Chapter 10 A Gift
The neighbor said, "I didn't see it clearly, but it's a local plate. I think it has three eights. That's all I can remember."
Ophelia was a bit disappointed, as she had wanted to check the license plate number.
Seraphina had been hemming and hawing, not even wanting to tell Ophelia her boyfriend's name. Given that, Ophelia was sure something was fishy.
"I'm gonna be late for work. See you around," she said to the neighbor and glanced at her watch, feeling a bit anxious.
The rental apartment was quite far from the company, and it would take her at least forty minutes to get to the office by subway.
At 7:59 a.m., Ophelia clocked in just in time.
As she had run all the way from the subway station, she quickly took a sip of water to catch her breath.
"Ophelia, you're panting. Were you chased by a dog?" Linda teased.
Ophelia waved her hand, gasping for breath. "One minute late, and I would have lost my perfect attendance."
"Where do you live?" Linda asked.
"Over at North End," Ophelia replied. "It takes me forty minutes to get here by subway."
"That's quite far," Linda said and then handed Ophelia a stack of documents. "Take these to Mr. Abbott's office and make him a cup of coffee. Mr. Abbott always drinks a cup of coffee when he comes in. He should be here in about twenty-five minutes."
Ophelia was impressed. "Twenty-five minutes? How can you be this precise?"
Linda said, "Once you've been with Mr. Abbott for a while, you'll know everything, too."
The duty of the secretary was to consider everything for the boss, understand the boss' work and rest and preferences, and be proactive.
Ophelia gave Linda a thumbs-up and then took the documents to the CEO's office.
Sure enough, Finnegan showed up precisely twenty-five minutes later.
Ophelia made the coffee just as Finnegan's footsteps approached from behind.
Head down, she handed him the coffee. "Morning, Mr. Abbott."
Finnegan took it. "Seems Linda trained you well. Sort out the bookshelf. It's a bit messy."
"Yes, Mr. Abbott." Ophelia thought, 'Who knows? I've still got to do menial tasks even though I'm his secretary now.'
Finnegan didn't sleep well last night. Whenever he closed his eyes, the lovemaking scenes from that night always emerged in his mind, and he had to take cold showers twice to cool himself down.
He started to work, including reviewing documents and holding phone conferences. From the second he stepped into the office, he kept busy.
Ophelia observed him secretly as she tidied the bookshelf, and she gradually realized that the rumors were true. He was very unpredictable, sometimes frowning and sometimes expressionless, and he was particularly serious during phone conferences. Though they were about 20 feet from each other, she still felt chill because of his strong aura.
At first, Finnegan paid no attention to her as if she were invisible.
But as she kept walking around, tidying the bookshelf, cleaning the desk, and wiping the ornaments, her presence became more and more noticeable, and the mint scent that wafted over made him restless.
Suddenly, Finnegan called out, "Ophelia."
"Yes?" Ophelia looked at him, puzzled. "Mr. Abbott, something you need?"
"You... Draft a proposal for the Southwest Project. I want it on my desk before you get off work." Finnegan had intended to ask her to leave, yet he ended up assigning her a task. Then he said, "Do it here. Any problems?"
"No, Mr. Abbott," Ophelia said politely with respect.
Though she claimed so, she was actually a bit uncertain. However, she had no choice. It was Finnegan's first task for her, and of course, she couldn't say no.
No matter how hard it was gonna be, she ought to come up with a perfect proposal.
With determination, she sat down on the sofa, reviewed all the materials for the Southwest Project, and got to work. The focused Ophelia exuded a charm that was hard to ignore, making it difficult for anyone to look away.
Sitting in his chair, Finnegan watched Ophelia for a while before returning to the documents.
Just then, Atticus knocked and came in to report on work. Seeing Ophelia, he was momentarily stunned before resuming his professional demeanor.
After reporting, Atticus asked, "Mr. Abbott, tomorrow is May 20th. Shall we prepare a gift for Ms. Kingsley?"
"May 20th?" Finnegan was confused.
Atticus explained, "It's seen as Valentine's Day in some cultures. Women these days love celebrating days like this. They are always looking forward to gift exchanges."
Finnegan knew very well that he didn't have any feelings for Seraphina. Yet he had taken her to live in Orchid Garden with him. He never gave her any present, so he ought to give her one to make up for it.
After pondering for a while, he looked at Ophelia. "Ophelia, go prepare a gift. As a woman, you know what women like. No need to consider the price."
Being chosen, Ophelia stood up respectfully. "Yes, Mr. Abbott."
She thought, 'I've got to be very careful getting his girlfriend a gift. After all, it might affect my future career. She might be his wife in the future, and if I offend her, I'm gonna end up miserably.
'Wait. Ms. Kingsley? Is that a coincidence? Is Finnegan's girlfriend a Kingsley like Seraphina?' she thought.
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