Chapter 13
Mia completely lost her mind.
AAAAAH!
Mr. Mercer doesn't hate Emma!
Does that mean he actually likes her?!
Several of the employees standing nearby were fellow shippers.
Their eyes lit up instantly.
The rest simply looked stunned.
After all, Adrian's favorite things to say to Emma were:
Emma had even given him a nickname because of it:
Only Trace looked completely cold.
There's no way Adrian actually fell for Emma... right?
Even Adrian himself was stunned by what had just come out of his mouth.
What the hell did I just say?
He definitely found Emma annoying!
Seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, he immediately added,
"Who told you that?"
Everyone suddenly understood.
The light in Mia's eyes went out.
Oh.
He wasn't asking, "Who said I hate her?"
He was asking who told Trace that he hated her.
That was a completely different question.
Trace, who had been dangerously close to losing her temper, finally relaxed.
She took a deep breath.
"Adrian, that's not important."
Adrian glanced at Emma.
She was still standing there with the exact same timid expression.
His irritation returned.
What is wrong with her?
He had literally come out here and made it clear that Trace wasn't even his fiancée.
Why wasn't Emma reacting?
Why was she still standing there like a frightened little rabbit?
How had someone this timid survived on her own for twenty-three years?
If she ever goes out into the real world like this, someone is going to eat her alive.
Adrian looked back at Trace.
"Either way, my personal business isn't yours to manage."
His voice turned cold.
"Get this straight. There is nothing between us."
Trace's face tightened.
"There is! I'm your future wife!"
Adrian let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Don't make me laugh. I'm not getting married."
He was twenty-two.
Why the hell would he get married?
What was that sound?
The sound of several office shippers' hearts breaking.
Mr. Mercer is telling this woman he won't marry her...
But isn't he also kind of telling Emma the same thing?
Everyone slowly turned toward Emma.
She was still looking down.
Poor Emma.
She has to be devastated.
Is she crying?
Except Emma hadn't heard a word of the conversation.
She was exhausted.
She'd barely slept last night.
After standing there for so long, her brain had simply decided to shut down.
She was half-asleep on her feet.
Trace's face went pale, then flushed with anger.
"Adrian, you—"
Adrian had officially run out of patience.
"Leave on your own, or I'll have security escort you out."
With that, he turned and headed back toward his office.
Emma is already annoying enough.
Now there's another woman bothering me.
Trace had been pampered her entire life.
She had never been publicly humiliated like this.
Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
She wiped them angrily and stormed out.
Grace hadn't expected the situation to end like this either.
She turned toward the employees and snapped,
"Show's over. Back to work. Don't you people have jobs?"
Everyone turned around.
And, naturally, rolled their eyes.
Like you weren't standing here watching too.
Five minutes ago, you were practically running the fan club.
Everyone scattered.
Emma was still standing in the same spot.
Mia looked at her and immediately felt sorry for her.
She gently patted Emma on the shoulder.
"Hey. Don't be sad. Come on."
"Huh?"
Emma blinked.
"Oh."
She looked around.
Everyone was gone.
She yawned.
And then—
Adrian happened to glance back.
Through the large glass doors of his office, he saw Emma standing there.
A tear rolled slowly down her cheek.
Adrian's heart gave a tiny jolt.
Damn.
She's crying?
Just because I said I wasn't getting married?
Emma really is too much.
She's crying over that?
He sat down behind his desk, crossed one leg over the other, and picked up a file.
It took his assistant a while to return with lunch.
On his way downstairs, he'd happened to see a couple having a dramatic breakup right outside the building.
The guy had been standing in the middle of the sidewalk, shouting at his girlfriend:
The woman had covered her face and run away.
The assistant had stood there laughing for a solid five minutes before finally remembering that he had a job.
By the time he got back upstairs, he'd also seen the messages in the company group chat saying that Mr. Mercer's fiancée had shown up.
He hurried back.
Unfortunately, he'd still missed the entire show.
And now he was nervous.
He'd taken too long.
Mr. Mercer was definitely going to chew him out.
Adrian had a terrible temper.
The only person who seemed capable of dealing with him was Secretary Emma.
He carefully placed the bags on the desk.
"Mr. Mercer, I brought your lunch and bubble tea."
He cautiously studied Adrian's expression.
To his surprise, Adrian didn't even seem to care.
He casually picked up the bubble tea.
The assistant quietly relaxed.
Oh.
Mr. Mercer's in a good mood.
Is it because his fiancée came to see him?
Adrian pushed the straw into the cup and took a sip.
The next second—
"Ugh! What the hell is this?"
He spat it right back out.
"Where did you buy this? It tastes awful!"
He tossed the bubble tea straight into the trash.
