Page 36 of King of Ruin

Elise thanked the driver before making her way inside.

The moment the revolving glass doors opened, the spacious marble lobby came into view. The ceiling stretched nearlythree stories high, decorated with modern crystal lighting that reflected against the polished white floors. Employees moved briskly through the lobby, greeting one another as they hurried toward the elevator banks. The reception staff immediately straightened when they saw Elise.

"Good morning, Miss Foster."

"Good morning."

She returned each greeting with a gentle nod before stepping into the private executive elevator reserved for the company's senior management.

A few moments later, the elevator doors slid open onto the top executive floor.

The atmosphere was...

Strange.

Normally, assistants walked calmly between offices while conversations and ringing phones filled the floor with quiet activity.

Today, however, everyone looked unusually tense.

Several assistants whispered to one another before quickly lowering their voices the moment they noticed Elise. Others clutched stacks of documents against their chests as if afraid to make the slightest mistake.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"Miss Foster!"

Benjamin almost broke into a run as he hurried toward her.

Standing well over six feet tall, Benjamin cut an imposing figure despite the obvious panic written across his face. Hislong crimson-red hair was neatly tied into a low ponytail that rested between his shoulder blades, not a single strand out of place despite how frantic he looked. Behind a pair of thin silver-rimmed glasses, his usually composed gray eyes were filled with desperation. His navy suit was as immaculate as ever, but the tablet tucked under one arm and the stack of folders clutched tightly in his hands betrayed just how chaotic his morning had been.

He stopped in front of Elise and let out a breath that sounded almost relieved.

"Miss Foster... thank goodness you're here."

Elise blinked, surprised by his reaction.

"What happened?"

Benjamin glanced nervously toward the closed doors of the president's office before lowering his voice.

"Mr. Chen has been in an absolutely terrible mood since he arrived."

He let out a weary sigh and rubbed his forehead.

"No... 'terrible' isn't even the right word. He's furious. In the last twenty minutes alone, three department managers have been sent out after getting scolded, the finance director was told to redo an entire report because one number was misaligned, and the legal department has already revised the same contract four times."

Benjamin held up the thick stack of files in his arms as though they weighed a hundred pounds.

"He hasn't approved a single one. He keeps handing them back."

His shoulders slumped slightly.

"I don't think anyone on this floor dares to knock on his door anymore."

Elise frowned with genuine concern.

"Did something happen?"

Benjamin gave a helpless shake of his head.