Chapter 4

Abigail was speechless at Keith's words. She thought, "Is it really appropriate for us as subordinates to discuss such matters?" But when she recalled Xander's smile when he had mentioned his wife the day before and his stern expression this morning, she couldn't completely dismiss Keith's theory.

Abigail glanced at Xander, who elegantly swung his golf club and smoothly sunk a ball into the hole. Peter, on the other hand, was not as lucky, taking several swings before missing his shot.

After a few rounds, Peter beckoned for someone to bring them refreshments. Abigail immediately handed Xander a bottle of water and a towel. Peter's gaze shifted toward Abigail, his eyes blatantly ogling her.

Abigail wore a white shirt and a knee-length skirt with sleek, black hair tied up in a bun, revealing her slender, fair neck. She wore light makeup and was dressed professionally, a completely ordinary outfit for the workplace.

Peter, however, kept staring at her chest, his gaze lecherous as if Abigail was wearing nothing at all. He exclaimed, "Mr. Zane, your new assistant is not only young and beautiful, but she also has an amazing figure."

Xander calmly replied, "Mr. Ruddy is too kind."

Peter smiled and asked Abigail, "Ms. Renee, do you know how to play golf?"

As the CEO's assistant, Abigail had some knowledge, but she wasn't an expert. Plus, it wasn't her place to participate in the game. "I don't know how to play," said Abigail. She didn't like the way Peter was looking at her, but didn't want to cause a scene. She took Xander's empty water bottle and prepared to step aside.

Unexpectedly, Peter reached out and slapped her on the butt. He then wrapped his arm around her waist and said, "Ms. Renee, I can teach you!"

Abigail instinctively lifted her foot and stomped down hard on Peter's foot. He winced in pain and released his grip on her. After taking the chance to quickly step away, she felt guilty for offending their potential business partner, so she looked at Xander with a worried expression, concerned that she might lose her job for causing trouble during such an important business negotiation.

To Abigail's surprise, Xander's low, deep voice suddenly rang out, "Mr. Ruddy, she's my staff." Xander looked at Peter, his perfect handsome face showing no emotion, but his narrowed eyes behind his silver-framed glasses were indicating his displeasure.

Peter had a look of sudden realization on his face and quickly tried to make amends, "Mr. Zane, I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you by treating you to lunch later. Consider it my apology."

Although Peter was apologizing to Xander, his creepy gaze never left Abigail. He continued, "Mr. Zane, I really thought you were the kind who didn't touch women. But now that I know you're not tired of playing with her yet, I'll wait a bit longer."

"Mr. Ruddy, apologize to her right now!" Xander twirled the golf club in his slender fingers, his half-smile still masking his true emotions.

Peter was taken aback at first, but then laughed and said, "Mr. Zane, we're partners. And she's just your plaything..."

The word "plaything" stabbed Abigail's heart like poisonous needles. Bad memories from the past flooded her mind again. She thought to herself, she didn't steal or cheat, she earned her job with her own abilities, and earned her money with her own skills. Why should she be humiliated like this just because she was a girl and happened to look good?

This time, without Xander's intervention, Abigail stood up for herself. "Mr. Ruddy, don't you have women in your family? Weren't you born from a woman's womb? Or do you think you have to humiliate a woman to prove yourself?" She stood tall and confident, showing off her quick wit as well.

Keith also approached, "Mr. Ruddy, Zane Corporation doesn't need a partner like you. Our company values and respects every employee."

As both assistants spoke out, Peter finally realized the gravity of the situation, "Mr. Zane, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken ill of your people..." He trailed off as he realized something, then turned toward Abigail. "Ms. Renee, I'm sorry for my behavior as well."

Xander swung his golf club with force. The small white ball flew out and hit a nearby tree, narrowly missing Peter's head as it bounced back toward them.

Peter's legs gave out from underneath him as he was scared stiff. "Mr. Zane, I was wrong. You're a bigger person than I could ever be..."

Xander remained silent, his cold gaze flickering to Peter's right hand before he turned and walked away.

Abigail quickly grabbed her laptop bag and hurried to keep up, "Mr. Zane, thank you for helping me!"

Xander walked ahead of Abigail, towering over her by a whole head with his six-foot-two frame compared to her five-foot-eight. Abigail couldn't see his facial expression, but heard his smooth yet powerful voice say, "The one in the wrong is the person who sexually harassed you, not you. In the workplace, if you ever get bullied or mistreated, stand up for yourself in any situation, and never be afraid. You have the Zane Corporation backing you up."

It was the first time Abigail had heard Xander say this much at once. His deep voice and reassuring words gave her a sense of security she had never felt before. "Thank you, Mr. Zane," she responded. "Now I know what to do in the future."

Xander turned around and noticed Abigail's eyes were starting to water. He thought to himself, 'She didn't look scared when she was being harassed, but now she seems on the verge of tears.' He softened his voice and said, "You're representing me by working by my side. You have no reason to fear anyone."

"Yes," Abigail agreed with a slight sniffle, "thank you." She wasn't scared, but grateful.

Back when she was bullied, if someone had stood up like Xander did now, calling out the bully's behavior instead of blaming Abigail, the victim, she might not have lost her reputation and home.

Xander added, "You did really well just now."

Abigail's heart warmed at his words. "Thank you!"

Just then, Keith caught up. "Mr. Zane, I've informed the relevant department to cancel the collaboration with EdgeTech."

In recent years, Zane Corporation had been busy with chip research and achieved good results. But due to the patents not yet being filed, the company had to partner with chip-proven manufacturers like EdgeTech for some of their products. Now that the partnership had fallen through, it would be a considerable loss for Zane Corporation.

Abigail knew that Xander's actions weren't just to protect her, a lowly employee, but also to maintain Zane Corporation's reputation. Her admiration for him grew even stronger. In an age of rampant capital, being able to work in such a company and have such a boss who was willing to defend subordinates was her good fortune.

Due to the end of their partnership with EdgeTech, Zane Corporation had to find a new chip manufacturer. Abigail and the team flew to Valtara with Xander in the afternoon to negotiate with the new company. After two weeks of intense negotiations, they finally reached a partnership agreement.

Abigail finished dinner early and saw that it was still early. Their flight would be in the next morning, so she planned to buy some Valtara specialties to bring back to Felix and Melody now. Keith heard that she was going alone and asked, "Abigail, do you want me to go with you?" He thought that a pretty girl who was unfamiliar with the area would be unsafe to go out alone at night. He then asked Xander, "Mr. Zane, do you want to buy Mrs. Zane some gifts?"

Xander thought of the man's voice from the phone call that night and furrowed his brow slightly. Upon closer thought, just because he heard a man's voice on the phone last time didn't mean anything. What if it was a misunderstanding...?

So he nodded, "You pick out something."

Abigail piped up, "Mr. Zane, it's more sincere to pick out the gifts for your wife yourself." Not long after, Abigail regretted her impulsiveness as she found herself awkwardly wandering around the mall with her boss. Originally, all three of them came together, but due to the lack of available parking spots, Keith went off to find a spot while Abigail and Xander were left behind.