Chapter 1671 - 1645: Where the Gaze Falls, There Lies Eternity: Seeking Help from the Secretary (Part 2)

Joseph Lancaster spoke hesitantly, worried he might have to waste more words, but to his surprise, Vesper Carter just laughed. She hugged the documents and lowered her eyes, chuckling as she spoke.

"If the manager asks, how could I refuse? As long as you don’t mind me being embarrassing!"

"No, absolutely not!" Joseph quickly replied, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped disaster. He clasped his hands in gratitude towards Vesper Carter, "Secretary Carter, thank you in advance. On the weekend, I’ll instruct accounting to treat it as overtime!"

"No need, Manager, you’ve taken such good care of me, it’s the least I can do." Vesper politely declined, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll head out."

"Alright, go ahead with your work." With the problem resolved, Joseph Lancaster felt much more relaxed.

...

On the weekend, Joseph arrived at the agreed location to pick up Vesper Carter. From afar, he saw her standing on the street near the residential area, holding a silk bag, wearing a pink cotton jacket. Her long hair was half-tied, with the other half draped over her shoulder, looking intelligent and graceful.

Joseph subtly curved his lips, thinking his parents would surely be impressed when he brought Secretary Carter home.

The black Hongqi sedan stopped beside Vesper Carter, and Joseph gentlemanly opened the passenger door.

"Hop in."

Vesper slid in sideways, smiling as she said, "Manager, you’re right on time."

Joseph gave a faint smile, "Remember, when you meet my family later, don’t call me Manager, or else we’ll be found out."

"Then what should I call you if not Manager?" Vesper asked, feigning confusion. She knew the title was inappropriate but felt uneasy about calling Joseph by his name due to his status.

"Just call me Joseph." Joseph redirected the car back the way they came.

"I don’t dare, afraid you might fire me. Finding a job these days isn’t easy!"

Vesper joked, having graduated from university, and while her classmates with connections landed jobs in retail stores and food shops, she, with no family background, was assigned to the tax office. The job was unremarkable and lacked attention. Later, she heard about Joseph Lancaster’s company hiring a secretary and joined.

"Secretary Carter, I should be thanking you for your loyalty; I wouldn’t repay kindness with betrayal!"

"Since the Manager says so, I’ll boldly call you by your name then."

The two joked and chatted as they headed towards the Lancaster Family’s place. Joseph was attentive; before heading home, he took Vesper to a shop to buy some fruit. After all, it wouldn’t be polite for the "girlfriend" to visit empty-handed for the first time.

Seeing the shop from afar, Vesper curiously asked,

"Manager, are you going to buy fruit?" Then she lifted the silk bag on her lap, "I’ve bought Fuji apples and tangerines, these are the fruits for this season."

Joseph paused for a moment, then laughed, "Secretary Carter, you’re thoughtful, I’ll reimburse you for the fruit tomorrow."

"That’s kind, Manager, but I didn’t give you a gift during the New Year, consider it catching up," Vesper said with a smile, not wanting Joseph to think she was stingy.

"That’s not right, asking for your help and expecting you to cover the costs isn’t fair."

Joseph insisted resolutely, already feeling embarrassed asking for assistance, knowing a bag of fruit would cost around ten yuan, equivalent to a month’s grain purchase for one person.

Vesper sighed helplessly, "Alright then, let’s just have accounting include it in my salary."

Her husband was quite unhappy seeing her buy so much fruit to give away; if he knew she was pretending to be the manager’s girlfriend, he might argue with her.

"Alright, I’ll speak to accounting tomorrow."