Chapter 17
It was almost time to clock out.
Anyone still working this close to the end of the day was either a true professional or deeply suspicious.
Mia Parker was neither.
She watched Emma leave the office and head toward Adrian's office next door.
Under normal circumstances, this should have been exciting.
But Mia couldn't quite bring herself to celebrate.
Because of what Emma had said at lunch.
What fan of a couple didn't want their favorite pairing to actually get together?
That was the whole point of shipping people.
But Emma had flat-out said she was only flattering Adrian professionally.
She had never even considered dating him.
Mia couldn't understand it.
Did Emma have some kind of unusual hobby?
A few minutes later, Emma came back.
Mia immediately leaned toward her.
"What did you go to see Mr. Mercer about?"
Emma had spent the entire day avoiding him.
Then she'd suddenly gone over there and come straight back.
What could she possibly have done?
Emma didn't bother hiding it.
"I handed in my resignation."
Mia's eyes widened until they looked ready to fall out.
"What?"
"Your resignation?"
"You're quitting?!"
Oh, God.
Her work buddy was leaving.
How was she supposed to survive?
Sure, Emma wasn't exactly a normal lunch buddy.
She was a shipping buddy.
That was one of the few genuinely entertaining parts of Mia's workday.
And now it was being taken away from her.
Emma nodded.
"Yeah."
Mia clutched her chest.
"Why?! With your performance, you'd have no problem getting a permanent position after graduation!"
She glanced around.
Grace Bennett wasn't in the office.
Mia lowered her voice.
"Grace isn't the only person who decides that. Don't let her scare you into quitting."
The mood in the company shipping group had actually shifted a little that afternoon.
Two things had happened.
First, Adrian had gone to the cafeteria.
At first, everyone had wondered why.
Then they noticed something.
Emma had left.
And Adrian hadn't eaten a single bite.
He'd just sat there looking absolutely miserable.
Second, there had been the ice-cream incident in the lobby.
Adrian had stolen Emma's ice cream.
Emma had responded by grabbing his hair and practically dragging him to the floor.
And somehow—
He hadn't even gotten angry.
Shipping fans were professionals when it came to finding tiny pieces of sweetness in a pile of broken glass.
Those two incidents proved one thing.
Adrian Mercer definitely had feelings for Emma.
The group chat had practically exploded.
So there was no way Emma's permanent position would be a problem.
At least, surely Adrian wouldn't let Grace interfere.
Emma shook her head.
"I'm not quitting because of her."
She paused.
"I just realized I'm not that interested in being a secretary."
Mia immediately tried another argument.
"But Mr. Mercer is still at the company."
She pointed at Emma.
"You are interested in him!"
Emma stared at her.
Mia continued earnestly.
"I know you said you've never actually planned to be with him."
"But if he likes you now, then getting together would be easy!"
Emma waved both hands so quickly they became a blur.
"No, no, no."
She shook her head.
"I'm not interested in him anymore either."
Mia:
"......"
She grabbed Emma's arm and stared at her with genuine admiration.
"Emma Carter."
"You are the most emotionally healthy person I've ever met."
"You knew Mr. Mercer was obviously headed toward an arranged marriage, so you immediately chose to walk away."
Emma's mouth twitched.
No.
She was not emotionally healthy.
If she were still working for Mrs. Mercer, she'd probably have crawled back into that office on her hands and knees.
Even if they buried her alive, she'd claw her way out of the grave, stand beside her own coffin, and scream through her rotten vocal cords—
"I'M STAYING AT THIS COMPANY!"
Unfortunately, Mrs. Mercer wasn't paying her anymore.
So there was nothing left to stay for.
Seeing how determined Emma was, Mia finally stopped trying to convince her.
Instead, she immediately posted the news in the company shipping group.
..................
Inside his office, Adrian Mercer stared at the resignation letter in his hand.
The smile he'd been wearing froze.
His handsome face slowly twisted into disbelief.
What the hell?
Emma was quitting?
Emma was actually quitting?!
Why?
Why was she quitting?
Was it because of what he'd said?
He'd said he wasn't getting married.
He hadn't said he wasn't dating anyone.
And he certainly hadn't said he'd never get married for the rest of his life!
Was Emma stupid?
If a zombie opened her skull and looked inside, it would probably apologize for wasting its time.
The impulse to stop her hit him immediately.
Adrian stood up.
He took two steps toward the door.
Then stopped.
He turned around.
Wait.
What was he doing?
He was going to go after her?
He was going to ask her not to quit?
Absolutely not.
Did he have no pride?
She was obviously doing this on purpose.
