He pursed his lips before continuing, “I don’t doubt your capabilities since you’ve been employed at both Featherstone Corporation and White Corporation before. That’s why I hired you without going through an interview with HR. But this doesn’t mean that you can gloss over the regulations in Murphy Corporation. Sienna, you have to treat every job you take on seriously since it’s now your responsibility.”
I nodded several times and answered sincerely, “Yes, I know!”
He frowned, apparently in a bad mood. He walked around me and left the conference room.
I sighed, still feeling uneasy about the whole situation.
Linda was waiting for me at the door. Sensing my dejected mood, she tried to comfort me, “Mr. Murphy is always this serious when it comes to working. You’ll get used to it after a few more days.”
I tilted my head to look at her, surprised and touched by her kind words. “Thank you!”
She smiled at me. “Everyone went through this phase as well. For us women, if we refuse to become housewives that are crippled without their husbands, we can only fight harder to establish our careers.”
I was stunned at her words. She started to walk away but stopped after a few steps. She turned back to me and said, “Oh right, I have a tip for you. Mr. Murphy likes sweets, though he doesn’t eat them very often. You can carry some sweets with you. Who knows, it might cut down the number of times he tells you off!”
That was unexpected. Armond has a sweet tooth?
“By the way, Mr. Murphy has gastric problems, so he can’t skip his breakfast in the morning. It would be good if you have some gastric medication with you at all times.”
Linda left after bestowing me with her advice. It took me a moment to get over my surprise at the new things I’d learned about Armond today. I then headed back to the office and collected a stack of documents meant for Armond.
He looked pale, and I thought he was still angry at me. Cautiously, I said, “Mr. Murphy, I’ve already reviewed these documents. They’re all good to go; they just need your signature.”
He mumbled his acknowledgment without looking at me. He continued reading the documents in his hand as I placed my stack on his desk. That was when I noticed that one of his hands was clutching his stomach.
Linda’s words came to mind as I realized he might be in pain from his gastric problems instead of being angry.
Seeing his intense concentration on the documents in front of him, I pulled out a few sweets from my pocket and placed them on the desk. I said apologetically, “Mr. Murphy, I’m really sorry about what happened this morning. Please have a few sweets first to stave off the pain, and I’ll head out to get you some medicine and food in a bit.”
He stopped whatever he was doing and met my gaze. His brows were raised as he asked with some humor, “Did Linda tell you about this?”
I looked at the sweets on the table and nodded. “Linda told me that you like to eat sweets. She also mentioned that you have gastric problems, so you can’t skip breakfast. I’ll remember these details in the future. I slipped up today, but I won’t repeat my mistakes.”
I grew nervous as I stared at him, and I took in a small breath to calm myself down. I tried to give him my most serious expression as I waited for his orders.
Suddenly, he smiled at me. He replied, “Just don’t repeat it again. I’m fine, and you should get back to work. Let’s have lunch together later.”
I nodded eagerly.
I was still worried at his pallor and asked, “Are you able to bear the pain?”
He smiled placidly. “I’ve lived with this for a while now, so I’m used to it. Plus, it’s almost noon, so I don’t want to trouble you to go out now.”
I nodded and said, “Then please have some sweets first and drink some water.”
I left his office. Unable to shake off my concern, I went to the pantry and prepared a glass of warm milk.
My phone began ringing with a call from Nora. I picked up the phone. “Morning, have you eaten?”
“Not yet. Babe, I need your help!” Pots and pans clanged in the background, and I guessed that she was in the kitchen.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Can you send me the address of the company? I’m bringing lunch for Armond today. By the way, I can’t enter the office without an appointment, right? So you’ll need to come downstairs and get the food from me when I arrive!”
“Sure!” I was just thinking about what to get for lunch. “Armond has gastric problems, and they’re flaring up now. If you could bring along some gastric medication, that’d be great!”
I heard her cackling laughter through the receiver. “Leave it to me. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
I hung up and finished preparing the milk. Linda showed up at the pantry to get some coffee, looking exhausted.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Linda, did you have a rough night?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “School’s starting in a couple of days. My daughter hasn’t completed any of her assigned work, so I’ve been up the past few nights making sure she finished them properly! Really, women shouldn’t have kids at all. They’re adorable when they’re still young but become absolute nightmares when they’re older! Here, look at my wrinkles. There are so many extra ones now!”
She moved her eyes closer to me and pulled on them dramatically.
I burst into laughter. “How old is your daughter?”
“She’s entering third grade soon. I’m telling you, you can never run out of things to worry about them!”
“My daughter’s entering first grade soon!” I replied on instinct as I thought of Summer. Though judging by Summer’s nature, I probably won’t be the only one worrying about her.
My reply startled her. “You have a daughter? Wait, are you married?”
I nodded as her astonishment grew. “I’ve been married for almost ten years.”
She clicked her tongue and immediately launched into gossip mode. “Then what’s going on between you and Mr. Murphy?”
I was flabbergasted at her question. She must be mistaken. I laughed as I explained, “He’s just my boss. We seem familiar with each other because we’ve met on a few occasions before this. It’s not what you think it is!”
She rubbed her temples and sighed, “I should’ve known. Men like him are hardly approachable by women. He’s almost forty and still single; old Mr. Murphy must be going bald with anxiety.”
I couldn’t think of a suitable response and left with the glass of milk.
I knocked on the door to Armond’s office before entering. He was still reviewing documents as I walked in. I called out to him, “Mr. Murphy, I brought a glass of milk for you.”
The sweets on the table were gone, and I saw sweet wrappers in the trash can. So he ate the sweets after all. Who knew a frosty, reserved president like him would be a fan of sweet things?
He lifted his head when he heard me. His gaze fell on the glass of milk on the desk. Frowning, he said dismissively, “I don’t drink milk.”
“Well, you should at least drink a little bit of milk. It’ll help to soothe some of the pain.”
He shook his head adamantly. “I’m not drinking this!”
He paused for a moment and stared at me. “Linda didn’t tell you that I don’t drink milk?”
I shook my head.
He smirked and gestured for me to bring the milk away. I pursed my lips and retorted, “Even if you don’t normally drink milk, a little bit right now will definitely help with your gastric pain. Plus, milk doesn’t taste that bad.”
I didn’t wait for his reply and left his office. Nora had arrived.
She sounded excited through the phone. “I’m downstairs. You should come here ASAP. I spy a hottie here. He looks like an absolute bad boy. He’s even more enigmatic than Armond.”
Speechless, I hung up and hurried downstairs. She ran towards me when she saw me and pushed the lunchboxes into my hands.
She said in a rush, “Sienna, I prepared lunch for both you and Armond. Don’t tell him I made it, or he might not eat it. I’m off to ogle the hottie now, bye!”
I… Didn’t she say she wanted to drop off lunch for Armond? She’s literally just dropping it off?
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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