"..."
The moment she saw Nathan Bennett, Zoe Rhodes knew she was finished.
'Sure enough, after all that, there's still no escaping death!'
In the breakroom, the awkwardness spread in silence.
Alan stood behind Nathan Bennett and gestured to Linda Sullivan, asking what on earth was going on.
Linda Sullivan was also completely dumbfounded. She wanted to help explain but had no idea how much Nathan Bennett had overheard...
Meanwhile, the instigator of it all had her back to the door, her head hung low like an elementary school student being punished.
"Mr. Bennett, Miss Rhodes and I were just talking about some recently debuted celebrities," Linda Sullivan explained, struggling. Her voice lost its conviction halfway through the sentence.
She had been by Nathan Bennett's side for a while now and knew full well that he wouldn't believe such a clumsy excuse.
'Explaining is worse than not explaining. Maybe silence would at least earn her a suspended death sentence.'
Alan glanced at Nathan Bennett's expression, then cleared his throat, signaling for Linda Sullivan to make a quick exit.
Linda Sullivan glanced back at the helpless-looking Zoe Rhodes. The latter was wringing her hands with a look of utter despair. With such an adorable face, she easily brought out one's protective instincts.
Unfortunately, Alan didn't give Linda Sullivan the chance, directly yanking her out of the room.
The sliding door to the breakroom was shut from the outside.
Alan pulled Linda Sullivan along, practically sprinting as they fled the scene.
It wasn't until they'd escaped to the stairwell downstairs that Alan finally caught his breath and asked her what on earth had happened.
Linda Sullivan felt a pang of sympathy. She quickly sorted through her earlier conversation with Zoe Rhodes and said, "It seems to be a misunderstanding. Miss Rhodes seems to think that Mr. Bennett and I are... in a relationship?"
"Huh?" Alan was baffled. "Why would she think that? Did you say something wrong?"
Linda Sullivan swore she absolutely had not.
Inside the breakroom, you could hear a pin drop.
Zoe Rhodes had rarely encountered such an awkward situation. She really just wanted to bash her head against a wall.
'Caught red-handed talking smack about the villain. Is there any way I'll get out of this alive?'
Zoe Rhodes's mind raced, turning it over and over, but in the end, she simply gave up the struggle.
'She was truly out of ideas...'
The person behind her didn't move for a long time, but his gaze on her back was as searing as a branding iron, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
Just then, the juicer finished its cycle with a BEEP.
Finally, the person behind her moved.
Leather shoes clicked on the marble floor. The soft sounds seemed to step on her very nerves; to Zoe Rhodes, it was no less than the countdown of a ticking time bomb.
A familiar scent drew near. Zoe Rhodes instinctively shrank back. 'Nathan Bennett isn't going to hit me, is he?!'
'The original novel never said he had violent tendencies, but he was merciless when dealing with his enemies.'
"Do you need a straw?"
"Huh?"
Zoe Rhodes shot her head up, her eyes wide as if she hadn't understood what Nathan Bennett said.
The young woman was wearing a white dress that fell just past her knees, her hair tied in two low pigtails, looking playful and cute. Nathan Bennett's gaze paused for a few seconds on her slightly parted lips.
Then, unhurriedly, he lifted the juice in his hand and repeated his earlier question.
"...Ah, y-yes."
The man nodded, turning to search the counter for a long while before finding where the straws were kept, a clear sign he rarely came here.
Nathan Bennett handed her the chilled juice. "Don't have too much cold stuff. It's not good for you."
Zoe Rhodes had been prepared for death by a thousand cuts, but unexpectedly, he didn't mention it at all.
Seeing this, the tension drained from her shoulders. She quickly reached out a hand. "Thank you, Mr. Bennett, I—"
Her index fingertip touched the cool side of the cup, but it remained motionless in the man's hand.
She shot him a curious glance.
Her gaze was wary.
Nathan Bennett chuckled and loosened his grip. "Sorry."
'But somehow, his "sorry" didn't feel very sincere.'
This time, Zoe Rhodes easily took the juice. But before she could pull her hand back, the man's hand, which had been politely supporting the bottom of the cup, suddenly moved up to grip the cup, enveloping her hand along with it.
Zoe Rhodes's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the cup and splashed the juice all over his face.
"What's wrong?"
"Don't be nervous. I just want to talk."
"..."
'If you just want to talk, then talk! Why are you holding my hand?!'
"Assistant Sullivan and I just have a normal superior-subordinate relationship."
Zoe Rhodes blinked. "Oh?"
She thought the villain was being a bit hypocritical and couldn't help but call him out. "You're wearing matching watches."
'Does he take me for a three-year-old?'
Hearing this, Nathan Bennett glanced down at his own watch. He finally seemed to understand why she had such a ridiculous idea.
With a CLICK, the watch clasp opened. Without a second glance, Nathan Bennett tossed it directly into a nearby pitcher of cold water.
Then he looked into her eyes. "A coincidence."
"..." 'Ever since she confirmed she had traveled ten years into the future, Zoe Rhodes had begun to suspect there might be something wrong with her intelligence.'
'Otherwise, why would so many situations she couldn't comprehend keep popping up?'
Nathan Bennett's expression was perfectly natural, as if he didn't think his own actions had been the least bit abnormal.
"Besides that, I wonder if there are any other misunderstandings between us?"
"I don't think so," Zoe Rhodes managed, swallowing hard.
"Did you know me before, Miss Rhodes?"
Zoe Rhodes shook her head.
The man gazed at her, his dark eyes behind his glasses looking down. His expression was both innocent and helpless, as if asking her: if you don't know me, why do you have such a deep misunderstanding of me?
'The assessment that I wasn't a good person was accurate enough; I could accept that.'
'But... "old geezer"? What kind of description was that?'
'Just yesterday, when they first met, she had trusted him. She'd even dared to get in his car.'
'So, what exactly went wrong?'
Nathan Bennett couldn't help but replay yesterday's events in his mind, finally zeroing in on his self-introduction in the car.
It seemed that from the moment she learned he was Nathan Bennett, she had become restless, her eyes filled with wariness.
In other words, Zoe Rhodes had never met him, but she knew of his existence.
The only link between the two of them was Ethan Rhodes.
'No wonder.'
'No wonder she had such a bad impression of me. So it was because of Ethan Rhodes.'
He suddenly fell silent, and Zoe Rhodes grew a little scared.
She didn't dare drink the juice in her hand. The condensation on the cup wet her fingers, and she nervously rubbed them together.
"I'm sorry."
"It's all right." The man's warm palm rested on top of her head, ruffling her hair gently. "I don't mean to blame you. I was just frustrated with myself, wondering if I'd done something improper to make you misunderstand me so deeply."
"The Bennett Group forbids office romances. As the one in charge, I need to lead by example."
Zoe Rhodes blinked, understanding his underlying meaning.
"So, you're saying you aren't with Linda Sullivan now, and you won't be in the future either?"
"Before I answer your question, can you answer one of mine first?" Nathan Bennett leaned down slightly, his gentle tone and gaze tempting her.
Zoe Rhodes nodded obediently.
The man's long fingertips gently brushed against her cheek, his fervent gaze landing on her lips. "Why are you so concerned about this?"
"Is it Linda Sullivan you care about... or is it me?"