The assistant looked innocent.
"The chain shop downstairs."
Adrian stared at him.
"The usual one."
Adrian suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.
He pushed the lunch aside.
"Next time, get the one Emma usually buys."
The assistant's mouth twitched.
"We can't."
Adrian looked up.
"Do you know how to do your job?"
The assistant quickly explained.
"Secretary Emma makes it herself at home."
Adrian frowned.
"She does?"
Then it clicked.
"Oh."
She makes it herself?
He genuinely had no idea.
And she never told me?
Seriously.
Sometimes Adrian wondered whether Emma even knew how to pursue someone.
She never said anything.
She just did things.
Her favorite hobby seemed to be appearing in his office every morning, hovering around him, and keeping track of everything he did like a one-woman surveillance department.
Other girls who liked him were completely different.
If they did something for him, they'd practically need a billboard to make sure he knew about it.
The assistant smiled.
"Want me to ask Secretary Emma to make one and bring it over?"
Adrian waved him off.
"Forget it. She'll make me one tomorrow."
He said it with absolute confidence.
All morning, Grace was the one bringing files into Adrian's office.
Normally, Emma would have fought her for the privilege.
Today, Emma didn't even move.
Grace understood immediately.
She knew she didn't have a chance anymore.
Children born into wealthy families didn't always get to decide who they married.
Even if Adrian refused, there was only so much he could do against the expectations of two powerful families.
When lunch break finally arrived, Grace walked past Emma's desk.
She couldn't resist.
"So, how does it feel to put in all that effort and end up with nothing?"
Emma looked up.
"That isn't something you need to worry about."
She paused.
"You should probably focus on surviving middle school admissions first."
Grace:
"......"
Mia nearly choked trying not to laugh.
Wow.
Emma's mouth is lethal today.
Every sentence comes with a complimentary funeral.
Grace's face darkened as she walked away.
Mia was about to head out for lunch when she noticed Emma was still sitting at her desk.
"Are you still going to lunch with Mr. Mercer today?"
Normally, Emma was the one who ordered takeout for Adrian or went out to eat with him.
Emma shook her head.
"No."
Mia immediately smiled and hooked her arm through Emma's.
"Really? Then come eat with us in the cafeteria!"
The company cafeteria wasn't cheap.
Emma blinked.
"I'm not really hungry."
Mia grinned.
"Someone's paying."
Emma stood up immediately.
"Let's go."
Emma had always revolved her entire workday around Adrian.
She'd never bothered making friends with her coworkers.
And she'd never once gone to lunch with them.
But somehow, nobody could genuinely dislike her.
For one thing—
She was ridiculously pretty.
She wore simple makeup, and when she wasn't smiling, she had an almost cool, untouchable elegance.
In a business suit, she looked sharp and polished.
Beautiful.
Confident.
Then Adrian would appear.
And somehow, that same woman would instantly turn into the world's most shameless flatterer.
Everyone secretly admired Adrian for one thing.
How had this ridiculously beautiful woman chased him for more than a year without making him fall for her?
Was this man some kind of modern-day saint?
The employee who had offered to pay for lunch was a slightly chubby woman.
She hadn't expected Mia to bring Emma herself.
The actual main character.
The woman everyone had been gossiping about.
And now Emma wasn't even going to chase Adrian anymore.
What did that mean?
Their ship was really dead.
Still, it wasn't all bad.
Making friends with Emma was pretty great too.
Five or six people eventually gathered around the same table.
They exchanged glances.
Emma sat among them, looking increasingly confused.
What is going on?
Why does this feel like a meeting where everyone knows the agenda except me?
Mia was the closest to her, so she immediately started comforting her.
"It's okay, Emma."
"Mr. Mercer is still young. Don't take what he said too seriously."
"Every guy his age says he doesn't want to get married."
"When the right time comes, he'll change his mind."
"You just have to keep trying."
"We believe in you!"
Emma happily picked through her free lunch.
Then she grabbed a huge chicken leg.
"Keep trying what?"
Mia stared at her.
"Trying to win him over!"
Emma took a huge bite of chicken.
She frowned.
"Huh?"
"I've never tried to win him over."
The chubby coworker stared at Emma's enormous chicken leg.
Her eyes practically disappeared behind her smile.
Emma has serious food game.
Wait.
She never chased Mr. Mercer?
Mia frowned.
"You've been chasing him for over a year!"
Emma decided it was probably time to clear up this misunderstanding.
She gave them a calm little smile.
"No."
"I've just been flattering the hell out of him."
Mia:
"......"
Mia slowly looked around the table.
Did anyone else understand what she meant?
Everyone shook their heads.
Nope.
Not a single person.
Apparently nobody had taken that class in school.