Chapter 3

As soon as I walked in, Samuel immediately muted his mic and flashed me a smile. "Hey, babe. I've got about ten minutes left in this meeting. Hang tight for me, okay?"

Grace kept her cool and calmly walked over to Samuel's desk.

She expertly refilled his cup with water.

Taking advantage of a brief break, Grace flashed Samuel a smile and gave him a quick rundown of a couple of work issues before heading out the door.

Right before leaving, she reminded him, "Mr. Sterling, you left your meds in my car. I've put them in yours now, so make sure you take them on time."

Grace moved with effortless grace, every gesture polished and professional.

It was like I was invisible, and all the times she made things hard for me were wiped away.

She acted like everything was perfectly normal.

I tried to keep my cool, pushing down my anger.

I sat on the couch, waiting for Samuel to finish his meeting.

But the more I thought about it, the more something felt off.

It was something about Grace.

Honestly, I met her the very first day she started.

Samuel made it clear that, as his personal assistant, Grace needed to stay on top of any requests I had.

She smiled and agreed, and since then, she had always made sure everything was taken care of.

We rarely interacted directly.

But whenever Samuel and I had a date, Grace would always text me a few restaurant options ahead of time, confirm with me, and then handle the reservation.

For holidays, she'd do her research and make a whole gift list, sending it to me in advance so I could pick out whatever I wanted.

Even when it was that time of the month, she'd stock my preferred brand of pads and stash them in Samuel's car.

It all seemed so thoughtful, but the more I thought about it, the more something felt off.

Whenever I tried to call Samuel, Grace would more often than not pick up first and tell me he was busy.

When I texted Samuel, he usually didn't reply right away, always saying later that he'd been too busy to check his phone.

Even when we were in the same city for work, I went to his hotel to see if we could grab a bite together, but Grace would politely turn me away, saying he had a business dinner and couldn't make it.

*****

After it happened over and over, I started to get the feeling that Grace was quietly keeping Samuel and me apart.

Unless Samuel was home in the evening, not traveling or working late, I barely saw him. Any other time, reaching him was next to impossible.

But when I told Samuel how I felt, he said I was imagining things. "The company's in a critical expansion phase. I'm so swamped, I barely have time to think, let alone care about these little things.

"Don't overthink it. Once things settle down, I'll take you on a nice vacation."

I believed him.

I spent three years testing Samuel.

I had zero doubts about his character or his feelings for me; he'd never be interested in anyone else.

I figured he was super career-driven, and since I was busy, too, I didn't think much of it.

I thought Grace was doing her job as his personal assistant, handling all the little things for him.

But after everything that happened, it suddenly hit me.

Grace was definitely out to get me.

So I wouldn't have to wait too long, Samuel quickly wrapped up his meeting and came straight over to cheer me up. "Sorry, babe. You rarely come to pick me up from work, and I made you wait so long."

Before I could vent about what happened downstairs or grill him about that cup, Samuel pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my forehead.

His lips were about to meet mine when Grace suddenly walked in.

I panicked and slipped out of Samuel's embrace.

"Sorry, Mr. Sterling, I thought you were still in your meeting. I wanted to drop off the cake Ms. Quinn brought; it's already sliced for you," Grace said.

She apologized, but she didn't look the least bit sorry.

Samuel didn't mind Grace walking in without knocking. Instead, he smiled. "Julia brought me cake? Perfect timing, I'm starving. Let me have a taste."

I was about to say I made it myself.

I took a closer look at the cake she'd sliced up, and something felt off.

"Wait, this isn't the cake I brought earlier. Mine had blueberries inside, but there aren't any in this one," I shot Grace a puzzled look.

She gave a calm smile and explained, "Ms. Quinn, the cake you brought is a bit too sweet for Mr. Sterling. Since it's his birthday today, I ordered this low-sugar cake ahead of time."

Samuel shrugged it off and helped himself to a big bite. "This tastes pretty good, too. Grace, you're as attentive as ever."

He didn't notice the look on my face.

I coldly pushed away the cake Grace handed me and asked in a deep voice, "Where's the cake I brought? Who allowed you to swap it without telling me?

"Is this how you wield your power as Mr. Sterling's top assistant? Even his fiancée has to bow to you."

Grace's calm expression suddenly faltered, a flicker of panic crossing her face as she stammered out an apology. "I-I'm so sorry, Ms. Quinn. Your cake is still outside. I haven't touched it at all.

"I figured since Mr. Sterling's been hitting the gym lately, he can't have anything that's not healthy."

Grace was suddenly all strictly professional, almost timid, like a completely different person from the arrogant assistant I'd seen in the elevator.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

As soon as she finished, Samuel's brow furrowed as he cut in. "Let it go, it's a piece of cake. Grace meant well. She already apologized, so don't blow this out of proportion. We'll take your cake home and enjoy it later.

"Grace, this better not happen again. You can go now, and close the door on your way out."