Lina snickered when she saw the sullen look on Director Bai's face after being reminded that she needed to take a leave because his favored ex-employee, Maxene Kang had stressed her out mentally.

Hearing her clear-sounding laughter, Stuart glowered as he stared down at her.

"If this is what you came for then you are free to leave. The acceptance of your leave has been brought to my notice." He scoffed and hurried to send her away lest he got annoyed to death by this young lady.

Lina rolled her eyes as she rose from her seat because she had fulfilled the purpose of this visit.

Though her leave had been approved by the VP, the head of the Marketing Department was still Director Bai.

This was what prompted her to keep him in the loop about her absence for the next few days.

Now that she had accomplished her task here, she did not have any need to stick around and pester him even though she thoroughly enjoyed looking at his angered face.

Benji nodded at the short man who was glaring at his boss and soon the two headed towards the door.

However, the moment he pulled the door open for his boss, he had to yank her out of harm's way when he noticed that someone had come tumbling down.

Lina looked down at the floor where a man laid, sprawled out with his face planted straight on the carpeted floor.

"Ughhh!" Leon Jiu groaned as he supported his body and lifted himself off the floor.

Once he was back on his feet, the bearded man glowered at his new friend who did not bother to extend his hand and help him when he was down.

"Who asked you to snoop around, you gossiping aunt!?" Benji scowled at the man who was rubbing his nose which had turned a slight red after coming in contact with the floor.

'That is an accurate description for this man.' Lina snickered as she agreed with her assistant's words.

They had been inside Stuart's office for more than fifteen minutes and it now appeared to be proven that Assistant Leon had been standing outside, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation all along.

This made the people who were inside the room to shake their heads in objection to his sneaky actions.

He couldn't catch a word of the conversation they had earlier and had even injured his nose which was causing Leon great grief as he had not gained anything from this endeavor.

Lina took in his aggrieved and despondent appearance and decided to give him some peace of mind.

"Follow me." She ordered and then strode away with the two assistants in tow.

As Leon walked next to Benji, he leaned closer and whispered to the big man as they watched the straightened back of the woman who walked ahead of them.

"She just ordered us around like she is some Princess and we are the slaves." He jested while shaking his head as they came to a halt before her office door.

Benji remained silent to the off-handed comment that he had heard yet sneered in his heart at the ignorant man.

'My Master and Elder Master have treated her nothing less than a princess!' He rolled his eyes and did not bother explaining the situation back in Lina's family to this man.

The master and elder master that Benji was referring to were Wind and Simon Yang who doted on this boss of his without any restraint.

She was placed above all in their books and was pampered endlessly.

Since Leon did not have any idea about who Wind and Simon Yang were, he would not waste his breath in explaining these things to him and let him stay happy while in the dark.

Lina unlocked the door to her office and let everyone inside.

The first thing she did was fetch some refreshments for them and then plopped on the couch once again.

'From one couch to another!' The big assistant shook his head after observing her lazy behavior.

She had not yet begun her period of seclusion and she was already being this lethargic which made Benji wonder how many days she might be stuck inside the hotel room if she continued to move at this pace.

Leon had no idea about the thought going on in his friend's mind as he was busy chugging the coconut milk that he loved.

For the past few days, due to her absence and also the issues going on in the office, he had been unable to hang out with her in leisure.

After all, she had become a close friend to him before the news of her heiress identity had taken the company by storm.

It had taken some time but he was glad that now they could once again hang out just like the earlier days.

While he was thinking of these things, he heard Lina speak after she turned her gaze in his direction.

Lina sat sprawled out on the large couch while Benji and Leon sat on the single-seaters on either side of her.

"I might be taking a long leave and hopefully return in a week." She expressed the reason for the visit to the Director's office.

The man who was grateful that he would get to hang with her was now choking on the coconut milk after hearing that she will be away from the office for a week.

"A week?" He stuttered once he was back to his normal state after a whole bout of hacking like an old man.

"Might be more…" Lina retorted which made his eyes open wide.

'It's a creative process so there is no way that I can put an exact time limit on it.' She noted and shrugged when facing the man's incredulous eyes.

Upon inquiring further, Leon was given the same excuse as the one mentioned in the letter for leave of absence signed by the VP.

But the detective in him was not satisfied with the answer he received and he continued to leer at Lina as though she was under interrogation for a grave crime that she had committed.

'Oh, he is good!' She exclaimed as she was the one to first break their staring contest, accepting her defeat.

After the young lady broke under the pressure, she was left with no choice but to give him the second excuse she had made up.

'I cannot let him in on the LY secret yet.' She pondered and then gave him the excuse that Director Bai had heard.

"So Maxene Kang is the reason for you to take a long leave?" He inquired to make sure that he had gotten it straight and was answered with a nod.

Leon found the answer justifiable as even he would be pissed if someone were to put his reputation through the mud just for fun's sake.

"I'll keep a watch out for you while you are gone." He assured her and thumped his fist over his chest.

Lina smiled and then decided that the three could hang around until it was time for them to move to Stephen's floor to receive the new and real designs for the Winter Collection.