Chapter 3 - She'll Be The Next Mrs. Huxley
1767 Words
“Home-cooked meals are always better than those cooked in restaurants,” Mia said with a soft smile and gave Gerard the spoon and fork for him to use.
“Thank you. I still have some works to do. I’ll eat it later,” Gerard told her without taking the utensils from her.
Mia felt embarrassed by Gerard’s words. It was clear that he was throwing her out. Even though she wanted to see him eat the lunch she made for him and was reluctant to leave, she couldn’t force him to do anything. And this has always been the case since three years ago.
“Alright. Don't forget to eat it. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Mia said and went to the door.
“Mia,” Gerard’s deep husky voice sounded, making Mia’s heart skip a bit.
The way Gerard called her name was like a seductive voice of a siren. She couldn't keep her calm and wanted to throw herself into Gerard’s arms.
She turned around with a sweet smile, thinking Gerard would let her stay, but his next words erased her hope.
“I don't want what happened last night to happen again,” Gerard said with a deep gaze.
Mia’s sweet smile froze on her face. She clenched her skirt tightly and nodded while maintaining her sweet smile. “I’m sorry. I won't do it anymore.”
Gerard nodded and went back to his document without saying anything anymore.
Mia knew this time it was really her time to leave. She tried to maintain her elegance and walked out of Gerard’s office.
Once Mia was out the door, Gerard said to his secretary, “William, you know what to do.”
William, being Gerard’s assistant ever since he took over as CEO of the Huxley Group, naturally knew what Gerard meant.
He took Mia's food containers and told his boss that his lunch was on the way.
It had been this way since Ivy died three years ago. Mia would always cook lunch for Gerard every day, but Gerard never touched any of it. Not that he didn't like the taste, but simply because he didn't want to eat anything other women cooked for him.
Only Ivy had the privileged to cook for her husband and no one else. That included Mia. He felt he was betraying Ivy if he ate meals from other women.
Not even ten minutes later, Gerard’s lunch was delivered to his office, and as per usual, William bought the meals from Mia to the staff cafeteria to eat it.
Meanwhile, Mia, who felt humiliated by Gerard’s words, was waiting for the elevator and conversing with two female employees.
“Miss Gant, did you bring lunch for Mr. Huxley today?” one of the employees asked as she passed by Mia.
Mia nodded and said shyly, “Yes.”
“Our CEO is so lucky to have a home-cooked meal every lunchtime,” another employee joined the discussion.
“Miss Gant, you and Mr. Huxley looked well-matched. Are we going to hear a wedding bell soon?” the first employee teased.
“Stop it, guys. We are just friends,” Mia said bashfully, but she felt happy in her heart.
As long as she kept bringing lunch for Gerard, every employee in the Huxley Tower knew how much she cared for Gerard and regarded her as the future Mrs. Huxley.
“It’s good that you care for our CEO, Miss Gant,” the first employee said.
“Yeah. The CEO changed so much after Ivy passed away. They were so in love with each other, it’s a pity for her to die so young,” the second employee said, and the atmosphere turned solemn.
“But now Miss Gant is taking care of Mr. Huxley. Hopefully, Mr. Huxley will turn to be his old self again,” the first employee tried to lighten up the gloomy atmosphere.
“You are right. With Miss Gant by his side, our CEO will surely be happy,” the second employee added cheerfully.
“Please don't mention the former Mrs. Huxley in the company anymore. Gerard will be sad if he hears it,” Mia said with a sad expression.
“Alright, we won't mention Ivy anymore,” the second employee said, and the first employee nodded in agreement.
Mia hated the way everyone loved Ivy. She never understood why Ivy didn't need to do anything other than be herself for people to like her. She never needed to ‘bribe’ the employees with gifts, while Mia sometimes gave out limited edition makeup for the female employees so they would acknowledge her and warm up to her.
Fortunately, they brought up Ivy, and she used the opportunity to stop them from talking about Ivy or how happy Gerard was when he was with her.
She hated hearing it. From now on, she would ensure that the only female associated with Gerard was herself and no one else.
“Miss Gant, have you had lunch?” the second employee suddenly asked.
Mia shook her head. “Not yet.”
