Chapter 280
Simon looked at Melanie and said with even more mockery in his tone, “Miss Smith, since you already have the wine bottle in hand, why not pour a glass for us too? It wouldn’t be out of the way anyway.”
While he sounded like he was making a suggestion, he was actually making an assertion and letting Melanie know of it.
Many people were aware of the conflict between them. Hence, they joined Simon in enjoying the spectacle. “Melanie is the chief secretary of LeapCo. I haven’t had a glass poured by the chief secretary before.”
“Didn’t she resign? I heard her birth mother came to hold her accountable.”
“So what? She used to be LeapCo’s former chief secretary. It’s a good show!”
The murmurs surrounding Melanie made her feel like a clown as she felt herself subjected to ridicule and mockery. The one leading this was comfortably sitting on the sofa, watching her. Simon raised an eyebrow. “Eugene, aren’t you being too stingy? You won’t even lend us your former secretary.”
Eugene remained expressionless, and his tone was icy as he replied, “She hasn’t officially resigned yet.”
The implication of his words was probably that Melanie was not his former secretary.
Simon did not care. Instead, he looked back at Melanie and made a malicious comment, “Miss Smith, you must’ve poured drinks for many people before. It shouldn’t be a problem to do the same for us, right?”
Melanie could not help but tremble. The dim lighting in the private room obscured Eugene’s expression, but she could sense that he intended to humiliate her.
He knew very well that when Melanie first joined LeapCo, she was once asked by a superior, who had a grudge against her, to pour drinks for a troublesome client. That client had attempted to take advantage of her, thinking she was an escort.
Even though the situation was eventually diffused, the superior had exaggerated the story and spread word about it. For quite some time, Melanie was unfairly labeled as an escort. Hearing such things was undeniably distressing.
Hence, she would hide in her room and shed tears almost every night back then.
Moreover, when her grandfather learned about the incident, it aggravated his health problems. Someone once said that the easiest way to ruin a woman was through false rumors, and at that time, Melanie bore the burden of a tarnished reputation. She was isolated from
everyone.
To this day, Melanie refused to bring up that incident. It was a time she did not want to revisit, a time filled with echoes she did not want to hear. Eugene knew this, yet he was still using her most sensitive scar to humiliate her once again.
The crowd continued to cheer, and Melanie looked at Eugene. Suppressing the frustration within her, she asked, “Is this what you wanted to see?”
Her being mocked and treated as an escoct? Was he satisfied now?
Eugene’s brooms furrowed slightly, indicating that he might have something to say. However, before he could speak, Melanie nodded to herself and muttered, “Alright, since it’s your request, who am I to refuse?
With that, she picked up the bottle and walked to Simon’s side. She filled up his glass. Putting on an image of composure, she said, “Mr. Simon, please have a drink.”
Strmon raised a brow. He did not even feel bothered by this and simply looked at Melanie with a bit more disdain. Glancing at the liquid in the glass, the corner of his lips tugged upward as he said with a smirk, “Sorry, I don’t drink this kind of alcohol.”
It was clear that he intended to embarrass her. Melanie closed her eyes for a moment, preparing herself to speak when she heard Eugene’s emotionless voice call out her name.
