Evelyn felt like crying but no tears would come. She wanted to bang her head against the wall.
“You could leave earlier next time,” Amy Harper said with a smile. “That way you’ll miss the traffic.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Evelyn mumbled, her head down.
She wanted to leave early! Alexander Sterling was the villain keeping her trapped. She wanted to protest. She wouldn’t write those reviews!
Amy had told her the company allowed two late arrivals per month without docking her pay. But being late by more than half an hour counted as a full absence. Even though those two times wouldn’t affect her salary, they still went into her year-end evaluation. So she really needed to develop good habits.
Evelyn nodded. From now on, she’d make a deal with Alexander. If she was late, he’d have to compensate her. As for how… she’d figure that out when she had time.
At noon, Evelyn and Emily went to the staff cafeteria for lunch. Evelyn looked weak and listless. She barely touched her food.
“Did you go on a midnight snack run last night?” Emily teased.
“Not last night. This morning,” Evelyn muttered.
“You actually did that?” Emily laughed, thinking Evelyn was still half-asleep.
“No!” Evelyn snapped back to reality, her face flushing. She looked up at Emily. “How’s the sales department treating you?”
“Exhausting. Besides all the paperwork, I sometimes have to go out on client calls with my mentor,” Emily sighed.
“You have to do sales calls too? That’s brutal,” Evelyn said, nodding sympathetically. She felt she lacked the skills for that. If she had to go out on business, she’d be dead tired.
“Ha, I scared you. It’s tiring, but it’s also rewarding. My mentor closed a huge deal yesterday. Watching him negotiate with clients… I totally admire him.”
“Emily, you’re not falling for your mentor, are you?” Evelyn blurted out.
“A teacher for a day, a father for life! How could I fall for my dad? You’re overthinking it,” Emily rolled her eyes.
“True,” Evelyn smiled.
“Besides, my mentor has a girlfriend. They’re serious. I’ve met her.”
“Oh,” Evelyn nodded. “Is she pretty?”
“Not drop-dead gorgeous, but she’s pleasant to look at,” Emily replied. Then she gave Evelyn a knowing grin. “Looks like you’re having a good time in the secretarial office.”
“Huh?” Evelyn stared blankly, not catching Emily’s meaning.
“Dummy. Working in the secretarial office means you see Alexander every day. That’s a perk employees on other floors can only dream of,” Emily said with a smile.
“So what?” Evelyn huffed. She was still mad at him.
“So what? Are you saying you’re ungrateful?” Emily stared at her.
“Of course not! But it’s not easy to see him,” Evelyn shook her head.
“Why not? You’re on the same floor. How hard can it be?” Emily was surprised.
“He’s either in his office, in a meeting, or out in public. I work in the secretarial office. When do I ever get a chance to see him?” Evelyn replied. Actually, she rarely ran into Alexander at the company. But strangely, he knew her every move like the back of his hand. She had no idea how.
“So even big shots aren’t easy to spot when you want to see them,” Emily sighed.
Evelyn nodded and went back to eating. But thinking about the three reviews she still had to write killed her appetite. When would this miserable life end? She sighed again.
“Why do you keep sighing? Is working in the secretarial office that painful?” Emily asked, looking down at her.
“No, it’s fine,” Evelyn lifted her head and forced a smile.
“Then stop sighing. Sighing brings bad luck,” Emily rolled her eyes.
“Really? Is that true?” Evelyn asked immediately.
“Of course. Sighing shows frustration. It gives off negative energy. Bad luck looks for people like that,” Emily said with conviction.
“Then I really shouldn’t sigh,” Evelyn sat up straight, speaking earnestly.
Emily wanted to laugh but held it in. She was just making things up, and Evelyn actually believed her. But sighing really did make people feel down.
“How’s Stella’s internship going?” Evelyn asked after lunch.
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her recently.”
“Don’t you live together?” Evelyn asked quietly. Even though they were interning, they could still stay in the school dorms. So Emily and Stella were still roommates.
“Stella moved into her company’s staff dormitory. Didn’t I tell you?”
“No,” Evelyn replied firmly.
“Oh, I must have forgotten. Her company provides employee housing, so she moved in. It’s more convenient for commuting.”
“That’s good,” Evelyn said, propping her chin on her hand.
“Yeah. Otherwise, she’d spend two or three hours commuting every day. That’s exhausting.”
“Right,” Evelyn nodded.
“You’re close to work. At most half an hour away,” Emily said enviously.
“Not really,” Evelyn blurted out. She had to commute nearly an hour every day.
“What? Doesn’t your family live nearby?” Emily looked at her.
“It’s close, but sometimes I walk to work,” Evelyn responded. Emily meant her mother’s house. But she wasn’t living there anymore. She was living at Sterling Manor. Sterling Manor wasn’t very close, but the air was good. Plus, she walked from near the manor to work. It really wasn’t close. But compared to Emily, she was still better off.
“Go on, show off,” Emily rolled her eyes.
Evelyn laughed and didn’t argue.
After lunch, they made plans to ask Stella to go shopping together this weekend. Then they went back to work.
By three in the afternoon, Evelyn had finished all her tasks. She could finally breathe. She picked up her phone and scrolled through her social feed. She saw a picture of mango sago pudding posted by a classmate. Suddenly, she craved it. So she posted on her own feed: “I wish I could have mango sago pudding right now.”
Just as she sent it, she heard Amy calling her. Evelyn quickly replied, put away her phone, stood up, and walked over.
Amy asked her to organize a stack of invoices. She needed to arrange them in chronological order and paste them onto A4 paper.
Evelyn carefully took the stack of invoices, counted them clearly, went back to her desk, and started working.