Chapter 22
Stepping off the elevator. I sigh at the quiet of our floor.
All werk, I’ve felt the eyes and whispers of my coworkers following me, and even though I’ve tried to ignore them, difficult. There have been a few cinations where I caught them talking about me in the break room or on the way out of the
Mostly the women aren’t happy I’m Lihan’s secretary. It seems the position is coveted, and that jealousy runs high in this building
I’ve also seen Angela a few times and received a few shoulder shoves when we walked past each other. Now, I completely avoid the marketing department if I can. And if I do have to go down there, I try to go during lunch, since she’s usually out during that time.
“Foпа”
Ethan watches me from the door, making heat fill my cheeks. I’d completely zoned out.
“Sorry. Here’s your lunch, I say, quickly walking over and passing the takeout I’d just returned with to him. He eyes the bag,
then me
“None for yourself?”
“N–no I brought my lunch today,” I explain, pointing at the purple lunchbox sitting on the edge of my desk.
He humns then waves a hand toward it.
“Eat with me.”
At first I think it’s an order, but the softer look in his eyes tells me it’s a question.
“I already ate and have some calls-”
“Will yo
you eat lunch with me?”
This time, my heart flutters, and I curse it. My second day of work was filled with calls between Ethan and the children’s hospital. I found out the Silverclaw Company is currently helping them design better and more accurate machines to read children’s vitals. Watching him work hard for his company and then hospital has made me soft.
It also helps that he doesn’t treat me as coldly as he did in the beginning. I’m not saying he’s in love with me, but I think he’s more used to me being around now. I’ve been trying to keep my distance so no one in the company will know about our relationship, and so far, I think it’s working.
Ethan’s brow lifts as he waits for me.
“Till eat with you.” I answer,
Quickly, I grab my water and lunchbox and follow Ethan into his office. I’ve only eaten lunch with him once since I started working here, and that was more of a business lunch. We worked the whole time.
“How was your first week?” Ethan asks as I take a sip of my water.
“It’s been good. I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of the computer system and your habits,” I admit, wanting to be truthful. Ryan spent my whole first two days of work walking me through the systems and Ethan’s usual schedules. He great help, and without him, I would’ve been lost.
1/4
e was a
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growh
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ak logel Londered him. The spicy comes fills the air and my stomach
Limbarrassment pierces my chest, and 1 lunch over to hide my hot cheeks. In reality. I only had half a sandwich for lunch.
“I thought you already ate,” Eihan says, watching me.
eyes run over me tending a shiver skittering across my skin.
“Why are you still hungry?”
When I don”t answer, I than sets his focul aside and sripped
my lunchline. I try to take it from him, but he’s too fast and has it
“1x empty” I don’t respond again, so he looks to me again. “What did you eat for lunch, Fiona?”
I had halt a sandwich. I munter. It’s no use keeping it from him. He’ll find out anyway, It’s something I realized this week. I don’t know how he finds out, but Ethan somehow knows everything
“What else”
“Nothing.” I answer, dropping my head. I can’t look at him as shame rises in me.
“Why
“I–I didn’t have money for groceries, and it was all I had left, I murmur, my eyes blurring with tears. Does he have to go this
far and embarrass me?
I try to blink the tears away, and just as I’m about to stand up to leave, Ethan shifts in his chair, and I freeze.
A rumble sounds through the room and then a steak lunch is set in my lap. The steak is cut up into bite–size pieces, and when I look up, Ethan is looking at his phone with a scowl. My eyes fall back on the food, and my heart melts a little more.
“Ryan is bringing me lunch. You can eat this,” Ethan says. “Next time, buy yourself lunch if you didn’t bring anything.”
There is no anger in his tone. Instead, a soft rumble echoes through the room, sending warm comfort through me.
“Thank you, Ethan,” I murmur, stabbing a piece of the steak with his fork.
Soon, Ryan arrives with a meal for Ethan, but we stay quiet as we eat. The delicious meal fills me up, but there’s another feeling filling me. Contentment.
Even with silence hanging in the air, I’m content to sit here and eat with Ethan. Nothing with Jack had felt like this. There was always a hint of tension with Jack, like we were just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it wasn’t comfortable. It was just there.
With Ethan, it’s different, and that kind of scares me. I can’t get attached to him. This situation is temporary and won’t last long. If I get attached, things will be even worse for me in the future.
Distance
I need to keep my distance.
So, with that in mind, I set my empty lunch plate aside and stand.
“I should get back to work. I have several calls to make and appointments to He nodds, staying quiet, but I can feel his eyes following me out of the room
It’s familiar now
2/4
confirm before the end of the day,” I tell him.
Chapter 22
The weight of his eyes, I mean.
55%
He’s been watching everything I do, whether it’s making calls or stretching when my back gets tired from sitting
I do my best to ignore his gaze as 1 work, and eventually, I don’t feel it anymore as I move through the emails and calls I
Then, the computer chimes, and I smile.
Five o dock
While I gather my things to go home, my cellphone rings.
“Hello, this is Fiona”
“Mr. Aldridge, this is Anthony Adair from Silverclaw Law, the man says, and I pause. “Do you have a moment to speak?”
I hadn’t heard anything about my case all week, so I sit back down.
“Yes, I can talk”
“Mr. Aldridge, I’m afraid we’ve still not been able to move forward with your case due to the swap in the will. Have you been able to find the original documents?” He asks.
“Mr. Adair, I’ve been searching for them, but haven’t found anything. Did my mother’s attorney not have what you needed?”
I thought he would be able to connect with my mother’s attorney and find the information that way. It was our best option since I can’t find the document he needs.
“I’m afraid your mother’s attorney has passed away and his office is in a bit of chaos,” he explains. “However, if you have a witness who could come in to sign the copy, we should be able to move forward with the case.
A witness?
“Your father would be ideal. One of the junior lawyers your mother spoke with said he was present at the writing of the will”
“He was? He never said anything to me about it,” I mutter. Had he hid the information on purpose?
I speak with my father and call you back tomorrow, Mr. Adair. Thank you and goodbye,” I tell him.
If I can convince my father to sign as a witness, we could get this case back on track.
Renewed in my determination, I grab my things and rush to the elevator. It feels like it takes forever to get from the top floor to the bottom
Finally, the elevator dings and the doors open, but what I’m greeted with isn’t good.
Angela and several other women are waiting just beyond the elevator. She has her arms crossed prissily over her chest as she glares at me.
“Look who it is,” she says loudly, gaining attention from others. “It’s the poor little secretary who doesn’t have enough money to buy more than two outhts for work.”
I glance down at the blue suit I bought the other day, embarrassment hitting me full force. The women around Angela smirk and circle around me like vultures.
“Aren’t y
1 you
ashamed you’ve taken away a high–level job from someone who deserves it?” She asks, then says, “How did you
12 Sun, 13 Apr
Chapter 22
get this job, Fi–o–na.” She stretches out my name, punctuating each syllable.
“No one with your lack of experience just magically becomes the CEO’s secretary, so spill the tea. What did you do to get this jobe” She asks, her tone sug
