All that expensive coffee was wasted. I don’t know why he doesn’t just order directly from Greybox.

That would save the entire company and me especially, the stress of trying to make high-end coffee in his kitchen.

He is even lucky I worked as a waitress before. Some other person might have botched the coffee so bad and left him with a scalded tongue,” the redhead threw her hands in the air exasperatedly, shaking her head as her best friend laughed at her, unable to control it.

”What’s so funny, Chy?” she questioned, attempting a frown but unable to hold her own laughter. Chynna’s laugh was very infectious, and it took little time till she caught the bug too.

Both women laughed heartily, Amy forgetting the reason why she was upset, and Chynna just happy to see a smile on her best friend’s face.

Having taken on so many responsibilities at such a young age, Amy always had her head full, and Chynna made it her sole duty to always remind her best friend to laugh.

Despite her earlier irritation and the tired look on her face, it was obvious that Amy was excited about her new job.

It was a reputable company and the pay was certainly the most decent she would ever receive since she started working any job. She could not quantify the gratitude in her heart for Chynna helping her get the job.

”I know it sounds like I’ve been full of nothing but complaints since, but trust me, I’m really grateful, Chynna. This is literally the best thing anyone has ever done for me in my entire life. Except maybe getting adopted,” she said chuckling.

They both laughed softly before she went on. “The office is super nice. It has air conditioning and I get my own small office. Such a huge change from serving coffee from behind a counter. And the cafeteria is literally a 3-star restaurant.

You can have as much food as you want. My boss might be annoying, but the compensation for this job is definitely not.” There was a gleam in Amy’s eyes as she spoke, the joy she felt expressing itself in a broad smile and teary gratitude.

Chynna reached over to her from her perch on the couch, smoothing down her shoulder in comforting caresses.

”I’m glad that you love the job already. And yes, I know Edward can be quite a handful but you’re the strongest woman I know and I’m sure as hell that you can handle him.”

”You have such faith in me, I sometimes wonder if you’re not stupid,” Amy joked. “I have to go help Gu Zhou with his homework and make dinner, but I promise that we will catch up later tonight, okay?”

”Yes, best friend, do what you have to do,” Chynna replied, hugging Amy tight and beaming her a smile. “I’ll tell you all about my day when you’re done cooking poison,” she shot back in retortion of Amy’s earlier good-natured jab.

Once Chynna had taken her leave, Amy strode into the kitchen to start up Chicken Chow Mein for dinner. She mixed ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, red pepper flakes and pepper in a bowl.

Then she got out the chicken cubes, arranged them neatly in a Ziploc plastic bag and poured in the marinade. Stuffing the chicken in the refrigerator, she proceeded to find Gu Zhou.

The one hour during which the chicken would need to marinate was more than enough to help Gu Zhou finish his homework. As she helped the boy complete his lessons, her mind could not help drifting off with thoughts of Edward.

She recreated his face in her mind’s eye. His perfect jawline, the dreamy brown eyes and bushy brows. She remembered his breath, hot and heavy on her face when he leaned into her that morning. She imagined him leaning even closer and capturing her mouth in his.

’He is my boss, and today is only the first day, I should stop thinking like this.’ She scolded herself, shaking her head. Being single her whole life was starting to take its toll on her.

Gu Zhou wrapped up the last item on his homework and she went back to the kitchen. She retrieved the marinated chicken, and poured it into a large pot, then let it cook over medium heat.

Then she removed the cooked chicken from the pot, adding sesame oil to which she added vegetables—onion, celery, carrots and cabbage. To sauté the vegetables, she added noodle bricks, poured in the chicken broth and covered it with more vegetables. She let the noodles cook for about five minutes and then broke them up. Then she reintroduced the cooked chicken, adding the last bit of marinade.

Dinner was a simple affair, with Amy in a hurry to get to bed, and Gu Zhou wanting to go play video games.

The siblings did not talk much after, only exchanging goodnight hugs and kisses on the cheeks, with Gu Zhou smacking his lips and telling Amy how much of a better cook than Chynna she was. They shared a laugh and turned in for the night.

Amy fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had known just how tired she was after her first day attending to her egomaniac boss.

Her dreams were filled with images of his handsome face despite how much she had willed herself not to think about him when she was awake and conscious. Now that her subconscious was holding the reins, she was utterly helpless against his charms.