Chapter 814: Tacit Understanding and Trust
Hannah shot a quick glance at Charles before speaking.
Once she was sure he was gone, she got a bit more daring.
She had no clue what was being said on the other end of the line, but her grin just kept getting bigger.
"I'm hanging with Stella right now."
"Yeah! No summer break at home for me."
"It's cool, I told my folks, and they're cool with it! I'm nineteen, not nine. I can handle myself, no sweat!"
"You take care out there; get some rest and stay safe."
"Alright! I'll be waiting for you to come back."
Hannah sprawled on the table, her phone wedged between her cheek and arm, while her other hand twirled a pen out of habit.
She didn't dare spill the beans to her fiancé Austin about the internship.
She had told Austin about her plans ages ago, but he wasn't on board.
Austin thought women didn't need to work, that men should just take care of them.
But she wasn't buying it.
She believed she should be able to support herself, even after tying the knot.
Women shouldn't rely entirely on men.
She needed her own thoughts and personality.
They could never see eye to eye on this, and she didn't want to fight, so she kept the internship a secret.
Anyway, Austin was off abroad for some academic stuff and wouldn't be back for a while.
Even if he did come back, she had her reasons to keep it under wraps for now.
She only planned to intern for two months, which would fly by.
She was sure it wouldn't get found out.
After chatting a bit more, they hung up just as Charles came back in. Seeing her sitting there, lost in thought, he asked kindly, "Aren't you eating?"
Hannah scratched her head, a bit embarrassed, "I usually prep my meals the night before and pack leftovers for work. But I drank too much last night and didn't cook! So, I'm thinking of ordering takeout."
Charles raised an eyebrow, "That's a hassle. What if you have to work late and can't prep anything?"
Hannah hadn't thought of that.
She said, "If I can't cook because of working late, then I'll just order takeout again."
Charles sighed, "You don't have to go through all that trouble! Takeout's not clean and it's a waste of money! Interns don't make much, so you probably won't have much left."
Hannah shrugged, "It's fine. I'm not interning for the money, but for the experience."
Charles had seen many people in the workplace, but he'd never met someone as pure-hearted as Hannah.
He said, "Clear off your desk. I'll take you somewhere."
Hannah thought it was for work and quickly tidied up her desk.
Charles went back to his office and came back with a card in less than a minute.
He said, "Follow me!"
Hannah obediently followed Charles into the elevator.
Charles pressed the button.
Hannah didn't ask where they were going; she just stood quietly beside him.
Soon, the elevator stopped on the third floor.
Charles stepped out first.
Hannah was right on his heels.
Before long, they walked through a door.
When she saw what was in front of her, Hannah was floored.
It was the company cafeteria.
And the moment they walked in, the noisy cafeteria went dead silent.
Employees who were eating just stared at them, totally gobsmacked, like they forgot where they were.
Hannah didn't even notice their reactions and just scanned the place.
It was massive, like really massive.
The whole floor was a cafeteria, with every kind of food you could think of.
Hannah stood there, totally stunned.
"Is this a cafeteria?" Hannah asked.
This wasn't just a cafeteria!
It was like a full-on food court.
It had all kinds of food.
Charles led her inside, explaining as they walked, "IntelliMerge Technologies has tens of thousands of employees in this building. For their health, I specifically designated the third floor as the cafeteria."
He handed her a card, "The company gives a $500 monthly meal allowance, loaded onto the meal card on the first of every month!"
Hannah's eyes went wide, so shocked she could barely speak.
"$500?" she gasped.
She knew meal allowances varied by company.
The highest she had heard of was $300. But here, it was $500. So generous.
Charles knew what she was thinking and explained, "It's not as good as you think! The $500 is only on the meal card and can't be withdrawn! If they don't use it all, the money rolls over to the next month."
Hannah didn't see it that way and said, "If it were me, I'd make sure to eat more, even come here on weekends to use up the $500."
Charles smiled helplessly, his gaze softening.
"Alright! There's everything here, eat whatever you want. The card I gave you has $500, and the food here is half the price of outside. It's more than enough for you."
Hannah nodded, "Okay! Let's go eat together! My treat!"
Charles laughed, the smile reaching his eyes.
Hannah naturally took Charles's hand, intending to lead him to the Mexican food section. After taking a couple of steps, she finally noticed the strange atmosphere.
Everyone's eyes were on her holding Charles's hand.
One person even had a dessert in their mouth, forgetting to bite down, staring at her in shock like she was an alien.
Hannah was startled by their reactions and asked, "What's wrong with them?"
Charles's brows furrowed tightly.
He swept a cold gaze around.
It carried a strong sense of displeasure and warning.
Everyone shivered, even those sitting farthest away felt his gaze and were a bit scared.
They quickly lowered their heads, continuing to eat or chat.
Pretending not to see Charles and Hannah.
As if they didn't exist.
Charles looked at Hannah and explained with a smile, "I'm usually busy and rarely eat here, so they're a bit surprised to see me! It's nothing."
"Okay!" Hannah instinctively trusted Charles.
She trusted everything he said.
So she didn't doubt his explanation.
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