Emily pretended not to notice the weird looks she was receiving from every direction when she turned up at the company the next day.
She was only too relieved when she checked her wristwatch and saw that she was right on time. Since she’s had a sudden change of boss, it’d be best not to display her lack of punctuality behaviour cause that rude jerk won’t waste any opportunity to make her miserable.
He even left the office earlier before her the previous day. He didn’t even care about the welfare of his employee asides from the paperwork task he had given to her.
She seemed to have forgotten the food incident. Emily breathed in deeply as she knocked on the door. No response but she walked in.
The first words that welcomed her were, “You are late.” Emily’s jaw slacked off in surprise. She checked her watch to see if she miscalculated the time but no, she didn’t so what is he talking about?
“Mr Ryan, the watch shows that I am at least fifteen minutes earlier than the time I am supposed to be in the office,” She tried to speak as gentle as she could. She refuses to let him ruin her mood this morning.
Ryan stopped what he was typing on the laptop in front of him and looked at her. She literally forgot to breathe. ‘Has he always been this handsome?’ the thought slipped in as she noted his black, long eyelashes that seemed longer than hers, making her envious.
“As long as the boss is in the office, if the employee comes after he has already arrived then she is considered to be late,” Ryan’s words drew her back to reality.
She mumbled something as she strolled back to her seat but he didn’t hear a word so he asked, “What did you say?”
“Nothing sir,” Note the sarcasm dripping in her voice.
“Good.” Then they both worked in silence until he disrupted the silence with a reminder, “Remember to make my lunch right on time.”
Emily nodded even though she desperately wanted to snap back. What happened to ‘He never has lunch’? She silently wondered if that miss Eva lied yesterday just to give him lunch.
It was a few minutes left to lunchtime when she finally finished dealing with all the tiring paperwork he gave to her. Even though she was sure eighty per cent of it had errors. She doesn’t care.
He’ll sort it out herself cause she already warned him. She stood up to drop the paperwork and then dash to the cafeteria for her second unwanted job.
“Good… When you come back, you can start with these ones,” Her eyes almost bulged out when he pointed carelessly at another bundle of paperwork.
She gritted her teeth angrily to stop herself from pouncing on him. “Practice makes perfect,” He quoted like he could tell what she was thinking. Hmph!
She sauntered out of the room to the elevator in a foul mood. She didn’t notice how the cafeteria seemed to quieten when she walked in. She turned in the opposite direction of the counters to the kitchen where she had prepared lunch for him yesterday when she bumped into a wall.
A really hard one… Oh! Wait, it isn’t a wall. It’s just… Huh, what’s his name again? She couldn’t even recollect the name of the familiar face that was standing in front of her.
“Hello Emily,” Jonas greeted cheerfully. Even though he seemed to be lacking a little joy. “I didn’t expect I’d never really see you at the finance department.”
She forced a smile and counted the time in her head slowly. “Aah… Yes, it was just a quick unexpected change,” She replied absentmindedly.
“Emily, you know I was hoping you and I would have lunch together sometime and get to catch up on a few things. I didn’t expect you’d already be taken,” He mumbled with a disappointed sigh.
Emily looked confused. Taken? Like, have a boyfriend? Who told him she has a boyfriend? Before she could ask him that baffling question, a group of unfamiliar ladies passed by.
Coincidentally, they stopped beside and murmured loudly, “She really is a snitch! She has only just begun to work here and she already has her eyes on a higher position.”
“How dare she try to steal what belongs to our sister Eva!?”
“If I was sister Eva, I would instantly blacklist a woman who dares to straddle my man like that!”
Emily looked even more puzzled. She couldn’t understand what they were talking about but she felt the animosity directed toward her. She didn’t even notice the awkward expression on Jonas’s face.
The only thing on her mind was getting to the kitchen and preparing a quick meal for the boss so she can finish up her work on time. She would be able to go home early and save herself from having an earful of her mother’s complaints.
“I have to go now. I’ll see you around,” she walked away from Jonas. The latter looked even more displeased as he squashed the paper cup in his hand.
***
Emily smiled with satisfaction as she held the paper bag she had collected from the kind chef in the kitchen. When she walked into the office, she assembled the delicacies she had been able to cook within a short time and Ryan look fascinated.
She removed the cap of the juice cup to hand over to him but the cup suddenly slipped and fell on his lap creating a noticeable mess on his grey pants.
Without even thinking too much about her actions, she grabbed a tissue from the tissue box and bent down to wipe off the wet patch on his lap while muttering, “I’m sorry sir. I didn’t mean to.”
“Yeah. You have to get me another drink though,” Ryan parted his laps a little to give her enough space to clean up the mess.
The door opened again, without a knock this time too. Ryan looked up at Eva who was fuming in anger.
She looked even more furious when she saw Emily. Viewing them from a different angle made her think that they were up to a kinky act in the office!
She could barely hold her anger in. “You bitch! I really underestimated your seduction skills!”
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