The Bride He Took For Granted novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The moment Harold appeared in Marketing Team One, immaculate in a tailored suit, the noisy office fell silent.

His gaze passed briefly over Elise before settling on the ill-fitting skirt she was wearing.

Daniel pulled out a chair for him.

Harold didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. His composed expression and quiet authority were enough to command the

room.

Daniel stepped forward.

“Everyone directly involved will come forward and explain exactly what happened. Everyone else will remain silent.”

Elise stepped forward and got straight to the point.

“I believe several employees in Team One have been deliberately targeting me.”

“Yesterday, I was given a filthy desk in the corner. While I went to borrow a cloth to clean it, someone emptied my purse onto the floor. They opened one of the pads inside and stepped on it.”

She paused.

”

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“I had just arrived, so I chose not to pursue it.”

“But today, someone deliberately poured water on my chair. It soaked through my pants, underwear, and pad. Had one of your employees not helped me, I would still be sitting in the restroom waiting for a delivery driver to bring me clean clothes and supplies.”

Her gaze shifted to Caleb and the man beside him.

“And while I was dealing with that, these two stood in front of the entire office and mocked me. They called menstrual blood filthy.”

Elise’s voice remained steady, but the anger behind it was

unmistakable.

“There is nothing filthy about menstruation. Every person in this room exists because a woman’s body went through it.”

She looked around the office.

“This wasn’t harmless teasing. It was deliberate humiliation, and behavior like this reflects badly on Firefly Glow.”

Her words were severe.

Harold’s eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze moved to Caleb.

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Caleb’s legs nearly gave out beneath him.

“Ms. White, I was only joking,” he said quickly. “If I offended you, I’m willing to apologize.”

Elise didn’t even look at him. Her eyes remained on Harold.

“I don’t want your apology. You knew exactly what you were doing. You’re only apologizing now because you got caught.”

She held Harold’s gaze.

“Mr. Nash, you have a reputation for being fair. I trust you won’t tolerate this kind of behavior from your employees.”

Her words were direct, but carefully chosen.

She had praised Harold first, then placed the responsibility squarely in his hands.

If he dismissed the matter now, he would be proving her praise undeserved.

Harold studied the tension in Elise’s face, his expression impossible to read.

Now he wanted to see for himself exactly what his employees had done to make her this furious.

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Everyone held their breath, waiting to see how Harold would respond.

Joan was among them, hidden in the crowd.

She wasn’t worried that Caleb would expose her. He was still counting on her to help him get close to Landon and secure a more prestigious job.

Turning on her would only destroy his own chances.

In the middle of the tense silence, Daniel’s phone rang.

The call was from the front desk. Landon had arrived.

Daniel couldn’t help feeling sorry for Elise. She was standing there alone, fighting an entire department.

Without consulting Harold, he told the front desk to send Landon up, assuming he had come to support her.

Landon entered in a crisp white shirt and black tie, carrying the effortless arrogance of a man born into wealth.

More than a few people openly stared at him.

Landon didn’t notice Joan in the crowd. His gaze found Elise almost immediately. She stood in the middle of the room with

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Chapter 44

her back straight.

He walked directly toward her, his eyes immediately scanning her from head to toe.

Elise frowned slightly.

His arrival was the last thing she wanted.

Harold wasn’t pleased to see him either.

After witnessing Landon’s drunken behavior that night, Harold had lost what little respect he might have had for him.

He had agreed to work with Novatech Global for two reasons: Elise’s persistence and the fact that the game had the potential to turn a profit.

Still, Landon was already there, so Harold said nothing out of professional courtesy.

He merely lifted his eyes and gave Daniel a quiet look.

Cold sweat broke out across Daniel’s back.

He lowered his head, frantically wondering what he had done

wrong.

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Landon stepped between Elise and Harold.

“Mr. Nash, just have your employees apologize to Elise,” he said. “There’s no need to make a big deal out of reviewing the security footage.”

Elise stared at him in disbelief.

She had just told him that he never cared about her feelings, yet he still hadn’t asked what she had been put through.

Even a stranger deserved more concern than this.

Or had Landon simply gotten so used to ignoring her that he no longer even realized he was doing it?

Harold’s gaze shifted past Landon and landed on the faint, bitter curve of Elise’s lips.

His expression remained unreadable.

“Mr. Carter,” he said calmly, “aren’t you going to ask what happened?”

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