Chapter 3

Oliver sat at his desk, surrounded by a mountain of paperwork and illuminated by the soft glow of his computer screen. It was well past the office hours, yet he remained engrossed in finalizing the intricate details of a crucial project. The only other soul present in the office was Emily.

Emily had meticulously organized files and neatly arranged stacks of documents. Her dedication to her job was admirable.

Oliver glanced up from his screen, rubbing his temples in an attempt to ease the strain of looking at the screen for long. He noticed Emily typing away at her computer, engrossed in her tasks.

"Hey, Ms. Collins,"

Emily looked up, her gaze meeting Oliver's tired eyes. "Yes, Mr. Sterling?"

"How late is it now?" Oliver asked, stifling a yawn.

"It's almost midnight, sir," Emily replied, glancing at the clock on her computer screen. "You've been at this for hours. Would you like some coffee?"

"That would be fantastic, thank you. You're a lifesaver, Ms. Collins."

As Emily headed to the break room to brew coffee, Oliver leaned back in his chair. Moments later, Emily returned with a steaming cup of coffee, setting it down on Oliver's desk. 

"Here you go, Sir," 

"Thank you, Ms. Collins," Oliver replied, taking a sip of the coffee, the warmth seeping through him. "You know, you have a great talent for making coffee"

"It's all part of my job, Sir." Emily only responded and the two went back to their work.

"Ms. Collins," Oliver suddenly spoke up as he sifted through a pile of documents. "Any update on that article that came out last week?"

Emily’s brows furrowed slightly. "Yes, Sir. I've been working on it. Your dating article's been taken down from most reputable sources, and we've managed to mitigate its visibility to some extent."

Oliver was relieved that steps had been taken to contain the fallout from the false rumor. His primary concern was Sophie's reputation; he couldn't bear the thought of her being subjected to unwarranted scrutiny once they announced their relationship. 

Man, he stopped his playboy ways four years ago when Sophie and him got into a serious relationship. But the media keep on raising issues to the women he encountered.

"Thank you, Emily. I don't want Sophie's name tarnished by baseless rumors."

"I understand, Sir. We'll continue monitoring and addressing any remaining traces of the article."

"I hope you didn't face any difficulties while dealing with it" 

Emily paused, carefully choosing her words. She did have some quite intense negotiations with the publishing companies.

"It was a bit challenging, but I managed to handle it”

Oliver nodded, and then the ultimatum of his grandfather crossed his mind. He has been thinking about it now for days since he only has almost a week before the charity gala. He glanced at Emily, contemplating asking for her opinion on the matter. She always has rational suggestions. 

"Ms. Collins," Oliver began, "What if someone has given you an ultimatum to introduce someone to the family by next month's gathering? What would you do?"

Emily turned her attention fully to Oliver, raising a brow, "Does Chairman Lowell give you an ultimatum?” 

She knew his boss perfectly and she was sure he was talking about himself. 

Oliver, taken aback, cleared his throat, “Yeah. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out a solution. I don't want to upset him, but I also don't want to bring someone that my grandfather would dislike. You know I have a complicated situation with Sophie, right?"

"I understand your dilemma, sir. Perhaps you could consider seeking a temporary solution to fulfill your grandfather's request without compromising anyone's integrity."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, considering the circumstances, what if you ask someone to pretend as your girlfriend and break up until Miss Sophie is finally ready? Someone who would be comfortable in a social setting but without the expectation of a romantic relationship,"

“Hmm…” Oliver mulled over the idea, "That might work. But finding someone who fits that role and whom my family, especially my grandfather, would like might be challenging."

“Well, Chairman Lowell can be quite doubtful and hard to appease. It would indeed require some time to find who your family respects and who can maintain the facade without any pressure or expectations."

"I'll need to think this through. Anyways, Thank you for your suggestion, Ms. Collins. You've given me something to consider."

"It's my pleasure, Sir…..” Emily trailed off “And excuse me for saying this but we need to finish everything we're doing today,"

Oliver couldn't help but stifle a laugh. He had seen this side of her before, and he found it unusually amusing.

"Alright, alright," he attempted to maintain a straight face. "I'll focus, I promise."

"That’s good to hear, Sir," Emily nodded, pretending to inspect the documents on her desk with exaggerated seriousness. "Now, where were we?"

As Oliver attempted to resume his work, he reached for a paper airplane he did nearby. It was his hobby when he was taking a quick break from focusing too much. Then, he discreetly aimed it toward Emily's desk

The paper airplane soared through the air, heading straight toward Emily's organized papers. She noticed the incoming missile and quickly caught it mid-air before it could disrupt her neatly arranged documents.

"Nice catch, Ms. Collins!"

"Sir, please," she chided.

"Alright, no more distractions," Oliver said, feigning an innocent expression.

However, before they could delve back into their tasks, Oliver's phone buzzed with an urgent notification. In his haste to grab the phone, he accidentally knocked over a stack of important documents, scattering them across his desk.

