Secretary Andrew Makes Another Return to Lopez Co.

Something fundamental had changed inside Lopez Co.

Andrew could see it in the uplifted faces and excited chatter of the employees he heard when he walked down the office hallways, or the sentiments passed onto him when he routes documents to other departments.

Maybe it was the free lunch for employees in the lower bracket, or the new memo indicating an annual increase in salary, or it meant that Andrew's efforts of making Allen approachable was finally paying off.

Andrew wasn't sure if it was one of those or all of it, but Allen's plan of creating a better employment for his employees was off to a great start. Though it wasn't visible on Allen's scowling face.

The boss and his secretary sat side-by-side, inside a wide conference room, personal documents and written notes placed neatly in front of them. They had already spent the better half of the week interviewing Lopez Co. employees who had borrowed from Torch Lending. Their Human Resource Consultant suggested that we talk to them to get a grasp of their needs.

Andrew leaned towards Allen and whispered, "This is the last batch of that we need to interview, so chin up and don't click your tongue."

Allen didn't chin up. "I can't take another crier."

He straightened his back and flipped through the personal information of the interviewees left. Andrew ignored him and walked down to the door, saying, "Remember, don't ask why they couldn't finish college or throw insults at them or glare or hiss, okay?"

"No promises," he mumbled, scanning through his notes.

Andrew stepped outside to call out the next one from a long line of employees. An old woman, a janitor based on her uniform, scrambled up to him and apologized for taking up his time.

"Is it true that you'll be taking over our debts?" She asked, hesitant. Her tired eyes glistened in hope.

Andrew smiled and bent down a little so they could talk in eye-level. He glanced at her name tag. "That's right, Mrs. Garcia. All debts borrowed from Torch Lending will be transferred to Lopez Co. and all debt repayments will be divided by small amounts. So, you'll still have to pay your full debt, but at a much more reasonable pace."

Her shoulders sagged in relief, and a smile finally found her frail lips.

"We're still working down the details, but rest assured the team is working very hard on it. Are you ready to go inside?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Secretary Andrew. You really are an angel. Who paid for all our debts?"

Andrew smiled at her. "Sir Allen."

Andrew couldn't stop her from bursting into the conference room and raining Allen with praises. Making him uncomfortable and forcing everyone to snicker from the door.

By lunchtime, Andrew was standing in front of an audience of employees who were recipients of the free lunch program. They were mostly minimum wagers who go unnoticed by the company officers. It was a difficult conversation for the team—especially for the high-ranking officers who cannot understand the tremendous benefit it would bring to their employees out of fear of being abused and just lack of empathy.

Allen was like that before, but their lunches he had with Andrew and the team had him see the light.

Andrew took out his phone and took pictures from the back of the room. Allen stood proud and tall behind the podium addressing the crowd with Sonna and Claire behind him.

"I do hope that as you take care of Lopez Co., we-the company- can take better care of you, thank you."

Andrew signals to him to smile. Allen tries and fail. The crowd snickered and Andrew zoomed in at Allen's ugly smile.

"Er—Any question?"

From the crowd, the old woman from the interviews, exclaimed, "Take good care of Secretary Andrew."

It was followed by rowdy calls of agreement and whoops from the crowd as they laughed along her.

Allen's gaze found Andrew amongst the crowd, and a soft, genuine smile followed Allen's words: "Rest assured, I'll take care of him."

The crowd was smitten at the tyrant boss' affectionate words and rare smile. Andrew, on the other hand, didn't notice because he was trying to take bad pictures of Sonna on stage.

So, with all eyes on them, Andrew escorted Allen out of the venue. With Sonna and Claire packing up behind them. As they went about the company grounds, they encountered employees who sent out smiles to the two. Andrew glanced at Allen who either ignored them or side-eyed them.

"Try to smile would you," mumbled Andrew.

Then there were these two ladies who were scurried their way into their path. Allen glanced down, because of his freakish height, at them. He seemed to be used to talking to small people given Andrew has been working for him.

"Sir Allen, we would like to formally apologize for causing the media accident months ago."

"What she said."

"Geez, Rhea, Sanrio, why are you apologizing for that. You made a mistake. It was fixed. Nothing big."

Allen quirked his eyebrows. "So, it wasn't Andrew's mistake?"

"Oh, no Sir. It was entirely ours. Someone close to had just passed and I wasn't focused enough."

"And Andrew has been so understanding about it. Though he did challenge us to a drinking contest," Rhea joked.

"Ah." A look of recognition fell on Allen. "From the club, you were doing the chugging contest with Secretary Andrew."

Rhea was panicked-stricken. "No Sir you're mistaken-um-that wasn't Andrew. It was just me and Sanrio."

"Don't worry Rhea, he already knows about it." Andrew slapped Allen on the back. "I didn't know you watched that, I was cool, wasn't I?"

"You mean...Sir Allen knows?" asked Sanrio.

"Pfft, yes, yes. Allen already knows. It's quite freeing. But of course, I still watch my language at work. Don't want HR calling up my ass. Anyway, we must get going. We have to prepare for our next schedule."

They parted ways with the two ladies and headed for the lobby.

"Andrew?" Allen turns around and glares at Andrew. "Do you...want to have lunch maybe? Outside?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Y'know. All those times you glared at me while asking for things. I've always thought you were being cruel or judge-y, but now I realize you're just awkward at asking favors. And yeah, sure we can have lunch. Tell where so the team can join us."

Allen covered Andrew's phone with his hand, preventing him from texting.

Allen cleared his throat. "I was thinking maybe it could be just the two of us. I remember during one of our dates there was this Mexican restaurant you wanted to try?"

Andrew raises a curious eyebrow. They've shared about a thousand meals alone together, but something about this one feels different.

"Yeah, I remember you were being shy. But yeah, sure, let's go."

Allen flashed a happy grin.