“It’s time for lunch.”
Caroline was startled when she heard those words. She looked up and turned her head to see Jared standing beside her. She had no idea when he had arrived, but she hadn’t noticed because she had been too focused on her work.
“What do you want to eat? Thalius will order for us, so we can eat as soon as we get to the café.”
“Wait... us?” Caroline gave him a confused look.
“Don’t waste time. Tell me what you want to eat now.” Jared repeated his question.
“I brought a packed lunch from home to save money.” Caroline answered as she pulled a lunch box from her bag. Inside were pieces of fruit and mayonnaise.
Jared took a quick glance, then made a face as if he didn’t care.
“You can eat whatever you want at the office café without spending any money. Breakfast and lunch are covered by the company.” Jared tried to lie so Caroline wouldn’t feel pressured by the cost.
“Really? Wow, I never expected this company to care so much about its employees. I feel so blessed to work here. I even have my own assigned desk.” Caroline said it with a pleasant look on her face.
“Is that true, Mr.? I’ve never heard of that. When did this rule take effect? I’m always asked to pay whenever I order something.” A man responded to Jared’s words.
“That’s right!” another employee confirmed.
Caroline stared at Jared, demanding an answer.
Jared fell silent. He had no idea what to say. He hadn’t expected other employees to overhear their conversation. He had been too focused on Caroline to care about anyone else. Jared was too good at controlling his facial expressions, so he looked normal even though he was completely confused at the moment.
“Didn’t you read the announcement sent by email? I sent out an email notification. You shouldn’t have missed this important news.” Jared made up an excuse.
“Did I miss it?” Everyone immediately began opening their phones to check the email Jared had mentioned.
Before the employees could start protesting again, Jared quickly pulled Caroline away. He wasn’t sure whether he could come up with another excuse if they asked more questions about the fake announcement he had mentioned.
“Mr., you’re holding my arm too tightly.” Caroline tried to free herself from Jared’s grip.
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Jared immediately let her go.
“It’s okay. But why do you seem to be avoiding them?” Caroline looked at him curiously.
Jared took a deep breath. He stopped walking and stared deeply at Caroline. “There’s another unwritten rule you have to follow. Don’t ask questions unless you’re asked one. You also have to obey when I tell you to do something.” Jared emphasized every word.
“All right. I understand, Mr.” Caroline nodded.
“You don’t have to call me that. Call me by my name when it’s just the two of us.” Jared felt uncomfortable. The way Caroline addressed him as Mr. seemed to create a wall between them, as if there were a barrier separating them.
“No way. I have to respect you, Mr. You’re my ex-fiancé’s uncle.” Caroline lowered her voice at the end of the sentence. Her expression changed instantly. It seemed she still couldn’t forget what had happened the night before.
How could Caroline forget it so quickly? She had been in a relationship with Jake for three years, and then they had decided to get married. Yet when the promised date of their engagement came, she had been replaced by another woman simply because she was now poor. She hadn’t just been forced to start over from nothing; she had to start below zero, with the mountain of debt her parents had incurred. She had even been forced to house her parents in the small apartment she rented because their home had been seized by the bank.
“Are you all right?” Jared asked calmly after seeing the sadness, anger, and hatred filling Caroline’s expression.
“I’m fine.” Caroline tried to calm herself down. They resumed walking toward the office café on the ground floor.
The office café was unusually crowded this time—far more crowded than usual. A rumor had spread among the employees that breakfast and lunch were now covered by the company. They normally chose to eat out, looking for nearby restaurants because they were tired of the office food. But not this time. They preferred to eat at the office café, thinking it was free.
“Mr., your table is here!” Donny directed Jared and Caroline to the table guarded by Thalius.
“I’ll get the food first. Do you want me to get something for you too, Uncle?” Caroline asked Jared with a smile.
“Yes, please.” Jared answered briefly.
Caroline quickly stepped to the front of the line while Jared sat and waited in his chair.
“I didn’t expect the employees to like the food in the office café,” Jared commented to Thalius. He had thought the café would be quiet that afternoon so he could enjoy lunch with Caroline.
“It’s usually not this crowded. I heard a rumor that lunch would be free starting today.” Thalius had already informed him. “I don’t know which idiot spread a rumor like that. The company has nothing to lose by giving its employees free food. They’re already generously paid, provided with health insurance, education benefits for their children, and even retirement benefits. They’d be fools to ask for more.”
“I’m the one who spread the rumor.” Jared said with an angry look on his face.
Thalius immediately fell silent when he heard Jared’s answer.
“That was a good plan, Mr. I was wrong—it was an excellent plan. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. You’re really good at this.” The man showered him with praise.
“You don’t need to exaggerate.” Jared said as he reached into his pocket. “This is my credit card. Take care of everything and make Caroline believe lunch here is free. Don’t let her know I’m paying for her food. Tell the café manager I’ll pay for Caroline’s meals for the next month.”
“Yes, yes, Mr.” Thalius accepted the card.
“Donny, you’ll take care of the rest. Every employee must pay for their own food without Caroline finding out.” Jared gave the order.
“Yes, Mr.” The man answered quickly, then hurried off to carry out the order.
Caroline became the subject of conversation among all the office employees. From the time they worked until quitting time, everyone continued discussing her. She was the first woman who had ever eaten at the same table as Jared. Everyone could clearly see the attention he gave Caroline. They were jealous and curious about who she really was. She had become the center of attention on her very first day at work.
Jared had always been known as a boss who was hostile toward female employees. Many women had tried to seduce him. Instead of focusing on their work, they focused on finding ways to get Jared’s attention. That was why there were so few female employees there. Many had been fired, and only a few new female employees had been hired. The same was true of the woman Caroline had seen earlier—the one who had left Jared’s office looking so disheveled.
