness returned in his eyes.

‘Possessed? Come on, Victor.You are letting your imagination run wild.That‘s impossible! She is justplaying you.Women like her are incapable of change.”

"What’s the matter?"

Victor barked, narrowing his eyes at Rachel.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have anything to say in your defense? Stop acting likethe victim here! My patience has run out; I can‘t even stand the sight of you! Get out! I never want tosee you again! Go back to hell, where you belong."

Rachel didn‘t move at all.She only clenched her fists to her sides.

A threatening look crossed Victor‘s face.

"Ivan," he called.

"I am not leaving," Rachel said calmly, not taking her eyes off Victor.

She seemed determined to stay here and face him, despite his best efforts to drive her off.

Victor was stunned by her nerve.

"What did you just say?"

His face flushed and the veins on his temples bulged, as he was filled with red hot anger.

The temperature in the office seemed to drop by several degrees, and it had nothing to do with thewind blowing through the open window.

Rachel was too thin and delicate, looking like a sudden gust of wind could blow her away.

Yet there she stood before him, her back straight and her mouth set in a hard line.

She took a deep breath and repeated calmly, "I said I am not leaving!"

And the truth was that she couldn‘t! She had made a promise to save the Bennet Group.

If she left now, it would soon be in shambles.

The old Rachel‘s soul would still stick around pestering her, and she would never be able to get herown revenge.

"Rachel, don‘t forget that I am in charge here! It‘s not up to you to decide if you leave or stay! Don‘t trymy patience any more.Do you really think that I would think twice before I throw you out of thewindow?"

Victor turned to Ivan.

"Throw her out of the window," he ordered in a deep voice.

Ivan nodded and strode towards Rachel.

She sidestepped to avoid being captured, but the pain that shot through her had her gasping out loud.

"Of course I decide whether I stay or not! Victor, we had a deal! You said that if I passed the interview, Icould work here and you would temporarily suspend the liquidation of the Bennet Group!"

I did pass the interview, so the choice is mine!

She paused for a second, before she added.

"Is that how you run your company? The CEO of the mighty Sullivan Group is not a man of his word? Ifthis is who you want to be, fine by me." She stopped talking, her mouth becoming a hard line again andshe looked at Victor with one eyebrow raised.

Ivan gasped at her words.

She was the only person that ever dared talk to Victor like this.

In a few short sentences, she managed to challenge Victor‘s integrity and honesty.

Victor would never stand this.

Ivan sighed.He had thought that Miss Bennet had changed, that she would act smart and know herplace.

It seemed, though, that she was still a greedy fool, digging her own grave with every word she uttered.

The office sunk into silence.

If the wind didn‘t rage outside the open window, one might think that time had stood still for a while.

After several long moments, Victor finally spoke.

His eyes held a dangerous gleam and his lips formed a sardonic smile.

"I‘ll ask you one more time, Rachel.Are you sure you want to stay in the Sullivan Group?"

Any sane person would have run the other way if they saw that threatening look on Victor‘s face.

This was it, the choice Rachel had to make.

If she left and never bothered him again, Victor wouldn‘t blame her or punish her for what happenedtoday.

But if she kept pushing him...

He looked at Rachel, trying to keep his fury bottled up as he waited for her answer.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly, as if she was gathering the courage to speak.

"I am not leaving! I won‘t let the Bennet Group go out of business," she said in a clear, loud voice.

"So be it," Victor said as he strode towards Rachel and stood right in front of her.

He looked down at her and whispered coldly, "Since this is your decision, I hope you don‘t regret it."

He turned around, walked back to his desk and called out in a stern voice, "Ivan, take her to the firstfloor of the underground parking lot!"

"Yes, sir," Ivan replied immediately and then turned to Rachel, his face completely devoid ofexpression.

"Follow me, Miss Bennet."

After completing his task, Ivan returned to Victor‘s office and found his boss hunched over the tablet.

Sneaking a peek at the screen, he saw Rachel‘s examination paper.

"Mr.Sullivan," Ivan said after clearing his throat.

"Miss Bennet has been successfully placed in the archive room."

The group‘s building was a true behemoth.

It was the jewel of Apliaria with its magnificent exterior and the interior might have been simple but stillluxurious.

Besides the sixty–six floors above the ground, it also held five underground floors, mostly used forparking.

But there was an archive room on the first floor of the underground section, which was mostly used forstorage.

Things of little importance and age –old documents were stored there to be sorted and distributed later,such as back–up printers and stationery.

In short, it was just a place for things that didn‘t fit anywhere else.

The people who worked there were probably just a step higher than that of cleaners in the hierarchy.

Although the Bennet family wasn‘t seeing its best days, it had once been prosperous.

Rachel was born and raised in luxury, but now she was reduced to this humble, meaningless job.

It was humiliating.

Rachel would be the laughingstock of her peers if they saw her; a young lady from a once rich family,swallowing her pride, reduced to a mere employee in this dark, dank room.

"There are three people working in the archive, right? Transfer them to the front desk and give themsomething, anything to do.One employee is more than enough for the archive, I believe," Victor orderedas he chucked the tablet on his desk.ab