Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The Gap Between Them is Too Great
Perhaps her disappointment was just too plain to see, because the man seated in the chair shot her a casual glance.
"What, you want to go to the project department and poach their secrets?"
Cecilia Croft was startled and quickly shook her head.
’Even though that was exactly what she was thinking, she could never admit it.’
’That was a major workplace taboo.’
"Mr. Hawthorne, why would you say such a thing? With you here to guide me personally, why would I need to go poach secrets from the project department? A single pointer from you is more than I could ever hope to learn from them."
Sebastian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow and swept his gaze over her, the displeasure in his eyes subsiding considerably.
"Good. At least you know that."
Cecilia Croft forced an awkward smile, playing along.
All those years of slacking off and getting by in Silvercrest hadn’t been for nothing, after all.
’The skills she’d honed buttering up the executives back in Silvercrest were proving to be quite useful on Sebastian Hawthorne, too.’
Sebastian Hawthorne rose and left the lounge area, heading for his desk.
Cecilia Croft followed, asking timidly, "Excuse me... Mr. Hawthorne, where is my temporary workstation?"
Sebastian Hawthorne glanced at the sofa and coffee table placed not far away.
Cecilia looked over and froze.
"There?"
"What? Not good enough for the great Young President Croft?"
Cecilia Croft shook her head. "Of course not. It’s an honor to be able to work in your office, Mr. Hawthorne."
Pleased with her answer, Sebastian Hawthorne pressed the button on his intercom and ordered someone to bring up the files for the Silvercrest project.
A few moments later, Secretary Summers arrived, having retrieved all the relevant files from the project department.
Sebastian Hawthorne, seated in his executive chair, looked at Cecilia Croft with a detached expression.
"These are the meeting minutes and related documents from all company discussions regarding the Silvercrest project. Now that you’re on board, President Croft, I expect you to get up to speed quickly. Your time is limited, and so is mine."
Cecilia Croft nodded.
"Understood, Mr. Hawthorne. I promise I won’t let you down."
After responding to Mr. Hawthorne, she walked over to her temporary workstation and began poring over the documents and meeting minutes.
Her meeting with Keith Warren had only been a preliminary briefing. Now, she had to truly digest all this information to understand what kind of commercial hub Sebastian Hawthorne envisioned for Silvercrest.
Assistants and secretaries occasionally came in to report to Sebastian Hawthorne, but none of it broke her concentration.
Cecilia was not only reviewing the documents, she even started taking notes. She didn’t even notice when it was time for lunch.
Sebastian Hawthorne’s lunch was handled by Assistant Scott, who had it custom-ordered and delivered directly to the office.
Assistant Scott wasn’t in the office today and had no idea Cecilia was working out of Mr. Hawthorne’s office, so he had only ordered enough for one person.
When the food arrived, Secretary Summers accepted it from the delivery person and brought it into Mr. Hawthorne’s office.
Without so much as a glance at the meal, Sebastian Hawthorne told Secretary Summers to give it to Cecilia, who was working behind the decorative screen.
"Give it to her."
A flicker of surprise crossed Secretary Summers’s eyes. Despite her confusion, she carried the meal container over to Cecilia and placed it on the coffee table.
"Miss Croft, it’s lunchtime. Why don’t you take a break to eat?"
Cecilia looked up from the mountain of files and saw the lunch Secretary Summers had brought, its container bearing the logo of The Crimson Dynasty. She quickly expressed her thanks.
"Thank you so much, Secretary Summers. How much do I owe you? I can send you the money right now."
The dishes from The Crimson Dynasty were never cheap.
’We’re all just cogs in the machine; she couldn’t just take Secretary Summers’s lunch for free.’
Secretary Summers quickly waved her hands, glanced at Sebastian Hawthorne sitting in his office chair, and said in a low voice,
"Mr. Hawthorne gave his meal to you."
Cecilia paused, then whispered,
"Oh, that’s not right. You should give it back to him. I can just order something myself or go to the cafeteria."
