Yannis thought, “A girl from a small town could so casually make such valuable medicinal herbs. She seems clueless about most things, but when it comes to five million, she acts like it's barely worth noticing. She didn’t care if the Shaw family treated her well or not, since she probably had people in her life who treated her much better. To her, the Shaw family didn’t matter enough to get her attention.”

“Now I want to change my price. How about one hundred million?” Yannis asked, looking serious.

“I can’t keep you. Why don’t you open a restaurant? I’ll go there,” Zinnia said.

Zinnia thought to herself, “There’s no way I can pay that. Yannis is just too expensive. I’d have to sell tons of herbs just to keep him. Master always said, ‘Spend money on a man, and he’ll cheat you out of every penny.’” Zinnia had always been a good student who followed her master’s teachings exactly.

“Zinnia, aren’t you even going to try?” Yannis asked, annoyed that she backed off so quickly. She gave up at the first sign of trouble. “Well, I guess I am not likable.”

Yannis lowered his head, the light in his eyes slowly fading. A bit of bitterness flickered on his face, his voice sounding lonely and sad, and his usually straight posture slumped a little. He looked like a sad, abandoned guy who had no one to love him. At that moment, Zinnia felt like she was seeing him the same as last night again. Her heart hurt a little, and she felt heavy in her chest.

“That’s not true. I just don’t have much money right now. Give me some time to save up, and when I do, I’ll take care of you,” Zinnia whispered, feeling her chest get tight. She bit her lip, clumsily trying to comfort him.

Yannis looked at her, his deep eyes unreadable. “Zinnia, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

“I won’t lie to you,” Zinnia answered quickly.

Zinnia thought to herself, “A hundred million? That’s crazy! Even if I sold myself, I wouldn’t be worth that much. Since I won’t have that money, it’s not really lying to him.” At that moment, her mind started racing.

Yannis could see from her eyes that she was already planning some little scheme in her head, but he didn’t mind; all that mattered was she promised him. When he saw a little bit of light, he would hold on tight just to feel close and warm.

“Aren’t you going to work?” Zinnia asked suspiciously as he just sat there, staring at her while she ate. He always worked on weekends. She understood missing yesterday but wondered why he was still there today.

Yannis said, “I’ll go after lunch. What about you, Zinnia? Any plans for the afternoon?” It was almost lunchtime, and he wanted to eat with her before leaving.

“I don’t have any plans for the afternoon,” Zinnia said. She had planned to check out the house her master gave her the keys to, but she wasn’t feeling well and didn’t have the energy to go out.

Since she felt sick, Yannis said, “Zinnia, why don’t you come to the office with me? I’d worry if you stayed home alone.” He really didn’t feel good about leaving her by herself.

Zinnia thought, "What’s there to worry about? I’ve always been fine staying home alone."

Yannis said, “Zinnia, since you’re not feeling well, I’m worried about leaving you alone. If something happens, I might not get back in time. Come to the office with me. Bring your iPad–my office is just as comfy as home.”

The more Yannis thought about it, the more worried he became. It was better to just take her with him.

Zinnia ended up going to the office with Yannis. He said he was too lonely working alone and needed her company. When Yannis made that sad face, Zinnia’s heart just melted. She couldn’t say no to him.

Yannis led Zinnia into the private elevator, which took them straight to the 36th floor. As soon as the doors opened, his assistant Toby was waiting outside. Seeing Yannis holding Zinnia’s hand, Toby asked, “Who is this?”

Yannis was holding Zinnia’s hand with his left, and in his right hand, he carried her favorite crystal water bottle and a bag of snacks they picked out together. With her pink purse over his shoulder, he looked like a caring dad.

Toby’s eyes stayed on Zinnia’s face, which looked familiar, as he tried to remember. He thought, “Wasn’t she accidentally trapped in the elevator?” Toby still remembered how she looked at Yannis with disdain, making Yannis so flustered he didn’t dare talk back. He just remembered Yannis had ended up caring about her, like trying to make up for it.

Toby let his imagination run wild. His girlfriend had been watching romantic dramas lately, and he’d watched a lot with her.

“This is Zinnia,” Yannis said coldly. “Is everything I asked for ready?”

“All set, sir,” Toby quickly responded, then greeted Zinnia formally.

Toby had never seen Yannis care so much about anyone before. Zinnia was obviously an exception. He ran away quickly. It seemed

Yannis’s voice got softer as he spoke to Zinnia. “Zinnia, this is my assistant, Toby. If you need anything, just ask him. I have a meeting in ten minutes. Wait for me in the office, okay?”

“Hello, Toby,” Zinnia said sweetly.

Toby couldn’t help but be surprised at his boss’s sudden change. “So Zinnia is the girl at home Yannis was talking about,” he thought.

“You may go,” Yannis said, waving Toby away, then gently led Zinnia toward his office.

As they walked past the secretarial office, all the secretaries, busy at their desks, stared, wide-eyed, since Yannis gently held a girl’s hand, acting soft and caring.

“Hey Toby, who is that little angel Yannis is holding hands with?”

“I want to have a daughter as cute as her!”

“What a beautiful little angel. I just want to take her home. I’ve got tons of snacks at my desk–maybe I’ll sneak some to her later. Toby, tell us! Who’s that girl?”

Toby answered, “That’s Zinnia.”

“Damn, she is way too pretty.”

“It’s so not fair that I can’t hold her hands.”

Zinnia and Yannis didn’t catch their chatter. They stepped into the office.

“Zinnia, I’ll be working here. You can relax on the sofa. I had snacks and fruit prepared for you. If you want to nap, there’s a break room inside. If you need anything, just ask Toby, or call me directly,” Yannis said gently.

Honestly, he was busy. His desk was already piled high with paperwork.