She wanted him to chase after her.
She wanted him to lower his head first.
But why would Adrian Mercer—the heir to Mercer Holdings—lower himself for a secretary?
Even if he liked her a little—
It was only a little.
She obviously liked him much more.
She'd been following him around for more than a year.
She'd definitely crack first.
She'd withdraw the resignation herself.
Right.
She would.
All he had to do was wait.
Adrian shoved the resignation letter into his desk drawer.
Bang!
He slammed it shut.
It was just patience.
He had plenty of that.
He'd survived studying abroad, after all.
He could outlast anyone.
His phone buzzed.
A message from Noah appeared.
For one thing, he'd never seen a reason to.
For another, he didn't think it was particularly decent to go around telling people that some girl was hopelessly obsessed with him.
This time was different.
He was asking for help.
Unfortunately, Adrian was in such a terrible mood that he replied with one word.
Noah:
Adrian's fingers flew across the screen.
He hit send.
Then froze.
Something suddenly occurred to him.
Emma had supposedly liked him for more than a year.
But she'd never actually confessed.
Not once.
Adrian slowly tugged at the silver chain around his neck.
What the hell?
She really was a strange one.
How could someone chase him for that long without ever actually saying she wanted him?
Before he could figure it out, the workday was over.
Mia immediately posted another update in the group.
————
After a full day at work, Emma finally walked out of the Mercer Holdings building with Mia.
Emma stretched her arms.
"Today was pretty good."
Mia looked at her.
Emma sighed.
"I didn't make any money, but at least I didn't waste the day."
She smiled.
"I got tired. That counts for something."
Mia looked like she was about to cry.
"Emma, please delete that message."
She wiped at the corner of her eye.
"I have a friend who's emotionally devastated."
Emma burst out laughing.
She hadn't realized until today that Mia was actually this funny.
And apparently, Mia had never realized Emma could be this funny either.
Which somehow made everything worse.
Because now Mia was going to miss her even more.
She's really leaving.
Then—
VROOOOM!
The roar of a sports-car engine suddenly cut through the evening air.
Both women stopped.
A red sports car shot past them.
Fast.
Very fast.
Mia stared after it.
"Wow."
She sighed dramatically.
"You know, I used to think that one day you'd be sitting in the passenger seat of that car."
Emma glanced at the disappearing vehicle.
It belonged to Adrian.
He only drove it to and from work.
Whenever he had to leave the office during the day for a client meeting or business appointment, he usually took one of the company's larger executive vehicles instead.
Emma smiled faintly.
"How would that ever happen?"
Just like Mrs. Mercer had said—
She and Adrian really did belong to completely different worlds.
Still...
Emma couldn't help thinking about something.
She hadn't heard Adrian complain about her once today.
Not even once.
Honestly?
Her corpse felt significantly more comfortable.
Mia sighed.
"Actually, I think Mr. Mercer is pretty decent most of the time."
She looked toward the road.
"At least he studied abroad and doesn't believe in working people to death. Companies that actually let employees leave on time are getting harder and harder to find."
Emma nodded.
"That's true."
Mia suddenly grinned.
"So, are you planning to keep—"
"Hey! Slow down!"
Emma was already climbing onto her electric scooter.
She twisted the throttle all the way.
The scooter shot forward.
Emma waved over her shoulder.
"Bye!"
Mia:
"......"
And just like that—
Her shipping buddy was gone.
————
North City Airport.
The terminal was packed.
"AHHHHHHH! Julian is here!"
"AHHHHH! Julian! You're the best!"
"You're number one!"
"Look over here!"
"Julian! Look at me!"
"You're my husband!"
The crowd erupted into screams.
Then someone suddenly shouted a completely unhinged rhyme.
"From every angle, you're perfect!"
Several people froze.
They turned toward the source.
Even the man surrounded by security glanced back.
Julian Sterling had just walked through the arrivals gate.
He wore a white hoodie and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.
For a brief moment, his gaze landed on a familiar figure in the crowd.
Long hair.
Two ponytails.
A glowing fan sign above her head.
And a face he recognized immediately.
Emma Carter.
Julian's eyes paused on her.
Emma saw him looking.
Her entire face lit up.
She grabbed her fan sign and screamed with every ounce of strength in her body.
"JULIAN!"
"YOUR WAIST ISN'T A WAIST—IT'S A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION!"
"AND YOUR LEGS AREN'T LEGS—THEY'RE THE SPRING WATER OF THE SEINE!"
Julian:
"......"
He stared at her.
Then slowly pulled his cap lower.
He suddenly had a very bad feeling about why Emma was here.