It was their turn to order.
Emily Hart practically lunged at the serving counter. She piled dish after dish onto her tray until it was overflowing.
“Are you really going to eat all that?” Evelyn asked as they found a table. She stared at Emily’s mountain of food.
“I’m starving. I could eat a horse. You have no idea how much work I did this morning!” Emily said. She immediately started shoveling food into her mouth.
“What did you do?” Evelyn asked. She took a sip of her soup and smiled.
“The sales department was doing inventory today. I showed up just in time to help. You wouldn’t believe how much stuff they have in that warehouse. I’ve been moving boxes all morning.”
“So you’re basically a free laborer?”
“Yeah, but I learned a lot too. My mentor is awesome!” Emily looked up and grinned.
“Keep it up. Maybe they’ll offer you a contract when the internship ends.”
“That’s what my mentor said. As long as I work hard, I have a real shot!” Emily nodded in agreement. “How’s the secretarial office treating you?”
“I just read files all morning. Haven’t started any real work yet.” Evelyn replied.
“Wow. Sounds pretty relaxed.”
“Not really. There’s a ton of material. I have to take notes. I think it’ll be useful later.”
“That makes sense. Every department is different.” Emily nodded.
They chatted while they ate.
Then, a whisper rippled through the nearby tables. “It’s Mr. Sterling!”
Evelyn turned her head. She saw Alexander Sterling and Grace Miller walking toward the ordering counter.
Maybe it was telepathy. Or just bad luck. Alexander turned his head and looked directly at her.
Evelyn felt like a thief caught in the act. She ducked her head and focused on her food, praying he hadn’t seen her.
Suddenly, Emily tugged on her sleeve. “Evie, look! Look!”
Evelyn was scooping up rice. The grains spilled onto the table. She looked up at Emily. “What is it?”
“The big boss is eating in the cafeteria too!” Emily said, beaming.
“Where else would they eat?” Evelyn asked, half laughing.
“I thought they had their own private kitchen or something!”
“The food here is good. The ingredients are fresh. They even have a stir-fry station. Why would they need a private kitchen?” Evelyn said.
So Alexander did eat in the staff cafeteria. That meant she might see him every day at lunch.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Then she remembered. They worked on the same floor. She’d probably run into him all the time anyway.
“You’re right. This place is way better than our school cafeteria!” Emily agreed.
A few moments later, Evelyn couldn’t help herself. She snuck another glance at the ordering counter.
Alexander and Grace had gotten their food. They were walking toward the tables.
Evelyn’s heart hammered. She quickly looked down and focused on her plate.
But she was worrying for nothing. Alexander and Grace just sat down at a nearby table and started eating.
“Mr. Sterling is so handsome!” Emily whispered to Evelyn.
Evelyn froze. The next second, she choked on a grain of rice. She coughed and coughed until her face turned red.
Emily quickly pulled a tissue from her bag and handed it over. “What’s got you so excited?”
“Nothing. I just choked.” Evelyn said awkwardly.
What Emily had just said felt so strange.
Imagine your best friend sitting across from you, all excited, saying—
Your husband is so handsome!
That was exactly how Evelyn felt.
And there was another worry. If Emily ever found out that Alexander was her husband, she’d probably scream loud enough to shake the whole building.
Evelyn shivered at the thought.
Emily lowered her voice. “Don’t get any ideas. I heard Mr. Sterling got married at the end of last year.”
Evelyn nodded.
She knew that. She was the bride.
“So just drool from a distance. Don’t think too much.”
Evelyn nodded again. Then she realized what she was doing.
“But having a handsome boss to look at makes us work harder!” Emily added with a smile.
“Can you even see him?” Evelyn blurted out.
They didn’t work on the same floor.
“If I can’t see him, I can still imagine! Anyway, I heard a ton of gossip this morning.”
“What gossip?” Evelyn asked, curious.
“Some of it is about your brother.”
“Emily, can we talk about something else? He’s not my brother.” Evelyn said, embarrassed.
“Fine. You’re buying lunch tomorrow.”
“You already swiped your card. It’ll come out of your paycheck at the end of the month. I can’t do that!”
Emily was relentless when it came to free food.
“So, I heard a lot of people in the company have a crush on him.” Emily said.
“What kind of gossip is that?”
“Didn’t you notice? The secretarial office is either all men or older women.”
“So?”
“So, it matters. I heard that a few years ago, a young, excellent secretary got promoted all the way to the president’s office. She had a bright future. Then she was fired within two months. Want to know why?”
“Why?” Evelyn blinked.
“She fell for him. She dreamed of becoming the lady of the house. He couldn’t stand it, so he fired her directly. After that, there were no more young female secretaries in that office.”
“I see.”
“And for a while, people thought he was gay. Because no one ever heard of him having a girlfriend. You know, most male gods either get married or have a boyfriend by now.” Emily said, lowering her voice even more.
“I used to think that too.” Evelyn smiled and nodded.
For a while, she really did think Alexander was gay.
But that was because Ethan Sterling had misled her.
Still, even though she was misled, she believed it for a while.
She always thought Alexander and Owen Clarke had something going on.
Turns out, she was wrong.
“Ha! You thought so too!” Emily burst out laughing.
Evelyn snapped back to reality. She laughed awkwardly. “And then?”
“Then he got married. So the gay rumor was busted. Now everyone is curious. Who is the lucky goddess?”
“What lucky goddess?”
“Dummy. The president’s wife.”
“Oh.” Evelyn gave a dry smile.
She didn’t say anything else.
She couldn’t exactly say, “I’m the lucky goddess.”
She couldn’t help it. She turned her head and stole another glance at Alexander.
He was drinking soup. Maybe he felt her gaze. He looked up.
Their eyes met.
Evelyn quickly looked away. She felt like a thief who had just been caught.