“We are going to the staff cafeteria to have lunch. Would you like to come with us?” the first employee asked.
Mia snorted in disgust inwardly. Staff cafeteria? It was so beneath her status to have lunch with employees and at the staff cafeteria some more, but in order to show them that she was down-to-earth and easygoing, she pretended to agree with them.
They took the elevator and went straight to the staff cafeteria. Even though the food there was of high quality and delicious, Mia still felt disgusted.
Mia and the two female employees found an empty table, and the employees asked Mia to sit and wait while they queued to get food.
Mia felt that the table and chair were dirty even though there was not a spec of dirt on them, yet she had to stop the urge to wipe the table and chairs and just stood still while thinking of ways to escape.
She was looking around when she saw William, and her eyes widened in disbelief. William was eating lunch from a pink lunchbox. She was sure it was the lunchbox that she had prepared for Gerard. Why was William eating the food she had prepared for Gerard?
“Miss Gant, we chose Chicken Kiev with a side of mashed potato for you. This is the signature dish of our cafeteria,” the female employee said as she placed a tray of food in front of Mia.
Mia looked at it and immediately lost her appetite, not that she had one before anyway.
She took a few bites of the mashed potato and found it bland.
Once the two female employees sat down and started eating, Mia pretended to gossip with them.
“I saw Assistant William eating different food from us,” she began to dig for information from the two female employees.
“Oh yes. You noticed it, too, didn't you? See the pink lunchbox? He always brought lunch prepared by his girlfriend,” the first female employee was happy to gossip with Mia.
“I didn't know Assistant William had a girlfriend,” Mia pretended to be surprised.
“He has one. I think they have been in a relationship for three years,” the female employee said as she chewed her lunch.
Mia kept her gaze locked on William’s pink lunchbox. The more she looked, the more she was sure it was the lunchbox she had prepared for Gerard.
“Three years?” Mia asked absentmindedly.
“Yes. He started bringing the lunch box three years ago. We asked him about it, and he said his girlfriend prepared it for him,” the second female employee added.
Since three years ago? That was the time when Mia started bringing lunch for Gerard.
Mia felt angry because Gerard gave her painstaking effort to William, and she nearly lost her composure. She wanted to ask William and Gerard what was going on, but she knew she couldn't make a scene here.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and told the female employees she had forgotten that she had an appointment with her friends. It was also a perfect excuse not to have lunch in the lowly cafeteria.
Before leaving, Mia took two new limited-edition lipsticks she had prepared and gave them to the two female employees, garnering praise from them.
“Miss Gant, you are so nice to us,” the first female employee was happy to get a limited-edition lipstick.
“I’ve always wanted to buy this brand, but it’s so expensive. Now I have it thanks to you, Miss Gant,” the second female employee expressed her gratitude.
Mia scoffed in her mind. With their salaries, they should keep on dreaming if they want to buy it.
But hearing their praises, her anger subsided a little. As long she pretended to be nice to them, they would love her, and it was enough for her.
She escaped from the staff cafeteria while thinking of the lunchbox. Was it really the same lunch box she prepared for Gerard? She was sure it was. She needed to ask him about it tomorrow, she thought as she got into her car.
Gerard worked until late, not caring about the time until William reminded him of his grandfather’s wish to have dinner with him.
Gerard’s body stilled, exuding an icy aura, before nodding and leaving the office.
“North, the Huxley Manor,” Gerard instructed his most trusted aid and said nothing else.
North knew how much Gerard hated going to the Huxley Manor and meeting Old Master Huxley after Ivy died, so he kept quiet while driving.
Gerard closed his head and felt a headache coming. Nothing good ever came when he went to the Huxley Manor.
But Old Master Huxley was still his grandfather, and he was a filial grandson. Old Master Huxley was the one who brought him up; there was no way for him to refuse to have dinner with the old man.
“Mr. Huxley, we’ve arrived,” North’s voice made Gerard open his hawk-like black eyes.
He exited the car elegantly and was greeted by Nigel, the butler of his grandfather.
Gerard nodded and walked toward the dining room. The moment he laid his eyes on the old man sitting alone, a surge of anger rushed through his body.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to get rid of his anger, and greeted the old man coldly, “Grandpa."
- Writer
