Chapter 214: Chapter 214: A Strange Fragrance

Less than a few minutes later, Julian Sterling could clearly hear the distinct sound of hurried footsteps echoing from the hallway outside. At times, he truly had to admire top-tier, senior secretaries like Helen Lloyd. It was patently obvious that they all wore towering high heels with razor-sharp stilettos, yet even when they were moving at a remarkably brisk, hurried pace across the impeccably polished ceramic floor tiles, they miraculously did not produce any excessively loud or disruptive noises. There were only very soft, incredibly crisp, and highly decisive clicking sounds that trailed behind them.

Perhaps it was entirely due to the fact that his prior text message had carried a rather intense, severe, and highly urgent tone, because the moment Helen Lloyd arrived right outside the massive office doors, she only managed to spare the time to give a single, soft, perfunctory knock in accordance with the barest minimum of professional courtesy before immediately pushing the heavy door wide open and striding directly inside. Upon instantly seeing that Julian Sterling was still leisurely, comfortably leaning back against the premium, genuine leather upholstery of the grand executive chair belonging to the CEO, looking completely unharmed and perfectly safe, Helen Lloyd finally managed to exhale a tremendously long, deeply relieved breath: “What exactly is the matter? I was genuinely under the impression that you were facing some sort of incredibly dire, urgent crisis…”

Before she could even manage to fully complete her hanging sentence, the delicate, elegantly shaped eyebrows of Helen Lloyd instantly and involuntarily knitted tightly together in an expression of sheer discomfort, her senses abruptly assaulted by a highly peculiar, unfamiliar fragrance.

“Has your portion of crab noodles completely spoiled?” Helen Lloyd questioned, her voice laced with sudden concern: “Why on earth has the smell suddenly become so overwhelmingly fishy, highly pungent, and so terribly unbearable like this?” She hurriedly stepped closer to the massive mahogany desk, her hands moving with rapid efficiency as she quickly gathered the half-arranged portion of crab noodles straight back into their luxurious takeaway containers. She meticulously and securely snapped the lids tightly shut in a desperate attempt to completely prevent the offensive odor from spreading any further throughout the room: “Have you already managed to eat any of it? Are you currently experiencing any physical discomfort, or do you feel nauseous at all?”

Julian Sterling gently shook his head, his deep, observant gaze continuously maintaining a perfect, unshakable veneer of calm tranquility: “The noodles have absolutely not spoiled. The baseline quality of that particular restaurant has always been exceptionally high, after all. However, I have not yet taken a single bite of the food.”

He waited patiently until Helen Lloyd had completely finished dealing with the messy pile of food containers before he finally asked her again, his voice dropping to a remarkably soft, almost contemplative murmur: “Since you stepped inside this room a moment ago, is the overwhelmingly fishy smell of the crab truly the only distinct odor that you have managed to detect?”

“Well…” Helen Lloyd paused her frantic cleaning motions for a brief moment. She stood perfectly still right in the center of the expansive executive office, carefully and deliberately inhaling deep breaths through her nose in order to much more clearly perceive and analyze the subtle nuances of the surrounding atmosphere.

Just a moment ago, strictly because she was far too overwhelmingly anxious and entirely focused on assessing the physical well-being of Julian Sterling, Helen Lloyd had not truly paid much attention to the broader spatial environment. Furthermore, that highly distinct, thickly pungent, fishy odor of the seafood was genuinely, exceptionally unpleasant when it was trapped and continuously circulating within this heavily sealed, intensely air-conditioned environment. It was just that she remembered with absolute, crystal-clear clarity that the exact moment the fresh food had initially been brought back to the headquarters, even before the heavily sealed containers were ever opened, it had beautifully radiated a wonderfully mouthwatering, subtly fragrant aroma that was richly redolent of savory crab roe and sharp black pepper.

Less than ten short minutes had passed since then. It was scientifically and logically impossible for the freshly prepared meal to have miraculously spoiled at such an incredibly rapid, accelerated rate that it would suddenly emit such a deeply foul, terribly offensive stench.

