I’m Someone Else

Chapter 36

Everything returned to normal the next day with the exception that Molly was now Olivia’s secretary. She got her own office, and although it wasn’t huge, it was situated right beside the president’s office. Olivia ordered Thomas to hang around in Molly’s office while Olivia was in the company since Molly’s room was large enough and had two desks inside.

After what happened with Izzy, Olivia could tell that Thomas was like a magnet for conflict and grudges. Olivia didn’t want Thomas running around—it was troublesome for her to find him when she needed to, and she was worried that he would end up in all sorts of other issues. Thomas was glad to comply with her orders as it meant that he didn’t need to roam around like a mindless soul that didn’t have a place to be.

It was nearly noontime when Molly brought her work over to the secretary’s office. She settled down at the other table before she started on her work. The secretary’s workload wasn’t heavy—if anything, it was much easier than the work she had when she was back at the HR department. “Molly, please send these designs over to the design department. I’ve made some comments in accordance with the client’s requests, so please tell the team to finalize the design before sending it over to my office. I want to see the final outcome!” Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Olivia was a lot more demanding and intimidating when she was at work. She didn’t seem like a weak and soft girl at all. Instead, there was a hint of dominance and power in her demeanor, and both Molly and Thomas couldn’t help but feel impressed by the woman. Thomas, in particular, really looked up to Olivia. He was certain that Olivia had to have some skills and talent in order for her to handle such a large company when she was only in her twenties. “I got it, President Pearson!” Molly took the documents and hurried out of the office. Before Molly left the room, she stole a glance at Thomas. I didn’t look at him properly before this, but as I pay more attention to him now, he does seem pretty handsome! she thought.

Thomas spent the whole day in the office. For the most part, he was just sipping on tea and reading some news. He didn’t have much to do. Olivia was still busy at work at 7.30PM, and Thomas figured that work wasn’t going to end early for him that day. He walked over to the windowsill by the corridor and smoked a cigarette while he dialed Chloe’s number. He told her that he was going to be home late and told her to have her own dinner. “Don’t worry about me,” he said to her.

After ending the call, Thomas fell back into thought. I’ve been in Irieson for a while now. Should I visit Chloe’s father at the hospital soon? Thomas had never visited her father so far as he didn’t know how to look the old man in the eyes. After all, the old man’s son had died in Thomas’ hands…

“You can get off work now, Molly!” Olivia walked into the secretary’s office and addressed Molly in a rather apologetic tone. Olivia had lost track of time when she was at work, and it was already 8.00PM the next time she checked the clock.

“Alright!” Molly replied. She tidied up her desk before grabbing her bag and heading out of the office. “Mr. Thomas Clifford!” When Molly saw Thomas smoking beside the window, she went over to greet him. She hadn’t gotten the chance to properly thank him yet—she would have been fired by the company if Thomas hadn’t spoken up for her. She would’ve never gotten a promotion and a salary raise if it weren’t for him either!

Molly started a conversation when she saw the rather dazed look on the man’s face. “I graduated from Irieson First High School as well.”

Thomas shook his head while letting out a scoff. “You don’t have to address me so formally. I was the laughing stock of that whole school,” he uttered. After what happened during Thomas’ year, Irieson’s University of Technology stopped offering early admission offers to the students from Irieson First High School. Thomas was certain that everyone in the high school hated him. “Alright, I’ll call you Thomas, then. You can call me Molly,” Molly uttered with a toothy grin that—alongside her good looks—made her look especially adorable. Thomas felt himself being blown away by her smile for a brief moment.

“Alright. You should head home. It’s getting late,” he said after a long pause.

“Alright, Thomas. I’ll buy you a meal after I get my salary!” Molly was extremely grateful to the man. Many of her university peers were still struggling with finding a job, yet she had managed to become the president’s secretary just because of what Thomas had said. A monthly salary of 1,200! That’s a lot! I have to thank him, she thought.

“Alright!” Thomas let out a hearty laugh. He already had a good impression of Molly when he first entered the company, and he found her even more special after seeing her stand up for him one day ago.

Soon enough, Olivia emerged from her office as well. “Are you not going to continue working, Miss Independent?” Thomas uttered in a playful tone. Olivia rolled her eyes at him before continuing with another joke. “What is it? Do you feel sorry for yourself for having to wait here for so long?”

“No, of course not,” Thomas uttered while rubbing his nose. “Do you not feel sorry for yourself, or are you afraid to admit it?” she asked again.

“I’m afraid because I don’t want you to deduct my salary,” Thomas uttered honestly after giving her words some thought. “Pfft!” Olivia burst out in laughter. This was one of the things she appreciated about Thomas—he would always remember to respect her role as a leader when there were other people around, but he was also comfortable joking around with her when it was just the both of them. They headed out of the office and went to the parking lot before driving off in the BMW Z4.

Olivia sat in the passenger seat. She was tidying her messy fringe, and there was a hint of fatigue on her pretty face. It was evident that she had a rough day at work. Their car had just gone past a traffic light when four Cadillacs steered close to their car, with one Cadillac on each of the four sides of the car. The BMW Z4 was caught between the four cars. Thomas frowned in confusion. What’s going on?

The roads are huge—why are they all ganging up against our car? Thomas tried to take a look at the drivers to understand what was going on.

Thomas nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned to look at one of the Cadillacs. The car to the right had lowered its window, and the barrel of a gun was pointed directly at Olivia’s head!

“Keep your head down!” Thomas couldn’t care about anything else at that moment—he instantly pulled Olivia into his arms while Olivia was still shutting her eyes and resting from her long day. Fortunately for Olivia, Thomas’ reaction had been quick enough, so he managed to shield Olivia by taking a bullet to his shoulder. Otherwise, Olivia might have been dead!

Olivia woke up in response to these sudden noises. The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself pressed tightly against Thomas’ chest, and she could feel some sticky liquid on her face. She reached her hand out to touch the liquid, only to realize that it was blood coming from Thomas’ shoulder! “Ah!” Olivia’s face turned pale as she clamped her hand over her mouth.

Thomas slammed the brakes, and the Cadillacs zoomed off after they missed their target. The cars disappeared down the road in a matter of seconds. “Are you okay, Thomas?” Olivia hastily pulled some tissue out to clean the blood.