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Gavin had been up all night with stomach pains, leaving him looking rough. When housekeeper Betty Linsay brought in fresh croissants, saying “Breakfast is ready, sir,” he forced himself to take a bite.
He didn’t get to eat the croissants last night when he wanted them most, and now they just didn’t taste right. “Next time, get the ones from that bakery I used to love.”
“Sir, those croissants you liked before were all handmade by Ms. Jordan herself. But they take hours to make. I thought the bakery ones would taste just as good.” Betty wiped her hands on her apron, looking slightly apologetic.
Gavin pushed the half–eaten croissant away with a disappointed sigh. “Don’t bother serving these for breakfast anymore,” he said, brushing crumbs off his fingers.
s off his in
“Yes, sir. I’ll prepare something else tomorrow,” Betty said, lowering her eyes, puzzled. Back when Ms. Jordan was here, her boss had never complained about the food like this.
After tidying up the kitchen, Betty brought in the pile of mail from the mailbox and set it on the coffee table. As Gavin came downstairs dressed for work, he stopped at the table. His eyes immediately caught the top envelope from that fancy wedding dress shop.
A memory flashed through his mind. Cecilia curled up on this couch, happily sorting through fabric samples and chatting with the designer. Custom dresses took months to make. Even now, he had no idea what hers looked like.
“Gavin, I’ve been dreaming about my wedding since I was little,” her voice echoed in his mind. “It’ll be the most important day of my life. I want to make that wish come true.” Gavin stiffened, the words so vivid he almost expected to see Cecilia standing there.
“What wish?” He turned the envelope over in his hands. ‘Can’t have been that long ago,‘ he thought. ‘We grew up together. I would remember if she had said that as a kid. Must’ve just been one of her silly daydreams.
“Cecilia’s still working on our wedding. I knew she hadn’t really given up.” Gavin told himself, thinking blocking him was just another one of her passing moods.
He put the unopened letter back down, not realizing it was the last reminder from the dress shop. They needed to know whether to save or scrap the wedding gown.
The 10 am meeting was pushed back half an hour. Gavin sat stiffly at his desk, face tight. “Ms. Yates, did you look these over at all?” His sharp tone sliced through the room. “How could you miss mistakes this obvious?”
Stella stood stiffly in her crisp blazer, her flawless makeup failing to mask the tension in her face. She lowered her head further, fingers tightening around the files. “I’m truly sorry, Mr. Foster.”
A choked sob laced her apology. Gavin’s voice lost some of its edge. “I’m not scolding you. You’re still learning. Mistakes happen. But your job is to make my work easier, not harder.”
Frank rushed in to help fix things. Gavin quickly marked the errors, his tone matter–of–fact. “These dates are wrong. With audits coming up, every team needs to be accurate. Check with Ms. Jordan before submitting.”
He cut himself off. The room went quiet. Gavin kept his eyes down, but his fingers clenched slightly around the pen. “You
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and Ms. Yates handle this. And tell the Project Division to meet right away.”
“Understood.” Frank nodded curtly. He was more than qualified to handle the task himself. Stella’s involvement would only slow him down at this point.
Stella left the office with red–rimmed eyes, having nothing left to do. The other secretaries immediately gathered around to comfort her.
“Don’t take it to heart, Stella,” one colleague murmured, gently squeezing her shoulder. “Ms. Jordan had worked alongside Mr. Foster for years. Old habits die hard, and he sometimes forgets himself.”
“Ms. Jordan made her share of inistakes too. It took ages before she really understood how Mr. Foster works.” Another secretary added. “You’ll be taking her place in no time. We can all see you’re exactly what he needs.”
Their kind words only made the burning in Stella’s chest grow hotter. ‘I’ll do better than Cecilia ever did,‘ she vowed to herself, nails digging into her palms. ‘However long it takes, however hard I have to work.
*****
Cecilia got called into the meeting at the last minute: She took a seat at the far end of the long table and kept her head down. Her fingers moved quietly across her silenced phone to check work emails, trying not to draw attention.
Gavin walked in as everyone greeted him. His eyes went straight to Cecilia. ‘Used to sit right beside me,‘ he thought. ‘Now she’s all the way over there, head down. Too proud to even say sorry?‘ Stella caught his fixed gaze, her chest tightening.
The meeting continued until the Project Division’s turn. Manager David was absent. His deputy exchanged a quick look with Stella. “All exhibitions are on track except the Jewelry Exhibition. Cecilia, your update please.”
Cecilia looked up slowly. She had only had the jewelry project for two weeks, with an already impossible deadline. Now, under the spotlight, she faced a room of hungry stares. They all knew why she had been reassigned. None expected her to succeed.
“Of course.” Cecilia stood with quiet confidence. Without notes, she detailed her progress: Professor Collins formally secured, four premium venues shortlisted, and preliminary talks underway with three top designers. For the first time in weeks, passion flashed across her face as she described her dream project.
The executives glanced at each other, visibly impressed. Gavin sat back, momentarily thrown. ‘She’s doing this to impress me?‘ Oddly, the thought didn’t irritate him. If anything, it gave him a quiet satisfaction.
The deputy manager, determined to humiliate Cecilia, cut in sharply, “No signed contracts for venues? No confirmed exhibitors besides Professor Collins? Plans are worthless until they’re executed.”
Cecilia took the criticism calmly, but Gavin’s expression darkened. “That presentation was meant for me,‘ he thought. ‘Who asked you to interfere?”
“There’s still time,” he interrupted sharply. “The Project Division can bring any issues directly to me.” The offer hung in the air. It was an obvious peace gesture. But Cecilia, already checking her phone, didn’t even notice.
As the meeting ended, Stella stepped in Cecilia’s path. “Mr. Foster wants you in his office,” she said, then added pointedly, “Your performance didn’t exactly impress him.”
Cecilia entered Gavin’s office. By the window, her former pet plants drooped in the hot afternoon light. Her gaze flickered toward them for just a second before locking back on Gavin. “Did you need something, Mr. Foster?”
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Gavin leaned back, eyes shut tight. “What was that stomach medicine I used to take?” He wore an exaggerated pained expression, waiting for Cecilia to show she still cared.
A humorless smile touched Cecilia’s lips. “Mr. Foster, Ms. Yates handles your personal needs now. Unless this is project- related, I’ll take my leave.”
“You don’t even care if I’m in pain?” Gavin’s eyes snapped open just in time to see Cecilia step into the elevator. The emptiness of the office suddenly made his stomach ache worse. ‘Has she really moved on?‘
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