Chapter 172 Lunch Delivery
Willow intentionally set her alarm early, so she arrived at the office well ahead of schedule. She took her time with breakfast as the rest of the staff gradually made their way into the office.
Seeing Luca arrive, she headed straight to his office.
"Willow, are you at work already? How are you feeling?" Upon seeing her, Luca was genuinely concerned and immediately inquired about Willow's well-being.
"It's all good, Luca. I basically recovered after resting yesterday," Willow answered with a touch of unease. "Luca, did you have a meeting yesterday? Is there a new project?"
"Oh, right. We had a meeting over at Jonah's place. We were going to call you along, but you took the day off, so I went with Kieran instead. Take a look at the plan and see if there are any issues. Jonah has looked over the big picture, and we can tweak the details before we have a thorough discussion with the other company." Luca said as he handed Willow a folder.
Willow took the folder and casually flipped to the first page. The company seemed familiar but not very large, which should be different from their firm's criteria for partnership. "Luca, this company seems quite small. Didn't that present an issue for Jonah?"
"Speaking of which, the woman who came to discuss the partnership yesterday seemed to know Jonah, so he made an exception," Luca explained.
Willow paused, his thoughts racing. Yesterday, a girl knew Jonah. Could it be Marigold? His face turned slightly pale, prompting Luca to add, "Are you okay, Willow quickly? If you're not feeling well, we can look at this tomorrow. I'll have Kieran go over it first."
"It's fine, Luca. I'll take the plan now and send you the organized document later," Willow said as he swiftly gathered himself and left Luca's office.
Back at his desk, he glanced over at Kieran sitting across from him. He hesitated but then asked, "Kieran, did you go to the meeting with Luca yesterday morning?"
"Yeah, with you out, I got dragged along to be the extra pair of hands. Jonah is super serious when he works; I didn't dare to say a word."
"Who else was there?"
"Just Luca, Jonah, and Jonah's rumored girlfriend. I expected Jonah to play something other than favorites. His rumored girlfriend is really classy. She was very enchanting when explaining their proposal yesterday. She is worthy of a man Big Bro has his eye on!"
So it really was her...
She didn't want to deal with this project...
Willow spent the day meticulously reviewing the proposal. It was indeed very promising, except for the small scale. Apart from that, there was nothing much to criticize.
As the workday neared its end, Willow took the detailed amendments and the proposal back to Luca's office. "Luca, I looked over the plan, and there are no major problems. As long as the follow-up team on their end is competent, everything else should be fine. I've made some minor adjustments and compiled them into a document I emailed you."
Luca beamed with joy, making Willow feel as if the Buddha himself were before her. "Alright, alright, you'll follow up on this project. Jonah was thinking the same, so he invited you to the meeting yesterday."
Willow's face twisted in discomfort, uncertain how to decline.
"What's the matter? Too much on your plate?" Luca asked with concern.
"It is rather busy, Luca. Maybe someone else could take on this project? I've still got some unfinished work on my hands." Willow used Luca's concern to hint at her busyness as an excuse.
She really didn't want to deal with Marigold.
"How about this," suggested Luca. "I can assign some of your other tasks to someone else, but I'd like you to handle this project personally. It's our first time working with this company, and although they're small and we have Jonah's connection, we still need to be responsible for our company. I don't feel comfortable handing this off to someone else."
Internally, Willow mused, Luca, you're so committed to the company, I suggest to Matthew that we award you a Medal of Honor.
"But Luca..." Willow attempted to interject, but Luca cut her off. "Enough now. Go ahead with it. Having more opportunities to learn is always beneficial. Remember, if you hit any snags, let me know. I'll make sure they're sorted. If you need more hands, I can assign a couple more people to assist you."
Luca spoke with such righteousness. And by now Willow found it difficult to refuse further.
"...Okay, Luca."
Walking out of Luca's office, Willow felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
She should talk to Jonah directly and ask him to reassign someone to the Marigold account.
*
At noon, Willow ordered takeout and finished it quickly before sneaking up the stairs. She was intent on finding some snacks in Mitchell's office and discussing the possibility of reassigning the Marigold collaboration.
She heard voices inside as she climbed the stairway to the sixteenth floor and approached Mitchell's office.
"What're you doing here today?" she could make out Mitchell asking.
"Would you believe I just happened to be passing by? It's lunchtime, and I brought you something; my mom made it. Try it."
...
It was Marigold...
Willow stood frozen outside the door, the noises within buzzing in her head, incomprehensible. She mechanically turned to leave.
Mitchell's Secretary approached from the opposite direction. "Willow? Are you looking for Jonah? Why not go in?"
Willow lifted her head, forcing a faint smile, "I... I just remembered that I forgot to bring some documents, and it looks like it's lunchtime anyway. I'll come back this afternoon."
"Oh gosh, it's already time for lunch. I got so busy this morning that I forgot to order takeout. I guess I'll go grab some food now." After the Secretary left, Willow took her time descending the stairs with slow, deliberate steps.
It turned out that they had already progressed so fast!
In Mitchell's office.
Marigold sat beside him on the couch, watching him eat lunch.
Mitchell had planned to go out for lunch, but at noon, Marigold showed up with an insulated food container, saying it was from her mom, Mrs. Jonah. The two had agreed to pretend to date to stave off their parents' matchmaking, but Marigold's frequent visits to his workplace were beginning to feel odd.
"Does it taste good?" Marigold asked, tilting her head.
Mitchell nodded, and after sipping his soup, he put down his fork. "It's delicious. Thank my aunt for me."
"A piece of cake. My mom is overjoyed to make food for you, even more so than for me," said Marigold, feigning jealousy.
Mitchell pursed his lips, "Tell your aunt she shouldn't trouble herself anymore. I'm often not in the office, and it's too much of a hassle for you to bring it over."
Marigold pouted, "You wish you could get this treatment every day. Today was just a coincidence since I was passing by your office. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with you."
Mitchell's smile turned up at the corners; this was for the best, as he didn't want things to get too complicated.
Marigold watched the man packing up the insulated container, lost in thought...
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