Chapter 189: The Backfiring Approach

Benjamin's eyes narrowed a bit, and a dangerous glint radiated from his gaze. He now resembled an enraged lion, capable of attacking and potentially even killing someone at any moment. It was truly quite intimidating! Martina felt the shift in Benjamin's mood as well, involuntarily giving him a second glance. She wondered what had been said in their phone conversation to provoke such a sudden reaction. "Let's see what you can do," Benjamin added another remark, then abruptly hung up the phone, clearly quite furious. While one of his hands still held onto Martina's fingers, even that couldn't fully suppress the anger boiling within him. Martina hesitated, but then she cautiously inquired, "What's wrong? What did Alejandro say?" Upon hearing Martina's way of addressing Alejandro, Benjamin became even more displeased. It was as if he felt a cardiac arrest at the mention of it. "You called his first name, huh?" Benjamin asked bluntly, his irritation apparent. This question caught Martina slightly off guard, but upon reflection, she realized it wasn't a big deal. She had just used a more fitting term of address for him. Was that really so unacceptable? With this thought in mind, Martina confidently responded, "I think of him as my best friend's brother. Treating him like this and calling him 'Alejandro' shouldn't be a problem, right?" Martina thought Benjamin would understand. After all, this man, despite his unfamiliarity with social conventions, seemed to grasp certain things even better than she did, as if it were second nature. However, Benjamin opposed her, just like he did it intentionally, "Why wouldn't there be a problem? Clearly, there's a big problem here. Rodríguez being Elena's brother means nothing. He has no connection to you whatsoever, so don't call Alejandro again." At this point, Benjamin must have completely lost his patience, as he wouldn't have said something like that right in front of Martina otherwise. Martina felt discontented, her hand retracting from Benjamin's chest. "I've realized you're really quite peculiar. I've found it harder and harder to figure you out lately. Why do you feel entitled to make such demands of me?" Martina retorted. "I just called his first name. It's not like it's anything significant. If everyone acted like you, wouldn't the world be in chaos? He's still my best friend's brother, and I don't see anything wrong with my actions." There was another unspoken thought lingering in Martina's mind, "Even if you, as a man, dislike it, you don't have to react this way." Sometimes, an overwhelming desire to possess could backfire, and up until now, Martina hadn't truly deciphered Benjamin's intentions. She had never let her guard down completely, so witnessing this situation naturally intensified her restlessness. Benjamin paused for a moment, seemingly recalling something, and forcibly stifled his emotions once again. In the front row, both Simon and Leslie couldn't help but shiver, feeling utterly awkward. They were witnessing their boss in an unprecedented state of vulnerability, so much so that they dared not even breathe, fearing that their boss, frustrated and displeased, might vent his anger on them. The situation was doubly embarrassing as they hadn't anticipated Miss Martinez would be so audacious. Speaking to the boss in such a manner—was it because of the boss's self-control that she felt confident enough to do so? Yet, they had to admit, Miss Martinez was quite fearless. Perhaps only she had the audacity to speak to the boss this way. The intriguing part was that even after speaking so boldly, she didn't seem to bear any consequences. It appeared as if the boss accepted it with surprising ease. This was an extraordinary exception. Benjamin forcefully suppressed the anger surging within him, his fists clenched tightly. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, allowing him to meet Martina's gaze with as much composure as possible. "I'm not trying to restrict you, I just don't want you to have too much contact with him," he explained. This explanation felt as if it hadn't been said at all, making the situation even more perplexing. "Why can't I have extensive contact with Mr. Rodríguez?" Martina countered. "He is just the older brother of my good friend. Even if we have some interactions, is there a problem?" Benjamin suddenly found himself at a loss for words because, in essence, what Martina said was correct. His perception as a man made it clear that Alejandro harbored some feelings for Martina, prompting him to speak up in this manner. However, there was no way Benjamin could openly express this in front of Martina. It was just like challenging a man's dignity, something no man would tolerate. In a way, it was understandable. Benjamin gave Martina a profound look. "Do you enjoy contacting him this much?" Sometimes, Benjamin's emotional intelligence could be remarkably low, just like now. He had various ways to naturally reduce Martina's interactions with Alejandro, but he had chosen the most confrontational approach. The result, naturally, ended up backfiring. Martina didn't really have much contact with Alejandro to begin with, but upon hearing Benjamin's words, she became increasingly displeased. "No matter who I want to communicate with, it's my own private matter. I haven't done anything out of line. If you're still going to be like this, I'd rather keep silence, "Martina said, shrugged. With the conversation having reached this point, what else could Benjamin say? He couldn't just stand by and watch Martina get into trouble, could he? At the moment when Benjamin's composure was about to collapse, he ultimately gave in. "Fine, as you wish." Later, upon careful consideration, Benjamin seemed worried that Martina might misunderstand some of his underlying intentions. So he added, "I didn't mean to overly restrict you. I'm just concerned that you might get in trouble." At that moment, Benjamin's expression took on a tinge of grievance and bitterness. Martina's emotions wavered once again. And truth be told, Benjamin's current demeanor...really had the power to stir various indescribable thoughts within a person's mind. It also evoked a sense of empathy, causing one's heart to involuntarily harbor sympathy. The words of rebuttal seemed to get stuck in Martina's throat, unable to be voiced. She hadn't actually planned on communicating with Alejandro every day. She simply couldn't agree with Benjamin's way of handling things.