Once the luxurious food containers had been completely and entirely sealed tight, the overwhelmingly fishy odor gradually began to dissipate and fade away. At this precise moment, within the vast, expansive confines of the grand executive office, a completely different, highly peculiar fragrance slowly began to emerge and make its unmistakable presence known. It was a type of fragrance that was deeply intense and heavy, yet it strangely carried a rather light, powdery undertone, perfectly creating a distinct, dry sensation that was strikingly reminiscent of the lingering, artificial scent of some sort of incredibly cheap, low-grade cosmetic makeup powder.

“This particular smell… doesn’t it seem to bear a rather strong resemblance to the distinct scent of a perfume directly extracted from lilac blossoms?”

The singular reason why Helen Lloyd was so intimately familiar with this highly specific, distinctively scented perfume was entirely due to the fact that within the ranks of the assistant team operating directly under her strict supervision, there was one particular individual who possessed a rather strong, undeniable fondness for utilizing lilac-scented fragrances. Helen Lloyd remembered with absolute, vivid clarity that ever since this specific young assistant had initially joined the corporate ranks of the conglomerate, she had continuously remained fiercely, unyieldingly loyal to this exact, specific floral scent. According to the precise words that Nadine Locke had once personally shared in passing, even though the scent of lilac blossoms was undeniably somewhat heavy and potent, it simultaneously managed to bring about a highly lingering, exceptionally romantic, and deeply special sensation. She had claimed it possessed the effortless ability to easily forge a remarkably strong, unforgettable impression upon anyone she interacted with right from the very first moment they met.

Normally, whenever they interacted with one another within the context of a highly open, well-ventilated spatial environment, this particular fragrance was indeed undeniably somewhat heavy and overpowering. However, it was typically just a fleeting, passing scent that absolutely did not stubbornly cling for an excessively long duration to a person’s physical body or their professional attire, and because of that specific reason, Helen Lloyd had never truly bothered to pay it any significant amount of mind.

Helen Lloyd gently waved her hand back and forth directly in front of her nose, acting exactly as if she were actively attempting to physically swat away the invisible, tainted layer of air: “It is highly likely that just a little while ago, Nadine Locke came up to this floor in order to meet with the CEO and deliver a work report, so she merely ended up leaving behind a faint, lingering trace of this specific fragrance, that’s all…”.

However, in the very next immediate second, Helen Lloyd suddenly and sharply felt that there was absolutely something incredibly wrong and deeply amiss with that logical assumption. This was purely because the everyday, standard perfume that Nadine Locke routinely wore always carried a remarkably gentle, soothingly sweet sensation, acting exactly as if there were a highly delicate, masterful blend existing between the subtle scent of pale honey and a warm, comforting hint of toasted almond. Even though it was undeniably somewhat heavy and potent, it would absolutely, positively never stubbornly cling and linger within the expansive interior of the executive office for such an impossibly long, extended duration of time.

This was especially true considering the undeniable fact that the state-of-the-art, high-tech air filtration system of the towering corporate building was currently operating at its absolute maximum, peak capacity. Furthermore, the original, authentic fragrance profile of the perfume belonging to Nadine Locke absolutely never, under any circumstances, created such a remarkably dry, incredibly parched sensation that felt exactly like one was deeply inhaling the dusty, artificial scent of cosmetic makeup powder.

The peculiar, unfamiliar fragrance that was currently hiding, lurking, and swirling within the confines of the room at this exact moment was infinitely heavier and far more overpowering. It produced a sensation that was sharply harsh, deeply pungent, and far more actively suppressive and irritating to the neurological senses than anything remotely considered normal. Most importantly of all, this aggressively harsh, powdery scent invisibly, yet undeniably, caused a person to suddenly feel a profound sense of heavy, suffocating tightness gripping their chest, making the simple act of drawing a breath feel incredibly difficult and highly labored.

“Does that particular assistant named Nadine Locke genuinely, truly possess such a remarkably strong preference for utilizing lilac-scented perfume?”

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