The employees all greeted her politely.
With a gentle smile, she nodded at everyone. “I’m so glad to be part of the team. I hope we can all get along.”
She had even prepared gifts for them, and Rodrick carried them for her.
Britney gave a bitter smile.
When she was with Rodrick, she had always been the one carrying all the bags. He had never helped. Not even once.
But when it came to his first love, he suddenly acted like an entirely different person.
He wasn’t even subtle about who he really loved.
Bianca had prepared a gift for Britney, too–a cartoon–patterned mouse wrist rest.
“Oh! You already have the same one?!” Bianca was surprised as she saw the one on Britney’s desk.
Then she said to Rodrick, “Rod, you’ve got the same taste. What are the odds?”
Turning back to Britney, she smiled, seemingly a bit embarrassed, “Rod bought these gifts with me. I didn’t know it’d be the same as yours. If it bothers you, I’ll get you a different one later.”
“That’s not necessary.” Britney put the mouse wrist rest away.
Rodrick ordered, “Britney, show Bianca around.”
Britney couldn’t think of any reason to say no.
One of the rules secretaries at Royarch Capital followed was that they always prioritized the CEO’s orders.
Obviously, Bianca was easygoing–she greeted everyone with that gentle smile of hers.
And her face was stunningly beautiful.
It made sense. After all, she was Rodrick’s first love.
After Britney showed her around, Bianca said she wanted to take a look at her office.
The office had been completed just two weeks ago.
Britney had overseen every little detail.
From the furniture to the layout, everything was designed to her liking.
She had yearned for that office as badly as her desire to marry Rodrick.
0.0 %
11:51 (8
Chapter 3
But it seemed she ended up with neither love nor career.
“I love the style. It’s warmer than I expected. And it’s so close to Rod’s office!” Bianca beamed.
Eagerly wanting to share her joy with Rodrick, she went next door at once, leaving Britney behind.
Standing alone in the office, Britney felt that she was the biggest joke in the world.
As she looked around at the office she had meticulously designed, something invisible gripped her heart.
It hurt so much that she could barely breathe.
***
288 Vouchers
The weekly noon meeting was a key event that everyone in Royarch Capital took seriously.
No one dared to be late, not even Britney.
But apparently, Bianca was the only exception.
She broke the rule Rodrick had set, even though it was her first day here.
Britney expected him to be furious.
At least he’d reprimand Bianca a bit.
But to her disappointment, he didn’t seem displeased at all.
He calmly asked Britney to distribute the meeting materials.
stood frozen, old memories flooding back to her.
when she was an intern, she had been late due to a flu–induced fever, and Rodrick had publicly scolded her.
had completely forgotten that she had caught the flu while taking care of him.
Aggrieved, she had asked him after the meeting why he would treat her like that.
His excuse was, “We’re just starting out, and I gotta set some ground rules. This is a perfect chance to keep them in line.”
In other words, he made an example out of her, using her as a tool.
Back then, she had comforted herself that it was nothing personal–Rodrick was just being Rodrick, never mixing busi- ness with personal feelings.
Years had passed. Now that she recalled this, the whole thing was like a loud slap in her face.
50.4 %
11:51
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
