"Sandy! Sandy!!" Ema screamed as she got closer to her station. She was running out of time.

Sandy had shown Ema her desk but now she couldn't exactly remember where it was, plus her ankle ached.

"What is wrong with you!? Why are you screaming my name and distracting everyone from their work?"

"Oh, Sandy, please help me. I'm going to lose my job if I don't return with the document," Ema pleaded as they finally met.

"What document?"

"That was what I asked him too but...anyways, do you have the document for the transaction with Mr Frederick?"

"Sshhh! Lower your voice and come with me," Sandy hushed her up, which Ema found strange as she went along with Sandy.

"There are some things that are not to be said aloud," Sandy cautioned her.

"Why not? Everyone here works here for the same purpose. What is wrong with me? Please help me find the document."

"I left the file on your desk for you to take along when you left with Mr Hendrix. I thought you were smart enough to see it."

"But you never mentioned it to me. How was I supposed to know?"

"Ema, it was in a red file right in front of you, how could you miss that!? Anyways, just wait here and I'll get it for you," Sandy told her before she quickly left and Ema waited nervously for her to come back while she tried to catch her breath from all the running.

"Thank you very much," Ema appreciated after Sandy came back and handed it over to her.

"You're welcome, now quickly leave," Sandy told her as she ushered her forward.

* * * *

Lucas took a look at his wristwatch. Just a second was left and yet she was nowhere to be seen. Well, when he hired a woman without certification and all the qualities needed to work for him, he'd sort of expected this, but not this much. In the short minutes Ema had been around, he'd wondered if she was going to last working for him. She had a second left, and he would have to search for a new, capable P.A. He knew what he wanted and somehow, Ema had it.

"I'm sorry, Mr Frederick, but it looks like she won't make it so this won't work out today..."

"I'm here! I made it!" Ema yelled as soon as she walked into the restaurant through the entrance. She stood waving the file to him, which caught everyone's attention. She smiled from ear to ear.

"Miss, please lower your voice," a waiter told her, and she quickly nodded as she placed a hand on her lips. She forgot she was in a fancy restaurant.

"I'm sorry," she apologised in a whisper before carefully walking up to the table Lucas was at.

She kept the file on the table and took her seat while panting as she kept her head on the table. She had run as fast as she could from the bus stop and now she needed to catch her breath.

"I...I made it, right? Right?" she asked as she raised her head and took a look at her boss who gave no reply but stared blankly. She then turned to Mr Frederick who gave her a light nod with a smile.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as her smile broadened.

Lucas picked up the file from the table.

"Sit up," he ordered her, and she immediately got her arms and head off the table. She relaxed back in her chair.

She sat still as she watched Lucas and Mr Frederick discuss business. She understood nothing about what they were saying. As usual, they spoke in business-like codes.

She felt bored and tired so she directed her gaze elsewhere. She took a look around her and for the first time, realised that she was surrounded by food. So many kinds, so tasty, so much, and oh so expensive. Her tummy rumbled as soon as the aroma of the different delicacies hit her nostrils. She remembered she'd had nothing to eat this morning and she was really hungry, yet she couldn't order. She was sure a meal would cost more than her apartment. She took a look at her own table. Mr Frederick was having a cup of coffee with a slice of cake and Mr Hendrix just had a cup of coffee in front of him. She wondered how they could do that. How could they sit in such a beautiful restaurant with so much tasty food to try with the money to afford it and yet choose to have coffee? She wondered if they were being stingy or if this was just part of the things rich people did to show they had lots and lots of food.

Her tummy rumbled again and this time she squeezed her face as she held on to it. She had no other option but to sit quietly till they were done. She couldn't afford even the least expensive dish here. She would find a small snack to get herself when they finally left.

"Yes, that's good," Lucas told Mr Frederick as their discussion went on. It was quiet even with Ema around so he unknowingly took a look at her to see if she was sleeping or doing something crazy. Her face was squeezed like that of someone in pain while she had her arms around her stomach. He looked away from her and back to Frederick.

After Frederick wrote down his signature on the paper, they all stood up.

"Thank you for doing this," Lucas told him, and he nodded with brief smile.

"Take care of yourself, Miss..." Frederick turned to Ema with his hand stretched out for a handshake.

"Emerson Smith, but you can call me Ema," she told him with a smile as she accepted his handshake and he nodded.

"I'll remember that," he told her before breaking off the handshake and leaving.

Ema bent down and picked up her bag, the notebook, and the file, ready to leave with her boss.

"Sit down," he ordered her after he had taken his seat again as well.

"Are...are we not leaving, sir? Is there another meeting being held here? I missed out again..."

"Be quiet," he ordered in a calm tone without looking at her. She fell silent as she slowly took back her seat.

"Order something," he told her as he turned his head in her direction. She raised her eyebrows at him before shaking her head.

"Oh no, sir. I can't buy anything at such a place. It's too expensive for me. I just can't afford it. I'll eat something when I get home. We can return back to the company..." she started as she got up to her feet.

"I said, sit and order," he ordered again, but this time more assertively. Without saying a word, she slowly took her seat without taking her eyes off her boss.

She wondered what his problem was.

"I never asked you to pay. Order something," he told her, and she knew he meant it. He was ready to pay for her. She wondered why he would want to do that. She already read him as a mean, rude, and selfish person. Now, the selfish part was cancelled.

"Miss Smith, you're wasting my time," he told her, and as a smile grew on her face, she quickly nodded in accordance.

He sat still as he waited for her to eat up. As he looked straight ahead, he could see her staring at him through the corner of his eyes. Each time he took a look at her, she quickly looked away. It was as if they played hide and seek with their eyes.

