Joseph noticed Irish's surprised expression. He was not angry about it, but he still kept cold. His voice was as peaceful as the lake.
"How long will it take to make a report for the next season?" He repeated it again.
Irish finally recovered herself. She thought about it for a while, "About five days."
"Too long." He said calmly. Irish felt frustrated that his mood was just like a boss to his employee. "I need to work for the Institute, and I also have lessons at the university. I need more time to finish the work you have assigned to me."
Joseph kept silent. He seemed to think of something. He didn't actually focus on her face.
Several seconds later, he spoke. Irish had thought that he would ask something at work; instead, he asked, "What's wrong with your hand?"
Irish was surprised at his question. She raised her head and found out that he was focused on her hand. She dropped her hands naturally, which made it easy for him to figure out her palm was covered with a plaster. She covered it with another hand, and thus Joseph couldn't view it clearly. She replied with a low voice, "No issues."
Joseph didn't ask about it more and just put the black file on the table into the drawer, "Please give me the plan as soon as possible."
They talked about work again.
Irish knew that their conversation had stopped here, so she just nodded and took a deep breath. She raised her head to look at him while he took out a file and opened it. It seemed that he didn't want to talk anymore.
She felt hurt, as if something was bumping on her heart. Her mind told her that she couldn't bear any pain anymore.
The light in the room made the outline of his face clearer, which corresponded with Leo's comments on him: He was a cruel man.
"Anything else?" Joseph raised his head and focused on her face.
Irish realized that she had been standing there for a long time, so she was just upset. She felt so terrible, so she just turned around.
The distance between them was short, but they seemed so far from each other.
Looking at the door, she was closer and closer to it, but the man's breath was far away from her. She felt desperate and even estranged.
Stopping at the door, she held the doorknob. The metal was so cold. She felt so depressed that she didn't pull the door immediately but thought of something for a while. And then she said weakly. "Joseph, let's depart from each other. Our relationship can't be maintained anymore."
She couldn't bear his complaint earlier, saying, "I'm tired." How could he leave her alone because he was tired? She only wanted a result, so just let them have a resolute ending.
He didn't give her the expected result, so she let him go.
Why did she expect something from him? Her announcement for departure was made out because he pushed her. Or she just wanted to know his plan? It was really confusing.
Finally, she told him her thoughts, and she painfully praised herself: No matter what kind of man Joseph is, he is really excellent. Irish, are you sure that you can make him happy being beside him?
Now that you are confused, why do you just lag him behind? She scolded herself.
Joseph kept silent.
Irish waited for a while, and then she just turned around to look at him. He was also looking at her coldly.
She waited for his answer. After a while, Joseph answered simply, "Okay."
His answer was just like a knife cutting her heart. There would be no connection between them anymore.
Her palm ached again.
As put by someone, the injured part should be bandaged with beautiful decorations. Actually, the fact of getting injured would not change, and it aches no matter how beautiful the bandage was.
She should have given up since she tried her best to pursue a result, and now he gave her a certain answer. They both agreed to depart from each other, so they could just be like that, and there would be no connection anymore.
Wasn't that good?
Yes, sure.
"I will give the plan to Daisy directly." Irish's voice was low, and then she just opened the door and walked out.
Joseph didn't stop her as usual. He was really a man who kept his promise, so he would not call her back.
The door behind Irish closed quietly. A book favored by Cassie occurred to her mind suddenly. In that book, the main female character told the main male character that they couldn't be back anymore.
The statement of "We can't be back anymore" still hung over Irish's mind, which was just like Joseph's statement of, "I'm tired." It was simple, but it hurt Irish the most.
Her tears fell down spontaneously.
****
It was Friday. The Coming of Labor Day made the weekend less exciting. The clerks just worked hard or spent the workdays in vain since they also needed to work even during the weekend. As a result, Friday was like Wednesday for them.
There were so many files on her desk. So many colleagues' files needed checking, and she had no time to make a plan for the next season.
When it was time to be off in the afternoon, the secretary in the Administration Department knocked at the door. She came in and gave her a notification. Irish opened it, and as she saw it, she looked at the secretary, "Seriously? I will not work on weekends, at least not here."
The secretary was in a dilemma, "Irish, it is a notification from Daisy."
From Daisy? It meant that it was Joseph who gave the order.
Irish tried her best to calm down. It was not that she didn't want to work overtime but that every second in the Runestone Group was a disaster for her. But now, the relationship between her and Joseph was not as good as before, so it would be unreasonable for her to object to working on weekends. She had to nod since so many files were waiting for her to check.
"Daisy also mentioned that you needed to arrive at the airport earlier on May 2nd. Is it okay to arrange to pick you up at 8 a.m.?"
Irish felt so confused. "To the airport? I have no plans for any business trip recently."
The secretary opened a file and read, "From May 2nd to 5th, you need to take a business trip to Jiangsu, China, with Mr. Dover."
Irish felt surprised. She took it over and found that the secretary was telling the truth.
"Why do you just notify me instead of discussing it with me?" She closed the file.
The secretary was in a dilemma, "Irish, we are only responsible for the notification."
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