2. Honesty

After flinching through the silence, the CEO finally reached for the phone. Once the device was to his ear, he looked up, letting his head rest on the top of the couch.

"What's the matter, Julian?" a woman asked without a chance to say hello.

“The 136th report, my attempt failed again. Mia just kept quiet and looked at me with a flat expression," he said in a low tone.

“What were you doing? Is there anything different from the usual way?”

Getting such a question, the CEO suddenly grimaced. He just realized that his emotions had messed up his plans. "I wanted to get her giving an opinion about me. But, I failed.”

"You're rash," the woman said on the other side of the phone.

A second later, the babbling of a baby sounded as if it continued his mother's words. "Yayaya ...."

“Listen it! Even your nephew agrees with me.”

After one quick breath, Julian nodded faintly. "Right. I was reckless.”

“Later, try to be calm. If you continue to fail controlling your emotions, you will never get clarity from her. Women don't like being urged, Julian. Make Mia speak without pressure or coercion.”

Taking a deep breath, gathering hope, Julian straightened up. "Okay. I will try again.”

"Remember! Don't let your emotions explode again! I don't want to accept the 1000th report,” Gabriella said, successfully coloring Julian's face with horror.

"If that's the case..., you should immediately send me to a mental hospital."

After hanging up the phone, Julian left the room. A moment later, his eyes automatically opened wide. For the first time, he did not find the secretary at the front desk.

“Is Mia home yet? Why didn't she wait for me?” the man muttered as he checked under the table. As expected, not a single bag was hanging there. “Mia really left me.”

After a brief contemplation, Julian gasped. Something had crossed his mind. Wasting no time, he walked briskly, trying to find the secretary.

“Mia is used to dealing with my emotional outbursts. There's no way she'd be mad," the man muttered, denying his own thoughts. He couldn't imagine if the girl's patience would not last. How to win Mia's heart if the girl no longer listened to his words?

Just as Julian turned a corner, his eyes caught the secretary's shadow. The girl had just entered the elevator.

"Mia!" the CEO called without paying attention to the volume of his voice. A second later, he ran over to the girl. "Mia!"

Unfortunately, when he arrived, the door had closed. A second later, the numbers on the screen started to move down.

"Tsk, why didn't she heed my call?" Julian grumbled with breath starting to roar. "Is she really that angry?"

Sighing in annoyance, the CEO rushed into the elevator next door. He didn't have any idea that the secretary was thinking the same thing about him.

“Is Mr. Julian mad that I went without him?” the girl thought with furrowed brows. Gripping the straps of the bag tighter, she let out a quick breath.

"No, no. I can't waver. From now on, I have to be more assertive. No more attention. Don't let Mr. Julian put the hopes up. His thought about me liking Mr. Max was over the limit. All this must be stopped immediately before other more misleading thoughts arise.”

Suddenly, the elevator tinkled. As soon as the door opened, two female staff walked in, laughing out loud. However, as soon as they saw the secretary, they immediately bowed and fell silent.

"Why is she using the public elevator?" the staff with longer hair whispered.

"Maybe she's in a fight with Mr. CEO," her partner said, looking at Mia's reflection in the shiny elevator door. “Or perhaps, she was tired of chasing after him. She failed to get Mr. Max. And now, it's been more than two years, but Mr. Julian still hasn't proposed to her. She must be disappointed that their relationship is suspended.”

Hearing such talk, Mia's heart heated up. However, with all her might, she kept a straight face.

"I heard she's the daughter of a servant of the Evans family," the thin-lipped staff whispered again.

"Is that true?"

"Who knows? But, if that's true and she's still trying to get close to Mr. CEO, she really is shameless. Even though her position is secretary, she still came from a lower class. The Evans family's dignity could fall if Mr. Julian marries her."

Without thinking about Mia's feelings, the long-haired staff immediately nodded.

"Right. Look at Mr. Max as an example. After marrying the poor girl, he was immediately kicked out of the company by his own father. Even though he's starting to rise now, still, his status has dropped in the eyes of everyone in Quebracha.”

“But, I can understand if Mr. Max fell in love with Gabriella. Have you ever seen her in person? She's really beautiful. I heard she's a genius too. It's natural that Mr. Max would make her his wife."

"That's true. And their son .... Have you seen him? He is very cute. I follow his daily life through social media. He's very adorable," the woman said as she began to forget controlling her voice. She didn't seem to care if Mia could hear.

Suddenly, the thin-lipped woman patted her partner's arm. “Then, can you imagine if Mr. Julian marries Miss Secretary? There's nothing great about her. Their child will definitely not be as cute as Mr. Max and Gabriella's son. What can they rely on to maintain their dignity?”

Hearing such rude words, the air in Mia's lungs rumbled more and more, while tears had prepared to cover her vision. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

Luckily, the elevator suddenly stopped. As soon as the door opened, a group of employees rushed in.

Being around so many people, the slanted talk about Miss Secretary was discontinued. The sadness slowly began to fade. Mia was finally able to take a deep breath from her mouth.

"Thank God," the girl thought as she glanced at the women who wore innocent looks. The two of them didn't feel guilty at all. They didn't even care if behind the secretary's cold expression there was deep sadness.