Chapter 885 – The Little Tail

"Long time, was not expecting my short break to be so long, well you will be seeing more from me."

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When Laila arrived at the company, it was already 10 a.m.

Demi had been waiting to report the day's agenda to her boss, but before speaking, she noticed an unexpected addition trailing behind Laila—a little tail named Roy.

Back in Hollywood, it wasn't uncommon to see Roy driving Laila to work. But here in New York, this was a first. Judging by the way he was looking around, he didn't seem inclined to just drop her off and leave either.

"Roy? Is there something else you need?"

If not, then hurry up and go! You're in the way!

Roy swore he could see that exact meaning written all over Demi's face.

What the hell? He was simply staying by his fiancée's side—how did that make him an inconvenience? Though, admittedly, it was the truth. Still, did she have to be so obvious about it?

"Starting today, I'll be Laila's assistant. Feel free to delegate all the work to me." Roy grinned, flashing a row of white teeth.

Demi let out a dry laugh. "You must be joking."

Delegate work over to him? And then what? Go through it all again herself to fix his mistakes? No, thank you!

She was already drowning in work—why would she willingly take on an extra burden? The old man's former secretary was still around, but her ties with Laila weren't as strong. Besides, she had to handle the loose ends left behind by the chairman, and after the transition was complete, she'd be taking over an executive role.

Meanwhile, Demi was practically buried under a mountain of tasks. The last thing she needed was to clean up Roy's mess.

Roy felt the silent judgment in her gaze.

He had only wanted to help Laila lighten her workload, but from the looks of it, he'd have to prove he could do the job.

"Laila, tell her I'm staying to work!"

"Boss, your schedule is already packed." Demi's tone was firm—there was no time to indulge someone playing office worker.

The two of them bickered back and forth, giving Laila a growing headache.

If it were just about keeping him busy, she wouldn't mind throwing Roy a few minor tasks. But Demi's expression made it clear that she was not happy about him encroaching on her professional territory.

What was she supposed to do?

She couldn't exactly say that she didn't want him meddling either. If she rejected him outright, he might just call Janet over to cry to her about it—then she'd be in trouble.

"Demi, go bring me the files for my meeting."

Demi shot Roy a smug look before striding out of the office.

But when she returned with the documents, her triumph was short-lived.

"Give the files to Roy," Laila instructed.

Roy's lips curled into a victorious smirk. If she was handing him the meeting documents, it meant she wanted him to study them. And if she wanted him to study them, then obviously, he was staying.

Their silent battle of wits was exhausting to watch. They were both adults, yet they acted like children vying for attention.

Laila had no patience for it.

"Demi, teach him the relevant details about the meeting. I want him to attend as an observer."

He didn't need to contribute—just listening and understanding half of it would be enough.

Demi pursed her lips but ultimately nodded.

As a professional secretary, she didn't have to like it, but she did have to respect her boss's decision.

Her thoughts were simple—Roy was an actor. Even if he was a top-tier celebrity, what did he know about corporate affairs? Why should he be allowed to meddle in her domain?

After Roy was sent to the adjacent office to review the documents, Demi began briefing Laila on the day's agenda.

Before she could get far, Laila spoke up first.

"You don't understand why I did that, do you?"

Demi hesitated before nodding.

If she followed the teachings of her professional secretary training course, she should have denied it. A secretary was just a secretary—her job was to execute orders without question. That was what made a good secretary.

But the dissatisfaction in her heart was too strong. For once, she chose to ignore her training.

Laila understood Demi well.

Her secretary had an obsession with perfection—so much so that she often got stuck on minor details. Laila wasn't sure if someone had drilled the wrong mindset into her from the start, but over time, Demi had grown more and more efficient, even as she became prone to overthinking.

Still, she was easy to tolerate.

Why? Because she had a pretty face.

That alone made Laila a lot more patient with her than she was with others.

And because she was such a competent secretary, Laila felt the need to reassure her.

"You weren't always this skilled either."

Demi fell silent at those words.

After a long pause, she finally said, "I'm sorry, Boss. I wasn't thinking clearly. I'll do my best to assist Mr. Roy."

She gave a slight bow before exiting the office.

The conversation had stirred old memories.

She hadn't always been the competent secretary she was today.

Back then, she was just her former boss's decorative flower vase—a doll dressed up to look pretty. Technically, she held the position of secretary, but everyone knew it was just a glorified title.

Her real duties?

Serving tea, making the boss laugh, arranging his endless dates, and ensuring every woman he met was properly entertained. The rest of her time was spent flipping through fashion magazines and shopping for her next look.

To some, that kind of life seemed easy—comfortable, even.

But no one knew how humiliating it felt to walk through the office, enduring the judgmental stares of real employees.

Roy wasn't so different from her.

They had both started as people others looked down on, relying on their boss's backing and their efforts to climb to where they were now.

Who was she to judge him?

Once she realized this, her resistance toward Roy faded.

In the days that followed, she even ended up helping him quite a bit—but that was a story for another time.

Laila knew exactly what Demi had been thinking but didn't hold it against her.

In Laila's eyes, Demi was like a protective little cat—one that saw anyone eyeing its food as an enemy.

Of course, with her limited combat power, her only form of attack was to wave her soft, fluffy paws around in protest. No one expected her to land a hit.

That was precisely why Laila felt comfortable leaving Roy in her care.

—

On the other side, Roy was finally seeing what Laila's work life was truly like.

Now that he was involved, he realized just how hectic her days were.

She was nothing like the CEOs he had seen in movies—those businessmen always had plenty of free time to party, scheme, or play golf.

Even that real estate mogul who had once tried to snatch her café away had time to lounge around.

Laila, on the other hand, had a schedule packed to the brim.

Signing contracts, making decisions, attending meetings—she was constantly on the move.

At the start of the day, Laila hadn't seemed any different.

By the end, Roy was the one completely drained.

Drowned in an endless sea of documents, he felt like all the energy had been sucked out of him.