Page 147 of King of Ruin

"I think it would be better if she slowly takes over my position as director. That way, when I'm no longer there, everything will already be arranged, and there won't be any confusion."

Benjamin's eyes widened.

He looked at Elise as though he was trying to determine whether he had misunderstood her, because there was no way she hadjust casually announced that she was handing over her position, her responsibilities, and her place beside Xavier as if it were nothing more than transferring a file to someone else.

Xavier sat motionless inside the car, staring at Elise.

Her words had been delivered with such calm certainty that, for a moment, he almost wondered if he had heard her wrong.

But he hadn't.

Every single word had reached him clearly.

His entire body went rigid, and his hands clenched tightly against his thighs. His fingers dug into his palms with such force that the pressure became painful, the only thing keeping him from losing control of the rage building inside him.

He couldn't understand it.

How could she say something like that so easily? How could she talk about leaving, about giving away her position, about replacing herself as though none of it mattered?

Meanwhile, Benjamin was silently fighting his own battle.

Standing between the two of them, he could practically feel the anger coming from Xavier behind him. The atmosphere was becoming more dangerous by the second, and he had no desire to become the unfortunate person caught in the middle of it.

Quickly stepping in before the situation could escalate, Benjamin forced a calm expression onto his face.

"Miss Foster," he said carefully, choosing each word with caution, "I think perhaps this is happening a little too quickly."

He gave a small glance toward Xavier before continuing.

"For now, why don't you get into the car first? I can arrange a separate private car for Miss Astrid, and we can slowly introduce her to the work and responsibilities over time."

He tried to sound reasonable.

"You don't need to rush everything today. It would be better if you went to the office with Mr. Chen first so you aren't late."

Benjamin was practically pleading at this point, though he tried his best not to show it.

But Elise simply looked at him and shook her head.

"No."

Her answer was gentle but firm.

"I think it would be better to start now while everything is still new."

She turned her gaze toward Astrid for a moment before looking back at Benjamin.

"Astrid is already here, and the longer we wait, the more complicated things will become."

Her expression remained calm, as though she was discussing a perfectly logical arrangement.

"This will also be her first day at the office. I think it would be better if everyone meets her from the beginning as someone important in Xavier's life, so there won't be any misunderstandings later."

Benjamin opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.

Elise gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. I'll just take a cab."