Page 8 of Surrendering to the Obsession

“Miss Bennett?” he said in a polite tone.

Mia looked up, blinking in mild confusion, her hand pausing over the keyboard.

“Mr. Graves has requested to see you,” Allen continued.

Mia blinked, surprise flickering in her eyes. She nodded quickly, smoothing her dress as she stood. Several coworkers glanced up—just a second longer than normal—watching as she followed Allen out.

Janet entered just then. Her heels clicked sharply across the floor. She paused mid-step when she saw Allen leading Mia out.

A stillness washed over her before her expression shifted—eyes narrowing, lips pressing together.

‘So he brought her to work as well? What does Alexander want with this woman?’Her fingers curled around the file in her hands as she watched Mia disappear around the hallway corner.

‘Is this because I told him our contract is over? Because I refused to be his secretary a few years ago? So now he is trying to replace me?’

Her gaze lingered on Mia’s small frame. The girl’s posture was calm, almost unaware. A shadow crossed her expression.

‘Should I warn her to stay away from this evil man?’

But then her expression hardened, her chin lifting in quiet arrogance.

“Never mind. Maybe she threw herself at him, like all the rest. Maybe she tried to seduce him, forced herself into his life, and married him for his name, his money… Women like her always do. She deserves whatever he’s going to do to her.”

She let out a quiet, humorless breath, the kind that didn’t reach her eyes. Her face smoothened into calm indifference as she walked back to her desk.

Then, she lowered herself into her seat, crossing her legs tightly. A tired and exasperated look appeared on her face.

“Just like every other woman before me…” Janet muttered under her breath. “This new girl will also get fired soon for trying to seduce Alexander.”

Her chest constricted, a frustrated, almost suffocating breath catching in her throat.

“Why is he doing this?” she muttered, her voice barely more than a strained whisper, heavy with exasperation. “I told him I don’t want him near me… yet he keeps doing things like this—as if any of it could ever affect me.”

The office suddenly erupted into a sharp chorus of phone alerts, each notification cutting through the silence. Heads snapped up.Chairs scraped across the floor. The air buzzed with a sudden, electric tension, everyone on edge as they picked up their phones to check.

Janet blinked in confusion and then lifted her own phone. The screen flared to life in her hand.

Before she could even read a single word, a sharp gasp pierced the office. A woman nearby half-stood from her chair, eyes wide with something between shock and disbelief.

“Oh my God—did you guys see this?!”

Another leaned forward, gripping her phone like it was a lifeline. “I just saw! Mia… she’s Mr. Graves’s personal secretary now?”

A stunned silence rippled — then whispers burst everywhere.

“But didn’t she just join today?”

“How did she become the CEO’s secretary that fast?”

“There must be something going on.”

“Whoisshe?”

The office buzzed like a hive of gossip.

Meanwhile, Janet slowly placed her phone face-down on the desk, her fingers stiff and unmoving. Her expression drained — shock hitting hard.

‘What is happening? Doesn’t he despise every other woman except me? Especially the ones who try to get close to him?’