Chapter 130 - Grizzly Bear

Benji's eyes were fierce as he stared down at Lina.

The 6'4" man facing off against the 5'8" woman attracted the attention of many who were entering the building.

People knew who Lina was but this was the first time they had seen this new man so they were apprehensive about what his intentions were.

Lina realized that this was not the right place to talk so she looked in his eyes and spoke.

"Later." Was all she said.

Benji took a deep breath and nodded.

Contented with his answer, she turned around and they walked towards the elevator.

The other employees who were waiting to watch a show all turned away in disappointment and headed to their respective floors.

Inside the elevator, Benji and Lina stood face to face.

"Mind explaining why that woman is still working here when I gave you all the evidence against her involvement in that online scandal?" He finally questioned when they were alone.

"How many times has Master Wind told you that it is alright to retaliate if the other person was the first to attack you. You don't have to be a saint to such people." He admonished her actions.

"You can be really dumb sometimes, Benji." Lina clicked her tongue and shook her head.

He scowled at her but patiently waited for her to explain how exactly he was dumb.

"I am not being a saint. I am being smart." She looked into his eyes and uttered every word.

"I know that she was the one to release that picture along with that other woman. But we both know that she isn't the main culprit." She explained the same thing she had said to Wade.

"Firing Wendy Qin, the naive pawn in their plan will make them relax and when they slip up, we can get to the real mastermind behind my scandal." Her lips curved in an evil smile.

"Smart. I'll pay attention to her moves from now on." Benji applauded her thinking and agreed to keep his anger under control for now.

He was always protective of Lina and hated it when anyone tried to harm her in any way. 

That coupled with the fact that Master Wind would hunt him down if something was to happen to Lina on his watch made him extra sensitive about such things.

Right at that moment, the doors opened to the 22nd floor and they got off.

Lina smiled at the employees who she made eye contact with but they were more curious about the gigantic man following her.

One such curious man was Leon Jiu, who quickly walked up to them when he noticed them.

"Hello, Lina? Who might this be?" He asked as he looked at Benji from top to bottom.

The two men were checking each other out to gauge who the other was and what their intentions must be.

"Leon, meet Benji. He's my assistant that I had spoken about." She pointed to Benji and smiled cheerfully.

Lina had often told them about her almighty assistant whom she dearly missed.

Seeing the man that he had heard so much about, Leon was in a state of shock.

'Lina always called Benji her cute little teddy bear. So I assumed that he was a short and cute guy but this …' He glanced at the height difference between them.

Leon was one of the tallest men in the entire building but standing opposite Benji made him look like a college student once again.

'If this guy is any kind of bear it most definitely is Grizzly bear and not a teddy bear!' He criticized Lina's description skills.

Seeing Leon in a daze, Lina shook her head and in the meantime, she introduced him to Benji.

"I heard a lot about you." Benji extended and shook Leon's hand.

"What's happening here?" They heard a loud voice from behind and the three people turned around.

Standing just a few feet away were Stuart Bai, Anthony Shen and Maxene Kang. 

They had just arrived on this floor and noticed how everyone was staring at Lina and the man with her.

"Hello, Director Bai. Meet my assistant Benji. I wonder what you think of his height, too tall isn't it?" She wiggled her brows at him and enjoyed the look of annoyance that flashed in his eyes.

"Why did she get to hire an assistant when you rejected my request for one?" Maxene questioned Stuart with anger apparent in her body language.

"You refused to let me hire an assistant but you allowed her. What makes her so special in your eyes?" She glared and pointed her finger at Lina.

'Why can people not speak normally? Do they have to point fingers at someone else's nose all the time?' Lina rolled her eyes at her and waited for Stuart to answer her.

"Miss Kang, I did not forbid you from hiring an assistant for yourself. I just asked you to pay for one yourself. Obsidia does not hire assistants for TEMPORARY employees." He spoke in a calm voice.

When he stressed on the 'Temporary', Maxene's face changed colors.

Recently, Stuart had called her to have a talk about her employment contract that would expire in a couple of months.

She was never hired as a fulltime employee, just a replacement until their actual Research analyst was back after her maternity leave.

Stuart had wanted to hire her full time, but she was not showing any interest in it and her excess passion for Talia's company was making him have second thoughts about his decision.

He wanted people who were loyal to this company. So he had asked her to start looking for another job when her contracted time was up.

'I cannot let others know that I am just a temporary replacement and I definitely cannot lose this job. Not until I get what I want!' She clenched her fists. 

She looked back up at Stuart and smiled in a pleasant manner.

"I was just trying to stop the others from misunderstanding why you always tend to stand on Lina's side when she arrived here just a few weeks back." She glanced at the others and watched them nod.

Lina scoffed when she heard these twisted words that she was spewing so effortlessly.

"I wouldn't want any malicious rumors to start in our workplace that could affect Lina's reputation." She gasped and covered her mouth as though she had said something that shouldn't have.

This made all the employees in this department whisper among themselves as they alternated their gazes between Lina and Director Bai.

It was true that he was much more lenient to her than the other employees. 

For example, just earlier when Lina had blatantly mocked him, all Director Bai did was roll his eyes at her.

'Oh, this woman is cunning! With just a few words she made people think that there was some questionable relation between me and Stuart.' Lina was amazed at how quickly she swayed the public's opinion.

Benji on the other hand was seething in anger when he heard the hidden implications that her words contained.

He slowly stepped forward and smiled at her when their eyes met.

"May I know what your name is, Miss?" He politely questioned her with the smile still on his face.

'Oh no… Benji is being polite. That can only mean one thing.' Lina silently watched the show from the sidelines.

"Maxene Kang, research analyst here at Obsidia." She replied and Benji nodded his head.

"Miss Kang, just as Director Bai told a few minutes ago. Temporary employees don't get to hire assistants. I'm sure that was also mentioned in the contract you signed before you joined Obsidia as the temp replacement for the previous analyst. So why are you still so doubtful?" His words were subtle but its meaning was clear to everyone present.

This surprising news about the ex-fairy of the Marketing department would soon spread like wildfire in the entire building. 

Maxene gritted her teeth when her secret was exposed but Benji did not give her a chance to speak.

"Also, my boss pays me out of her own pocket and not from Obsidia's finances so your concern is absolutely not needed." He sneered at her.

"One last thing. The next time you try to slander my boss in any way possible, be sure to face our legal team." His eyes darkened and everyone watched how menacing his aura became.

'He's revealing his true colors. Better stop it before it gets out of hand.' Lina stepped forward to interrupt him.

"This warning goes for everyone." He glanced at all the employees who were standing and watching the show.

"Already one of your colleagues was fired due to her uncontrollable actions. It would be a shame to see others following her footsteps." He ended his monologue with a final glance at Maxene and turned towards Lina when he felt her squeezing his arm.

Benji had just reminded them of how Wendy Qin was fired because she had released that misleading picture on the company group. 

When Wendy had stopped coming to work they had thought that she had quit her job, but later they started hearing rumors about how she was the one who made the negative post about Lina which led her to get fired.

This made all the other workers wary of how their words could lead them into trouble.

Soon everyone left to their own stations and only Maxene stood in the same place as before, staring at the door that Lina and her assistant had entered.

'Don't blame me for being ruthless now. Blame your own assistant for having a big mouth.' She narrowed her eyes and then strode to her room that was right next to Lina's.