Chapter 36

The gathering happened on a cold morning. Thorne, Henderson Group's highly sought-after CEO, was scheduled to make an appearance. When Thorne eventually made his big entry, fashionably late as usual, Charlene and the others had barely finished their morning coffees and had taken their seats in the conference room. Sunny, the newest member of the squad, gasped out as he stepped in, her eyes glimmering with appreciation. Until the conference really started, Sunny seemed to lose her sense of location due to her fascination with Thorne and had to jolt back to reality. She muttered, "Mr. Henderson is seriously handsome!" and nudged Charlene.

Without taking her eyes from her laptop, Charlene, who had only looked up once when Thorne walked in, gave a noncommittal "Hmm" in response. Sunny was taken aback by Charlene's seeming disinterest in Thorne, but she then recalled that Charlene was contentedly married and had children. Her response—or lack thereof—made sense all of a sudden. As Charlene dutifully took notes on her laptop during the discussion, Sunny became sidetracked and kept looking back at Thorne. Thorne was the first to depart after the conference, and the rest followed suit gradually. Until Josh arrived to pick up the minutes from Charlene, Sunny's heart was fluttering with anticipation.

That jolted her back to the present. According to Josh, who was looking over the notes Charlene had collected, "Nice work, as always." "Just doing my job," Charlene retorted as Josh left. Sunny eventually came to the realization that she had no idea what they had talked about throughout the discussion. Overwhelmed by the intricacy of the language employed, she quickly begged Charlene to share her notes. "Charlene, did you study architecture or something?" "No," replied Charlene, "I read books and did what I could on my own." Charlene had taken the time to learn about the many sectors Henderson Group had investments in.

She had become the leader of the secretarial staff at such a young age in part because of her commitment. In an attempt to learn more, Sunny was impressed and requested Charlene share her reading list. Sunny was intimidated and determined when Charlene emailed her a preliminary reading list by midday. Josh told Charlene to make a few cups of coffee for Thorne's visitors later that day, saying he would stop over to get them. Charlene had always prepared Thorne's coffee, Sunny found out.

Sunny inquired as to if Charlene had brought Thorne the coffee. Although she often didn't, Charlene clarified that there were times when the team was overly preoccupied. Sunny's eyes glowed as she saw an opening. Could you show me how to prepare his coffee, Charlene? I'd like to study even if I don't have many opportunities. Despite seeing through Sunny's deception, Charlene consented to teach her. Charlene had, after all, long since gone past any personal aspirations concerning Thorne. Thorne enjoyed her coffee-making abilities, so she didn't mind sharing them.Just then, Josh stepped into the break room, catching the tail end of the conversation and pausing in surprise.He and Coy had always believed Charlene would never be content to leave the company. They thought she would seize any opportunity to stay.