’After seeing Jade Golding today, Cecilia understood better than ever that a person had to be crystal clear about their own status and position.’
’Right now, she was just a foot soldier in Sebastian Hawthorne’s army—a nobody.’
’Therefore, she had to avoid stepping out of line like this.’
Secretary Summers was also in a difficult position.
"Why don’t you go tell Mr. Hawthorne yourself?"
Cecilia Croft nodded, and just as she was about to get up and return the lunch to Sebastian Hawthorne, someone pushed open the office door and walked in.
It was another one of Sebastian Hawthorne’s assistants.
"Mr. Hawthorne, thanks to you, the rest of us got a taste of Elysian Eats as well. Miss Golding had this meal specially ordered for you."
Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t even look up as he said flatly,
"Just leave it."
"Of course." The assistant complied, respectfully carrying a basket of food behind the screen. He froze when he saw Cecilia and Secretary Summers there.
Cecilia then realized her temporary workstation was where Sebastian Hawthorne usually ate. She hurriedly cleared her documents off the table.
’Utterly humiliating.’
Only then did the assistant proceed to take the dishes out of the basket, arranging them one by one.
Cecilia glanced at the dishes being laid out on the table, each served on exquisite porcelain, and then at the takeout container from The Crimson Dynasty beside her.
The Crimson Dynasty, considered a high-end restaurant in Karthus, seemed downright shabby in comparison to the spread from Elysian Eats. Even its logo looked pathetic.
Cecilia and Secretary Summers exchanged a glance.
The confusion in Secretary Summers’s eyes vanished completely.
So that was it. Mr. Hawthorne was planning to eat the lunch Miss Golding had sent over, which is why he’d charitably tossed the meal Assistant Scott had ordered for him to Cecilia, who hadn’t ordered anything for herself.
’That, at least, made sense.’
Seeing the feast that now covered half the coffee table, Cecilia silently dismissed the thought of returning the meal to Sebastian Hawthorne.
’The meal she got was just the surplus, the part Mr. Hawthorne wasn’t going to eat anyway.’
’By eating it, she was basically taking it off his hands, solving a problem for him.’
’That wasn’t stepping out of line at all.’
Once the dishes were arranged, the assistant and Secretary Summers left together, not forgetting to offer a respectful "Enjoy your meal, sir" to Mr. Hawthorne on their way out.
Cecilia stared at the feast before her, a perfect symphony of color, aroma, and flavor—a lunch that did not belong to her.
’This was practically a state banquet.’
’How could he *not* have a pleasant meal?’
’Some people might never get to eat a meal like this in their entire lives, yet Sebastian Hawthorne could have it just by sitting in his office.’
Cecilia silently averted her eyes, turning her attention to the lunch Sebastian Hawthorne had so graciously ’bestowed’ upon her.
Sebastian Hawthorne got up from his desk area and walked over.
Cecilia reacted instinctively, scrambling to her feet. "I think I’ll go eat outside with Secretary Summers and the others."
Sebastian Hawthorne shot her a cold look and said in a low, heavy voice,
"That won’t be necessary."
"It’s not like looking at your face will ruin my appetite."
Cecilia: "..."
’She’d forgotten. This man was only a gentleman to Jade Golding; with anyone else, his words were merciless.’
She took a silent, steadying breath and sat back down, a smile fixed on her face.
"In that case, I’ll take that as a compliment, Mr. Hawthorne. Thank you for saying my face is so appetizing."
Sebastian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow, seemingly taken aback by her audacity, but he didn’t deny it.
Seeing that he had nothing more to say, she remained silent and began to quietly unwrap her meal.
’Having been so keenly reminded of the chasm between them, Cecilia didn’t dare clap back at him with the same bluntness she would have back in Silvercrest.’
’She had to be pragmatic, someone who knew when to bend and when to stand tall. She would be the adaptable female lead who makes the ultimate comeback!’
