Chapter 154
It felt as if his brain had been struck by a sledgehammer; it was buzzing. “Who is it?! Who is that man?! How long have you been seeing him p>
He fired off three questions in a row, betraying his inner turmoil.
Alana spoke up, “Sorry, I can’t comment on that p>
Cole was suddenly overcome by a helpless sense of panic.
It was as if the girl before him was drifting further and further away, so far that even though she was right within arm’s reach, he could never touch her again.
“Break up with him. Right now p>
Cole didn’t know what tone he’d used, but he’d said it.
Alana looked at him in shock.
She didn’t understand what gave him the right to order her to break up with Stephan. “Manager Cole, you’ve overstepped your bounds p>
Cole knew he had overstepped his bounds, but he no longer cared.
He stood up, his tone no longer gentle, but instead filled with an air of dominance and an attitude that brooked no resistance.
“He’s not right for you. Break up with him p>
Alana frowned. “You haven’t even met him p>
His expression turned stern. “Lana, do as I say! He really isn’t right for you p>
Alana smiled and asked calmly, “Then may I ask, who is right for me p>
His cheating ass?
Cole’s lips twitched, the words “I’m the one for you” on the tip of his tongue.
But it was abruptly cut short by a knock at the door.
The door hadn’t been closed properly; Grace knocked and walked right in.
When she entered and saw Alana there, she paused for a moment.
Seeing Grace appear, Alana turned to Cole and said,
“Manager Cole, I’ve got everything you asked for. I’ll step out for now p>
She then gave Grace a polite nod and walked out.
Seeing this, Cole had no reason to keep her there and could only watch her leave.
He tugged irritably at his gray tie and looked at Grace. “What do you need from me p>
Grace glanced at Alana’s retreating figure, then looked at the slightly irritated Cole, sensing there was something fishy going on between the two of them.
Still, she got straight to the point.
“Manager Cole, we have a morning meeting at nine o’clock. I just came to remind you p>
Cole replied dismissively, “Okay, I know. You can go now p>
Grace wanted to say something else, but seeing that Cole didn’t seem interested, she excused herself.
As she walked out, she took a special look at Alana, who had already returned to her desk. After a moment’s thought, she decided to instruct others to prepare tea for the meeting.
The morning meeting began.
Everyone trickled in one by one.
Alans sat in the back with a pen and paper in hand.
The meeting didn’t officially begin until Cole arrived.
The morning meeting focused on project planning for new product development.
The new product currently being developed in collaboration with Green has entered a critical phase and requires data from market research to support it.
For example, clarifying the new product’s core positioning, target audience, and key
benefits.
After briefly outlining the requirements, Grace began assigning tasks. Who would conduct the market research, who would handle the data analysis, and who
would compile the final report, everything was clearly assigned.
Almost everyone had been assigned a role, but Alana was not on the list of assigned personnel.
It was clearly thanks to her efforts that this partnership was successfully secured, yet it seemed few people took notice.
Alana didn’t mind; it seemed that interns were only suited for menial tasks.
Things like serving tea and water, printing documents, and assisting others with their work, and so on.
After Grace finished making the arrangements, she paused, as if she’d forgotten someone.
She looked at Alana in the corner. “Alana, if anyone else needs help, you can lend
a hand p>
She nodded. “Okay p>
Grace turned to Cole, waiting for his instructions. “Manager Cole, is there anything else you’d like to add? If not p>
Cole paused for a moment. “I’m in need of an assistant. I’d like to promote someone to
work for me p>
After speaking, his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, cast a subtle glance at Alana.
At his words, many of the female employees couldn’t help but get excited.
Manager Cole was young and handsome, a gentleman with refined manners. He had only been there a few days, yet many female employees had already secretly set their hearts on him.
If one could become his assistant, wouldn’t that mean more opportunities to interact with him?
One particularly bold young woman even raised her hand high. “Manager Cole, may I be your assistant p>
Although the other female employees didn’t have quite that much courage, their eyes betrayed a palpable eagerness.
But Cole ignored them all. He looked directly at Alana and said, “Alana, you’ll be my assistant p>
The moment the words left his mouth, everyone turned to look at her.
Manager Cole actually handpicked Alana to be his assistant?
What gives?
Alana was just an intern, she had no real skills.
She’s got nothing but a pretty face, how could she possibly be Manager Cole’s assistant?
Alana, having been called out, froze for a moment. Actually, she’d been a bit distracted just then.
But when she looked up and saw so many people staring at her intently, their
expressions all different, she didn’t know how to react.
And… what did Cole just say?
He wanted her… to be his assistant p>
The bold female employee spoke up, “Manager Cole, isn’t it wrong to have Alana as your assistant p>
“Exactly. After all, she is new here and just an intern, she doesn’t know anything p>
“How could she possibly know as much as us veteran employees who’ve been here for a year or two, or even several years p>
Cole replied, “It’s precisely because she’s an intern that I want to keep her close to train her. It’s settled then p>
With those words, he silenced all objections.
Even if the others were unhappy about it, there was nothing they could do.
After all, Manager Cole had specifically named Alana for the job.
Grace couldn’t help but glance at Alana and Cole again; her intuition told her there was definitely something going on between them.
Throughout the entire process, Alana, the person directly involved,wasn’t even
consulted.
She frowned and couldn’t help but say,
“Manager Cole, I don’t think I’m the right
person for this p>
It wasn’t that she lacked ambition or wasn’t capable of handling the position; it was simply that this wasn’t the right time for her.
She could feel the disapproving glances all around her. So she knew exactly what she needed to do at this stage.
Plus, she didn’t want to work directly under Cole.
He looked at her. His tone was gentle, yet it carried a sense of firm resolve.
“Lana, I believe in your abilities, and I hope you believe in yourself p>
Alana sighed.
What else could she say?
She clenched her fingers tightly; she was in a bind.
Yet she had no choice but to agree.
Because she could tell that Cole wouldn’t easily change his mind.
“Alright p>
Hearing her agreement, Cole’s lips curved into a slow smile. “The meeting is adjourned p>
Alana walked out of the conference room, her heart heavy.
Carla tried to reassure her, “It’s okay, it’s okay p>
“It’s just being an assistant, it’s not that hard. If you don’t have any experience, just ask your coworkers for advice! Or you could just ask Manager Cole directly p>
But Alana wasn’t worried about that. What troubled her was: Why did Cole want her to be his assistant?
Did he really want to promote her?
Or did he have some other motive?
But since things had come to this, she’d just have to take it one step at a time.
After all, as an intern, all she could do was work hard and accept whatever came her way.
She smiled at Carla. “Okay p>
That bold female employee, Danielle, walked past Alana and Carla and suddenly said in a sarcastic tone.
“I’m not going to teach her, so don’t come looking for me p>