In the past two years, aside from work-related matters, basically no one contacted Eve's personal iMessage.
After her shower, with her hair still wet, she picked up her phone to check.
No nickname, no Moments, the profile picture was just a starry sky—nothing else.
The last message was from two years ago, when she'd accepted his friend request.
She honestly had no memory of him at all.
Eve thought for a moment. It wasn't too late, so she politely sent a message: Hello, may I ask who's this?
After waiting a while without a reply, she didn't bother to care, turning her attention to company emails instead.
The next morning, Eve arrived at the office early, preparing all the materials needed for the morning meeting, as well as Stellan's coffee and health supplements.
At nine o'clock sharp, Stellan came in.
Only, his face was dark and cold, completely unlike his gentle demeanor yesterday.
Lucas followed behind him, hardly daring to breathe.
Eve felt a sense of unease in her chest. She caught Lucas during a gap, whispering, "What happened? Why does the boss look like this? Was the date last night bad?"
Lucas nodded. "I don't know what happened last night. The boss suddenly got upset and left without having dinner."
"..."
Eve felt a bit nervous.
Did he not like the restaurant? Or was he dissatisfied with the gift?
She'd arranged all of this!
Although worried, as an assistant, it was absolutely forbidden to pry into her boss's private affairs.
When delivering the coffee, all she could do was observe Stellan's expression the whole time.
Thankfully, although Stellan was in a bad mood, he didn't bring it into work. After glancing at the schedule, he started preparing for the meeting.
Eve focused completely, picking up on Stellan's intentions with just a look, handing over documents, serving tea and water, coordinating seamlessly.
After the morning meeting, they had to head to Sterling for an inspection in the afternoon.
Lucas drove. Eve sat in the passenger seat, organizing documents along the way.
The more she read, the more her brows furrowed.
Sterling was a cosmetics manufacturer with several large factories. Previously, it had suddenly gone bankrupt and been acquired—there'd been no warning at all.
After being transferred to Hess, she had no idea that Stellan planned to dismiss all the technical staff and executives at Sterling Factory, keeping only the land, not the people.
This was going to be a massive headache.
There were over a thousand employees there. At best, they'd have to pay heavy compensations; at worst, it could go to labor arbitration, with endless lawsuits to come.
She couldn't understand and couldn't help but turn her head to glance at the man in the backseat.
Stellan was sharp; the moment she looked over, his gaze swept to her, meeting her eyes.
"What is it?"
Eve was just an assistant. She had no right to question the boss's decisions.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
They first went to Sterling's headquarters. Stellan and Lucas went outside to talk with the president, leaving Eve to connect with the team for today's meeting.
Eve had just walked in when a chilling voice called out from behind her.
"Sherman! You're here!"
Eve's heart plunged; she instinctively took two steps back.
It was General Manager Phillip Langdon.
She'd been promoted by Phillip Langdon and was his assistant for a year.
Phillip Langdon was the Sterling president's brother, sent to manage the company—but he had zero business sense, always slacking off, and besides picking out pretty employees, he was always getting handsy with the women around him.
Eve hadn't been able to avoid it, either.
Now, just seeing him, she couldn't help but break out in goosebumps all over.
She backed away, but Phillip Langdon didn't care—he just came forward, grabbing her wrist and rubbing it lewdly in his hand.
"Crawford, while you were gone, I couldn't eat or sleep. Missed you so much…"
Eve jerked her hand away like she'd been shocked, voice dropping cold: "President Langdon, show some respect!"
Phillip Langdon just kept inching closer, his eyes fixed hungrily beneath her skirt. "Why pretend to be so pure? If you weren't pretty and had a great body, do you think you'd have become my assistant? Don't tell me you really believe it's because you're all that? At Hess, they just see you as a plaything too."
Eve gritted her teeth, lifting her eyes to glare at him. "I earned all this through my own hard work!"
This job was something she'd won fair and square, the result of all those countless days and nights grinding. Why should he brand her this way?
Phillip Langdon saw her face tense and just grinned, pulling her toward the stairwell: "Alright, don't be mad. Come on, let's catch up. I really missed you, you know!"
Eve gritted her teeth, struggling, and turning her head, she saw Stellan and Lucas walk in.
Outside, the bright sunlight outlined Stellan's tall frame. His powerful presence made every employee nearby sneak glances his way.
"President Sutton!"
Eve called out instinctively.