He finally turned his gaze to her and she quickly looked away while chewing. When she thought he had looked away, she dared to look back and caught his eyes staring directly at her. She quickly looked away.

"Spit it out," he ordered her, referring to what she wanted to say. It was so obvious she had something to say with the way she kept staring.

"It...it's nothing, sir," she lied, and he knew that. He was good at reading people's expressions and she was obviously a bad liar.

"Miss Smith, I won't repeat myself," he warned her, and after about a second, she gave in.

"Well...you come off as mean, rude...heartless, and a bit selfish, but then you buy me food so...well, that changes everything. It...it's like you're...well...well, you seem to pretend to be mean. I...I think you're nice." She dared to speak up as she stared directly at him. She waited for some cold response or something but got nothing. He just stared at her blankly and she couldn't tell what that meant. She had always been bad at reading facial expressions.

He suddenly took a look at his wristwatch.

"You're done. Let's go," he told her as he stood to his feet without waiting for a response and walked away.

"But, sir, I'm not done with my chicken," she tried to tell him, but he was already halfway out of the restaurant. She quickly took her last bite from her delicious chicken, wiped her mouth and hands, packed her stuff and quickly went after him.

The ride back to the company was really awkward. Her boss hadn't said a word to her since they left the restaurant. He hadn't even taken a look at her either. She wondered if she has mistakenly stepped on something pretty important in his life. Maybe it was what she'd said, but he'd asked for it. She'd tried hard to bite down her comment earlier, but he'd insisted, so she spoke the truth. All she said was that she felt there was more to his personality than what, on the surface, he appeared to be. What button could that have pushed?

* * *

"When are you going to quit working here?" Rosy asked Ema as she stood behind the counter. Ema had just served her last order and was waiting for the next.

"Not anytime soon. I need the money and if I can work during the day at Hendrix Enterprises and at night at Alex's Eatery, then I don't see why not," Ema told her as she placed the orders on her tray.

"Don't you feel stressed out?" Rosy asked her, determined to find out every detail.

"I do, but I've done worse so...I'm okay, Rosy. You don't need to worry about me," Ema told her before walking away with the tray.

"Bon appetite," Ema spoke in the little French she knew with a warm smile after she served the couple in front of her. She turned and headed back to the counter only to notice Rosy having a conversation with a man. He had his back to her and Rosy kept smiling as she seemed engrossed in their conversation. Ema wondered who he was as she got closer. Rosy never chatted on so much with just any stranger.

"Rosy." Ema called for her attention and they both turned to her. She finally got a good look at the man. He looked familiar. She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to recall where she had seen his face and finally got it.

"You!?" she exclaimed at him and his smile broadened.

"I'm glad you remember me. How are you doing, Ema?"

"Fine... What are you doing here? Did you track me down or something? How did you find me?" she asked all at once.

"Woah, hold your horses, young lady! I just came by to check on you. I felt, as someone who got you into a bad situation, I had to come by."

"So you tracked me down. As you can see, mister, I am perfectly fine now. It was just a sprain and I'm over it. Thank you for stopping by," she told him and intended to walk past him, but he blocked her path.

"Let me treat you to dinner. I'll take you anywhere you wish to go. Please."

"Really? Seriously, I don't need any of that. You did that before and it's not repeating itself. I have work to do so please let me be."

"I thought we were friends?" he asked calmly, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Friends? You can't buy my friendship with food. You hit me and almost cost me my job..."

"You got a job?" he cut her off halfway and she had to bite her lower lip. She was saying too much to a total stranger. It was bad enough that he'd dropped her off at home, knew where she worked, and now he had more details.

"Please leave. I'm quite busy," she told him and walked past him, then put the tray on the counter. Rosy signalled Chris to her with her eyes as she threw in a mischievous smile. Ema shook her head at her friend.

"How much is a night shift worth?"

"What?"

"How much is it?" he repeated more confidently.

"What is your problem? Don't you have a life to live or somewhere to be? Why did you decide to bother me?" Ema asked him as she finally gave him all her attention.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I need company."

"So go to your real friends."

"Weeelll...the thing is, I like your company, and I listened to your complaints yesterday, so you'll have to listen to mine."

"What?" she asked frustratedly.

He took a few steps closer to where she stood.

He asked another bizarre question. "Well, how much is a night shift? Who is the manager here?"

"What's with everyone asking me how much I'm worth?" she frustratedly grumbled to herself as she remembered the conversion earlier in her boss's office before looking back up at Chris.

"Look, please just leave..."

"Can I meet the manager here, please!?" Chris raised his voice as he now directed the question to everyone. Ema tried hard to hush him up or at least convince him to lower his voice but to no avail as she tugged on his shirt and even pulled his arm.

Finally, a man in a grey, stripped shirt and brown trousers emerged from the kitchen. He walked up to them.

"Yes, I am the manager here. Can I help you? Is something wrong with the food?"

"The food? Oh no, it's perfectly okay..."

"Be quiet!" Ema whispered through gritted teeth as she tugged on the sleeve of his shirt to shut him up.

"I'm sorry, Mr Alex. He was just about to leave..." Ema apologised.

"How much do you pay her?" he asked, and Ema turned to him in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" the manager asked, looking just as confused as everyone else.

"Fine." Chris reached for his wallet in his pocket and brought it out. He took out a few notes and placed them on the counter in front of the manager who still seemed to be in a state of surprise.

"Will that be enough to excuse her for the night?" Chris asked as he stared directly at the man. This was sure to do the trick. Chris brought out a few more and added to the ones already there.

"What about now?" he asked him, and the man looked from him to the money and then at Ema.

Ema pleaded inwardly that she wouldn't get fired because someone disrespected Alex all because of her. She bit her lower lip in regret.

Mr Alex suddenly packed up all the notes.

"She's all yours for the night."