Overbearing CEO's Contract Love
Chapter 137: Those Photos

Chapter 137: Those Photos

Early in the morning, after enjoying her annual leave and traveling around, Sofia Greenwood returned to the office only to find Emma Hart arriving for work on the first floor.

Removing her sunglasses and casually flipping her long hair, Sofia approached Emma with evident curiosity, asking, "What brings you here?"

"I’m here for work," Emma responded.

"For work?" Sofia looked puzzled. With Damien Sterling taking care of her every need, from lavish meals to exquisite clothing, the necessity of employment seemed foreign.

To Sofia, the only conceivable reason for Emma’s presence was her connection to Damien Sterling.

"Right," Emma nodded politely, excusing herself to head upstairs.

Sofia scoffed at the revelation that Emma had taken a position at Sterling Group during her absence, indicating significant changes she was yet to discover.

Once in her office, she immediately inquired about Emma’s role, "Which department is she in?"

"I heard she’s in the Design Department and already managed to upset the department manager," came the response.

"What did you say? She upset the department manager?" Sofia straightened up, intrigued.

"Yes."

Sofia mulled over this. Offending a department manager suggested one thing: Emma’s background was unknown here.

The fact that Emma was working at Damien Sterling’s company without his explicit protection puzzled Sofia.

However, she couldn’t help but smirk cunningly, "Emma Hart, you’ve chosen a path not taken by angels and found a door to hell that didn’t exist. No one else to blame now!"

In the Sterling Group office, the assistant reported to Damien Sterling, "I visited Miss Emma’s mother this morning, but their old house was empty. According to the neighbors, Miss Emma’s grandmother has been boasting about moving into a villa."

"A villa?" Damien furrowed his brows. He had intended for the assistant to check on Emma’s family with some financial support, but this development was unexpected, "Go on."

"It turns out, Miss Emma’s mother and grandmother have indeed moved into a new villa... and it belongs to Westmore Group."

Westmore Group? How could Emma have received such a generous gift from Westmore Group, Sterling Group’s most formidable competitor?

Westmore Group would never provide a villa to Emma Hart unless...

Damien Sterling strode to the floor-to-ceiling windows, effortlessly pulling a cigar from the box and lighting it.

The smoke swirled in front of him as he gazed into the distance, pondering deeply, "When did this woman get involved with the Westmore Group?"

Taking a deep drag, he exhaled with disdain before forcefully extinguishing the barely smoked, expensive French-imported cigar in an ashtray.

Hands pressing down on the desk, his eyes revealed a stormy demeanor as he ordered, "Find out everything about these two!"

Veins throbbing on his forehead, Damien couldn’t believe a mere woman could provoke such a reaction from him.

Bending his head, his eyes—red as a wolf’s—lifted, and with barely moving lips, he exuded unspeakable arrogance, muttering, "Emma Hart, you better hope I don’t find out you’re involved with him."

In the dimly lit room, a voice announced,"Damien Sterling has already started digging."

"Good, it’s time to show him those things." came a cold, sinister reply.

From the darkness, a sly smile could be seen, "The real show is just beginning."

In the afternoon, Damien Sterling received an email.

Opening it, he stared at the screen, quickly clicking through.

The woman on it? And the man? As expected!

Damien shot up from his desk, a chilling gleam in his eyes.

In the design department, Emma Hart worked on an order for Amelia Davidson, covering some canned fruit designs—simple and straightforward, yet lacking sophistication.

A colleague walked up behind Emma, scoffing, "What is this? It’s so vulgar! And these colors? Looks like a mess!"

"Ha, enough already. For a canned product packaging, this is quite upscale!" they laughed, passing by Emma with disdainful looks and mocking words.

As the end of the day approached, everyone treated Emma like a Cinderella at work.

A woman came up to her, flattering, "Emma, I have a date tonight, could you print these documents for me?"

Emma smiled and agreed.

Seeing this, another colleague came over with a USB drive, "Emma, you’re the best, could you please..."

One by one, colleagues dumped their unfinished work on Emma, while the rest of the department left smoothly, leaving Emma alone in the design department.

Late into the night, Emma Hart’s stomach had begun to grumble with hunger, yet the workload delegated by her colleagues remained unfinished.

Damien Sterling descended from his office, leaving Emma Hart the sole person in the entire design department.

Unbeknownst to Emma, Damien had silently positioned himself behind her until his voice broke the silence, "What are you doing?"

Without turning away from her tasks, Emma glanced back at Damien Sterling and, dismissing his presence, she continued to focus on her work.

"A lot of colleagues are tied up, and they’ve asked for my help. I’m almost done!" she explained.

After speaking, Emma leaned back and stretched, exclaiming, "I’m so tired!"

Damien Sterling, standing behind her, gazed at this simple woman before him, his mind swirling with images from a photograph, marveling at how well she hid her true self.

Opening her eyes to meet his, she found his eyes staring back at her, deep and shadowy, sending a shiver of dread through her.

Something about his gaze always seemed menacing, as if something was amiss, but Emma couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

Emma couldn’t understand why Damien always had to be this way. Was a simple smile really so difficult?

Standing on her tiptoes, she reached out to gently coax the corners of Damien’s mouth into a smile, urging, "Smile for me!"

As Emma Hart manipulated Damien Sterling’s smile, his expression remained stiff and cold as he gazed down at her.

Eventually, Emma released her hold, shrugging helplessly and muttering, "Boring, not fun at all."

Suddenly, Damien grabbed Emma, turning her to face him directly, and lifted her chin to ask, "Then who do you find amusing?"

Emma felt a pang of pain in her jaw from his firm grip, a reminder of how long it had been since Damien had handled her so forcefully.

