Chapter 4

It was noon, and with everything weighing on my mind lately, I wasn't feeling sleepy at all. After lunch, I decided to step out onto the company terrace for some fresh air.

The weather was finally cooling off, and the sun was pleasantly warm on my skin. Even that scraggly tree in the corner had managed to put out some fresh leaves.

I walked over and couldn't help but mutter, "You're something else, still sprouting new leaves even though autumn's here." As I rambled on, I ended up spilling all my recent troubles to the tree.

I complained about the unfairness of getting dumped out of nowhere, the shock of finding that old photo, the awkwardness of running into Xavier again, and even how I barely slept last night.

It was not like a tree could laugh at me, so I let it all out. Afterward, I actually felt a lot lighter.

Just as I was about to head back, a deep voice suddenly came from above. "Who are you talking to?"

I looked up and saw Xavier standing on the upper terrace, leaning against the railing and watching me.

My cheeks instantly flushed with embarrassment. I had no clue when he'd shown up or how much he'd overheard. I replied, "Just talking to this tree for a bit."

He couldn't help but chuckle, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Talking to a tree? That's kind of quirky."

My face got even hotter as I tried to explain. "I read somewhere that if you talk to your plants and say nice things to them every day, they'll actually perk up.

"When this tree was first planted, it was practically half-dead, so I'd come over and talk to it every day. Now it looks way better than it used to."

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He looked like he didn't buy it at all.

Suddenly, a memory popped into my head. "Do you remember back in our last year of high school, when our homeroom teacher had us all bring in a potted plant?"

He tilted his head, like he was trying to remember.

I said, "I bought a succulent back then, but it was almost dead within a week.

"I've always been terrible with plants, so when I read about talking to them, I figured I'd try a Hail Mary. Every day at lunch, I'd go talk to it.

"And crazy enough, it actually came back to life and made it through our whole senior year. But once I graduated and took it home, I got no time to talk to it, and it died pretty soon after."

Xavier crossed his arms. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe the succulent you had wasn't even the same one you brought in?"

I paused, brushing my wind-tousled hair out of my face. "You mean someone actually swapped it out for me? No way."

Xavier just smiled quietly, not giving anything away. He didn't press the issue and instead asked, "Are you free tonight?"

I was caught off guard. "Yeah."

He said, "I want to take you out for dinner. I just got back to the country, and I'm still trying to get up to speed on a lot of things at the company.

"I'm worried the old-timers might not be completely upfront with me, so I want to talk to you."

I suddenly felt uneasy. I was just another grunt at the bottom rung here. I didn't think I knew the company well.

But when I met Xavier's bright eyes, I just couldn't bring myself to turn him down. "Okay."

"I'll send you the address later," he said, waving his phone. "Can I have your number?"

When I got back to my desk, my heart was still pounding.

Just now, when Xavier leaned in to add my contact, his warm fingers brushed mine accidentally.

I shook my head and gave myself a little slap.

But any little flutter of excitement was quickly snuffed out by work. My supervisor, Charles Lee, threw a last-minute assignment at me, saying I had to get it done for him tonight.

I looked over the pile of work, sighed, and opened Xavier's profile. I texted: [Sorry. I can't make it tonight. I have to work overtime.]

He didn't ask any questions. He replied: [Okay.]

I ended up working overtime until almost ten o'clock. Everyone else had already left ages ago.

I rubbed my temples and just saved my work when I saw Xavier coming down from upstairs.

He had his suit jacket draped over his arm, and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, looking way more relaxed than he did during the day.

When he saw me, he stopped. "You're still here?"

"Just about to leave," I said.

"What kind of work keeps you here so late?" Xavier asked, glancing at my screen. He paused. "Wait. Isn't this the stuff Charles is supposed to show me tomorrow?"

My heart sank.

Xavier frowned, "Does Charles always make you do this kind of stuff?"

"Sometimes," I replied.

"This isn't even your job. Why don't you just turn him down?" Xavier said.

I stared at him, eyes wide. "Mr. Sterling, he's my boss."

He went quiet for a moment, and then asked, "Did you even log your overtime?"

"Not yet."

"Take tomorrow morning off. I'll approve it," Xavier said.