Chapter 6
The following day, the group took the 9 a.m. flight back to Rosewood.
The executive a**istants enjoyed a seat in business cla** since they were on a business trip with the CEO. Zane sat next to the window, Lianne got the aisle seat, and Liam sat in the row behind.
Once they were seated, the air stewardess drew close. “Sir, ma’am, what would you like to drink?”
Lianne replied, “Two bottles of water, please.”
Her boss was a fussy pot when it came to beverages. He would only drink hand-brewed coffee and bottled water. Since a cup of hand-brewed coffee was unlikely on the plane, his choice was limited to bottled water.
“Sure,” the air stewardess answered but did not leave. Her eyes were glued to Zane. “Sir, we have coffee on this flight. Would you like a cup?”
Without giving the air stewardess the time of the day, Zane told Lianne, “I want to take my wife out for dinner tonight. Make a table reservation at the restaurant.”
Lianne nodded her head. “Sure.”
She turned to the air stewardess and saw the frozen smile on her face.
Feeling embarra**ed for the air stewardess, Lianne smiled. “Can I get today’s paper?”
As the CEO’s secretary, Lianne had to keep up with the current affairs. Since there was no Wi-Fi on board, Lianne had to rely on the papers.
She read a few articles until she came across something about Jefferson Tech in the finance section.
“Jefferson Tech’s CEO Investigated for Corruption; Sustains Broken Arm from Accident while Fleeing to Airport.”
Lianne turned to the right where Zane sat. With Zane resting his eyes, Lianne could see his long lashes behind his silver-framed gla**es, shielding his eyes like cute little fans.
Sensing her gaze, Zane raised his brow. “Can I help you?”
Lianne cautiously inquired, “Mr. Atlas, did you know that Mr. Larson of Jefferson Tech had a mishap?”
Zane scoffed. “He should be thankful that he only lost an arm.”
He spoke nonchalantly as if talking about the weather. Feeling a chill down her spine, Lianne nervously took a gulp.
There were many rumors about the young leader of the Atlas Group. He was ruthless in his ways, family meant nothing to him, he wanted nothing to do with women, and so on.
Zane was a minor twelve years ago, and many saw him as nothing more than a kid. Yet, Zane straightened the sneaky shareholders out with a heavy hand and brought the crumbling Atlas Group to new heights.
Since then, many in the business world got the creeps at the mention of Zane’s name. It was a name that seemed to be a**ociated with terror.
Zane slowly opened his eyes and coldly stared at Lianne “What? Scared?”
With his staring freaking her out, Lianne nodded and shook her head. “No.”
“Oh, really?” While he did not believe her, Zane did not carry on with the conversation. He closed his eyes for a rest.
Lianne was speechless.
No matter what the world had to say about Zane, Lianne could not deny that the Zane she knew, who would smile tenderly at the mention of his wife, take the time out of his busy schedule to get a gift for his wife, and come to his employees’ defense…
She was his a**istant, not his enemy. Why should she fear him?
Having that figured out, Lianne sighed in relief and closed her eyes to rest.
The plane soon entered steady autopilot mode. In the middle of Lianne’s sleep, she picked up a gloomy voice. “Do I look promiscuous to you, or do you think I’m a guy you can get?”
The chilling voice made Lianne’s blood run cold. She opened her eyes and saw the flight attendant, who tried to chat Zane up earlier, hastily keeping her phone away.
The man had the looks and money. Although all temptations came his way, Zane was able to resist and rise above them all. He was a unicorn.
Lianne was suddenly curious about the kind of person the CEO’s wife was, as she could stop a man like Zane from having a wandering eye.
After traveling for two and a half hours, they arrived at Rosewood. The group made a beeline to the office and started their day of work.
Lianne occupied herself with work and Zane’s personal business. She had to get flowers, make table reservations, and arrange the activity for after dinner.
This time, Lianne put a lot of thought into her planning. The satisfaction of the CEO’s wife had a direct connection to the CEO’s mood, which in turn affected her work.
Lianne handed the bouquet to Zane after work and watched as his chauffeur drove him off. That was a day of work completed.
Heaving relief, Lianne was about to get a cab ride home when Sierra’s message popped up in the group chat. “Gummy, we’re having fish tonight. Can you grab a bottle of seasoning from the supermarket downstairs on your way home?”
She texted back, “Sure.”
…
Sally’s call came in when Zane was on his way to Lianne’s residence.
“Zane, you went away after you got married with complete disregard for your new bride. I have been too ashamed to check in with Lianne for the whole year. You are getting on my nerves for not having brought her home yet.”
Out of everything Sally said, Zane’s focus was solely on one point. “What did you call her, Grandma?”
Sally angrily yelled. “Lianne! Her name is Lianne Simpson! Jesus Christ, I can’t believe you don’t remember your wife’s name. Are you trying to piss me off?”
“Lianne Simpson?” Zane repeated the name as Lianne’s pretty face came to mind.
No wonder he found the name familiar when he selected a new a**istant. So Lianne shared the same name as his wife.
He smiled. “Grandma, I’m on my way to pick her up. I’ll take her to see you.”
Sally was delighted. “You better keep your promise. Don’t bother visiting me if you can’t get her. Lianne is a sweet girl. You’re lucky to have married her. Please cherish her.”
Zane only met his wife once, on the day they got their marriage license. The pair had not had much of an exchange. Even though he did not know much about her, he trusted his grandmother’s good judgment. Plus, they were married. Zane would surely cherish her.
He nodded. “Sure.”
The chauffeur pulled up outside Lianne’s residence when the call ended. “We’re here, sir. Do you want me to pick the missus up, or…”
“I will pick my wife up.” Zane got out of the car and grabbed the roses before walking into the neighborhood in strides.
Due to the high tenant occupancy density in the area, the access control was not as strict. Perhaps Zane’s intimidating presence prompted the security guard to let him into the neighborhood without any questions.
Zane found the apartment block and took the elevator straight to the fifteenth floor. He arrived at the door of unit number 1501 and knocked on the door.
It did not take long before the door opened. A man dressed in only a pair of floral shorts appeared at the entrance. “Who are you looking for?”
The man held the doorknob with one hand and carried a T-shirt with the other. By the looks of his damp hair, he had just gotten out of the shower.
Zane furrowed his brows and calmly asked, “Does Lianne live here?”
The man sluggishly bobbed his head. “Yeah.”
Zane’s voice turned chilly. “Who is she to you?”
Before the man could answer, a soft voice of a woman echoed from behind. “Who is it, Ty?”
A beautiful face appeared before Zane.
The woman, dressed in leisure wear, had wet hair. It was not hard to guess that she had just come out of the bathroom. Any fool could figure out something more going on, especially when a girl and a guy were alone in a shower.
She craned her neck and looked out. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Zane. “Who are you? Who are you looking for?”
Zane coldly looked at the woman. It was an unfamiliar face, but she was his wife.
Not only was she fooling around with another man, but she did not seem to recognize him either…
