The Returning EX (John and Sophia) novel Chapter 1944

Chapter 1944 Lunch Together

Cindy tried her best to make herself sound as calm as possible. “Is the booting ceremony still not over?”

“I never knew how complicated these things were. It seems like it’s going to take a while longer. How are things on your end?” he asked.

If Cindy erased everything that Serena had told her at the start of the day, things seemed pretty normal for her. It felt like a usual first day at work. After hesitating for a while, Cindy answered his question. “I’m doing pretty good. I met the designer that I’ll be working with, and we had a short chat. She seems pretty nice.”

Ian was relieved to hear what Cindy said. “You can always let me know if anything happens,” he offered. She smiled as she thought, I can’t tell Ian even if anything happens. His filming is starting, so I know he won’t be able to come over to help me out. He’ll just be worried. I’m all grown up, anyway. I can’t go to him to rant all the time—I have to deal with things on my own.

Cindy hadn’t had her meal, so she didn’t stay on the call with Ian for long. After reassuring him that everything was fine on her end, she ended the call and tidied her desk before standing up to go out. Coincidentally, Serena happened to walk out of her office as Cindy prepared to leave. Naturally, Cindy had to greet her out of respect. “Hello, Miss Warhol.”

Serena turned to look at her. “Hello. Are you having lunch alone?”

“Yeah,” Cindy replied.

Serena nodded. “I’m alone too. Let’s eat together then.”

Cindy was rather shocked, but she quickly agreed to the offer. “Sure.”

After that, Serena led Cindy to the company’s cafeteria, which took up an entire floor. Although it was known as the cafeteria, it seemed much more exclusive than the usual communal dining spots. At least the food there looked like it had been prepared with care.

Cindy didn’t have a card for her meals yet, so Serena used her own to order Cindy’s meal. Cindy felt rather flattered by Serena’s act, but she also felt more certain that she must have gotten in due to some connections. Based on Cindy’s knowledge of Serena’s temperament, Serena wouldn’t have been so friendly toward her otherwise. It’d make more sense if Serena treated Cindy the way Yulia did.

The people around them noticed how nice Serena was to Cindy, but they were too shy to gossip when Serena was right in front of them. After Serena and Cindy found a spot to sit down at, Cindy started the conversation. “Miss Warhol, I thought about what you asked me this morning. I’m wondering if someone mentioned my name in front of the company’s higher-ups, and I wonder if that’s why the company hired me.”

Serena looked up at Cindy. “Weren’t you aware of this?”

Cindy shook her head. “To be honest, I don’t know anyone that powerful. Ian wasn’t the one who helped me, so I have no idea who used their influential power to offer me help.” Similarly, Serena didn’t know who the person was—she only received orders from her superiors to take better care of Cindy. Her superior didn’t tell her anything more than that.

“I think you should just forget about it. This knowledge doesn’t affect your work, anyway,” Serena uttered after pressing her lips tightly together for a while. “Even if you got in through connections, that only gives you a spot in the company. If you can’t live up to my expectations, I’ll still end up firing you. I don’t care how solid your connections are; I only care about how good your skills are.”

Cindy felt a little more at ease after hearing what Serena said. If Serena were the sort of person to be especially nice and lenient toward her just because she knew someone powerful, then Cindy would question if she were able to actually learn anything from Serena.

Cindy hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings as she had her meal with Serena. However, her colleagues surrounded her once she returned to her desk after lunch. The girl who had whispered in her ear earlier came over to speak to her again. “Didn’t you say that you don’t know Serena? How did you guys end up eating lunch together?”