The Apple of My Eye

Linda took Leila to the same restaurant where she went with Autumn before. She asked Leila while looking through the menu. "Leila, what would you like to have?"

"Anything works with me." Leila replied. Leila looked at Linda with a smile and said, "Linda, I am not picky when it comes to food. Can you recommend the best cuisine of this restaurant? But let me clear you one thing in advance. I will pay the bill for this meal. It is my first day at work here and you are my senior. I am certain that I'll need your support and guidance in the future, so this is my way of extending my thanks and appreciation for you in advance."

"No. No. No." At the thought of what happened with Autumn, Linda was trembling with fear in the office but now she was all chatty with Leila. She replied, "I am your senior, so it will be completely unreasonable for me to let a newcomer treat me."

"Linda, don't be formal with me." Leila smiled and said, "We are colleagues now, so we must get along with each other today and in the days to come. You can take me to dinner later. But this time, it is my treat."

On hearing this, Linda didn't insist further.

Leila remained silent for a while and then said. "Linda, to be frank, I have to thank Ye. She is the one who introduced me to this job. If she didn't tell me about the job, I would still be helplessly hunting for a job. But I felt really weird when I found out that you and Ye aren't very cordial. Is there any problem going on? Did you both fight over something?"

Linda felt awkward when she heard Leila mentioning Autumn to her. David had forbidden her from disclosing Autumn's real identity to anyone, so she just smiled to avoid giving away any details to Leila. She said, "Of course not. I even dined with her in this restaurant on the first day of her work. Coincidently, she was sitting on the seat where you are sitting now. But Shining Company is big and complicated, so we usually talk less and work more in the office. Of course we talk to each other whenever we have to discuss anything related to work but that's just about it."

Linda smiled and continued, "It is natural for you to be confused about the entire equation, but I have to remind you that Shining Company is different from other companies. In case you are not good at your job, there is a fair chance of you being fired sooner or later. "

"I definitely understand what you are trying to say. Moreover, now that I have decided to work here, I am ready for everything." Leila grinned and said to Linda. "But I still want to thank you for giving me a reality check, Linda. Don't worry. I won't let you down."

"Well, I'm sure, you won't." Linda laughed merrily. Just then, the waiter arrived and served the dishes for them. Linda pointed at the chicken and said, "Try this. It tastes really good."

Leila immediately tried the chicken and was amazed by its taste. She said, "Wow, it is indeed a good restaurant and the food here is lip smacking."

"Well, Linda......" Leila hesitated for a second but finally said, "I want to ask you something that I am a little confused about."

"Go ahead." Linda replied while eating.

Leila was hesitant for a while, but then she finally asked, "When I was working at Cloud Advertising Company with Ye, I noticed that Mr. Lu always took good care of her. I think there is an unusual relationship between them. I even asked Ye about it many times but she simply denied and said that Mr. Lu is nothing but a colleague and a good friend."

Leila then stopped for a while and then continued, "But I feel it is quite strange that Mr. Lu even canceled his cooperation with Cloud Advertising Company after Ye's resignation. Not too long after, Ye became a secretary of Mr. Lu and she even introduced me to this job. So what do you think? Is there something going on between the two of them?"

"Why are you asking me about this? Linda looked at Leila vigilantly. On David's instructions, she had buried the secret about Autumn's identity deep in her heart. And she had no intention to share this secret with anyone.

"Nothing. It's weird and I am just curious about it. "Leila looked at Linda confidentially and added, "Do you think...... Do you think Ye could be Mr. Lu's mistress? Since Mr. Lu is married, it is really wrong on Ye's part to do that. It would be unfair to Mrs. Lu if Ye maintains such an ambiguous relationship with Mr. Lu."

"That's enough." Leila's words reminded Linda of her own foolishness. She also thought of Ye as Mr. Lu's mistress before. In reality, nobody could think of Ye as Mrs. Lu in the first instance. "It is none of your business." Linda replied.

"Don't take it seriously. I just asked casually." Leila replied with a passive smile. She didn't push further since she understood that she couldn't dig any gossip from Linda on this matter.

Another girl named Alice joined Shinning Company the following day. Alice was a petite and pretty girl. She was extremely talented and had just returned from abroad after completing her studies. In comparison to Leila, Alice seemed to be a more suitable choice for this position.

The thing about Alice was that she was only dedicated to her work. She did nothing to please the people around her in the company. This was the reason why Autumn was really fond of her. On the other hand, Linda and Leila totally detested her.

However, Autumn had an idea that Alice was not as innocent as she looked. She could always find ways to escape troubles. But none the less, she was very competent at her job.

Now that Leila and Alice got efficient at their work, it was time for Autumn to leave.

But when Autumn decided to discuss this matter with Charles, she got a call from Wendy. After hesitating for a while, she finally answered the phone. As soon as the phone was connected, she heard Wendy's voice from the other end of the phone, "Bring Charles home for dinner tonight. I will wait for you."

"Charles already has plans for tonight, so......" Autumn said. However, before she could decline her request, Wendy raised her voice, "It's none of my business. It is your job to convince him. I want to see you both at dinner today at any darn cost."

Wendy hung up the phone before Autumn could say anything further. She took a sigh and then knocked the door of Charles's office.

"Come in." Charles was in a good mood since he had just finished a video call with a client.

"Is your meeting over?" Before entering Charles' cabin, Autumn called him at his desk but Charles asked her to wait since he was in a meeting.

Charles nodded and then asked, "Do you have any documents for me to sign?"

As far as Charles was concerned, Autumn would not come to him without any reason in the office. Charles also adapted to their professional relationship while in the office. Therefore, he would only talk business with her in the company.

"No, I don't." Autumn shook her head and explained, "I think I have recruited the right person for you, so I......"

"Do you want to resign?" Charles sighed while asking her. He only gave Autumn this job because he strived for Autumn to stay around him in the office too. Charles never expected that Autumn would finish this task in such a short duration.

But he knew that she would leave sooner or later, so Charles was not surprised. "Okay, you have my consent."

"Really?" Autumn was startled since she thought he may never allow her to leave.

"Yes. Moreover, I even got a gift for you." Charles took out an envelope from his drawer and handed it over to Autumn. "Open it and have a look at it."

"What is it?" Autumn asked him hastily because she was so curious to know what was inside.

"Open it and check it yourself." Charles didn't reply directly but gave her a mysterious smile.