Eloise stepped out in the morning and was startled by Isidore, who was leaning against the wall. He lazily lifted his head, his eyes sleepy between his messy hair, as if he had just woken up. "Morning."
"Morning, my foot!" Eloise thought about kicking him. She should have turned and walked away, but she couldn't help asking, "You didn't stand here all night, did you?" "Mm," he yawned, nodding seriously. "Did you get so moved you want to sign?" He raised his arm, with a delicate food package hanging from his finger.
Eloise cast a glance inside. There, nestled in the bag, were slices of toast from a private bakery, still warm from the oven. Alongside, a bottle of milk, its surface glistening with droplets of water. It was clear that he had just bought them; there was no way he had stood there all night. She sighed in relief, gave him a cold look, and said, "I just want to call the police."
Isidore called after her, "Breakfast for you." Eloise didn't respond. She took the elevator down to the underground garage, only to find that the tire on her car had been punctured. She turned angrily, "Did you do this?" Isidore gave a surprised smile. "I really didn't." It was probably some passing good Samaritan who had helped him out.
To steal a few more minutes of sleep, Eloise had always been precise about her timing when heading to the office. Now that she had switched to taking the subway, she knew it would be impossible to make it on time—during rush hour, catching a train was never guaranteed. Isidore drove up, rolled down the car window, and said, "Get in." Eloise hesitated for half a minute, then got into the back seat, already setting the tone, "I'll just consider this a carpool, since it's your car." She handed him fifty dollars in cash.
Isidore took it, shaking his phone lightly. "Consider this your contribution to the household today." What the heck? Eloise muttered to herself, only to see him looking ahead, one arm stretching behind him. "Had breakfast?" Eloise didn't want to owe him anything, frowning. "I've eaten." He chuckled. "No way."
Eloise now lives alone, and without the servants at home to take care of her, the chances of her getting up in the morning to make breakfast are slim to none. He lightly moved his fingers, opening the corner of the wrapper, and the rich aroma of bread spread through the air.
Starving and with such a delicious scent in the air, it's hard to endure the journey. Eloise, who had originally planned to grab something to eat downstairs at the office, gave up resisting halfway through. Her mouth was full of soft bread as she mumbled, "How much? I'll give it to you." Isidore said it wasn't necessary: "You need to eat well to work hard. This place has a good taste. I'll bring it for you every morning from now on."
Eloise got a little upset. "You don't need to do this!"
"I do," he said, as if his throat was dry, clearing it slightly. "Maybe one day, I'll have to rely on you." He added lightly, as if joking, "If I lose my job one day, aren't you the only source of income in the family?"
Eloise didn't quite catch up: "How could you possibly lose your job?" Isidore smiled and said, "It's possible, you know." Eloise then realized she had fallen into his verbal trap. No matter how much he teased, she refused to respond. When they arrived, she got out of the car and hurried into the office.
In the afternoon, someone brought meal to the office. Without looking, Eloise handed it to a colleague sitting next to her. "I accidentally ordered the wrong one. I can't eat it." After a moment, the colleague exclaimed, "Eloise, is this from your boyfriend? Why are you keeping it a secret?" On the takeout box, there was even a note attached: "Thank you for taking care of Elly." Below, a single character "Mr. Kingswell" was written.
Unexpectedly, Isidore pulled this move. Within twenty minutes, the news that Eloise had a boyfriend who knew how to handle things spread throughout the office. No matter how she explained, it was all in vain. When the second delivery arrived, she no longer dared to casually hand it to others. She carefully inspected both the outer and inner packaging. There was no note, but the takeaway had to be eaten by herself.
A senior colleague walked over, swaying her hips, and patted her on the shoulder. "I was planning to introduce you to a boyfriend, didn't expect you already had someone at home!" Eloise had the meal, which actually tasted pretty good, but all she felt was angry.
Just before closing time, a security guard from the lobby came upstairs to find her. "Miss Eloise, right? The car parked downstairs is said to be from your visitor. I'm here to confirm with you." Eloise stretched her neck and looked downstairs. Right in the center of the building entrance, there was a conspicuous black luxury car. Isidore was leaning against the car door, his legs crossed, wearing sunglasses. Upon seeing her, he broke into a smile, his teeth neat and white.
Eloise nearly jumped up and screamed. "No, hurry and get him to leave!"
But it was already too late. The gossiping colleagues swarmed to the window, chattering away nonstop.
"Wow, a luxury car!" "Forget the car, look at that guy, he's so handsome!" "No way, you can tell what his face looks like with those huge sunglasses?" "Just look at his physique. How many men have a body like that?"
"..."
Isidore accepted the crowd's attention gracefully, raising his hand to wave back. Eloise was speechless, while a few colleagues turned around to cast her envious glances, their eyes clearly saying, "You sure know how to pick man." "I have nothing to do with him," she said weakly. "We know," her colleagues giggled, covering their mouths. "He must still be chasing you!"
The security guard went downstairs to speak to Isidore for a moment. After achieving whatever purpose he had, he smoothly drove off.
Gossip spreads the fastest in dull work environments. By the time work was over, even Lucienne, who rarely engaged in idle chatter with colleagues, had heard the rumor about Eloise having a bold admirer.
She had a faint suspicion in her heart and hurried downstairs, running to the public parking area across the street. She knocked on the window of one of the cars. The window rolled down, and Isidore, with earbuds in, was leaning back in his seat, listening to music.
Sure enough, from the moment Eloise had given her theater tickets yesterday, and when she met Isidore sitting next to her, she realized their relationship was not simple. She curved a smile. "Mr. Kingswell, why didn't you say you were coming?" Isidore took off his headphones and gave a polite smile. "I'm here for personal reasons."
Lucienne nodded. "If it's for Elly, she's already slipped out the back door."