Emily's eyes widened in shock. Without a moment's hesitation, she swiftly moved to salvage the scattered papers.

"This is precisely why I've been reminding you to organize your workspace. We can't afford to lose track of these documents" Emily blurted out.

Oliver laughed, used to Emily's sudden scolding, "I'm sorry, Ms. Collins. My bad" 

Then he answered the call from Sophie.

“Hey, babe” moving the chair so he was facing the outside view of his office. “Yeah, I'm with my secretary”

Emily shook her head while listening to Oliver and continued to gather the documents. She was used to always being present in her boss’s affairs. She swiftly organized the scattered documents, arranging them back onto Oliver's desk.

“Okay, okay. I will be there” Oliver suddenly quipped, getting up, and ended the call. 

He faced his secretary, "I really am sorry, Ms. Collins, but Sophie was in the penthouse right now, waiting for me. You know how her schedule was so hectic these days and we seldom have time—”

Emily, still arranging the documents, glanced up at Oliver. It’s not like he can stop him. She knows full well that when it comes to Sophie, her boss would drop anything. And his rambling means he was just asking for her permission so he could leave peacefully without any guilt. She can easily read his actions after working for him for a long time and doing practically everything for him.

"It's alright, Mr. Sterling. You can go ahead. I will take care of the rest”

She internally wanted to add that she couldn't even stop him even if she liked but she held back her tongue.

Oliver patted her shoulder and showed her a grin, “Thanks, Ms. Collins, you're really my lifesaver. Just email me the things I need to review for tomorrow’s meeting, okay?” and rushed outside. 

Emily sighed tiredly, looking at the door, “Just a few more years and I will be able to resign as your secretary”

……..

Oliver, freshly out of the bath, wrapped in a towel, settled on the couch in his penthouse, contemplating Emily's suggestion about introducing a friend to his family. It is just 5 in the morning and he just finished reviewing the email she sent. Sophie was long-fetched by her manager. 

“Someone my grandfather would like…..” he whispered to himself, racking his brain of potential candidates. 

“Tiffany? Trixie? Stella?” he muttered trying to recall all the flings he can remember but they all have the same personalities—clingy and developing emotional attachments is definitely possible.

He cannot blame them—everyone falls for his charms—

“Right!” he exclaimed. 

There is someone who didn't fall for his charms—his secretary—Emily Collins. At first, he thought she would be like his past secretaries who ended up confessing and seducing him but she didn't show any motive that she was attracted to him all these years.

Emily was his perfect candidate. He recalled the time when his grandparents had met Emily at an office function. Their effusive praise for her competence and grace lingered in his thoughts. His grandmother had even gone as far as expressing her wish for Emily to be her granddaughter-in-law, much to Oliver's surprise at the time. Aside from that, she also knew his secret relationship so setting boundaries would not be a problem.

Oliver pondered the idea, considering the possible benefits of introducing Emily as his 'girlfriend' to his family. She was someone his family already admired and respected. She had proven herself time and again to be reliable which would undoubtedly impress his grandparents. And falling for her was believable since she had worked for him for…..4 or something years already. He was not really sure. 

He scratched his head, thinking if it was a brilliant idea or just plain crazy. Dragging Emily into his family drama wasn't exactly fair. But on the flip side, she was already someone his folks adored, trusted, and respected.

As he mulled over the idea, a ping of his phone disrupted his thoughts. It was a message from Emily, updating him on the meeting later. Oliver smiled, struck by the timing. Before replying to her message, he made a mental note to bring this up in their next conversation.

……

The following morning, Oliver was back in his office. As he settled into his chair, the thought of Emily and his family's ultimatum lingered at the forefront of his mind.

"Hey, Emily," Oliver began, trying to sound nonchalant as he glanced up from his desk, "I was thinking, what's your take on relationships?"

Emily in her long skirt and floral blouse looked up, slightly taken aback by the unexpected question. 

"Uh, relationships? Well, I suppose they're important. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, just curious. You know, relationships, dating, that kind of thing. Do you have any big ambitions in that area?"

Emily raised an eyebrow, sensing Oliver's line of questioning was anything but random. 

"I guess I'm just focused on my career at the moment"

"Makes sense. Ambition in a career first, huh? Good plan"

“It is. After all, I have a goal to meet” Emily replied before she could think about her words.

“What goal?” Oliver quickly asked. 

“Oh, it's nothing big—”

He snapped his finger as if he remembered something, “Is it the million dollar note on your desk?”

Emily blinked, surprised that he noticed it. With a sigh, she nodded. “Yes, it is”

He nodded, suppressing his grin, “That’s good, that’s a good motivation” 

Emily picked up on Oliver's unusual interest in her personal life but decided not to confront him. The man never asked her about her life or cared for it for the 5 years she was working for him. She doubted he even knew her birthday. But here she was, unintentionally memorizing his family and friends' birthdays.