The next moment, Joyce’s gentle voice floated over.
“You’re all so welcoming. I hope I’m not getting in the way of your work, she said.
Everyone answered politely.
“Miss Milner, you’re never a bother!” one of them said.
“We wish you’d drop by every day,” another chimed in.
Joyce smiled softly, her warmth lighting up the room.
“In that case, lunch is on me, just like we always do,” she said.
Everyone hurried to thank her.
Joyce kept her polite smile. “Same number of people as before? If so, I’ll have lunch sent over.
As soon as she said that, everyone’s eyes landed on Marina.
Marina looked up and met Joyce’s gaze.
A flicker of surprise crossed Joyce’s eyes, but she quickly smiled.
“Looks like we have a new face around here,” she said.
Someone replied, “Yeah, she just joined us today.”
Joyce smiled, picked up her phone, and said softly, “Let me order an extra lunch for her.”
“Let me order an extra lunch for her,” she said.
Since Marina didn’t say anything, Joyce turned to her and asked, “Aren’t you going to thank me?”
“Thank you for the offer, Miss Milner, but I’ve already ordered my lunch,” Marina replied calmly.
She was new at Zamora Group and didn’t know where the cafeteria was, so she figured she’d just order from Silkwi Kitchen and have it delivered.
But before she could even place her order, Daron messaged her, saying he’d already taken care of lunch for her
Joyce raised an eyebrow and replied with a smile, “Oh? Did everyone already order? In that case, I’ll treat you all day.”
Everyone’s faces fell.
The colleague sitting next to Marina nudged her with an elbow and whispered, “Would it kill you to just accept Miss kindness?”
“Would it kill you to just accept Miss Milner’s kindness?” she hissed. “Are you trying to ruin lunch for everyone?”
Marina cocked her head at her colleague, putting on an innocent look as if she had no idea what was going on.
“What are you mumbling about? Can’t you speak up?” she said, her voice loud enough for the whole office to hear.
The colleague hadn’t expected Marina to pull a stunt like that. Her face froze, and she shot Marina a death glare, teeth
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clenched.
Marina just ignored her completely.
Right then, Joyce spoke up in a gentle voice.
“Since everyone’s already ordered, I’ll head out. I’ll treat you all next time,” she said.
With that, she made her way to the elevator.
No one had the nerve to ask Joyce to order for them, so they just glared daggers at Marina.
Joyce gave a subtle, knowing smile.
Marina spoke up, her tone cool and even.
“Why are you all looking at me? If you haven’t ordered, just tell Joyce. She said she’d treat, so just speak up. She’s not going to say no,” Marina said.
“It’s not like Joyce is short on cash for lunch, right, Joyce?” Marina added, turning to her.
Marina called out, stopping Joyce in her tracks.
Joyce was trying to make the whole office resent Marina over lunch, but Marina wasn’t about to let her get away with it.
Joyce stopped in her tracks, her grip on her phone tightening just a little.
She turned around, her smile back in place.
“Yeah,” she replied.
Marina forced a smile at Joyce, then shot a look at her coworkers in the executive office.
“Joyce already said she’d treat. If you haven’t ordered yet, just go let her know,” she said in a calm voice.
As soon as she finished, people started going up to Joyce to give their names.
Joyce wasn’t thrilled, but she could only keep smiling as she wrote everyone down.
If she didn’t go through with it, it’d just make her look stingy.
Some people chose not to go up to Joyce to sign up for lunch.
Joyce and Marina were clearly having a showdown, and since Marina was personally hired by Mr. Zamora, with relationship to him still a mystery, no one wanted to get mixed up in all that mess.
They didn’t want to pick sides.
After Joyce finished jotting down everyone’s orders, she flashed a friendly smile at the group.
“Anyone else who hasn’t ordered yet?” Joyce asked, her tone light
Marina glanced at her.
It hadn’t been that long since they’d last crossed paths, but Joyce was holding it together way better than last time.
‘Guess she’s been practicing her “smile through anything” routine, Marina thought to herself.
Since no one else responded, Joyce said softly, “Then I’ll place the orders for everyone who signed up.”
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The people who’d signed up all thanked her.
After Joyce finished placing the orders, Chloe came back upstairs.
Spotting Joyce, her gaze went straight to Marina.
Seeing Marina sitting there cool as ever, Chloe quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Then she put on her professional smile and turned to Joyce.
“Miss Milner, sorry, but Mr. Zamora isn’t in the office today,” Chloe said.
Something subtle flickered in Joyce’s eyes, but her smile never wavered.
“Oh, I know. Daron already told me. I was just passing by and figured I’d check in since everyone’s been working so hard.” she said.
One of Joyce’s regular suck–ups jumped in with a grin.
“Chloe, come on, if Mr. Zamora isn’t coming in, Miss Milner would be the first to know. Their wedding’s just around the corner, after all,” the colleague said.
Chloe didn’t respond.
Joyce pressed her lips together, giving an awkward smile.
“Seriously, don’t make things up. Daron and I are just friends,” she said softly.
Even though Daron wasn’t in the office today, Chloe was still careful about what she said.
Daron didn’t like people talking about his private life, especially all those years of speculation about his marriage.
No matter how crazy the rumors got outside, Chloe never got involved in
She simply responded to Joyce with polite respect.
“Let me walk you downstairs, Miss Milner,” Chloe offered.
Joyce nodded. “Thanks, Chloe. Sorry for the trouble.”
“Not at all, Miss Milner,” Chloe replied with a polite smile.
any gossip unless it was officially confirmed.
Before getting into the elevator, Joyce gave Marina a look, and Marina looked back at her.
They locked eyes for a moment.
Marina just smiled at her, no drama, no attitude, just a simple, genuine smile.
Joyce was a little miffed, but kept her cool and didn’t let it show.
She’d invested a ton of energy into these folks lately.
She’d buy them lunch and swing by every so often, just to show she cared.
As long as Marina was working at Zamora Group, Joyce didn’t even need to get involved. There were always people ready step up and give her a hard time.
She took a moment to compose herself, stood poised in the elevator, and casually asked, “When is Daron coming into the office?”
18:42 Sat, Jan 31
Chapter 222
“Mr. Zamora didn’t say.” Chloe replied.
A flicker of confusion crossed Chloe’s eyes, but she answered Joyce right away.
‘Didn’t she just say Mr. Zamora told her everything? Shouldn’t she know he’s not coming in anytime soon? Chloe thought to herself.
Td better be extra careful from now on,‘ Chloe thought to herself. If I accidentally spill anything about Mr. Zamora’s schedule, I’ll be in for trouble I can’t avoid.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
