Irene Kept Busy

The man stopped in front of Irene.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he stared into Irene's eyes, their real color concealed behind a pair of brown contact lenses.

"Why don't you start by making me coffee?"

Irene almost exhaled out of relief. She almost thought that he meant to harass her. Thankfully, her ugly disguise managed to keep every man disinterested.

"Right away, Sir."

"Black, no sugar," he added.

There was no pantry and no coffee machine on the whole floor. Old Mr. Henderson despised coffee, claiming that the liquor dulled his sharp mind. It looked like his successor did not share the same notion.

In order to make Mr. Damian Henderson a cup of coffee, Irene had to take the elevator five floors down to get to the nearest pantry. It took her more than half an hour to serve it in front of Damian. Despite her efforts, Damian found them inadequate.

He barely took a sip before he furrowed his brows and started to complain, "This tastes like instant coffee."

"..."

That was an indirect insult. Irene had been drinking coffee for years. She would know what both ground and instant coffee tasted like. The one she prepared for Damian was not instant coffee.

"Sir, I brewed this cup of coffee myself. It is not instant coffee," Irene pointed out.

Damian pinned her with a stare.

"What you brewed was instant coffee."

The new CEO reached into his wallet and took out a card.

"The PIN is 083661. Go and buy some high-quality coffee beans out there and grind them yourself. Use only a French press. Buy anything else that you need."

"... Very well, Sir."

Irene spent the whole morning outside shopping at her favorite coffee roaster shop. Damian did not specify the kind of coffee beans that he wanted, so she might as well buy some of the prized ones and give them a try.

By the time Irene got back to Primavera, she saw a bunch of handsome men lining up in front of the reception desk. It turned out that June Henderson came up with a better idea to prevent her husband from going astray while at the same time not ruining everyone's eyes with hideous-looking employees.

Instead of hiring ugly women, Primavera's recruiting team was looking through a selection of good-looking men to be Chris Henderson's secretary.

Why did they not think about this right away? People often wondered. Because now they were stuck with an ugly duckling inside Primavera, who coincidentally was also the new secretary for the CEO.

Irene went straight into the elevator with two bags of groceries. Men and women alike wrinkled their noses at her and threw her envious looks. Irene was aware that they disliked her. They were going to try and throw her out of the company.

In that case, she needed Damian to fully support her. He had yet to comment that she was ugly. Hopefully, Chris' bad character did not run in the family.

When Irene arrived, Damian was not around. His office was empty and he did not leave a message.

To be more precise, she did not know his number and he did not know hers. Naturally, he could not leave her any message.

Irene hoped to see at least a piece of scribbled paper on the desk, but there was none. Almost as if Damian left in a hurry.

Never mind.

Irene searched the floor for a good spot to set up a small coffee corner. She already bought a few necessary tools to do just that.

Damian returned to Primavera after lunchtime. The first thing that caught his attention was the neat coffee corner just outside of his office. He gave Irene a warm smile.

"It looks great, thanks for your effort."

Irene smiled in return. "No problem. I already ground some of the coffee beans myself this morning. Are you interested in having another cup this afternoon?"

Damian shook his head.

"Not this late. By the way, you haven't given me your number yet."

"Right."

After they exchanged their contact numbers, Damian flipped his phone cover shut with an audible clicking sound.

"The first thing that you need to know about me is that I am quite busy. You seem to be quite a reliable secretary, so I will need you to handle a lot of things in my absence."

"Of course."

"I am going to be away for a month. If there is anything urgent, feel free to contact me."

Irene raised her eyebrows in surprise. Busy with what? Was this not supposed to be his job?

"May I know where you are going to go?"

Irene did not mean to be nosy. As his secretary, she should know, right?

Damian pulled his lips into a flat line and shrugged.

"All over the world. I like to travel."

"..."

What kind of an answer was that? Did Damian not know what importance the CEO position held? Was he not planning to do the job at all?

Damian flashed Irene a brilliant smile.

"If ever anyone in Primavera causes you grief because I am absent, feel free to contact me. If there is nothing else, I will be going now."

"..."

Damian turned on his heels to go.

When he caught a glimpse at the coffee corner again, he said, "By the way, don't let the coffee beans go to waste. Feel free to make yourself some in my absence."

Irene was baffled. Good thing that she bought some of her favorite variants then?

"Au revoir."

Irene waved at Damian's retreating back clumsily.

Her new boss came and left like a whirlwind. Irene plopped herself down on her seat and gaped at the elevator doors that swallowed Damian's figure and took him downstairs.

Well, well.

That was an unusual development.

Was this what she thought it was?

A mischievous smile played around Irene's lips.

Coincidentally, she had always wanted to play a CEO.

If Damian gave her the power, she would love to use it against her enemies.