Chapter 210

The food hit the table, and I started eating with one hand while checking work emails on my phone with the other. I used to think people glued to their phones for work were just putting on a show. It turned out that there really was an endless stream of stuff to deal with. Prejudice was really horrible.

“Victoria-” Ryan started.

“Call me Ms. Murphy,” I said without looking up.

Ryan nodded obediently. “Okay, Ms. Murphy. You should eat first. Work never ends.”

I paused, looking up at him. “You’re pretty thoughtful.” Back when I wasn’t working...

Ryan looked a bit embarrassed and said quietly, “I just noticed you weren’t eating much.”

I put my phone down and focused on my meal. That was when I noticed Ryan ate with a certain grace—slow and composed, totally different from those teenage boys I’d seen before who usually just wolfed down their food.

After we finished eating, Ryan suddenly stood up and ran off to pay the check.

“Hey, let me get this!” I called out, waving him back.

But Ryan was fast—he’d already paid and was back in his seat. “Don’t worry about it, Ms. Murphy. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have gotten a job today.”

I smiled. So he was the grateful type. I nodded. “Alright, just work hard, okay?”

After lunch, we walked back to the office. That afternoon, I sent Ryan out to run an errand and discuss a promo collab. We’d already settled everything, but when Ryan got there, the other side totally went back on their word and jacked up the price by 30%. When I called to negotiate, they were polite but wouldn’t budge on the price.

I told Ryan to come back, but he said, “Don’t worry, Ms. Murphy. I’ll see if I can pull some strings.”

“You have connections?” I asked in surprise.

“I remember a senior from college who works at that company. Maybe he can help smooth things over,” Ryan said with a smile.

I wasn’t expecting much, but before nightfall, Ryan came back having pulled it off—and he even negotiated the price down by 30%. He really surprised me. I saw him in a whole new light.

Ryan didn’t get cocky about it, though. He just quietly went back to his seat and started flipping through those boring company reports like nothing had happened.

As it got dark, I told Ryan to call it a day. He gave a lazy stretch and strolled out of the office.

I was about to head out myself. When I stepped outside, I noticed quite a few cars sporting Shaville plates parked out front, and even one with a Braylin plate. Since I parked here every day, I always kept an eye on the cars around, so spotting all these out-of-town plates all of a sudden really caught me off guard.

Before heading home, I swung by the supermarket for some groceries. When I got back, Jared was downstairs at my building, smoking. As soon as he saw me, he quickly stubbed out his cigarette.

Jared came over, trying to take my groceries, but I dodged his hand and said, “Didn’t I tell you to call before you show up? What if it’s not convenient for me?”

Jared paused, looking surprised. “Not convenient? What, are you bringing some guy home?”

I wanted to piss him off, but risking my own reputation didn’t seem smart.

So I replied coolly, “Why does it have to be a guy? Can’t I just buy some toys for my own pleasure?”

Jared seemed at a loss for words.

When I got into the elevator, he slipped in right after me, his voice dropping low. “I want to eat your cooking tonight. Is that okay?”

“We already have a divorce date set. If you hadn’t kept stalling, we’d be nothing but strangers by now. Do you really think it’s okay for you to just show up for dinner?” I shot him a cold look.

Chapter 211