Chapter 18: Let Me Help You Take It Down

As Xu Sian had anticipated, the Director of Human Resources sent a message ten minutes later confirming receipt of Qiao Xu’s resignation letter.

Xu Sian lit a cigarette and took a drag, exhaling the smoke upward.

“Qiao Xu, this time I won’t let you go.”

“If you want to play, then I’ll play along with you.”

Due to the overseas joint venture project, several team leaders and the secretarial assistants of the President’s Office often worked late into the night.

With the time difference in Los Angeles, they had to hold video conferences late at night.

For an entire week, they didn’t get off work until half past midnight.

However, Xu Sian was a fairly considerate superior; the working hours of the President’s Office were shifted from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

That night at 10 p.m., while waiting for the overseas video call, Song Jia ordered coffee and late-night snacks for everyone.

Qiao Xu had been having trouble sleeping recently, often waking from nightmares in the middle of the night, and her appetite had diminished considerably.

When she saw the snacks, she had no appetite and only took a cup of iced coffee to keep herself alert.

Both Qiao Xu and Song Jia were executive assistants, sitting to the left and right of Xu Sian during meetings.

Normally, food was not allowed in the conference room, but since many detailed matters needed discussion for the overseas project, this rule was relaxed to avoid wasting time.

Ye Yurou pushed a plate of creamy lobster pasta in front of Qiao Xu. “Xu Xu, your favorite.”

Qiao Xu waved her hand. “I won’t eat it. My cough just got better; I don’t want something so rich.”

“Then can I have it?”

Qiao Xu smiled faintly and nodded, returning to review the meeting materials.

Xu Sian entered the room, and everyone stopped eating. “President Xu.”

“Keep eating. Don’t mind me.”

Qiao Xu greeted politely, “President Xu.”

The man gave a light grunt. “Not eating?”

“Not hungry.”

Qiao Xu took two sips of her iced coffee, but as soon as she put it down, the person beside her swapped it for a hot cup.

Xu Sian expressionlessly drank the iced coffee.

Only a few from the President’s Office noticed—Ye Yurou and Fang Kexin’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Qiao Xu whispered, “That’s my coffee.”

Xu Sian flipped a page in the contract before him. “Trade with you.”

Qiao Xu was speechless.

What could she do? He’d already drunk it; there was no swapping back.

Pouting, she took a sip of the hot coffee and immediately made a face of disgust.

It tasted awful.

She hated hot Americanos.

With five minutes left before the video conference began, the late-night snacks in the meeting room had already been cleared away.

Having Song Jia there meant he handled the reports, Qiao Xu took notes on the meeting content, and Fang Kexin and Ye Yurou recorded the documents that needed to be faxed overseas.

The meeting ran longer than expected, ending only at 2 a.m.

After staring at the screen for so long, Qiao Xu’s contact lenses had dried out, causing her eyes to redden.

As the meeting ended and she raised her hand to rub her eyes, someone silently pressed it down.

“Thanks for your hard work. Tomorrow night is the last meeting. Everyone will come in at six in the evening.”

“Song Jia, coordinate with Human Resources about attendance. Overtime will be paid at triple the usual rate.”

The exhaustion and frustration from overtime were soothed by the promise of money. “Thank you, President Xu.”

Ye Yurou was about to ask Qiao Xu if she wanted a ride home when she noticed their hands tightly intertwined under the table.

“Xu Xu, we’re leaving first.”

Qiao Xu had been trying to pull away but couldn’t.

“Okay, drive safely and take it slow.”

Soon, only Xu Sian, Qiao Xu, and Song Jia remained in the conference room.

“Let go,” she whispered, afraid Song Jia, who was focused on his computer, would notice.

Xu Sian loosened his tie and tugged her hand, causing Qiao Xu and her chair to slide closer to him.

“Your eyes are so red. When will you stop wearing those terrible contact lenses?”

Qiao Xu had mild nearsightedness and astigmatism. She disliked glasses and preferred decorative colored contacts.

“President Xu, this is my personal matter.”

Xu Sian ignored her. “Come to my office. I’ll help you take them off.”

“No need. I can do it myself.”

Xu Sian lowered his head, blowing softly in front of her eyes.

Qiao Xu instinctively closed her eyes.

“President Xu, you—”

“Sorry!”

Song Jia looked up and saw the two of them seemingly about to kiss, grabbed his laptop, and hurriedly left the room.

Qiao Xu opened her eyes to see only Song Jia’s retreating back.

She kicked Xu Sian lightly and slid her chair back to her spot. “When will my resignation be approved?”

Xu Sian released her hand, pinched the bridge of his nose, and chuckled softly. “When Human Resources hires someone.”

“Qiao, you won’t have to wait a whole month, right?”

Qiao Xu shut her computer and stood. “You said, one month.”

“I never said that. When the right person is hired and the handover is done, then you can leave.”

As she was about to leave, she glanced at the man sitting at the head of the table with his eyes closed. The dark circles under his eyes were obvious.

Xu Sian was the Executive President; that was why they could come in only in the afternoon.

But after meetings, he sometimes had to make calls to overseas offices. No one knew what time he left, and he still had to attend morning meetings.

Maybe he never really left the company.

“Aren’t you getting off work?”

Xu Sian opened his eyes, curling his lips. “Concerned about me?”

Qiao Xu felt her mind suddenly go blank. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Then were you talking to a ghost?”

Qiao Xu turned to leave but was suddenly pulled into the president’s office by the waist.

Song Jia, who had just come out of the assistants’ office looking for Xu Sian, quickly withdrew his legs.

“What are you doing?”

Xu Sian pressed her against the door. “Helping you take off your contacts.”

Qiao Xu pushed him away. “No need. Your fingers are bigger than my eyeballs.”

Taking off her contacts would be like plucking out her eyeballs.

Qiao Xu suspected he was deliberately seeking revenge.

Xu Sian lowered his voice. “Only my hands are big, huh?”

His deep voice and ambiguous gaze made Qiao Xu’s heart race, memories of the past four years with him flooding her mind.

She heard his low chuckle beside her. “Assistant Qiao, what are you thinking about? Your face is so red.”

“Get up. Don’t think just because you’re my boss, I’m afraid of you.”

“What? What are you going to do?”

As Qiao Xu turned to twist the door handle, he caught her in his arms.

He had always loved holding her from behind, anytime, anywhere.

Even on the night before they broke up, he held her like this.

His warm palm pressed against her hand on the door handle. “You were just thinking about me.”

He was certain, and he knew her mind wasn’t clean.

“I was thinking about your grandfather.”

Damn it. He looked so filthy that just one glance made her thoughts dirty.

“Xu Sian, let go.”

Her eyes stung from dryness as he held her tighter.

“Qiao Qiao, you were definitely thinking about me just now, imagining us together.”

Hit right in the heart, Qiao Xu bristled and pressed her high-heeled shoe hard against his leather shoe.

“You’re shameless. We broke up four years ago. If I’m thinking about anyone, it’s someone else.”