Chapter 4Rebellion Comes at Midnight

I was already annoyed.

Arriving at the bar and seeing Felix there only made it worse.

I stopped in my tracks, a familiar bitterness rising in my chest. Charlotte never attended department dinners. Could it be that she came specifically because she knew Felix would be here?

I had cultivated a persona of a cool, professional, and frankly, boring secretary. After a brief greeting, I found a quiet corner and settled in. Everyone was used to my personality, so no one paid me much mind.

Felix, however, lit up the moment he saw Charlotte, immediately drawing her into the center of the group.

“Ms. Monroe, I hope you don’t mind me crashing your department’s party,” he said with a charming smile.

Charlotte barely glanced at him. “Whether I mind or not, you’re already here.”

Her bluntness left Felix speechless. Charlotte was known for her sharp tongue, a lesson he was clearly learning for the first time.

He recovered quickly. “Ms. Monroe, let me raise a glass to you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to prove myself at the new company.”

Charlotte’s eyes flickered toward me for a split second.

She cleared her throat. “No need to thank me. It was a choice of the lesser of two evils. There just wasn’t anyone else suitable.”

Felix froze again.

I had been secretly enjoying his discomfort, but then I realized something.

Wasn’t she insulting me too with that comment?

I frowned and pulled out my phone. Switching to my alternate account, I tapped on [Charlotte the Dog].

[Slap yourself. Right now.]

Beside me, Charlotte’s phone screen lit up. I could see her expression turn strange as she typed back a question mark.

[Why?]

Me: [Do I need a reason to give a command?]

Me: [What, is such a small task too much for you?]

Charlotte bit her lip. [It’s the company dinner. All my subordinates are here.]

[Be a good girl. I’ll let you do whatever you want tonight, okay?]

Me: [Not okay.]

Me: [I can find someone else tonight.]

The next second, I watched as Charlotte raised her hand and slapped herself across the face.

The private room fell into an eerie silence for a few seconds.

Felix was the first to react. “Ms. Monroe?”

“A mosquito,” she said flatly.

A mosquito. In a bar. In the middle of winter.

Right.

Felix seemed to buy it.

After the slap, she looked down and sent me a message.

Charlotte the Dog: [I just hit myself.]

Me: [Oh.]

Charlotte the Dog: [Are you satisfied?]

I played dumb.

[I wasn’t there. How would I know if you actually did it?]

Charlotte the Dog: [Is that an invitation?]

Charlotte the Dog: [My left cheek is still untouched. Want to try it out tonight?]

Me: ?

Help.

This woman was certifiably insane.

When the party broke up, the red mark on Charlotte’s face still hadn’t faded.

As expected of the CEO.

She didn’t even hold back on herself.