Chapter 7: A little Jealous

JEFFREY

My eyes locked on the title. Philip’s Room. By Raven Black.

He raised a brow at me, before flipping a page calmly. “You know it?”

‘I wrote it.’

My heart kicked hard in my chest. I could barely breathe for a second.

“Yeah,” I said, keeping my tone even. “It’s… a pretty good book.”

Ronald shot a bland look at me. “It’s more than that. I’ve read it four times.” He turned another page. “The way it builds slow tension, how the main character keeps denying what’s obvious... it’s brilliant. Quietly devastating.”

I gulped.

Hearing him talk like that about my work like that was surreal. Of course he didn’t know I was the author. The name on the book was a pen name I’d guarded like my life depended on it.

But this wasn’t the first time someone had praised it. I’d gotten fan messages. Reviews. Even the occasional half-drunk stranger gushing about “how raw and real it felt.” Regardless, I couldn’t let them know who I was.

But Ronald, of all people, reading it? Loving it?

That was new.

I leaned back in my seat and stared out the window as the helicopter cut through the wind. The sky was clearer than I expected.

“You okay?” Ronald asked, not looking up.

“Fine.” I turned back to him, managing a small smile.

**********

We landed softly on the office helipad. As we stepped out, Ronald motioned for me to follow him instead of heading straight inside.

“Wait,” I said. “Aren’t we-?”

He gave a slight smirk. “Just come with me.”

We walked around the side of the building, turning into one of the corridors just before the main office wing. I stopped when I saw it.

A small area, right outside one of the side offices, was decorated with balloons, gold and black, floating with soft ribbons. A simple banner hung above the door:

WELCOME, CO-MANAGER JEFFREY.

I blinked.

People were clapping softly in the background, just a few assistants and admin staff. A couple of them whistled.

I turned to Ronald, stunned.

He gave a modest shrug. “I figured it was time to make it official, as you handled the past few days well. You deserve more than a guest badge.”

“You’re serious?”

“I don’t joke about business,” he said.

I didn’t know what to say.

“Also,” he added, stepping toward the office door, “you’ve been assigned a secretary. Her name is Ruby. She’s excellent.”

As if on cue, a young woman in a sleek maroon skirt and soft pink blouse stepped forward with a bright smile. She had curly brown hair tucked behind her ears and held a tablet against her chest.

“Mr. Jeffrey,” she said, almost too eagerly. “I’ve already synced your calendar and email. Let me know if you want coffee preferences set up or if you'd like a rundown of the meeting rooms.”

I nodded, a little taken aback by her intensity. “Thanks, Ruby.”

Her smile lingered. I couldn’t tell if it was the job that got her that excited or me.

Ronald gave her a curt nod before pushing open the door to my new office. I stepped in.

The office was spacious, with a monochrome of white and grey. A glass floor to ceiling wall overlooking the courtyard. There was even a plant near the window, minimalistic and elegant, just how I liked it.

My nameplate was already fixed on the door.

Jeffrey C.

Co-Manager

I turned slowly, soaking it all in. My own office. My own secretary. My own damn name on a door.

This felt real. I guess the contract between both families is getting its effect.

“Thank you,” I said quietly to Ronald.

He just gave a slight nod. “Welcome to the team, Mr. Co-Manager.”

Ronald’s phone buzzed. He checked the screen, then looked at me.

“My secretary says my lawyer’s here,” he said. “Settle in. I’ll check on you later.”

I gave a small nod as he turned and walked off, already typing something on his phone.

I sat behind the desk and leaned back, letting the chair swallow me up. It felt good and solid.

There was a folder on the desk already, my onboarding packet, some staff lists, security codes, and access to the internal system. I flipped through it with one hand while glancing around the room.

The next hour passed in a blur of forms, calendar syncing, and toggling through department reports. I paused at one line item in the financial logs, a recurring transfer labeled only as “Internal R&D - Class 6 Confidential.” It wasn’t the secrecy that bothered me. It was the sheer amount of nearly seven figures per month.

I frowned. That wasn’t normal. I grabbed the file, and headed toward Ronald’s office.

His secretary looked up from her screen and smiled.

“He’s still in a meeting,” she said.

“Still?”

“With Mr. Collins.”

I froze. “Collins?”

She nodded. “The family lawyer. He stops by a lot. He’s very close to Mr. Ronald.”

I blinked. “Right. How long have they been in there?”

Maureen checked the wall clock. “Almost an hour. But don’t worry, he usually wraps up around this time.”

I glanced at the glass wall that separated Ronald’s office from the hallway. The design was minimal and modern with tiny geometric 3D patterns embossed across the surface. You could see outlines and light, but not much else.

Still, I squinted, trying to piece together the shapes.

Someone sat across the desk. Broad-shouldered. Collins, I assumed. Ronald sat opposite him. At some point, they both leaned forward. The glass distorted everything, but the movement looked oddly intimate.

I didn’t realize I was still staring until Maureen said gently, “You can wait here, Mr. Jeffrey. He shouldn’t be long.”

I gave a nod and took a seat on the low grey couch in the corner, setting the folder beside me. I tapped my knee, trying not to think too much.

Maybe they were discussing a lawsuit or an inheritance. Or maybe I was just being stupid, jealous of a man I didn’t know anything about.

I was about to take my leave and come some other time, when the door suddenly swung open.