Chapter 2

Ever since he overheard what my coworkers said in the office that day.

Neal came home and turned into a complete brat about it.

He demanded that every single morning before work, he had to hear me say something sappy and sweet with his own ears, or he wouldn't behave for the day.

And if I happened to forget, he made me pay for it every time.

Either he'd show up to deliver my lunch in person, or he'd deliberately remind me in front of everyone: 【Mercedes Sullivan, did you forget something important today?】

Nobody at the company was blind. The rumors started spreading like wildfire, everyone whispering that the CEO and I must have some secret we couldn't let anyone know about.

If I hadn't had the husband-and-kids excuse standing between me and them, I'd probably have drowned in gossip by now.

But of course, the very next morning, Neal's female assistant came in cradling a few dozen afternoon-tea orders and delivered them straight to our department.

The assistant carried herself with a lazy, careless kind of arrogance, and gave a smile that never reached her eyes.

【You've all been working so hard lately. I'm here on Mr. Stephens's behalf to show a little care.】

For a second I just blanked.

Because I distinctly remembered that this morning before leaving I'd prepared a whole long string of sappy sweet talk, practically babied Neal into mush.

I'd actually been congratulating myself that Neal hadn't come in person.

The second the assistant spoke, my supervisor rushed out and bowed and scraped to her, groveling in a way that was honestly embarrassing.

The more I watched, the stranger it felt, so I quietly tugged the sleeve of a senior coworker beside me.

【Isn't our department head half a rank above the CEO's assistant?】

The coworker shot me a look and lowered her voice.

【Forget the department head. Even Mr. Stephens has to get down on his knees and coax her.】

【On the surface she's the CEO's assistant, but she's actually the real hidden lady of the house around here. Her name's Carolyn Swanson.】

【I heard some of the executives saw it with their own eyes. Our CEO handing her her shoes.】

When she finished, I was even more stunned.

If she was the lady of the house, then who was I?

Don't tell me Neal had quietly remarried and hadn't even sent me an invitation?

While I was still frozen, Carolyn walked right up to me and looked down at me as she asked:

【So you're that intern who gets beaten by her husband, Mercedes Sullivan?】

The corner of my mouth twitched with awkwardness. Did Neal pick his assistant with his eyes shut?

With her mouth and her people skills, how on earth had she landed the CEO's-assistant job?

I forced a smile and nodded at her.

And then she actually reached out, lifted my chin, looked me up and down, and sneered:

【You do have some looks. No wonder ambition starts sprouting.】

The more she talked, the more lost I got.

Just as I was about to ask her to spell it out, she started openly warning me off:

【These past few days, the talk flying around about you and Mr. Stephens, you spread that yourself, didn't you?】

【Mr. Stephens is only being good to you because he cares about his employees. Nothing more.】

【I'd advise you to know your place. Don't actually think you're somebody and go ruining Mr. Stephens's reputation.】

She paused, then added another jab, pleased with her own wit:

【Or better yet, hurry home and be a good little wife and mother. At least then you won't have to rush back to cook, and won't have to worry about getting beaten for leaving late.】

When she finished, she laughed to herself.

Everyone around us stayed silent. Not one person joined in.

Instead of getting angry, I smiled, took the strawberry cake right out of her hand, and answered her sweetly:

【Thank you for your concern, Assistant Swanson, but I've already decided to go back to being single, so I won't need to rush home to cook for a while.】

Then I lifted my face again, my smile not reaching my eyes:

【Which means I'll be putting down roots at the company every single day, pouring my heart and soul out… for Mr. Stephens.】

Carolyn was livid, and she stalked off with her face gone dark.

Everyone crowded around me. Some told me not to take it to heart, some worried I'd be paid back for it, and some, all curiosity, pried into why I'd gotten divorced.

But I kept my head down, doing nothing but firing off a message to demand answers from the great CEO Stephens:

【Did you buy afternoon tea for my department today?】

Neal replied in a second: 【Nope, sweetheart. Craving something? Hubby will go buy it for you right now!】

I tapped out with my fingertip: 【No need. Some sucker already footed the bill for you.】

Neal was thrown too, and quickly asked who it was.

I took a bite of the cake and replied at my leisure: 【The lady of the house around here.】