Chapter 11
It was already ten-thirty.
Adrian glanced at the clock.
He ran a hand through his blue hair and shoved the stack of paperwork across his desk with a frustrated sigh.
Then he leaned back in his chair and propped his long legs on the desk.
He'd finally had enough.
"Did Emma call in sick today?"
His assistant looked up.
"No idea. Want me to check?"
"Check what?"
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Forget it. The office is much quieter without her barging in here every five minutes."
He paused.
Then added casually,
"I'm just hungry. Go get me something to eat."
"And get me a bubble tea."
Annoying woman.
Was she seriously trying to starve him?
She hadn't even brought him breakfast.
Technically, breakfast and drinks had always been part of his assistant's job.
But Emma had done it every morning for so long that his assistant had gradually stopped bothering.
Why do something yourself when someone else was already doing it for you?
The moment he stepped out of Adrian's office, his assistant pulled out his phone and switched to his second WeChat account.
He opened the group chat.
He'd created this account specifically for the group.
There was no way he was going to let his boss find out that he was secretly following the Emma-Adrian saga like everyone else.
The moment he left Adrian's office, he switched accounts.
Yes.
He was absolutely one of their shippers.
Working for Adrian was stressful enough.
A little office gossip was practically a survival tool.
The group was still buzzing about the fact that an hour and a half had passed and Emma still hadn't gone to see Adrian.
People were already arguing about who would crack first.
His assistant typed:
Someone immediately replied:
Another message popped up.
He was just used to having her around.
That was all.
Look at today.
Emma hadn't brought him breakfast or bubble tea.
So Adrian had simply sent his assistant out to buy them instead.
Problem solved.
The secretarial office was right next to the general manager's office.
The only thing separating the two rooms was a glass wall covered by Venetian blinds.
And the blinds could be controlled from Adrian's side.
Whenever they were open, he could see straight into the secretarial office.
Whoever had designed the place clearly hadn't thought that through.
Why would a general manager need a front-row seat to his secretaries' daily lives?
Adrian had never touched the controls.
He'd always thought the whole setup was ridiculous.
Until now.
His hand slowly reached for the chain.
The moment his fingers touched it, he froze.
What am I doing?
Was he seriously about to check whether Emma was in there?
He immediately let go.
Then he dropped back into his chair, picked up his phone, and started scrolling through videos.
A funny clip popped up.
Adrian burst out laughing.
Without thinking, he tapped Share.
Then selected Emma.
The second the video was sent, his hand clenched around the phone.
Damn it.
What the hell am I doing?
Emma hadn't even come to see him today.
And he'd just sent her a video.
He immediately opened their chat.
Her status showed that she was offline.
Adrian quietly exhaled.
Good.
Nobody had seen that.
He tapped the video, ready to unsend it.
Then he saw it.
Adrian:
"......"
She has time to watch videos at work, but she doesn't have time to come see me?
And now she'd seen it.
And wasn't replying.
He quickly sent another message.
A few minutes passed.
Nothing.
Adrian's brows drew together.
He sent another.
Five more minutes passed.
Still nothing.
Emma had read every message.
And answered none of them.
Adrian stared at the screen like he wanted to burn a hole through it.
Finally, he typed:
Then:
Emma read that one too.
Still no reply.
Adrian's eye twitched.
He ran both hands through his blue hair.
"Emma!"
At that exact moment, a loud voice came from the office next door.
"Who is Emma?"
Adrian shot to his feet.
He grabbed the blind chain and pulled it open just enough to peek through.
What was going on?
Who had come looking for Emma?
A woman in a yellow dress was standing in the middle of the secretarial office.
She looked vaguely familiar.
Adrian frowned.
Where have I seen her before?
Then it clicked.
Oh.
His fiancée.
What does she want with Emma?
Emma had just finished wasting a few minutes in the restroom when she noticed a crowd gathered outside the secretarial office.
Naturally, she went over.
Curiosity was a basic human instinct.
She squeezed through the crowd and stuck her head in.
"What happened?"
Someone immediately pointed at her.
"That's her! That's Emma!"
Grace Bennett pointed directly at her.
Emma froze.