Caroline had thought the woman was being forced to serve Jared during work hours. In reality, the woman had been the one trying to seduce him, only to be rejected by Jared even after she took off her clothes. Jared would never pay attention to a woman trying to attract a rich man’s notice. That was also what made him even more interested in Caroline. She dressed modestly even though he had asked her to come dressed provocatively. He had only wanted to assess her character—to see whether she would be tempted to seduce Jared so she could get her hands on his wealth. In reality, the woman wasn’t materialistic at all. She didn’t show any interest in Jared, either. Jared liked women like that.
“Have you known Mr. Madison for a long time?” Lenzy asked as they prepared to leave.
“Why?” Caroline asked in return.
“You two seem really close.”
“We’ve known each other for three years, but we aren’t that close.” Caroline answered honestly.
“How did you two meet?” Lenzy asked again.
“I think that’s private. I can’t tell someone I just met about my personal life.”
“You’re so arrogant. Just because Mr. Madison is being nice to you, you think you can act so high and mighty? Is it really that hard to answer a question?” Lenzy said irritably. She clearly disliked Caroline.
“Why is it so important to you?” Caroline wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
“Of course it is. Let me warn you—don’t ever think you can get close to Mr. Madison. I’m going to be his girlfriend. Don’t even dream that you’ll make him fall in love with you.” Lenzy spoke with emphasis.
Caroline let out a soft laugh. “You should take a look at yourself first. Mr. Madison is rich. He’s far above our level. Billionaires only end up with other billionaires. Working-class people like us should never dream of becoming part of their world. They only marry and date people who benefit them.” Caroline offered her advice. Jake had dumped her because she was poor, so she would never fall for a rich man again. Being discarded because of differences in social status was too painful. Since when was there a rule that the rich had to marry the rich?
“What do you know about that? If you’re poor, then stay poor by yourself. I don’t work here because I need money.” Lenzy said sharply before walking away to leave.
Jared, who was standing not far away, remained silent as he listened to Caroline’s words. The man seemed to understand how much Caroline hated Jake because of what had happened that night. He could understand why Caroline acted that way. But he was also worried that Caroline might come to hate him because of his blood relationship with Jake.
“Caroline!” Jared called when she was about to leave.
Caroline turned toward the source of the voice.
“Yes, Mr.?”
“I need to pick up some files from a lawyer’s house. I want you to come with me.” Jared looked for a way to take Caroline home. He was sure she would refuse if he offered her a ride.
“You want me to pick up the files for you?” Caroline asked to make sure.
“Yes.”
“All right. Let’s go quickly, because I have to make dinner.” Caroline spoke as she started walking away.
Jared smiled as he followed her. He watched the woman’s back, his heart pounding wildly. It felt as if butterflies were fluttering in his stomach as he watched Caroline’s hair sway from side to side with her steps. He couldn’t take his eyes off her the entire way. He felt that he had truly fallen in love.
“Which one is your car, Mr.?” Caroline turned around and looked at Jared, waiting for his answer.
The smile on Jared’s lips vanished the moment Caroline turned to look at him. He acted casual, put on a blank expression, and pointed at the orange McLaren 765LT in the parking lot.
“That one?” Caroline asked to confirm, her index finger following the direction Jared had pointed.
“Yes. Why?” Jared asked in return when he saw Caroline’s expression.
“The model and color are so flashy. You have terrible taste. I don’t think a car like that is suitable for bringing to the office. It’s too luxurious.” Caroline commented.
“Isn’t luxury necessary to convince clients that the company is truly trustworthy and reliable because it has plenty of money?” Jared said confidently.
Caroline fell silent for a moment. Then she said, “I suppose you’re right. I really don’t understand how rich people think.”
“Weren’t you from a wealthy family before?”
“Not exactly. My parents were at this level before they went bankrupt.” Caroline raised her hand to waist height. “While your level is up here.” She raised her hand far above her head.
Jared wanted to laugh at Caroline’s antics, but he held it in to preserve his image in front of her.
A white Porsche stopped right in front of Caroline. She stared at it with a furrowed brow. Donny got out to open the door while Thalius remained in the driver’s seat.
“Go ahead and get in.” Jared told Caroline to enter first.
“We’re not taking that unique car of yours?” Caroline looked confused.
“No. It was deliberately parked in the underground garage for business purposes. I only drive it when I have a meeting with a client.”
“Then why did you point at that car earlier?”
“You only asked which one was my car, didn’t you? You didn’t ask which one we were taking.” Jared answered casually.
Caroline could only click her tongue softly and shake her head. She quickly got in before Jared could give the order a second time.
Jared had just gotten in and was about to sit down when Thalius suddenly hit the gas and accelerated at high speed. Jared couldn’t keep his balance and fell on top of Caroline.
The car came to an abrupt stop. Thalius looked terrified that Jared would get angry. He glanced back to check what his boss’s expression looked like now.
But the scene before him left Thalius speechless. Jared was actually enjoying the situation. He remained on top of Caroline for quite a while. Their faces were so close they were almost touching. Jared felt as if his heart had stopped beating. His face grew hot and flushed. His breathing became ragged. His body trembled as if an electric current were running through him. He went rigid, frozen in place.
“Mr., you’re heavy!” Caroline shoved Jared away forcefully.
“S-sorry.” Jared spoke nervously. He lifted himself up and sat down, his emotions in turmoil. He truly felt tortured by the situation. Caroline had made his heart work harder than usual.