The Billionaire Who Saved Me

“Only six months on the job and already trusted to cover such a big news story. Impressive, isn’t it? I think she’s the only one who can get something this special.”

“What can I say? Kylie had an accident. And we all… have our interview assignments this weekend.”

“I think we should replace Kylie. And-”

“I replace all of you?”

A voice interrupted the quiet conversation in the pantry that afternoon. An unexpected voice that instantly made the two adult women with coffee cups in their hands jump in surprise. Together they turned towards the source of the voice, right at the door, where a woman was standing.

“Elice?”

The woman was Elice. Dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and pants, she entered the pantry, smiling calmly as if she hadn’t heard anything.

Elice went to the small shelf on the other side of the room, took a cup and its saucer, and then approached her two colleagues.

“Uh… may I excuse myself for a moment?” Elice asked, still smiling. “I want to make some coffee, too.”

Immediately, Elice’s two colleagues, Yonna Murphy and Neva Gibson, were startled. Spontaneously, they moved away to make way for Elice to reach the kettle, which was still emitting hot steam. A sign that the water inside had just finished boiling.

Dealing with the black coffee powder, sugar and hot water, Elice took a deep breath, trying to stay calm in such a situation. But her hands were shaking. She delayed for a moment her intention to grab the handle of the kettle.

No one in the world would be happy to be in the position Elice was in right now. To discover that her colleagues were gossiping about her behind her back. To be honest, it surprised her, because Yonna and Neva had shown a good attitude in front of her. But who would have thought that behind their backs?

Indeed. Appearances could be deceiving. Even their good looks and behavior in front of her didn’t guarantee the same behind her back.

At that moment, Elice felt a sense of shrinking. Just keeping a smile on her face took all her strength. And now what? Being forced into an uncomfortable situation made her tremble. Yonna’s and Neva’s words clearly pierced her feelings.

So, Elice took a deep breath and tried to suppress the trembling that made her hands immobile. In the end, her fingers stretched perfectly, took the kettle and poured the hot water into her cup.

Yonna and Neva were still there, exchanging uneasy glances. Their faces wore the natural expression of people caught gossiping.

As she stirred the coffee, Elice turned around.

“So… how is it?”

This question made Yonna and Neva jump again. They exchanged a quick glance and then turned their attention to Elice.

“W-what do you mean?”

Elice turned to Neva. “Your idea earlier?” she reminded. “Since there’s still time, how about we meet Mr. Hollis now?”

“N-no need,” Yonna replied quickly. “W-we were just kidding.”

“Oh really? I thought you were serious. Besides, I’m the newcomer here. It doesn’t feel right to step on the seniors.”

“We’re not serious. Besides, Yonna and I already have other interviews. We’ve prepared everything.”

Neva helped Yonna, and just as Elice was about to speak again, Neva continued, grabbing Yonna’s hand.

“In that case, let’s go. There’s something we need to check for tomorrow’s interview.”

Without giving Elice a chance to answer, Neva immediately pulled Yonna away. Elice watched her go, stunned.

Elice let out a long breath, just as her hand stopped moving. She felt relieved. And then she lowered her face, only to find her hands trembling again.

It turned out that it wasn’t easy to appear strong and fine.

Elice realized that for sure. No matter how hard she tried to hold her head up, she was still shaking. Her body was still shaking.

“Wow! You’re really amazing, Elice!”

A heavy voice made Elice turn to the door. A man in a collared shirt entered the pantry. He wore a name tag around his neck. Even without it, Elice knew who the man was.

“Freddy,” Elice whispered hesitantly. “Did you see what happened back there?”

The man, whose full name was Freddy Clark, nodded. He entered and walked to the shelf, apparently planning to make coffee as well, considering that when the working hours reached two in the afternoon, sleepiness became something to be avoided.

“I saw it, and I heard it from the beginning, actually. Uh… they’re like that a lot. Don’t take it to heart.”

Freddy prepared his black coffee efficiently. It took him no more than two minutes to savor his first sip. He sighed contentedly and looked at Elice, who hadn’t even tasted her coffee yet.

“Anyway,” Freddy whispered later, “you can consider it your luck. Well… I’m not saying you should be grateful for Kylie’s accident. But fate works that way. And luckily you don’t have a schedule this Saturday.”

