Chapter 8

What Matteo didn't know was that the reason Mila's room was always so cluttered was that it was filled with his things. He was a full-blown workaholic. As his chief secretary, Mila had to be on call 24 hours a day. Her desk was piled with documents he might need at any moment. The walls were covered with his schedules, reminders, and work plans. The closet was packed with suits he wore to banquets and business events. The open floor space was stacked with gifts he prepared for clients. The tiny rental apartment had become her second office. The only thing in the entire room that truly belonged to her was the single bed. And yet, he still disliked that bed for being too small. After that one visit, he never stepped into her place again. Before heading out, Mila called a moving company and asked for someone to come over the weekend to help organize her stuff. It was time to clear out everything that didn't belong to her. … Zach had chosen a newly opened restaurant that seemed quite popular. It was called Lunar Bistro. He remembered her mentioning she had stomach issues, so he had ordered light dishes. It was thoughtful. Thoughtful people never needed to be taught. Mila had always believed that Matteo was simply too focused on work to notice small details in their daily life. She had persuaded herself to accept that version of him. But today, she realized that Matteo would specifically take Penelope to Harper's Kitchen for nourishing stews just because she was on her period. That was thoughtful, too. Mila broke away from her usual rigid style. She changed out of the professional outfit that seemed welded to her body and let the hair she had worn tied up for years down. Her naturally fair and smooth skin looked almost luminous against the light-colored dress. Zach nearly didn't recognize her at first glance. Mila was the one who greeted him first. "Mr. Yale, I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Zach was stunned. He widened his eyes. "Ms. Wright, you look completely different. I almost didn't recognize you!" As Mila sat down, a strand of hair slipped off her shoulder. She casually brushed it aside. "Ms. Wright, can I ask you something?" Zach asked impatiently. "Go ahead," she replied. "Does your company have some kind of strange rule?" Mila raised an eyebrow. "Like what?" "Like requiring beautiful women to dress unattractively." She laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment." "I'm not flattering you," Zach said seriously. "I'm just stating the truth!" Headhunters, especially top-tier ones, had exceptionally high emotional intelligence. A few casual lines were enough to lighten the mood. When Trent stepped out of a private room, his eyes were immediately drawn to Mila sitting by the window. At first, it was her beauty that caught his attention. Her seat was positioned perfectly as the setting sun slanted in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Bathed in light, Mila looked indescribably divine. Entranced by her beauty, he unconsciously walked toward her. Mila happened to glance in his direction. Trent stopped abruptly. Disbelief flashed across his face, followed by astonishment. Was that Mila? She looked similar, yet not at all. In his mind, Mila had always dressed like a grandma. She was dull, rigid, and lacked femininity. He had even secretly questioned Matteo's taste before. With so many beautiful women around, why did he choose someone as plain and unfashionable as Mila? He finally realized how naive he had been. Matteo had been doing well all these years. Mila's gaze briefly met Trent's, then calmly shifted away as if she were looking at a stranger. That reaction irritated him. He had always looked down on Mila, believing that she was nothing more than someone Matteo could summon or dismiss at will. What made her think she could act aloof in front of him? Trent knew Zach, so he walked over to greet him while deliberately ignoring Mila. "Mr. Yale, long time no see. What have you been up to lately?" As the second son of the Striver family in Jesterville, Trent might be a bit of a playboy, but the resources behind him were real. Naturally, Zach treated him respectfully. "You know what I do. I'm busy digging up talent everywhere." "Talent?" Trent said, glancing at Mila. The smile on his lips turned mocking. "Your standards seem a bit low." "How so?" Zach asked honestly. "Ms. Wright is extremely sought-after in the industry." Trent sneered. "You probably didn't know, but Mr. Hall from Royal Investment just recruited a top-tier talent from overseas. She's a PhD holder from the WT School of Business. A former employee at JPMorgan. She's now the Head of Investment." The corners of his mouth quirked up with pride. "Someone like that would be top-level even in your circles, right?" Zach nodded. "That's definitely top-tier." "Exactly," Trent said, patting Zach on the shoulder. "So you need to work on your standards." Zach wasn't upset. He simply smiled. "Thanks for the advice, Mr. Striver." Trent felt thoroughly refreshed after showing off. "By the way, I invested in this restaurant. This meal is on me." "That's too generous of you, Mr. Striver." "Don't mention it. I might need your help recruiting people someday. Consider this meal a favor." As he left, Trent cast Mila an arrogant glance. He was hoping to see embarrassment or inferiority on her face. Unfortunately, her expression remained calm. He saw nothing, and it annoyed him. After leaving the restaurant, he immediately called Matteo to tattle. "Guess who I just ran into!" Matteo was still working overtime, so he was too busy to deal with Trent's antics. He pressed the internal line to the secretary's office. "Ms. Wright, bring me a cup of coffee." On the other end of the line, Trent froze. He wondered if Matteo didn't know that Mila wasn't at the office. While waiting for coffee, Matteo asked, "Who did you see?" "Zach," Trent replied. "He's recruiting." A knock sounded on Matteo's door. "Come in." Mindy was the one delivering the coffee. Matteo paused. His eyebrows knitted. "Where's Ms. Wright?" "She's off work." Matteo's frown deepened. "She didn't work overtime tonight?" "No." Matteo found it odd, but he didn't think too much of it. Mila rarely made mistakes at work. He assumed she had something else going on. He dismissed Mindy, took a sip of coffee, then frowned again. It didn't taste the same. He lost interest in drinking it and set the cup back down. Leaning into his chair, he rubbed his temples as he questioned Trent, "Who is Zach trying to recruit?" It was finally time for the key question. Trent answered eagerly, "He's trying to recruit Mila."