One glance at Grace's expression told her everything.
Oh, great.
This is about me.
Grace's attitude changed instantly.
She put on a polite, almost flattering smile.
"Miss Donovan, this is her."
The woman in the yellow dress was Adrian's fiancée.
And judging by the way she'd stormed into the office, she definitely hadn't come to exchange wedding invitations.
She was here to deal with the woman who had been chasing Adrian for more than a year.
Emma looked at her.
Her eyes widened.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me.
Why is Trace Donovan here?
Was this about Isabelle?
Had Isabelle sent her?
Was Trace here to make trouble for Emma on Isabelle's behalf?
Trace lifted her chin.
"I'm Adrian's fiancée."
Her voice was sharp and authoritative.
"I want you to pack up your things and leave. Right now."
Trace was convinced Adrian had wanted to get rid of Emma for a long time.
He simply couldn't fire her himself.
The company needed a legitimate reason to dismiss an employee.
And Adrian was currently under his family's scrutiny.
He couldn't just act on impulse whenever he felt like it.
Fine.
Then she'd do it for him.
Emma listened quietly.
Then she let out a small breath of relief.
Oh.
So Isabelle didn't send her.
That was good.
Then another thought hit her.
Emma immediately lowered her head.
Wait.
Don't let her recognize me.
She still had business with Lawrence.
There was no way she could let Trace connect her to the woman she'd seen at the party the night before.
Emma looked completely different at work.
Today, she was wearing a professional pantsuit.
Her long hair was tied into a low ponytail.
She hadn't bothered with the makeup she used to recreate Isabelle's appearance.
Just a light base and nude lipstick.
At a glance, she looked like an ordinary, polished young professional.
There was almost nothing about her that connected her to the delicate, innocent-looking woman from the night before.
That was exactly why the office's unofficial Emma-Adrian fan club found her so frustrating.
Emma was naturally eye-catching.
If she actually made an effort, she could be stunning.
That would surely increase the odds of Adrian falling for her.
But Emma refused.
The secretarial department didn't require business suits every day.
She wore one anyway.
And she could have made a suit look incredibly flattering.
Especially a pencil skirt with black stockings.
But she refused to do that too.
She wore trousers.
Every single day.
Everyone knew she had a great figure.
She simply refused to use it.
The office shippers were practically going insane.
Whenever someone tried to give her advice, Emma always gave them the same answer:
"Relax. I have my own strategy."
Trace had barely glanced at Emma when she first arrived.
She hadn't recognized her.
And when she looked again, Emma had already lowered her head.
Trace gave a quiet, disdainful laugh.
This is the woman who's been chasing Adrian?
This?
She actually thought she could compete with me?
She looked so timid.
It was almost laughable.
Behind the Venetian blinds, Adrian watched everything through the narrow gap.
His brows were tightly drawn together.
He wanted to walk straight out there.
What the hell is wrong with this woman?
She actually wanted to fire Emma?
But he didn't move.
He wanted to see how Emma would handle it.
At that moment, Emma had her back to him.
Adrian's eyes remained fixed on her.
Then—
Something clicked.
His mind suddenly lit up.
That back.
He'd seen it before.
Yesterday.
At Trace's welcome-back party.
His eyes narrowed.
That's her.
The woman he'd noticed from behind at the party.
Yesterday, she'd been wearing a dress.
Today, she was wearing a suit.
But Emma had one distinctive trait.
No matter what she wore, she always stood straight.
Even when she lowered her head, her back remained perfectly straight.
It made her surprisingly easy to recognize.
Adrian's expression slowly changed.
She was at Trace's party last night.
And judging by Trace's reaction, she clearly had no idea who Emma really was.
Which meant—
Emma had followed him.
Adrian's eyes widened.
She followed me?
Seriously?
Suddenly, everything made sense.
That's why she hadn't brought him breakfast this morning.
That's why she hadn't come into his office.
That's why she'd ignored his messages.
She'd seen him at the party.
She'd realized he was about to enter an arranged marriage.
And now she was angry.
Adrian's expression darkened.
Well, well.
Emma.
You've gotten a lot more intense than I thought.