Elice nodded weakly. This time she finally tasted her coffee. “That’s because I’m a rookie. So, whether I like it or not, I don’t have a schedule outside.”

“Hahahahahaha. A newcomer. That’s an old term.”

“But it still seems quite relevant at the moment.”

Freddy shook his head once. “But no matter what they said, honestly. You really impressed me.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes,” Freddy nodded. “You dared to respond to their words, and you seemed calm. That’s extraordinary. Most women would normally choose to avoid when caught in a situation like the one you experienced earlier.”

Not being honest about what had actually happened, Elice wished she could just run away. But before she knew it, her feet had stepped inside, and it would undoubtedly be embarrassing if she rushed out. In the end, she had no choice but to enter with a strengthened heart, including interrupting the conversation.

“Maybe that’s why Mr. Hollis didn’t hesitate to send you instead of Kylie.”

Elice frowned. “Is there a connection?”

“Obviously there is. You look confident, and your appearance makes people take you seriously.”

“Is that so?”

Freddy nodded. Then Elice smiled, a little confused. Something that confused her.

“Why?”

Elice shook her head and took a deep breath. She grabbed the coffee cup and its saucer.

“I’ll go first.”

With that, Elice left the pantry immediately, leaving Freddy behind while she went to her workspace. Inside, there were several cubicles for each employee.

Elice sat in her chair, one word echoing in her mind.

Appearance?

At that moment, whether she liked it or not, Elice’s memory was involuntarily pulled back. A voice that, for some reason, was still perfectly recorded in her mind.

“And what people see in us is… just our appearance.”

Stunned, Elice reluctantly admitted that it did seem that appearance was what people valued. Despite her trembling earlier, there were three people who found her calm.

It seemed that what he had said was true.

Continuing her work after postponing the drowsiness with the caffeinated drink, Elice left her computer on. Her attention was drawn to an elegant invitation on the side of her desk. She glanced at it before tucking it into her work bag. She didn’t want to forget her only ticket to the important conference tomorrow night.

“Elice, I almost forgot to ask you.”

Freddy suddenly appeared again, this time approaching Elice’s cubicle. This time he didn’t bring a cup, a clear sign that he had left his coffee in the pantry.

“What?”

Freddy put both hands on the desk and leaned slightly towards the woman.

“Have you been studying the questions for tomorrow?” Freddy asked. “No offense, but tomorrow is your first interview. Don’t let anything slip.”

Elice wasn’t offended. Instead, she took it as precautionary advice.

“I have them. I’ve studied them. I think tomorrow will be fine.”

Freddy looked at the folder Elice was holding. It must be the list of questions she had prepared. Details that had originally been arranged by Kylie Scott.

“That’s good then. At least tomorrow can go without a hitch. And you can consider this part of the soul therapy,” Freddy said with a wink. “When else do you get to see a rich, handsome man for free on a Sunday night?”

Elice frowned and thought for a moment. Then she understood Freddy’s intention. “Ah! You mean…”

“Garrett.”

Elice’s expression changed immediately. Hearing that name made her swallow hard.

Garrett? Why does his name sound like…

“Of course, him. Garrett Alexander Morales. You couldn’t forget his name, could you?”

But he wasn’t the only person named Garrett in the world. Besides, I don’t know his full name.

“But most importantly, you must have seen his photos circulating on social media, right? Um… he’s still single.”

Freddy’s voice interrupted Elice’s thoughts. Reflexively, she swallowed hard and shook her head.

“I haven’t seen his photos.”

And this answer made Freddy sigh. Then he entered Elice’s cabin. Inaudibly he muttered something.

“How can you interview someone without knowing who they are? Seriously.”

Freddy went to Elice’s computer and typed the name into the Google search engine. It didn’t take long for several photos to fill the flat screen. He showed the photos to Elice.

“This is the guy named Garrett. The person you’ll be interviewing tomorrow.”

Elice fell silent. Freddy’s voice no longer seemed to reach her ears. More than that, every nerve in her body suddenly felt numb. Because a photo that Freddy opened made Elice unable to think of anything else. Except for the fact that there had been a hot night when she had met the man in the picture.

H-he?

*