Chapter 2 Recall

The conference room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. The other interns looked at her with pitying glances but didn't dare speak.

One less person to compete with wasn't a bad thing, especially since Giselle had broken the rules first.

But Giselle felt like she'd fallen into an ice pit.

She didn't want to face Valentin, but even more, she didn't want to lose this job.

Since high school, her family hadn't given her a single penny. From age fifteen through college graduation, she'd barely scraped together tuition through part-time jobs and student loans.

The Dobbins Group was the top company in the industry. Having her internship terminated by the Dobbins Group would definitely leave a mark on her record, and no company would be willing to hire her anytime soon.

But she still had to pay rent for her apartment and her monthly loan payments.

These huge expenses - she simply couldn't afford them!

If her family found out, she'd definitely be dragged back home like in high school and married off to some rich old man in exchange for benefits.

What should she do now?

Giselle dug her nails into her palm, opening her mouth to say something, but Valentin had already coldly looked away, his voice completely devoid of warmth.

"Let's continue the meeting."

Brian glanced at her and shook his head, speaking in a businesslike manner: "Head downstairs, Ms. Montague. Don't disturb the Boss's meeting any further."

The conference room door closed, and Giselle's heart sank to rock bottom with it.

What was she supposed to do now?

Should she just accept being kicked out of the Dobbins Group and go home to be controlled by those biased parents?

She numbly followed Brian downstairs back to her desk, her eyes burning hot, but she forced herself not to let the tears fall. She just silently packed her things and left the company.

When she walked out the door, a heavy rain was pouring down outside.

Giselle looked at the gloomy sky, her hands gripping the box so tightly her veins bulged.

She wasn't willing to give up.

If she just gave up like this, her entire life could be completely ruined!

But should she go see Valentin and beg? What if he noticed something...

She stood outside the company entrance, full of conflicting thoughts, and before she knew it, lunch break had arrived.

That Aurelia Motors slowly drove out from the underground parking garage, the driver's side window half-open. Valentin's profile looked refined and cold, with an untouchable aloofness.

Giselle watched as the car approached her. Just as it was about to pass by, courage suddenly surged in her heart, and she ran to the car holding her box.

"Mr. Dobbins, could you give me a moment?"

She clutched the box in her hands tightly, her voice trembling: "I apologize for being late today. I shouldn't have violated company policy, but I really hope to stay at the Dobbins Group."

As she spoke, she pulled out the internship notes and reports she'd compiled over the past three months, gathering her courage to hand them over: "These are the summaries I've written over the past three months. I hope you can give me another chance. I'll never make a similar mistake again."

Valentin lifted his chin and looked at her coldly, his phoenix eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses showing no warmth.

After a long moment, he finally parted his thin lips: "I've seen your resume."

Giselle froze, her hand holding the folder suspended in mid-air, at a loss.

Valentin's slender hand rested on the steering wheel, his voice calm but carrying an icy pressure: "Celestial University undergraduate. Not compared to the entire Dobbins Group, but just among this year's interns, you're not particularly competitive."

"Four years of college, and you don't have any outstanding achievements or experiences. Your GPA was barely enough to graduate."

He paused, his gaze sweeping past Giselle's face and the folder in her hand: "So why should I waste my time looking at your summary?"

Giselle's knuckles turned white, and she unconsciously bit her lip tight.

During the college entrance exam, she'd been admitted to her undergraduate university with a top-ten ranking in the city.

But during her four years of college, aside from classes and the barely two hours of rest she could squeeze out each day, she'd been desperately working part-time jobs. Naturally, her grades could only be considered passable.

But she had no right to explain this to Valentin.

Just as he said, her resume wasn't outstanding within the entire Dobbins Group.

"I'm sorry for taking up your time."

Coming back to her senses, Giselle forced back her tears and bowed to him: "I'll leave right away."

The moment she lowered her head, Valentin caught a whiff of the subtle fragrance on her body and suddenly felt a bit dazed.

Watching her turn and leave, he rolled up the car window, feeling strangely unsettled.

That scent seemed familiar too, very similar to last night's fragrance.

Was it a coincidence?

The Aurelia Motors drove all the way out of the company and back to Valentin's villa in the city center.

He pushed open the door to find a somewhat nervous figure sitting on the sofa.

He frowned slightly.

Brian quickly came forward: "Boss, this is the Ms. Stella Montague you were looking for."

Valentin rubbed his fingertips, feeling that standing before her, his heart didn't have that out-of-control flutter from last night.

Was it because of the drug?

Stella looked at the refined and handsome Valentin before her, her heart beating so fast it nearly jumped out of her chest.

She shouldn't know someone like this. Why would she suddenly be invited to this mansion?

Feeling anxious, she couldn't help but ask: "Sir, why did you want to see me?"

Valentin came back to his senses. Thinking of that spot of virgin blood on the sheets this morning, his heart softened after all.

Originally, he'd thought Stella was special. Now it seemed that last night might have just been passion taking over.

But since he'd done such a thing, he had to give her an explanation no matter what.

"I was the person in the hotel room last night."

He got straight to the point: "You left suddenly this morning, so I could only have someone bring you here."

"If you don't want to be too involved with me, I can give you a sum of money, enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Or you can choose to stay, and I'll explain the situation to my family and marry you."

Stella's eyes first widened in disbelief, then flashed with wild joy.

Was even God looking out for her?

Although she didn't know why Valentin had mistaken her identity, his status was clearly extraordinary!

If she just went along with it, she could definitely marry into a wealthy family!

Suppressing her excitement, she said shyly and timidly: "I'm willing to stay, sir."

Valentin nodded, but his heart didn't feel as happy as he'd expected.

After instructing the butler to settle her in, he returned to his study to handle work.

Unexpectedly, his phone suddenly rang at that moment.

Answering the call, Elmer Roach from the planning department asked respectfully: "Boss, have you decided on the translation assistant to specifically work with Ascend Global Group?"

Valentin paused mid-step: "Not yet. The qualifications of this batch of interns can only be considered barely adequate. Let's screen from the entire company instead."

"I have a recommended candidate."

Elmer said: "I just looked through the files. Among this batch of interns, there's a girl named Giselle whose planning proposals are excellent. She also happens to be a language major from Astoria, so she should be very suitable for this position."

"However, I just asked HR and they said her internship has been terminated. Have you already assigned her to a branch office? If she hasn't started yet, I'd like to transfer her back as the translation assistant for this project."

Valentin's brow twitched.

Giselle?

That little intern who was late - she was that good?