The senior executive smiled and agreed, "That is true. No matter who sent it, you will definitely feel good about receiving a bouquet early in the morning."
Emma nodded with a smile on her face.
The executive suddenly peered at Toddy, making the latter stand up straight with a cold expression on. Now that he was being watched, he indifferently mentioned, "This is the first time you have received a bouquet, isn't it? Such flamboyance will only make you the topic for gossip among your colleagues, Miss Finley."
Even Dylan didn't make it conspicuous the first time he gave Kendall a bouquet.
Before Emma could speak, the senior executive smilingly interrupted, "Miss Finley is not being showy. All she did was walk in with a bouquet of roses. It seems that you are particularly biased toward Miss Finley, Mr. Heller."
Toddy only coldly remarked, "I have nothing to say if Miss Finley doesn't have any errors in her work."
Toddy's attitude made it so awkward that no one in the elevator continued to say anything.
Emma, on the other hand, had her red lips pursed when Toddy spoke.
No one said anything and she didn't as well, on top of not looking at him. There was no way of knowing the thoughts going through her head.
As the elevator stopped at the floors where everyone else worked, there was a steady decrease in the number of people in the elevator.
By the end of it, only Toddy and Emma were left in the elevator.
Emma was heading to the top floor, whereas Toddy's office was on the 66th floor.
With no one else around, he tilted his head to look at the woman beside him.
Dressed in formal clothes, Emma screamed competency from head to toe.
She was undeniably good at work. Dylan had quite a number of secretaries, but only Emma was the one who helped him most with work. She was handling almost all the responsibility as the secretary to the president.
It wouldn't be an understatement to say that she was competent.
She didn't have stunning good looks. Toddy thought she looked ordinary the first time he saw her. The second time he did, he somehow found she had exquisite features. After a few more glances, she was a beauty in his eyes.
She was more the type that looked better as time went.
She had similar silky locks as Kendall did, the only difference being she always put her hair in a bun during work, revealing her white, swan-like neck.
"What are you looking at me like that for, Mr. Heller?"
Emma cocked her head and looked straight in Toddy's eyes.
For some reason, he felt panic rise when he saw a calmness instead of the usual admiration in her eyes. However, he managed to suppress it soon after he felt it.
He then confessed, "I was looking to see if something is different about you today, Miss Finley."
"What do you think is different about me today, Mr. Heller?" She smiled.
"You seem to look more beautiful than you always did. Is it because you have someone pursuing you now?"
Women in love were always gorgeous.
There wasn't even a ripple in Emma's gaze after she heard his words. "In my opinion, I have always been beautiful. It is just that you have never once properly looked at me, Mr. Heller. You have never known that I am beautiful."
The man choked at that, and he was just about to say something more when Emma reminded him, "Mr. Heller, this is you."
Toddy took a look, only to realize that he had indeed reached the 66th floor.
As the elevator door opened, he glanced at her hands before he walked out. Other than the bouquet of flowers she had in both hands and her bag on one arm, he didn't see the breakfast in a thermal lunch box she would always have ready for him everyday.
After he walked out of the elevator, the door closed behind him.
Toddy continued to stand there in a daze for a whole minute even when Emma was gone.
He had never wanted to accept her feelings for him. Ever since she confessed to him, he had never touched the breakfast she lovingly prepared and brought over for him. Not only that, he would even give the breakfast back to her in the exact condition he had received it.
He would intentionally pick a time when everyone was gone to return the lunch box to her in the past.
Still, she persistently brought him breakfast day after day.
That was when he started getting annoyed at her, and the more irritated he was, the more ruthless he became. He then began to cruelly toss her sincerity back at her by demanding she not bring him breakfast anymore in front of every other employee. He promised that he wouldn't take a bite of what she made for him.
In order to put a clear end to her infatuation for him, Toddy even threw the breakfast she brought for him into the bin with everyone as their witness.
However, the stubborn woman continued doing what she did no matter how cold he was to her.
It surprised him how disappointed he felt because he didn't receive breakfast from her today.
It must be because he was used to her effort in winning him over everyday.
As soon as Dylan arrived at the company, he took notice of the bouquet of roses Emma placed beside her office table.
He was not one to gossip, but he actually was curious about where the bouquet came from.
Still, he didn't ask.
It was only until Toddy came in and finished discussing work matters when Dylan casually asked, "Finally having some sense now, are we?"
Toddy was stunned for a second, but he soon let out a cough when he understood what his boss meant. "It is not like I have feelings for her. Why would I possibly give her 99 roses?"
Dylan proceeded to stare at him. "I thought the bouquet of flowers on Miss Finley's desk was from you. What is it about her that you don't like? I think she is a good match for you. And she has been really loyal to her feelings for you. You should consider her."
Hearing that, Toddy blurted out unthinkingly, "I would have considered her a long time ago if I actually wanted to. Why would I wait until now? She is okay, but she is not my type."
"What is your type, then? We have been friends for so many years, but I have never seen you falling for anyone."
"I have been influenced by you after working for you all this time. It is hard for me to fall for anyone. Also, those who are interested in me usually have other motives for approaching me. Because I am your trusted assistant, I am afraid that those are but honeytraps. It is actually quite nice being by myself. No one will nag even if I wake up as late as I could possibly want during weekends when there is no work. That is freedom right there."
"Surely you are not in love with me?"
Toddy immediately started choking on his saliva when he heard the question.
His head then shot up, only to see Dylan spotting a stern and serious expression. Dylan didn't look like he was joking at all.
After a few hacks, Toddy complained, "I am a normal man, President Dylan. Even though you are ridiculously handsome, I know that I will be the bottom if I like you, but I like topping. That is why I like the opposite sex instead of another guy."
According to Dylan's personality, the man would definitely be the dominant one if he wasn't straight.
"Good. I was worried that I am the reason you are still unmarried. I honestly have no idea how to go about things if your mom were to hold me accountable for it."
It had been Toddy's parents' dream for the longest time to see Toddy get married.
"Toddy, as an old friend of yours, let me ask you a question—you really won't accept Miss Finley?"
"Why are you so worried about her life anyway?"
"With how much she has done for the company, she is a valuable old-timer of ours. It isn't odd for the boss to care about his employee's life, right?"
The one that Dylan was worried about was actually Toddy.
The latter fell silent at his friend's question, but he finally answered, "I really don't think I have any feelings for her."
He would have said yes to her a long time ago otherwise.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Knows No Bounds novel (Kendall and Dylan)
Beautiful story....