Fortunately, her chin wasn’t artificial, or else she’d have to worry about getting it fixed monthly from such rough treatment.

"Anyway, it’s not with you," Emma Hart said nonchalantly.

As soon as she finished her sentence, Damien Sterling’s grip on her chin intensified.

Emma, catching the suddenly violent look in Damien’s eyes, thought her casual joke had unexpectedly triggered a severe reaction.

The coldness in his gaze was terrifying.

Damien’s response escalated, his grip growing firmer as he demanded, "With whom?"

His sudden anger puzzled Emma. What was this all about? She felt utterly bewildered.

Emma forcefully removed his hand from her chin, massaging the sore spot as she glared at Damien, "That hurts, you know?"

His predatory gaze lifted to meet hers, "When did you start associating with the CEO of Westmore?"

Emma was momentarily taken aback at the mention of the Westmore name, puzzled why Damien would suddenly bring this up.

She remembered Oliver Westmore had saved her, and they had met afterward.

Knowing Damien, any hint of her association with Oliver could unleash a storm.

Driven by instinctual self-defense, Emma lied, "We’re just acquaintances."

Damien pulled out a chair behind Emma and slowly reached into his pocket, echoing her words, "Just acquaintances?" His scoff indicated he clearly didn’t believe her.

Emma remained silent, watching as Damien retrieved what appeared to be photographs from his pocket.

He laid them before Emma, his gaze expectant for her reaction.

To her shock, the photos vividly captured her meetings with Oliver Westmore.

Emma realized someone had intentionally taken these pictures, not just of one meeting but several.

However, she had always been transparent about her encounters.

"Upright individuals fear no scrutiny," a principle her teachers instilled in her from a young age. There was nothing to fear.

Suddenly, Emma felt she shouldn’t appear intimidated by these photos. The more she seemed unsettled, the more Damien suspected she was hiding something.

Emma Hart turned around, lifting her head to question Damien Sterling, "What’s wrong with these photos?"

Clearly, Damien hadn’t expected Emma to confront him so directly, her confidence making it seem as if he was the one at fault.

Damien looked up at Emma, wondering if her height gave her this confidence.

With a slight cough, he rose, his dominant presence instantly enveloping the design department as he stepped toward Emma.

She instinctively retreated; what was this man planning? The icy chill in his gaze seemed to threaten to tear her apart.

"Do you even care about fairness? Just because you’ve snapped a few photos of me with another man, you assume there’s something between us?" Emma said, trying to maintain her composure while backing away.

Damien’s cold laugh and the devilish look in his eyes suggested he didn’t believe her panic was unfounded. "I haven’t even accused you, yet you rush to defend yourself," he said, his voice cold.

"I..." Emma realized she had begun her defense too early. Damien hadn’t asked anything yet, making it seem like she was admitting guilt prematurely.

But standing up made her feel like if she didn’t speak now, she wouldn’t have another chance.

Indeed, someone like Damien Sterling, a cunning businessman, was deep in schemes.

"What are you doing with him every day? Am I not enough for you?" Damien questioned.

Every day? Emma thought the education system abroad must be lacking if Damien’s understanding of frequency was so flawed.

Where did the photos show they were together daily? "Not every interaction between a man and a woman is as dirty as you imagine," Emma retorted.

Damien sneered, "Is it me who’s dirty, or your actions?"

Emma stared back at Damien, his gaze imperial, accusing without limit.

Why should his word be law, especially about something that didn’t happen? Even the oppressed will rise eventually.

Emma stepped forward, calmly picking up the photos from the table and casually looking at them before locking eyes with Damien.

Only Emma knew the courage it took for her to make this gesture.

Locking eyes with Damien Sterling was to risk blinding herself.

Then, with a quiet intensity, she said, "Have you ever heard the phrase ’caught in the act’?"

Emma was shocked at her own audacity to utter such words, but evidently, so was Damien.

Turning away, Emma Hart began to pack up her computer and today’s design drafts, signaling the end of her day’s tasks.

In truth, she sought to escape the imposing presence of Damien Sterling, attempting to divert her focus and mask her trembling with action.

However, Damien was not about to let her slip away easily. He swiftly grabbed Emma’s arm, spinning her around to face him.

At that moment, his veins bulged with emotion, his eyes betraying a storm of passion ready to burst forth.

Emma felt a slight relief internally, acknowledging her fear at the sight of him. She knew provoking him could end badly for her, yet retracting her words wasn’t an option now.

Steeling herself, she added fuel to the fire with a provocative comment, "Mr. Sterling, is there anything else? If not, your employee needs to catch the bus."

With her canvas bag slung over her shoulder, Emma tried to pass by Damien, only to hear his icy sarcasm from behind, "Emma Hart, you’re not going anywhere until I’m done with you."

She halted in her tracks. Wondering if her act had been too bold, she was nonetheless relieved he hadn’t lost control and lashed out at her physically.

The phrase "everything in moderation" suddenly echoed in her mind.

Without a word, Emma forced a composed step forward, though her pace quickened until she found refuge in the elevator, letting out a sigh of relief.

Despite the tension, there was an exhilarating thrill to the encounter.

Exiting the Sterling Group building, Emma checked the bus stop and her watch, realizing she had missed the last bus.

If not for Damien’s prolonged engagement, she wouldn’t have found herself stranded.

But then again, even if he hadn’t detained her, the idea of taking the last bus home to the villa seemed beneath her dignity.

Not to mention the nosy bus driver who always gossiped whenever he saw her boarding from the villa area, making her wish she could just walk away.

Walk? As the streetlights came on, Emma followed their direction, the asphalt road stretching into the blue-grey sky ahead, with the lights merging into a beacon in the distance.

With no particular direction in mind, she decided to simply choose a path and see where it led.

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